Book Bingo July 1 update

I forgot to update my post in April, so this is my first update on this challenge.

In the TBR category I have read a total of 6 books.

Achieving Apollo

The Night Dance

The Red Garden

Shatterglass

Crimson Thread

Beauty Sleep

 

In the Series category I have read a total of 8 books.

Full Moon Kisses

Professor Gargoyle

Prodigy

Iron Daughter

The Gathering

Crescendo

Silence

Onyx

 

In the Books released in 2013, I have filled all my squares, except the Free Square for a total of 12 books.

Life After Theft

School Spirits

Wild Song

Rapunzel Untangled

The Art of Wishing

The Dead and the Buried

Towering

Jinx

Goddess Inheritance

Shadowhunters and Downworlders

Mind Games

Day of Doom

 

In the Books that Everyone but You Has Read category I have only finished one book.

Vampire Academy

 

In the Rereads category I have finished 4 books.

The first four Harry Potter books

I have a long way to go before finishing the entire board, but it has been fun so far!

 

 

 

 

 

"Your the One that I Want" Participation post

For my must rereads, I would have to say the Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson series. I don't reread books often. I would recommend Prodigy, School Spirits, and The Dead and the Buried as some of my favorite reads this year. The Dead and the Buried is a quick suspenseful read and Prodigy was a deep thinking book, at least for me. School Spirits was more of a fun read.
For books I would like to read: The Elite by Kiera Cass, Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, and Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I have Elite on my list to read this week, so maybe I can start it soon!

Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon Reading Updates

I decided to keep my updates in a separate post from the participation posts.

Day 1 update
Currently reading: Opal, Pretty Little Liars, Will of the Empress (audio)
Pages/Percent/CD read: Opal- 1%, Pretty Little Liars-30 pages, Will of the Empress- 1 CD
Mini-challenges- 1 Teaser Tidbits
New blogs following: Book Beats, Reading is my Treasure, and Effortlessly Reading

Day 2 update
Currently reading: Opal, Pretty Little Liars, Will of the Empress
Pages/Percent/CD read: Opal- 1%, Pretty Little Liars-37 pages, Will of the Empress- 1 CD
Mini-challenge-0
New blogs following: The Bibliophilic Nerds, Unraveling Words

Day 3 update
Currently reading: Pretty Little Liars, Slither Sisters, Will of the Empress
Pages/Percent/CD read: Pretty Little Liars-117 pages, Slither Sisters-19 pages,  Will of the Empress- 1 CD
Mini-challenge-1 Page 99 Challenge
New blogs following: The Secret Life of a Bookworm, Fangirls of Fiction, Such a Novel Idea

Day 4 update
Currently reading: Pretty Little Liars, Slither Sisters
Pages read: Pretty Little Liars- 102 pages and finished!, Slither Sisters-38 pages
Mini-challenge- 1 Spine Poetry Challenge

Day 5 update
Currently reading: Slither Sisters, Opal, Will of the Empress
Pages read: Opal -2 %, Slither Sisters-10 pages, Will of the Empress- almost 1 CD
Mini-challenge- Cover Title Scramble

Day 6 update
Currently reading: Slither Sisters, The Tell-Tale Start, Opal, My Soul to Take, The Elite
Pages read: Slither Sisters-92 pages and finished!, Tell-Tale Start-178 pages and finished! Opal- 10%, My Soul to Take-15 pages, The Elite-3 pages
Participated in Twitter chats!
Finished 2 books today and 3 books total!

Day 7 update
Currently reading: Opal
Pages read: Opal-5%

Teaser Tidbits hosted by Tamara @ Shelf Addiction

Today's mini-challenge is hosted by Tamara @ Shelf Addiction. You are supposed to pick a book you are reading or read recently and pick 2 teaser sentences to try and convince someone else to read the book.

Entangled Teen

I am currently reading Opal by Jennifer Armentrout. This is the third book in the series, so start with Obsidian first if you haven't read any of them.

"You burn bright, to me at least, and I know you could handle it, but the last thing I want is your light to be tainted by something so dark." "But he lowered his head and kissed me, and I learned that sometimes when someone says something so devastatingly perfect, there isn't a need for a response."

Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon "Class Orientation" post

My name is Sarah and I am a Children's and Teen Librarian and the Assistant Director at my hometown library. I order all the materials, except Large Print at the library. I decided to start blogging in order to find new books to read and order and to keep track of the books I read. I have always been a reader and played librarian at a very early age. I used to actually put holders in my books with cards to have people sign and date when they "checked out" books. My favorite genre is YA and I read mainly fantasy books.

My goals are:
1. To have fun!
2. To try and read 3 books.
3. Find new blogs to follow.
4. To participate in mini-challenges and maybe a Twitter chat.

Reading list: Updated
My reading list will include the following:
Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (my Random Read for the month)
The Elite by Kiera Cass
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
Opal by Jennifer Armentrout
Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Middle Grade fiction
The Slither Sisters by Charles Gilman
The Tell-Tale Start by Gordon McAlphine

Audiobook
Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce

July Random Read

This is a meme hosted by Sarah at imlovingbooks.com. You can choose to use Goodreads or create your own list or use your bookshelves. The idea is to use random.org and type in the number of books on your list. Whatever number you receive is your random read for the month. I have decided at least for the first few months to use the books on my Kindle as my list. I buy or get free far too many books on my Kindle and then never read them. I now have 290 books on my Kindle, which means I only added 8 books last month compared to the 23 the month before. Still I am terrible. I did finish and review Prodigy my May read and I finished Achieving Apollo my June read and I will be reviewing that very soon. This month's number is 197, which is Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama. This is a creepy mermaid tale. This sounds a bit dark and I don't like to read rape scenes, but I will give it a try. Review is here.


 Farrar, Straus and Giroux



Prodigy by Marie Lu

This is the second book in the Legend series and this review will have spoilers for Legend, but should be ok for Prodigy.



Putnam

Day and June have escaped from his execution, but with the loss of Day's brother and with Day seriously injured. They both know their only hope lies with the Patriots and so make their way to Vegas and the Patriots' hidden headquarters. Kaede, a Patriot who recently helped the two, leads them to Razor, the leader of the Patriots. Razor agrees to help June and Day, if they will assassinate the new Elector Primo. June is sent back to the Republic as a repentant with information about an attempted assassination. After she gets back into his good graces, she will lead him to the real assassination. Day in the meanwhile is training and is reunited with Tess, who is in love with him. Tess plants seeds of doubt about June in Day's head. June is reunited with Anden, the new Elector Primo, and begins to doubt the Patriot's plan and sees Anden as a revolutionary who can work from within to fix the Republic. Dangerous choices must be made and can a new love survive betrayals and the truth?

It took me about a month to finish the book and it was so worth it. There is so much to think about with this series. Could we ever turn into the two different societies presented in this novel? The materialism of the Colonies and the militaristic state of the Republic are possibilities if we do not remain vigilant. Deep, deep thoughts indeed. Beside all the deep thinking, the romance is perfect in this book and the guilt and questions experienced by June and Day seems real. This is a story where consequences are very real and wrong choices lead to destruction.

Favorite Character: They are all so well-developed. June and Day definitely captured my heart. June is a strong heroine who truly learns to think for herself. Day is a strong hero who sacrifices for others. They are the perfect match, but also a horrible match. Their story is both heart-breaking and uplifting.

Favorite Quote: This was also a hard choice.
"'The first time I kissed you.... Well, that might as well have been my first kiss ever.'"  "He is beauty, inside and out. He is the silver lining in a world of darkness. He is my light."

Lu is an awesome writer and the long read makes the story even better. This will definitely be in my top ten this year and possibly number one. The ending will leave you breathless. 5 cups of cocoa!!