#BorrowAThon Wrap-Up

Well #BorrowAThon is over, and it went about like I expected it would. Honestly, it was like an average reading week for me. I don't think I do to well on readathons. Maybe it's the feeling like I should be reading every second that messes me up. I get distracted by social media, TV, all the things! I know I should be reading, but then I just don't want to. Readathons cause me stress and I think I under preform because of that. Readathons also can cause me to fall into reading slumps, just because of the pressure I've put on myself to read. I know I'm not alone, that other people go through these things. Even with all this stress, I know I'll do more readathons in the future, because I do think they are fun, they just can be stressful.
I managed to finish one book during #BorrowAThon (that I might have already started before #BorrowAThon started) and I started a second book. Not the greatest readathon results ever, but I'll take it.

 

#BorrowAThon Day-to-Day Progress

Day 1: Started on page 300 on The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories edited by Martin Harry Greenberg, Richard Matheson, and Charles G. Waugh. Only read 15 pages on Day One *hangs head in shame*

Day 2: Read 81 pages on Day Two. Woo-Hoo!

Day 3: Read 37 pages on Day Three. Eehh.

Day 4: Read 45 pages.

Day 5: Read 82 pages and finished The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories. Yayy! That was a long book. 550 pages... If I'd been participating in #TomeTopple, I would have killed it. I really enjoyed the book. I'm a fan of The Twilight Zone TV show, which is a classic, so I was interested in the stories. It was a really fun book. In a way, you're taking a step back in time and seeing what people in the 1960's imagined the future (sometimes our present) to be. They were really, really wrong about a lot of the future. We haven't colonized Mars. Intergalatic space travel isn't a thing. Personal robots still scare us, unless they are vacuuming robots. 

It was also interesting how many stories focused on war, be it the Civil War or WWI or WWII. Those Wars were more felt and better remembered? I know I'm not explaining that right, but it was just interesting reading stories from a different time.

All the stories were really easy to read and engaging. I was very pleased with this anthology, I enjoyed it a lot. I'll have a review for it put up sometime. Just know that my BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL is 4.5/5

Definitely recommend you check out the book and the show.

Day 6: Started new book Buzz Kill by Beth Fantaskey. It seems to be a fun, light, kind of murder mystery. It's about this school football coach that nobody really likes getting murdered and the main character gets it in her head to solve the case. Her father is suspected of the crime and she wants to find out the truth. My initial thoughts are that it's alright so far. I think the author wins in the last name department. Fantaskey is just a cool sounding name to me. Also, this book has the weirdest, shortest chapters I've ever seen in a book. Some of them are literally only one page long, the average chapter length is three to four pages. It's different and I'm not sure that I like it. Also, almost every chapter ends on a kind of cliff-hanger which I don't think I'm the biggest fan of.

Read 48 pages on Day 6.

Day 7: Read 81 pages on the last day of #BorrowAThon. Not bad, not bad. I'm enjoying the book, I think it just took me a little time to really get into it.

Books Finished: One Book The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories edited by Martin Harry Greenberg, Richard Matheson, and Charles G. Waugh.

Total Pages Read: 388

And #BorrowAThon is done! I could have done better, but I also could have done worse. Will totally participate in the next #BorrowAThon.

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (#1) by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer (#1)

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Published by: Simon & Schuster/BFYR

Released: 2011

Source: Library

Summary: After an accident kills her friends and leaves her mysteriously unharmed, Mara Dyer and her family move to Florida, with the hope of having a fresh start. On her first day at her new school, Mara meets the mysterious and handsome Noah Shaw. She's drawn to him.

Florida doesn't offer the fresh start that Mara hopes for, her past has followed her, and haunts her waking moments and dreams. With the help of Noah, Mara must discover what's really happening to her, and make peace with the accident that claimed her friends' lives.

My Thoughts: I really don't know what to say. This book was like nothing I've ever read before. It's very mysterious, spooky, and at many times confusing as all get out. I had trouble deciphering what was real and what was imagined. I found this to be a very intriguing and interesting story, and I really did enjoy reading it. This book was something else and I'm interested to see what happens to Mara and Noah next.

The character of Mara was an interesting one. I enjoyed her sense of humor and her snappy comebacks. Her struggle with PTSD was something to behold. She goes through so many highs and lows in this story, and keeping up with all of them proved to be a bit of a brain workout. Her story was interesting and spooky.

Noah was an interesting character too. He proved himself to be a very different character than the rumors people said about him. I liked his protectiveness towards Mara and his open-mindedness regarding her story. I though Mara and Noah made a good pair.

The overall story was interesting, and a tad bit confusing. I was very interested in what was going on and the ultimate bigger story. Hodkin did a great job of creating creepy atmospheres and situations, plus keeping this reader on the edge of her seat! Sometimes I had trouble keeping up with what was going on. Distinguishing between reality and hallucination was really hard sometimes. Very interesting though.

Overall, I really liked this book. It was very mysterious and interesting. I can't wait to find out what happens in the next one.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

What Is Going On!?!

Update: Days 1-3 of #BorrowAThon

I wish I could say I've read a crazy amount, that I've finished at least 2 books, but I can't. Going into this readathon, I knew I probably wouldn't do that well. I joined because it just looked fun. Am I disappointed, no. But #BorrowAThon isn't over yet! I still have time to impress myself. Anyway, here's my update on the first 3 days.

Days 1-3 Have All Been Spent On This Book!

The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories

Edited by Martin Harry Greenberg, Richard Matheson, and Charles G. Waugh

Day 1-- Day 1 was my worst day, I only read 15 pages.

Day 2-- Day 2 has been my best day so far, I read 81 pages. The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories is an anthology/collection of short stories that episodes of the show were based on, and I enjoyed most of what I read on Day 2. This Anthology has just been a lot of fun so far.

Day 3-- Day 3 was just eehh. It was a weird day over all. It was the day after Election Day 2016 in America, and there was just this weird vibe everywhere. It's weird when a country is divided, so half of it is happy about who won, and the other half is acting like they are attending a funeral. I also think I could be getting sick/a cold, so I just didn't pick up my book that often to read. I read 37 pages on Day 3 and finished a short story that I had started on Day 2. It was good, pretty predictable, but I did like it.

This anthology clocks in at about 550 pages, and I'm getting close to having that 100 pages left to read mark. (I did start this before #BorrowAThon started, which is why I'm a good chunk of the way into it) So far, this anthology is going to get a good rating from me. It's very easy to read, which I like. I read for entertainment, so if it entertains me, I like it. Some people might argue that it's not the greatest bit of literary fiction, but who cares what they say. The Twilight Zone TV show is also very fun. For a show made in the 1960's, I think it still holds up. It's kind of amazing what they were able to do with the kind of technology that they had. If you have Netflix, you can watch a bunch of the original episodes.

So that's it for this Update on #BorrowAThon. We'll see how I do the rest of the week. I'm planning on posting a wrap-up detailing all my progress (or lack-there-of) when it has ended.

Review: The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury by Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga

Title: The Walking Dead: The Road to Woodbury (#2)

Authors: Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga

Published by: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press

Released: 2012

Source: Library

Summary: Lilly Caul has managed to survive the beginning stages of the zombie apocalypse. Living in a tent city of survivors, she befriends the gentle giant of Josh Lee Hamilton. When circumstances arise where they must leave the tent city, Josh, Lilly, an old army medic Bob, old highschool friend Megan, and a stoner named Scott start living out of a van, looking for a safe place to call home. 

When the weary party stumbles upon Woodbury, they are unsure of what they are walking into. Woodbury is a grim place, ruled by a man called The Governor. Lilly gets an unsettled feeling about the place, and would like to leave, but then circumstances arise in which Lilly must fight for what she believes in. 

This is the second book in a four book series (?) explaining the backstory of Phillip Blake, the man who became The Governor.

My Thoughts: This book was an okay read for me. I liked learning more about Woodbury and more about the Governor. This book does a good job of beginning to explain just what really drives the Governor and makes him tick.

One of my complaints in the first book about his dramatic life change were better explained in this second book, and while I still wish he had turned out differently, I do semi-understand how he got there.

There was tons of action, suspense, heartbreak, and zombie slaying in this book that was highly enjoyable.

Lilly, Josh, and Bob were nice, likable characters, and I wished for their endings to turn out differently.

One thing that surprised me was how dark Woodbury turned out to be. It wasn't the happy Woodbury displayed in the AMC Television series, but was a dark place, where people lived together, but didn't work together. Community and the common good were defeated by individual comfort and gain. I'm interested to see just how Woodbury grows and changes.

I'll definitely be picking up the third book to see how this series continues. I recommend this series to any Walking Dead fans who want a little extra information on various characters. Or for anyone who just wants a little zombie fun!

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

Welcome to Woodbury

I'm Gonna Do #BorrowAThon

I decided to participate in #BorrowAThon. It's kind of a last minute thing, but I'm okay with that. This readathon seems perfect for me. The goal is to read books that you have borrowed, whether that be from the library, friends, or family. It's kind of a readathon to stress that borrowed books are just as good as any other book. You don't have to go broke being a blogger/bookstagrammer/booktuber when you can go borrow books for the library for free.
Some of you may know that I have a deep and severe library addiction. My library card is always maxed out and I always have stuff on hold. I actually have a problem getting any of the books I've bought read, because I've got all these library books to read and return. I know it's a problem, but I love it.
I'm going to leave the twitter link for the #BorrowAThon and the announcement video on youtube.
#BorrowAThon goes from November 7 through November 14 and was created by Riley at rmfickfack on youtube.

Twitter Page: HERE

YouTube Announcement Video: RIGHT HERE

My Tentative TBR Plan

I don't live in la la fantasy land, so I know I'm not the fastest reader. Here's the books that I would like to get to during this #BorrowAThon, but I know that I won't finish them all. This is the DREAM PLAN!

  

  

-- The Twilight Zone: The Original Stories Edited by Greenburg, Matheson, and Waugh--

-- Ensnared (Splintered #2) by A.G. Howard--

--Buzz Kill by Beth Fantaskey--

--And The Trees Crept In by Dawn Kurtagich--

--Chew, Vol. 5: Major League (Chew #21-25) by Layman and Guillory--

--Gotham Academy, Vol. 2: Calamity (Gotham Academy #7-12) by Cloonan, Fletcher, and Kerschl

Those are my plans, lets see how I do! TBR is subject to change, just because I'm awful at sticking to things. I will also try to maybe do some type of update post (if I actually have anything relevant to make an update on) and a wrap-up to see how I did. Are you going to take part? Let me know if you do. Borrowing books is the best thing ever to me. There is nothing better than going into a library and coming out with a stack of books to read. Hopefully this #BorrowAThon will become a frequent thing. Wish me luck.

Reading Right Now! (90)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

-- The Hunt (The Cage #2) by Megan Shepherd-- As you may well be aware, I've pledged my love for Megan Shepherd's writing and my goal to read whatever it is she comes out with next. So far, I'm doing pretty good with that self pledge. I think I read The Cage sometime last year, thought it was weird, but I enjoyed it. This is the sequel to that, and I'm enjoying this one too, maybe even more than the first. It's so easy to get lost in Shepherd's writing and the weirdness of this plot. I'm on page 154, and I'd say 30% done. This is about kids that wake up one day in a strange world, and find themselves under the observation of strange creatures. I could give more away, but I won't.

This sequel has a little bit of Stranger Things vibes.

I plan on reading more of it this weekend, and hopefully finishing it. It's good. Megan Shepherd is awesome and very imaginative.

What I Hope To Read Next

-- Ensnared (Splintered #3) by A.G. Howard-- I don't know exactly if I'm looking forward to this one, it's more a case of I want to finish what I started. This series and I have a strained relationship. I hate Morpheus. Alyssa tends to annoy me. I also find it just too weird, this world that has been created. Now, I'm all for weird and strange, but there's a limit to how strange I will buy into. Sometimes I feel like this author tries too hard to make everything weird and different to the max. Like that person that has to add unnecessary glitter to everything, this author has to add unnecessary weirdness. 

So we'll see how I like this. After I finish this, I just have one more book in the series to go, that is kind of like a companion book.

Does anybody else have to finish a book series even though they haven't enjoyed what they've read of it so far, or am I just strange? I think I like to read it all just so I know I didn't judge it unfairly, gave it all the chances to impress me, or so I can see if it gets better along the way.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading?

Review: Death Note: Volume 6: Give-And-Take by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata

Title: Death Note: Volume 6: Give-And-Take

Story by: Tsugumi Ohba

Art by: Takeshi Obata

Published by: VIZ Media, LLC.

Released: 2006

Source: Library

Summary: Light and L are trying to figure out who the Kira is at the Yotsuba Group. Convoluted plans and over-thinking ensue.

My Thoughts: This wasn't the most exciting volume of the series so far. The ending was pretty intense, good, and oddly abrupt. The majority of this Volume was pretty slow, with all the scheming and plotting, but the ending was crazy intense. Not my favorite Volume of the series, but it wasn't my least favorite either.

I don't always get everything that's going on with L and Light. I'm not smart enough for Light and L's logic, over-thinking, scheming, and planning. I try to keep up, and then just end up getting very lost and confused. They are too smart for their own good.

With that ending, I definitely can't wait for the next Volume. Hopefully I'll be able to understand what's going on more, but that probably won't happen. This is definitely a manga series that I enjoy, and like reading.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

Intriguing