FrightFall Read-a-thon Signup

This is hosted by hosted by Michelle @ True Book Addict, Castle Macabre and The Christmas Spirit blogs and you can sign up at this link. You must read at least one "scary" book, which does not have to be in the horror genre, but can be a thriller, mystery, Gothic novel, or similar. This time my scary book will be A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, which I am reading for our Freshman Reading Challenge that I do with our local high school librarian.

My reading list:
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
House of Abraham by Stephen Berry
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Losers Take All by David Klass
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Thanks to Michelle for hosting!

The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I read this book for the Little House Readalong. It is the last book in the Little House series, although there are books of collected letters.

HarperCollins

The book goes back a bit before These Happy Golden Years to the time right before Laura and Almanzo's wedding and covers the first four years of their marriage. Laura and Almanzo work through the trials of farming, the joy of a daughter, and the heartbreak of loss. Through it all they have their love for each other and their pioneering spirit to help them survive.

This book does have a bit of a different style to the story, since it was written down by Laura, but not really edited by her. Almanzo becomes Manly in the story, but in this book his nickname is not explained. It is shorter than the other stories and I missed hearing about the other members of Laura's family. Laura showed the harshness of farming on the plains, particularly how they were at the mercy of the weather and the joys and heartbreaks of married life and building a family. I enjoyed reading Rose's escapades and the scene with the horses always gives me goosebumps and also the scene with the Boasts broke my heart and also made me sad for the friendship that was lost because of Mr. Boast's request. It was still a sweet story and I enjoyed seeing Laura and Almanzo's interactions. 4 cups of cocoa.

Virtual Adult Summer Reading Wrapup

I did attend a chat and did a challenge or two, but not great on my reading. I read 2 of the six books on my list and only reviewed one of them. I did managed to read 8 books so I met the level, but only reviewed 3 books total. Thanks to Valerie and Octavia for hosting and I hope to participate again next year if you guys host it again!

COYER Summer Vacation wrapup

Well, I did not do well at all. I read and reviewed two books. I read another 5 books that I did not review, so 7 in all. I sporadically posted on Facebook and attended two twitter chats. I just could not get in the reading mood and definitely could not get into the reviewing mood these last few months. Oh well, I can't wait until COYER Winter edition!

2016 Bookish Resolutions Challenge July/August Update

 
The 2016 Bookish Resolutions Challenge is hosted by Laura @ Trips Down Imagination Road and Michelle @ Because Reading and you can sign up at this link. For this challenge you must have 2 of 3 main goals, Blogging, Reading, and/or Personal and then subcategories for these goals. Well, I am not doing much better after a dismal April, May, June, and July. July was particularly bad, including the fact that I did not even update. I also am updating August in the middle of September, so that should be ominous too. I haven't felt like blogging at all, so my poor blog has suffered tremendously.


My goals:

Reading Goals

1. Read at least 6 Classics. This was a goal I barely completed last year, but something I want to continue doing. So far I have only finished Peter Pan, but hopefully I can get into another classic soon. Still have only finished Peter Pan, but have started Frankenstein. The results here have not changed since February, got to work on this one.
2. Read at least 70 books this year. I did not do this as a goal for the Bookish Resolution last year, but I did have it as a goal. I just missed it by 8 books, so I want to challenge myself on it this time.  I finished 46 books now, which isn't bad.
3. Finish at least 4 series. I did well with this last year, but I have several more series that I did not finish. I have finished one series, but have three that I am really close to finishing.

Blogging Goals

4. Blog at least 10 times a month. I met this goal for 7 out of 12 months, so I want to try this one again. I blogged 13 times in July, but only 8 in August, but August is the only month so far I have not met this goal.
5. Complete at least half of the challenges I sign up for this year. I came very close to completing this goal, but not quite. I will be signing up for challenges soon. I have started all my challenges so far this year. I have met goals in a couple of them, but still working on reading more.
6. Be more active commenting on blogs and on Twitter. By more active, I mean getting on Twitter and commenting on blogs at least once a week. Twitter is still going well, but blogging not so much.
7. Review at least half of the books I read. I basically just stopped writing reviews at the end of the year and I would like to do better with this in 2016. So far I have reviewed 33 out of 48 books, so I am meeting the half way goal easily. I hope to write reviews for some of them I missed, but this may not happen.

Personal Goals

8. Lose at least 20 pounds, 10 pounds. We are going to try Biggest Loser at work and our theme this year is Libraries Transform, which is ALA's theme. We decided against Biggest Loser at work. I gained back most of what I lost last year, so I would love to lose that weight again and maintain the weight loss. HaHaHaHaHa. I know now that I am up 5 pounds from the beginning of the year, but this is unacceptable to my nurse, so she is making me do blood work and told me I need to work on less carbs and more exercise. If only...
9. Eat and drink healthier. I would like to eat at least a vegetable or fruit a day a week. I eat horribly and am not in good shape. I would also like to cut down on coffee and sodas, because that is all I have been drinking lately. HaHaHa. Coffee and sodas are still my best friends and I again went a few days without veggies and fruit. I am able to get in at least a fruit and vegetable once a week, so that is a start.
10. Exercise more. I would love to exercise at least a few times a month and possibly up this to a few times a week as I get in a bit better shape. I don't want to push things too fast, so for the first month or so, I would like to exercise at least 3 times a month. July I did a 5K and I think I exercised at least 3 times in August, so I have sort of met this goal last month..

Hope everyone is doing a bit better with their goals than I am! I am hoping for a better September, but I have to start wanting to change my personal goals! 

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I read this one for the Little House Readalong and for the Newbery Challenge.

Harper & Row Publishers

In this story, the Ingalls have put the long winter behind them and have adjusted to life on the little town of De Smet. Laura has good and bad teaching experiences and is at first conflicted on her feelings for Almanzo Wilder. She comes to like him as much as she does his horses and there could be wedding bells in the future! Mary continues to enjoy life at college and the younger siblings are growing up quickly. The end of the book is the end of Laura's childhood and has some bittersweet moments.

I love the courtship in this one! Laura and Almanzo date for 3 years, which probably seemed like a lifetime back then. I also enjoyed seeing Laura's teaching moments and how she came to enjoy teaching a bit, not so much to want to keep doing it, but a bit. The scene with her first teaching position and the wife drawing a knife on her husband was frightening, but it shows how life was hard in the West, particularly for the wives. I really like also when Laura tells her parents she can't have the horses without their owner and how that is when they all truly knew she loved Almanzo. I had forgotten how sweet this book is and definitely give it 5 cups of cocoa! I think it is also a charming Newbery and one that really shows life for women on the prairie.

Re-Readathon #4 Wrapup

Writing my wrapup for Bout of Books, I remembered I still needed to do a wrapup for Re-Readathon. I only managed to listen to 9 chapters of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and read 140 pages of These Happy Golden Years. I liked both and really don't have a favorite. This was a super busy time at work. I love the re-readathons, but for me it was just a busy time. I liked it being a bit longer, because I felt like I had more time to get things read. I have since finished These Happy Golden Years and hope to get a review up soon. Thanks to Bex for hosting this!