Wrap Up: January 2016 – Part 1

I have started this month (and this year) on a high note. I am currently on track for my Goodreads goal and I am in the middle of two books, which you can see in my wrap up at the end of the month!

I have finished 3 books so far and these are just my brief thoughts on them!

 

Do Not Disturb by A.R. Torre (Deanna Madden, #2)

The first book in this series got my #1 spot for 2015 so I wanted to start off this year with something I knew I would enjoy. The main character of this series alone makes it interesting but I definitely preferred the plot of the first book. You know that Deanna is dangerous and there is a man that is trying to get to her in person in this book. He thinks that he is going to have the upper hand but we know that she is more dangerous than he thinks. Who will come out on top? This was a great character development book and I am excited to see what happens in the third book. I gave this installment 4 stars!

 

Keeping Her by Cora Carmack (Losing It, #1.5)

This series is so cheesy! I tried to forget the insta-love that happened in the first book and let this book be it’s own thing in my mind. The writing was definitely better in this book but the scenarios are so… easy? This book followed the same characters from the first book as they take a trip to visit Garrick’s family in London. I gave this novella 3 stars, which is the same that I gave the first book. If I don’t give book #2 more than 3 stars I’ll probably stop the series.

 

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins (Rebel Belle, #1)

I’m still reflecting on this one. For me this was an example of a book that I enjoyed throughout the entire thing and then the ending was a bit of a flop. I thought this story sounded cheesy but it was actually so well done! Harper and David have been enemies since their childhood but under these strange circumstances Harper is now bound to protect him. She is so misplaced in this roll of being his protecter. Watch the girly girl get her hands a little dirty! I decided to settle on a 4 star rating for this book!

 

 

Series Update: January 2016

My main goal for the year 2016 is to catch up on as many series as possible. I will e making these update posts once a month so you guys can see the progress I’m making! This one will be short because we’re only about 2 weeks into the year, but the rest of them will track a month’s worth of time!

I have completed 3 books this year, all of which were parts of series.

Completed series – 0

Series installments – 2

• Do Not Disturb by A.R. Torre (Deanna Madden, #2)
• Keeping Her by Cora Carmack (Losing It, #1.5)

Started new series – 1

• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins (Rebel Belle, #1)

 

Next month I will start a running tally but this is the first update so these are the overall total’s for the year as well. My goal is that by the next update I will have completed at least one series and started only one new one!

My first wrap up of the month will be posted tomorrow so if you are interested in my thoughts on these books check back in!

 

 

#TBRTakedown 3.0 Wrap Up

I had so much fun this round of #TBRTakedown. I participated in sprints for one of the first times ever, I stayed active on my social media, and I actually got a good amount of reading done!

You may have noticed that I didn’t do a mid-week wrap up and that is because at the halfway mark I hadn’t completed any of the books I set on my TBR. What did I read this week? Here it is:

I wrapped up with about the last 20 pages of Do Not Disturb by A.R. Torre, which I was reading before the readathon started.

Instead of reading Fairest by Marissa Meyer I read Keeping Her by Cora Carmack in its entirety. Then continued on and read Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. And finally yesterday I started You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero which I am 30 pages into.

Challenges?

• A book from your most recent book haul
• A book that’s been on your shelf for over a year
• A book outside your comfort zone
• The first book in a series
• Complete a series or read a sequel
• Read a fire-colored book
• Read something that isn’t a novel

All green! I did them all! Granted I counted them completed even if I didn’t finish the book.

Shannon has brought up doing a shorter round of the readathon in spring and fall and having another full round of the readathon in the summer. I look forward to participating as always.

This week wasn’t just about getting stuff read, I felt like I was way more involved in the community than I am on a daily basis! That sometimes feels better than getting 5 books read in a week.

 

When am I doing another readathon? Look forward to my TBR post for #RYBSAT next Monday! The readathon will be running from January 19th – January 25th. Watch Miranda’s announcement video for more information!

Book Haul: January 2016

I haven’t posted a book haul since early December which was my October and November book haul. So, this haul will include December and January, which also includes books I got for Christmas!

December 2015

I bought only 2 books for myself before the holidays because I knew I would be receiving books and gift cards were coming! The two books I bought myself were:

• Winter by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles, #4)
• You by Caroline Kepnes (You, #1)

And I got 5 books as gifts!

Gifts from my dad:

• In The Woods by Tana French (Dublin Murder Squad, #1)
• Through the Dark by Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds, #1.5, #2.5, #3.5)
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Gift from my sister:

• You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

Gift from my boyfriend:

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Illustrated Edition by J.K. Rowling, Illustrated by Jim Kay

 

January 2016

Now we’re not even halfway through the month yet but this is what I have acquired so far. I didn’t pay cash for any of these books, they were either bought with credit I got for trading in books at Half Price Books or bought with gift cards at Barnes & Noble!

• Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (Passenger, #1)
• Confess by Colleen Hoover
• Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
• UnBound by Neal Shusterman (Unwind Dystology collection of short stories)
• Soulless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate, #1)
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Repurchased, signed hardcover!)

 

The amount of books I have bought in the past couple of months is slightly higher than the amount I have read but I am still happy about only having 13 books in this haul. Moving forward this year I would like for my number of books bought every month to be less than my number of books read!

If you’ve read any of these books please let me know what you thought!

What was the last book you purchased/received?

 

Unhaul – January 2016

I’m ready to let go of some of the books in my collection.

I am a book buyer. I neglet my library and other sources. While I tend to be selective I still end up not enjoying some of the things I read or even losing interest before I get to them. I don’t unhaul very often but my friend that I give books to is home from college right now and I’m going to be around a used bookstore that will give me credit for my books! 

Books my friend took 

• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare 
• City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (unread)
• City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (unread)
• City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (unread)
• City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (unread)
• Burned by Ellen Hopkins
• Smoke by Ellen Hopkins
• Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
• Rumble by Ellen Hopkins 

Books going to the used bookstore

• Angelfall by Susan Ee
• World After by Susan Ee
• End of Days by Susan Ee
• Wine to Water by Doc Hendley (unread)
• Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl 
• Dangerous Deception by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
• The Maze Runner by James Dashner
• The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
• The Death Cure by James Dashner 
• The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
• The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan 
• The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan (unread)
• The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (unread) 
• The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (unread)
• Phoenix by Elizabeth Richards (unread) 
• Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (unread) 

I don’t want these books staring at me from my shelves anymore!! 

TBR Takedown 3.0 TBR

TBR Takedown was created by Shannon from LeaningLights! You can find Shannon on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram!

This round of the read-a-thon will be running from Monday January 4th – Sunday January 10th.

The point of TBR Takedown is to tackle books on your physical TBR. Shannon has put together a list of challenges that I plan on following for my reading. You do not have to follow the challenges they are just there to be a guideline!

Challenges

1. A book from your most recent book haul
2. A book that’s been on your shelf for over a year
3. A book outside your comfort zone
4. The first book in a series
5. Complete a series or read a sequel
6. Read a fire-colored book
7. Read something that isn’t a novel (novella, graphic novel, etc..)

My TBR list is 3 books but each challenge will be completed, I am just doubling up some challenges!

My TBR

• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins (Rebel Belle, #1) – challenges 2 & 4
• Fairest by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles, #3.5) – challenges 5, 6, & 7
• You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero – challenges 1 & 3

 

I am anticipating posting an update halfway through and then having my wrap-up at the end!

If you are participating please link me to your TBR!

2016 Goals

In the past I have set up some pretty harsh goals for myself. I have had a little trial an error and this year I am revising the goals that have worked for me in the past. These will all be set up in a checklist format for me to keep track of throughout the year!

• Read 52 books
• Complete 10 series
• Reread 10 books
• Read 2 = Buy 1
• Read 5 nonfictions books
• Read 15 books released in 2016
• Read 5 books published in 2011 or earlier
• Read 5 graphic novels
• Read 5 novellas
• Get Chris to read 1 book

All of the specific numbers I set are based off numbers that I was already reading in 2015. They are only stretching my boundaries a little so they should be manageable.

Essentially I want to make sure that I’m consistently reading and reading a variety of different things. The last one is a (sort-of) joke because he says he won’t do it, but if it’s on the list, it must be done!

 

 

Want to Read: January 2016

I’ve put away TBR posts because I don’t want to feel like I have to read the books I include here. I am hoping to start the year strong! I set my Goodreads goal at 52 books, which would leave me hopefully finishing 5 books this month! So I am going to let you the top 5 books I’m most interested in reading this month.

• Do Not Disturb by A.R. Torre (Deanna Madden, #2). Currently reading so this is going to get done!
• Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (Reckoners, #1)
• You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. Gift from my sister for Christmas (Thanks Erika!!!)
• Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins (Rebel Belle, #1)
• Fairest by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles, #3.5)

This is such a manageable list that it makes me excited to exceed this!

Follow my progress this month, and all year, on my Goodreads page! You can also find me @PlanAndRead on Twitter & Instagram!

What book are you most looking forward to this month?