Bout of Books 7.0 Conclusion

Another read-athon complete!

The goal for last week was to read three different books, one I was to finish, the second I was to get halfway through it and the third to get 25% read. 

I underestimated the time it would take me to get to 25% of The Game of Thrones.  However I got to 28% literally Sunday night and I am proud of it.  I came to realize (again) that I am not a fast reader.  I like to take my time with the book and really dive into the material and digest it.

I see that another "Bout of Books" will be happening in 90 days.  I think for me personally, when I participate in read-athons, I need to stick to small books; books with the max page limit of 200-250.  If not, then when I have the results I had this time, I can feel like I was more successful.

How did the read-athon go for you guys?

It's Monday, What are you reading? 5-20-2013

EVERY MONDAY,  Sheila at Book Journey hosts a meme where bloggers share their reading list for the week as what they finished reading the week before.  This is a great way to plan out what you are  reading for the week and to see what others are currently reading. 

Recently read:

I finished this book the week before and went to see the movie last weekend, the book...blah, but I did enjoy the movie. (review will come later)

Put on hold.....

Being that this book is apart of my book club and we decided to not have a meeting this month, I put this book aside in order to catch up with a book discussion on another book. 

Currently reading:

I finally found a read-along for this book!!  It is incredible to be able to have someone to discuss the book with.  Even though I am completely into the story line  I find it great that I have something that "unofficially" holds me accountable to keep a steady pace and complete the book.  

New to the list:

I will not dive deeper into the reasons why I am reading the book, the title is self explanatory.  Currently I am on a quest of "working on myself" and in my previous what am i reading post, I informed you about the financial books I am reading for the month of May.  This is just another book to assist in the "better me" project I am on this summer.    

What are you guys reading for the week?

Bout of Books 7.0 Introduction

Here I go participating in another read-athon!!!  LOL......

The Bouts of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal.  It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in.  Bout of Books is low pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week.  There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional.  For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team.

This read-a-thon could not come at a better time.  Monday will start the first week in my four week break in school!!  Throughout the week I plan to get into three different books.  One I plan to complete, the second I plan to get half way through and the third I plan to get to 50%.  

Below are the books I plan to read this week: 

I am currently 53% into this particular book and this one I plan to complete this week.

I am currently 3% into the book and my goal for the week is to get halfway (50)%) through it.

 This book is designated as a "weekend read" so I am currently at 8%.  Nevertheless I am really getting into the book and wanting to hurry to read it in order to dive into the actual series which means that I need to include it in my weekly reading.  Probably after I finish the two books above, I will not add anymore books until I finish this one.  THEREFORE, I plan to get to 25% of this book throughout the week.

There you have it!  The books I plan to tackle throughout the read-a-thon.

It's Monday! What are you reading? 5-6-2013

Every Monday, Sheila at Book Journey hosts a meme where bloggers share their reading list for the week as well as what they finished reading the week before.  This is a great way to plan out what you are reading for the week and to see what others are currently reading. 

I am in the middle of finals so last week I was unable to finish any books or get deep into the following:

Even though its only 129 pages, I am 51 pages into it.  I have two more papers to write by Thursday and hopefully I will have the book read by Friday and able to grab a matinee to see the movie. 

Along with reading The Great Gatsby, I am also reading the following books throughout the month:

I plan to use the month of May to get my finances in order while I am out of school before summer school starts. 

What are you all reading for the week?

It's Monday! What are you reading? 4/29/2013

Every Monday, Sheila at Book Journey hosts a meme where bloggers share their reading list for the week as well as what they finished reading the week before.  This is a great way to plan out your reading as well as see what others are currently reading for the week.  

This week thanks to the readathon, I was able to complete THREE BOOKS (one of which was not on my reading list last week)!!  

This week I will concentrate on the rest of the books I had on my night stand for the month:

2% complete 

53% complete 

Have not started yet

3% complete

In particular, I hope to have read The Great Gatsby by the end of the week and put a good dent into Persuasion.  I have decided that I will not add anymore books to my list until I have completed the ones I am currently reading except A Games of Thrones. 

What are you guys reading for the week?  Leave a comment below and let me know!!

Have a great READING week! 

Dewey's Readathon: The Aftermath!

End of event meme:

Which hour was most daunting for you?

Actually I didn't have a daunting hour to be honest, I went at a nice pace and incorporated other errands in the day so that I would become stir crazy. 

Could you list a few high interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

If one is not intimidated by large books and want to bite a big chunk out of a big book, I would suggest reading a "chunkster".  If I were to read one, it would have been Wicked, A Game of Thrones and/or Les Miserables. 

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the read-a-thon next year?

Not necessarily for the people who run it, I think that you guys have done an awesome job throughout the years and it has been getting better and better every year!

What do you think worked really well in this year's read-a-thon?

I don't what worked "really well" this year, but I did like the participation that Instagram added to the readathon.

How many books did you read?
I read three. All nonfiction and all totally different from the other.

Which book did you enjoy most?

As I stated above, all of them were so different that I cannot pin point which one was my favorite. 

Which did you enjoy least?
Same above.

How likely are you to participate in the read-a-thon again?  What role would you be likely to take next time?

Oh I will most definitely be participating in the next readathon (if my schedule allows it).  However if I cannot, I probably be a cheerleader for the first time.... You guys really helped out!!

Dewey's Read-athon: HOUR 19 "I am calling it quits"

We are at hour 19 (12.5 for me) and I am officially calling it quits.  It is 1 am here in Louisiana and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow which will start early and that means I need a good night of sleep.  

I am really excited that I was able to read three books today (and tonight)!!!

For everyone who will continue for the next five hours, YOU CAN DO IT!!

Goodnight everyone......

Dewey's Readathon - HOUR 16!

Here we are at hour 16 (hour 8 for me) and I have completed 2 books.  I am about to start reading the third book and hopefully I will have that one finished by the end of my time in the readathon.  My goal was to read 4 books today, so if I read three, I think that....

1. This will be the most books I have read in a readathon; and 
2. I will still feel like I accomplished a goal.  

Here is the book I just finished:

I know some of you are probably at the point of finishing the hours you wanted to do for the readathon, how many books have you all average?  I want to see if I am on the same page as some others. I saw the post for this hour over at Dewey's site and thought I should follow the theme of reading Persuasion since they are on a Jane Austen theme.  However I just realized that the two books I have read today are nonfiction and out of the two books I have left to read, one is nonfiction and I should stay on the trend of that.  Nevertheless go check out the YouTube video they have posted, its very funny and corny (two things of which I like!  LOL).  

How are you guys doing so far?

Read-a-thon HOUR 12

Here I am at the midway point of the read-athon (actually I have only been participating for 5 hours) and I have not gotten much reading done, talking to the phone with my brother overseas, running to the grocery store to get dinner and actually trying to prepare it has made reading come to a slow pace.

Here is the "Mid-Event Survey":

How are you doing?  Sleepy?  Are your eyes tired?
As of right now, I am doing great. Since I am multitasking (currently cooking dinner) and drinking a Coke (breaking my diet), I am wide awake!!  LOL...

What have you finished reading?
I have only been able to finish one book, but one is better than nothing so.... YEAH FOR THE ONE BOOK!!  LOL

What is your favorite read so far?
Being that I have only finished one book, the book above wins by default (however it really is a good book!).

What about your favorite snack?
The only thing I could find in my kitchen were Tostitos tortilla chips and a coke.

Have you found any new blogs through the readathon?  If so, give them some love!
Sadly I have not been able to browse through blogs that I am not aware of during this readathon, but I have been keeping up with:
My Little Pocketbooks
Reflections of a Bookaholic 

How are you guys doing?

If there are any blogs out there that want me to check them out, leave a comment below!!!

Read-a-thon: Introduction Post

It is 1pm here in Louisiana and I am now ready to start the read-a-thon. At first I thought I would have the entire day to myself so that I could be a lazy bum, but its finals at school and I need to use some part of the day working on two assignments.  Therefore throughout the day I will using a couple hours to read, take a break work on assignments and then back to reading.

Here is the questionnaire:

What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
I am reading from the wonderful state of Louisiana.

Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Which snack are you most looking forward to?
Sadly I do not have any snacks at this time.  :( I am so unprepared!!  LOL!!!

April 2013 Dewey's Read-A-Thon Intro Post

This Saturday (April 27th) is Dewey's Read-A-Thon!  This is the first Saturday in a year and a half I believe that I have been able to participate.  With that being said, I have done all course work and plan to go to my intern that Friday which means I have the entire Saturday to myself.  I am soooo excited!!!  Lets just say that I have not had a lazy Saturday for awhile now.  As always, I will only be reading for 12 hours, which means I will be reading from 12 noon to midnight (central standard time). Nevertheless, lets talk about what I plan to read.

Below is a list of books I am currently reading:

As you can see, this is a lot of books! As I stated yesterday, I am on a mission to finally finish reading these books and the read-a-thon is a perfect opportunity to do so! Here are the books I plan to finish Saturday:

These books are on my reading list for the week (except for the last one) and I am currently at 50% or more complete with the book.  For the past couple of years participating in the read-a-thon, I have become more realistic in my abilities reading wise.  Additionally, by trying to start and finish a book in one 24 hour period is hard (at least for me) and I would rather sike myself out by completing some of the books that are on my list.  

If by some awesome chance I finish all four books mentioned above, I will dive into this:

Are any of you participating in the read-a-thon?  If so, what books do you plan on reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? 4/22/2013

Every Monday, the wonderful blogger Sheila at Book Journey hosts a meme where bloggers share their reading material for the week as well as what they finished reading the week before.  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well. 

 

Every month I will be reading (at one time) no more than 6-7 books:

1. Nonfiction/Self Help
2. Fiction
3. Weekend Read
4. Monthly book club selection
5. Books I have been "currently reading" for years now....
6. My year with "Jane Austen"
7. TBD (read-alongs, online book clubs, etc)

Nonfiction/Self-Help

10 Bad Choices that ruin Black Women's Lives by Dr. Grace Cornish is actually a re-read for me.  The book is a guide for all women actually who "want to shed the duds and find the studs".  Being that I read this my freshman year of college at age 18, I am curious to see what I think of it at age 30.

Fiction

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald has been a book on my TBR pile for quite some time now so when I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie, it moved the book to the top of the list.  Along with Literary Marie (@literarymarie), we plan to host a readalong up to the release of the movie which comes out on May 10, 2013. If you are interested in reading with us, please stay tune!!

Weekend Read

A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire #1) by George R.R. Martin, has been on my TBR list since the start of the HBO Series. The size of it was intimidating, but now that season 3 of the show has come out, I really need to get on the ball with catching up.  Being that I am one of those "cannot see the movie/show without reading the book first" person, I am quite behind.  LOL.. I was trying to find a readalong to participate in so that I can possibly finish book in a decent amount of time, but everyone I find are several weeks in and I could not possibly be able to catch up.  If anyone knows of one that just started or about to start, LET ME KNOW! LOL.... 

Monthly book club selection

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years #1) by Gregory Maguire is my book club's May pick.  I have been wanting to see the Broadway hit forever and now it is coming to New Orleans.  Now while it will not compare to me being in NYC and seeing it under the big lights, I guess this performance will have to do.  So in honor of Wicked coming to our area, we plan to read the book, see the play and have dinner afterward to discuss both!  Exciting huh?

Books I have been "currently reading" for years now....

Lucrative Love: The Insider's Secrets to Marrying Millions by Tom Feltenstein is a book that I have been reading since the summer of 2009!!  I am on a mission this year to finish up books that I have been reading for some time now and this one is at the top of the list.  With 16 pages left to read, I cannot believe I have not finish this ridiculous book. SMH.....

My year with "Jane Austen"

Persuasion by Jane Austen is the first book in my "The Year of Jane Austen". Truthfully I should be half way through her books, but like everything else, I am behind. (Kanye shrug......)

There we have it, all the books that I am currently reading!  What about you guys? What are you all reading this week?

I am Bloglovin!!

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5081007/?claim=52bj6knhwfj">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>


Since Google Reader is leaving us in July (upset is an understatement), I have been trying to find alternatives. As of right now, the only thing I even "kind of" like is Bloglovin.

Currently I am going through all the blogs I follow on Google Reader and manually adding them to Bloglovin. The purpose behind this was to eliminate blogs I am no longer interested in and blogs that no longer have recent content.

 In order for one to find a particular blog/site, Bloglovin requires that I "claim my blog" with a blog post so here it is.

A moment of truth.......

With all my well intentions, I have once again neglected this blog.  There are plectra of reasons, being busy, life curve balls and etc.  However the main (and real) reason for my absence has been…..worrying about the perception the blog will give of me.  My name is Book Snob Wannabe, and I worry about how people view me. 

What I created for purposes of having an outlet for my love of reading and writing, eventually turned into another “thing” I had to do.  I felt like I had to jump out the gate with this awesome blog that had great content that for reasons unbeknownst to me, caused fear and insecurity to show up and instead of fighting through it, I crawled into my safe space and gave up. 

I kept trying to figure out what a book blogger “should” be doing instead of just having fun.  Looking at other established sites with their great headers, well thought out and explained book reviews and amazing book related posts, caused great anxiety and actual thoughts of:

“My site will never look like that.”

“Why do I even bother writing a review of (any book here), it will never be as good as (insert any blogger here)”

“My site will always be inferior because (insert any lame reason here).”

Yeah, that was me. 

However things are about to change; I have been challenged to put my authentic self out there for the world to see and not care what one thinks of me.  So if I want to review Les Miserables one day and the next day write about Sista Souljah, that’s my prerogative.  So what if one thinks that my review isn’t critical enough.  Who cares if one thinks the quality of my blog isn’t up to “par”?  All that should matter is that I am doing what I love and I am enjoying the process.  Instead of conforming to what I “think” a good book blogger should be, my goal is to become the book blogger I want to be!

Therefore I welcome you again to BOOK SNOB WANNABE!!!

Persuasion Read Along WEEK TWO

Unputdownables is hosting a read along for Jane Austen's Persuasion.  Here is a list of characters to help you keep everyone straight.

My thoughts on Chapters 6 – 14:

(without giving away spoilers for those who want to read the book)

Throughout this week’s reading, the only thing I can think of is how so many of the characters are getting on my nerves!  LOL….

• Anne needs to speak up;  
• Mary needs to go sit down somewhere or like the kids say, “go have several seats”;  and
• How was she injured so severely by that fall?

Last week I mention that I would like to hear from Captain Wentworth and his point of view, but the only clear point of view we get is Anne’s. However by reading, there is no doubt that he still loves her and doesn’t know how to compartmentalize his feelings which results in his actions and words towards her.

Currently I am at a loss of words when it comes to describing my view of Ms. Austen’s method of writing.  However I do get from this book is a constant shadowing of gloom in the air.  I can’t explain it, but I feel that there is a constant feeling that something tragic is going to happen. 

One particular character I am interested in learning what their motives are is that Lady Russell. She is really rubbing me the wrong way, I can’t put my finger on it (other than the obvious), but it is something about her that can’t be trusted (again, other than the obvious). 

With the fall and the other Musgrove sister out of the picture, I think there is about to be a turning point in the relationship between Anne and Captain Wentworth.  I just hope that Anne is strong enough to stand up to whomever tries to come and stand in her way.

Until then….. See you all next week!