Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up

My goal for the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon was very simple. I wanted to read four books in one week. I started off strong as usual and slowly waned by the challenge's end. Overall, I finished two books and started one more reading about half-way through before I put it down.

My first book that I picked up was Corregidora by Gayl Jones, which was one of my African-American/African book selections for the week. I got about 50-54% done with this book before I was notified that Wonder by R.J. Palacio was available for me to download from the library. Currently,  I have 94 pages before I am done with Jones' book.

I picked up Wonder by R.J Palacio from my library's eBook collection since I had seen so many BookTubers haul this book. I absolutely adored this story and have added it to my favorites of 2013 list. I plan to review this book very soon.

Next, I read Heist Society by Ally Carter, which I got in eBook form as well. I personally expected a bit more than I actually got from this book. It was a good read, but not a great one. I will be doing a series review for this book along with its two companions so I won't have an actual review for at least another month.

Other books that I picked up last week included: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamed, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, Our Souls To Keep by Gary A Caruso, and Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter, which is the second book in the Heist Society series.

Sweet Redemption: Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon

After my last disastrous results with the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon, I feel that I need to redeem myself. Therefore, I have decided to partake in the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon book challenge. 

The Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon is a time when the book community gets together to dedicate the days of June 7-14 to getting as much reading done as possible. Each participant reads as much as they can in order to get themselves through their TBR piles or just for the sheer enjoyment of reading. Of course, we all know that real life gets in the way of reading, but that shouldn't stop anybody from participating. Everybody should read as much as they can.

In the meanwhile, the sponsers of the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon will be hosting book-related challenges where participants can win cool prizes through participating in a Twitter party and using the hashtag #WWReadathon! You can posts updates on your blog, Twitter, Goodreads or Facebook — as long as the profile is public and your reading progress can be seen.

Since my last go-round in the Bout of Books book challenge, I hav elearned that I don't necessarily know how to stick with a TBR pile therefore, I shall now only set myself a number goal of four books. Also, I will review all books after June 14 so, I can read as much as possible. I hope you all are getting lots of reading done. New reviews are coming tomorrow.

Cheers!

Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 7.0 Wrap-Up

This week has been pure CHAOS!

I knew going into this Read-A-Thon that I would not be able to read a huge amount of books. Yet, I did want to try to accomplish reading at least five books by the end of the challenge. Starting my week off with a bang, I finished The DUFF by Kody Keplinger on Monday and promptly reviewed it. Sadly, this was my only reading accomplishment for the week.

Set to read four more books, my plans were interrupted by life, school, and fate. Deaths in my extended family and friend circle along with an airline screw up that landed me in the middle of nowhere and caused me and my family to scramble to drive hours out of our way caused me to put reading on hold. Add to this the fact that I suffered from the minor hiccup of falling into a reading slump on Wednesday and you can see why I was unable to read as much as I wanted.

Yet, with all the bad events that happened, I did end up being able to tick two major accomplishments off my list. I would like to proudly announce that I now hold a Masters from Carnegie Mellon's Literary and Cultural Studies Program. Also, I have successfully spent a year living alone without a roommate in a city that I had never visited before August of last year....and yes I am aware that I have packaged this blog as a book and movie review website HOWEVER, I am sooo excited about these two things I just had to shout them from the heavens \(^0^)/....even in cyber space

Even though I haven't finished any other books this week, I have started Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This book so far has been overwhelmingly good. I've always enjoyed Adichie's writing style, but this book is just beyond what I expected. The subject content covers everything from childhood love to feminism to issues that immigrants in America face daily. Not to mention the book is a blend of chick lit and serious literature. I seriously can't wait to review this book. I would definitely recommend that anyone who can to get this book you most definitely won't regret this choice.

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-A-Thon Progress For Last THREE Days

My reading progress has recently been tapered by two events, one foreseen and one unforeseen.

In a previous post, I stated that I would be graduating this week and that my chances to read would be lessened by the arrival of my family. True to form, this hypothesis came to fruition and I was unable to fully sit down and focus enough to read. Add to this the fact that I fell into a random reading slump and these last couple of days have been the pits.

I first started off Tuesday trying to finish Divorce Islamic Style since I only had about 80 pages to go, but I was unable to do so due to my growing resentment at one of the characters constant berating of others who were not Muslim in each of her chapters. After this, I tried to read The Golem and the Jinni, but couldn't really get in sync with the plot enough to become invested in the book. Finally, I decided to just give up all reading and spend time packing my apartment and picking my family up at the airport. Once all this was done I figured maybe it wasn't really an actual slump I was in, but the choice of books I was reading that was leading me to want to stop reading.

With this realization, I decided to switch up my TBR list for the Read-A-Thon and put aside Divorce Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  instead. Boy! Was this THE best thing that I could've done. I recently had to reread Adichie's Purple Hibiscus for my Global Literature class and was excited to learn that this author was set to release another novel this year.
Islamic Style and The Golem and the Jinni and read Americanah by

Americanah is a book about two individuals, Ifemelu, a Nigerian blogger who has lived in America for thirteen years after immigrating and Obinze, a wealthy Nigerian business man who still lives in Nigeria. As adolescents, Ifemelu and Obinze were sweethearts. Attending secondary school and university together, the two believed that they would one day get married. However, this does not happen and eventually the two lose contact with each other and start separate lives. Set to return home to Nigeria after her hiatus in America, Ifemelu decides to reconnect with Obinze. Unfortunately, he is married now and this is a tad bit problematic. The overall novel follows the two lovers as they fall in love as children and later cross paths as adults.

I'm really enjoying Adichie's book thus far and can't wait to review it. Hopefully, I will finish it by Sunday. Since I fell so far behind in my reading schedule, I think that I will knock a book off my overall Read-A-Thon goal and just aim for finishing four by Sunday.

I hope everybody else is making great strides in their TBR/Read-A-Thon goals. Happy Reading!

TBR List For Read-A-Thon:

1. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

2. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

3. So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba

4. Where'd You Go Bernedette by Maria Semple

5. I've Got Your Number by  Sophie Kinsella*

Overall Progress:

Number of Books I've read Finished: 1

Book Goal :4

Total Number of Pages I've Read Tuesday: 10

Total Number of Pages I've Read Wednesday: 25

Total Number of Pages I've Read Thursday: 89

 *Random Quick Read

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-A-Thon Progress #1

I'm excited to announce that I have finished one book off my list and am waaaay ahead of schedule for my five book reading goal for this week. I put a book review for The DUFF by Kody Keplinger earlier and will be continuing to read and report as the week goes on.

Cheers!

TBR List For Read-A-Thon:

1. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

2. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

3. So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba

4. Where'd You Go Bernedette by Maria Semple

5. Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lokhous 

Overall Progress:

Number of books I've read today: 1
Total number of books I've read: 1
Books: 5

Book Spine Poetry Challenge (Bout of Books 7.0)

Today marks the ooficial start of Bout of Books' Read-A-Thon! The first Challenge is the Book Spine Poetry contest held by Escape Through The Pages. Here is my first attempt at book spine poetry:

In the land of Invisible Women 

The Duff 

Maps 

What Is The What 

The Whole Story of Half A Girl 

Ruby Red

(and) WICKED

(...a) desert flower

*words in parentheses were added.

Hope you all enjoyed my novice attempt at poetry (^_^).

Cheers!

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger Book Review

 I gave this book 5 stars.

Kody Keplinger's novel, The DUFF is the type of book you could read at any age and connect to. The main character, Bianca is a tough as nails girl who's heart has been hardened by the pains of love. Adamant about never falling in love again, she chooses to enter into an "enemies with benefits" relationship with Wesley, the notorious womanizer of her high school who has problems of his own. Together the two teenagers work through their problems in the form of..ahem...advanced cardio for the grown and sexy. <spoiler>However,  even with their preconceived rules of "no feelings" being involved, Bianca and Wesley learn the hard way that love can infiltrate your heart when you least expect it no matter how hard you plan.</spoiler>

Keplinger's characters are well developed and likable. Even though Bianca does come off as cynical at times, the reader gets shown that her feelings of anger and frustration are justified. The way that this character antagonizes over being "the duff" a.k.a the designated ugly fat friend, is something that is especially well portrayed by the author and made into a relatable point for anyone who chooses to read this book due to the fact that most people have felt like the dud of their circle of friends at one point of their life or another.

On the flip side, Wesley's character while clearly placed into the cliched role of being resident bad boy is endearing opposed to annoying. Even when he makes Bianca feel ashamed of herself by calling her the duff, it's apparent that his character is battling his own set of demons and does so only as a knee-jerk reaction to his pain.

Keplinger's choice to use cliched roles in her work is balanced off by the fact that her storyline is solid. Never does the reader feel as if they are being rushed off into a tidy conclusion. Instead, the author paces the story so that her audience can get the full benefit of watching the character's lives come undone and then slowly pieced back together again. Both Bianca and Wesley's character are funny, interesting, and sarcastic enough to keep readers entertained and willing to stick wound to finish Keplinger's story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a good chick-lit book or who just loves a good novel about bad boys and strong opinionated female leads. Yet, I would caution against letting younger readers begin this book being that it is meant for a <b>mature</b> audience due to explicit sex scenes throughout the novel.

Sweet Sweet Freedom/Bout of Books Reading Goals

I am happy to announce that....I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY FIRST YEAR OF GRAD SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!...insert ecstatic shouts of joy here and an uncoordinated impromptu break dance.... I would like to thank all my followers who were patient with my inconsistencies in posting as I wrapped up my school work. I greatly appreciate all of your support in this part of my educational journey and promise to give my all to blogging now that school's out.

Now....

Since I am currently participating in the Bout of Books Book-A-Thon and want to read a little bit everyday, I thought it would be nice to have written goals set for what books I want to finish this week. I haven't exactly set up an exact list of books that I want to get read this week, but I do have a few books that I want to read for this month in general. These books include:



The Duff by Kody Keplinger: This is a book about a girl named, Bianca Piper who is seventeen and designated as the "ugly, fat friend" in her circle by her local high school jerk-wad, Wesley. The story basically follows Bianca as she embarks into a love/hate relationship with Wesley as she seeks comfort from personal drama in her life. This book is really popular amongst the BookTube community and comes highly recommended so, I'm excited to read it.



The Golem And The Jinni by Helene Wecker: Wecker's books is one that I picked up from my local bookstore and it seems to be a part-fairy tale/part-immigration story. The Golem is a mystical Jewish creature that comes from clay and in this story happens to take the form of a woman named Chava. Likewise, the Jinni is an Arabic mythological creature that is a well known figure in literature (think Gene from Aladdin). In Wecker's novel, the Jinni is named Ahmad. From the blurb, it would seem that Chava and Ahmad meet and fall in love. I've been looking forward to this novel as well so I'm pretty stocked to have a go at it.



Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: I recently put this book into my TBR pile for April and was unable to start it do to time constraints and paper deadlines for school however, I reaaally want to start this book this week. The story line is well known throughout the BookTube community, but basically, Bernadette is a woman that goes missing on a family vacation and it is left up to her daughter, Bee to find her. Using clues that her mother left behind, Bee  sets out to find her mother.




So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba: This book is a book that I anticipated reading for my Global Literature class, but never got around to doing so. The story follows Ramatoulaye, a Senegalese woman whose husband takes a second wife and subsequently leaves her and her children to fend for themselves. The story is written in a letter/diary form and is short (about 90 pages). Issues that are prevalent in the novel include adultery, betrayal, and social issues that come from polygamous marriages.



Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lakhous: I picked this book up on a whim from the library. The story follows Christian, a man who is skilled in acquiring languages and is therefore chosen to infiltrate a supposed ring of Muslim terrorist in Rome, Italy. Christian is forced to change his name and his identity and become a part of this group to determine who is the ring leader. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with Safia, a married Egyptian immigrant who is unhappy in her marriage and with the lack of chances that she as a Muslim woman has in general.




Hopefully, I can finish these five novels by NEXT Sunday. I'm really excited for the Bout of Books Book-A-Thon book challenge since this is going to be my first one. I hope everyone is doing well and making massive strides in their TBR piles.

Happy Reading,

Cheers!

I'm Officially Free!...Come Friday

I'm in the final home stretch for my first year of Graduate School and I am Über pumped for the freedom that's going to come from submitting my last paper this Friday. With all my new found free time, I have decided to enter into the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon.

The Bout of Books Read-a-Thon is described as:

The Bout 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

For this challenge, I want to read at least 10 books 5 books. I'm setting my aim pretty low since next week is my school's graduation ceremony and my family is coming to visit  and I don't want to be reading while I should be "socializing"...LOL I'm not really a big socializer especially, when I feel like my time could be better used reading however, I mustn't be rude so I will choose to finish five books by May 19, 2013. I'll have to come up with which books I'm going to read later. For now, I'll just focus on this final paper. (^_^)

Cheers!