Dewey's 24-hour readathon - fall 2013

While I am not reviewing books any more and won't be any time soon, I still read. I have to say it feels so much more relaxing without having the pressure of reviewing everything I read. So I made the right choice :)
But I still like to participate in the readathon! Never heard of the 24-hour readathon? Click here for more info :)

Instead of having a whole pile, I just have these two books. I never finish more than 2 books anyway.
Besides I am not going in for the full 24 hours anyway. I have so many more things I feel like doing, haha. But I am looking forward to reading Alice. Can you believe I never read it before?

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Hour 1:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? 
From Nijmegen, the Netherlands
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? 
Alice in Wonderland. It was time I finally read it!
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
I have bought grapes, which I will dip in cream cheese!
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! 
This is the first readathon that I will attempt while having a dog!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
I won't read full time. I will keep this nice and simple. Haha. I will only read on Saturday probably. It is 2PM in the afternoon when we start. So I will just read for how long I feel like ;) I like the social aspect of the readathon best so I will check in to see the mini challenges :)

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Hour 2: Read 61 pages in Alice in Wonderland

Mini Challenge:
Choose a song that suits your reading :)

The Unbirthday song from Alice in Wonderland is suiting. No idea which version this is though, can't listen to it because my boyfriend has an important Skype meeting.
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Hour 5: Read until page 91 in Alice in Wonderland, had dinner and watched the first episode of Once Wonderland.
No mini challenges this round, because I am too lazy to puzzle, or do poetry atm ;)
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Hour 7: Finished Alice in Wonderland, but I am not really in the mood for starting my 2nd book. I picked a great day to be in a reading slump. But that is okay, as with all things lately. I just do things for relaxation as long as it feels like fun. So now going to watch TV ;)
And just now I realised why I am too restless to read.. I forgot to take my ADHD meds. Haha. Can't take them this late or else I can't sleep. Oh well ;)
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Hours 8 and beyond.
Watched TV, slept, did some baking this morning because I have a friend over later. So I did a lot, except reading. Yeah.... this is the least productive readathon I had like ever. But I am not going to feel bad about it. It is for relaxation and it is what it is.
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Updates will be here.

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Reading Round Up #2 - week 19

Last week I read 2 books but both I didn't finish. Mainly because they had to be back at the library and I couldn't renew them. Do you know those times when you have books on hold and none come through for weeks, and then suddenly they all came through at once? Well that is what happened here and I just couldn't keep up. Which books did I read?

First I read Everybody has Everything by Katrina Onstad. I came across this book on a blog, but I can't remember which one. Normally it wouldn't been have a book what I would have picked up, but the review sounded interesting and made me curious. Ana and James seem to have the perfect life but then their best friends have a car accident, leaving Marcus dead and Sarah in a coma. Unexpectedly they become the legal guardians of their 2.5 year old son Finn.

The book tells the story now, and sometimes in flashbacks of the past through memories. Both Ana and James have voices in the book. They switch regularly so you get both point of views. While James loves parenthood, and seems to do it all natural, it is more difficult for Ana. The book is mainly about her struggle and insecurity about parenthood, and the question if she wants to have children at all. The book is interesting enough, but sometimes a bit slow, yet I kept going back to it. I couldn't finish it fast enough though, and because the book is a bit predictable, I do not really mind. I would have finished it with enough time, but I don't think I will borrow it again just to finish it. Read more about it on Goodreads.

De Bijbel Voor Ongelovigen (the bible for non-believers) by Guus Kuijer, was one that I had on hold for a long while. The title says it all, it are the stories from the bible, told in such a way that people who wouldn't pick up a regular bible would read this. The book starts strong, the story of Adam and Eve is told in a humorous way, and I enjoyed it. There were discussions between Adam and God which had me laugh out loud. Sadly the humor didn't really last throughout the other stories. However I noticed that the stories are told in a modern way and there was room to criticize God, people did openly in the stories. Yet it is all done in a respectful way. There are persons in the book, who strongly believe in God and there are persons who questions them and that made a nice balance. It was also the cause of most conflicts in the book of course.

Why didn't I finish it? Again time plays a factor here. These aren't stories that I want to finish in on go. It is slow reading and that left me about half way in when I needed to return it. But what I read, I did enjoy. And because it are all separate stories, the chance is bigger that I will pick this one up again, if I come across it. Also more information about this book can be found on Goodreads.

Challenges: Library Challenge and Ik Lees Nederlands Challenge.
Currently I am reading The Handsmaid's Daughter. More on that next time :)

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Reading Roundup #1 - week 18

I am going to try something new on the blog. A new way of writing reviews. Shorter and easier to get myself writing again on something bookish, I hope. In these posts I will write about what I have read in the past week. Some weeks there won't be a post because I might not have been reading. Let's see if a shorter format will work for me. And who knows, if it does, I might even be able to post about some books I read but haven't written about yet.

In the past week I have read 2 books. Both are Dutch covers from my library books.

The first book is Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi. It is the 2nd part in a Dystopia series. The sky is full of lightning storms which makes it dangerous to live outside. So there are people who live in giant domes and they spend their life in a virtual reality, and live mostly online lives. For the people who live outside, life is harsh. In the first book we get to know Aria, who lives in a dome and Perry who lives outside. I found the first book in this series very strong, and was looking forward to reading this book. It didn't disappoint. Aria and Perry are both strong characters and both of their stories are interesting ones. I often dislike a book that tells stories from 2 views because usually one story is a stronger one than the other. But that is not the case with this book. I know I keep things kind of vague, but I don't want to give too much away. I can say that this book doesn't have the 2nd book syndrome and the story is packed with action and keeps moving forward. Look at goodreads for all the info on this book.

Openhartig is a true story (Dutch only) about living with a serious heart condition. Fighting to get the right treatment, even going abroad to America to do so and raise money to make it possible, are the big themes in this book. However, they are switched up with fragments of day to day life. How to raise a son with this disease and how it effects him when he grows older. This book is one with highs and lows, even people who destroy her disability car, but it is mainly upbeat but without withholding the frustrations and the many difficulties that come with such a disease. It left quite an impression on me. For the Dutch readers: this book is also on Goodreads.

Challenges these books are part of are the Library challenge, wishlist challenge and ik lees Nederlands (I read Dutch) challenge.

Currently I am reading: the bible for non-believers, a Dutch book. And the perks of being a wallflower. Both aren't really pulling me in yet. But who knows :)

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Boekrecensie: Alles wat er was door Hanna Bervoets

This book review will be written in Dutch. Sorry to my non-Dutch readers

Titel: Alles wat er was
Auteur: Hanna Bervoets
Genre: Dystopie
Uitgever: Atlas Contact
Verschenen: Januari 2013
Aantal pagina's: 284 pagina's
Ik kreeg dit boek: van de uitgever in ruil voor een eerlijke recensie.

Samenvatting:
Van Goodreads:
"Acht mensen komen op een zondag in een schoolgebouw samen voor de opnamen van een wetenschapsprogramma. Maar die worden nooit gemaakt. Want plotseling klinkt er een knal. Op bevel van de autoriteiten gaan ramen, deuren en gordijnen dicht. En ze blijven dicht. Eerst dagen, dan weken. Door de ogen van tv-redactrice Merel zien we hoe de groep probeert zich staande te houden in een nieuwe wereld. Een wereld van duisternis en isolatie. Van slapen op een gymmat en tien korrels rijst per dag. Naarmate de voedsel voorraden verder slinken, lopen de spanningen tussen de schoolbewoners steeds hoger op. Als alles wat er was er niet meer is, wat is dan nog de waarde van liefde, loyaliteit en vriendschap?"

Persoonlijke mening:
Dit boek sprak me meteen aan toen ik de beschrijving las en ik wist bijna zeker dat ik het boek zou kunnen waarderen. Het verhaal is geschreven in een soort van dagboekvorm en begint niet in het begin van het verhaal, maar op dag 91 na de knal. Boven ieder nieuw hoofdstuk staat welke dag het is. Het verhaal wordt niet altijd chronologisch verteld maar ik vond het zelf niet verwarrend. In de dagen die verder in de toekomst liggen wordt niet te veel weggegeven maar genoeg om nieuwsgierig te maken.

In het begin van de dagen is het natuurlijk behelpen maar alles gaat naar omstandigheden redelijk. Er gebeurt qua plot in de eerste helft nog niet heel veel maar als lezer krijg je veel informatie over de groepsdynamiek en de onderlinge verhoudingen tussen de mensen. Het boek zorgt voor een mooie opbouw voor de plotselinge gebeurtenissen later in het boek waarin alles in een stroomversnelling komt. Wat ik vooral goed vond aan dit boek waren de onverwachtse en schokkende wendingen die ik dus echt niet aan zag komen. Ik zal natuurlijk niet te veel over het einde verklappen, maar het gaf zeker stof tot nadenken en liet me vrij ondersteboven achter. Een klein minpunt vond ik wel dat je niks te weten krijgt over de oorzaak van de knal en de wereld buiten het schoolgebouw, daar was ik eigenlijk wel nieuwsgierig naar. Maar afgezien van dat vond ik het een heel goed boek!

Aanschaf link: Bol
Uitdaging: Ik Lees Nederlands
Andere recensies: De Boekblogger,

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Joining some more challenges!

I know, I know. I already signed up for several reading challenges and I really don't need many more. However I have two challenges that I am joining. One is only for this month and the other one is the library challenge I was looking for!

First off is another round of Pin it and do it hosted by Trish of Love Laughter and a Touch of Insanity. There isn't an official sign up post but you can join in an link up any finished project you have done.
I will be aiming to complete at least 4 pins for the level of Pinterested.

A Library Reading Challenge is hosted by Gina from the Book Dragons Lair. I am joining because I do already read a lot from the library and I want to continue doing so. I will be signing up for the middle grade level of 18 library books. I might read more, but I can move up, just not down. For the rules and to sign up, please follow the link above.

Will you be joining any of these challenges? 

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Double Library Loot

I am reading farily slow atm, but I need to step up my game because those library books don't wait ;) here is a double batch from December and January.

Books I got in December are: Zoet als zure kersen (sweet like sour cherries) from Claudia Schreiber, a German author, but I read the Dutch translation. I enjoyed the book and I will review it eventually ;)
The middle book is Grenzeloos by Kim Moelands. It is non-fiction about a woman who has a lung disease. I read the frist book a few years back and this is how she went on after that. I am reading it for the Dutch reading challenge, but I haven't started yet.
The bottom one is The Future of Us by Jay Asher. I already returned it and it is one of my DNF books, unfortunately.

And here is my loot for January.
Margot by Sophie Zijlstra. We all know Anne Frank, from the 2nd world war, but this book is from the perspective of her sister Margot. Also for the Dutch reading challenge.
Paaz from Myrthe v/d Meer is another non-fiction book about a woman who has to stay at a psychiatrist ward and her experiences. I heard good things about it, so I picked it up. Also for the Dutch reading challenge.
And the last one I finished last night. It is Thirteen reasons why by Jay Asher. And unlike the Future of Us, I liked this book very much. It is about peer pressure in high school and how seemingly small actions can have a snowball effect on the life of students. A very well written book. I read it for my wishlist challenge.

And because I am reading slow and the library books have a due date, I haven't hardly used my e-reader yet :(

Have you picked up any books from the library lately?

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Reading Challenges 2013

I know I need to do wrap up posts from several 2012 challenges, but that doesn't stop me from signing up for new challenges in 2013.

First I host the Wishlist Challenge 2013. Read 12 books of your pre 2013 wishlist, one for each month. I have written a seperate entry about that and you can read it here.

I will join the Foodies Reading Challenge once more, Because it also allows cookbooks, I always find it a fun challenge. I will be doing the Chef du Cuisine level - 14 to 18 books. This year the Foodie Reading Challenge can be found on it's own page.

A new challenge I will be joining is the Ik lees Nederlands Challenge, hosted by Judith on her Dutch blog De Boekblogger. The goal is to read books from Dutch authors. So far most Dutch authors I know, I find longwinding. It must be the last remaining part of the dislike for reading I had while in high school. They really kill every love for reading in there by forcing you to read all these boring books and in my case mainly by Dutch authors. I thought long and hard about joining this challenge, but I decided to give it a go and see if I can change my mind about Dutch authors. I am in doubt about reading 5 or 10 books. I actually have some Dutch books on hold at the library and I can make it to 6 books ;) So I guess I will be aiming for 10, which is the Stroopwafel level.

And finally I will join the 2013 ebook challenge at Workaday Reads. Because I now have a Kobo Touch eReader, I can actually read ebooks in a relaxing way. I will sign up for the CD level, this means 10 ebooks. This doesn't sound like much but the next level is 25 ebooks. And I think that is too much.

I am not signing up for another dystopia challenge like last year. I thought it was fun, but now I want to spread my genres more. I also won't sign up for the what's in a name challenge. Again, very fun! But I need to limit the amount of challenges I do, or else I will not ending up completing any at all.

However I am still looking for a library reading challenge!

Which reading challenges did you join?

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Book Review: The Boy Who Could See Demons

Title: The Boy Who Could See Demons
Author: Carolyn Jess-Cooke
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Subject: Mental Illness, Family, Ireland
Publisher: Little Brown
Release date: May 2012
Length: 400 pages
I got this book: Borrowed it from the library

Summary:
From Goodreads:
""I first met my demon the morning that Mum said Dad had gone."
Alex Broccoli is ten years old, likes onions on toast, and can balance on the back legs of his chair for fourteen minutes. His best friend is a 9000-year-old demon called Ruen. When his depressive mother attempts suicide yet again, Alex meets child psychiatrist Anya. Still bearing the scars of her own daughter's battle with schizophrenia, Anya fears for Alex's mental health and attempts to convince him that Ruen doesn't exist. But as she runs out of medical proof for many of Alex's claims, she is faced with a question: does Alex suffer from schizophrenia, or can he really see demons?"

Personal opinion:
This book came to my attention because the Dutch translation of the book was released recently. I was happy that they had the book in English though. It took me a few weeks to finish this one because in the beginning, the book was fairly slow. It isn't an easy read so I took my time. Often I don't like books that are told from various viewpoints, but in this book it was done really well. Both viewpoints were interesting and I also liked the fact that I got to read about the same event from both Alex and Anya. The 2nd half of the book was more fast paced and I actually was able to finish that in one night. The events that happen near the end of the book were shocking and I kind of saw them coming, but also not. It is kind of hard to explain. The brilliance of the book to me is that even at the end, there are still some questions unanswered. There are still things about all of it, that are unexplained. This could have bothered me but it does fit the theme of the book. If you like psychological books, then this is certainly a book you want to read.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: none
Other reviews: De Boekblogger (Dutch),
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

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Book Review: The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Title: The Snow Child
Author: Eowyn Ivey
Genre: Magical Realism
Subject: Fairy tale, family, grief
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Release date: February 2012
Length: 389 pages
I got this book: Borrowed it from the library

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them."

Personal opinion:
I heard good things about this book and I love to read in the magical realism genre, so I picked it up. I am so glad I did because this is the perfect book to read now the days are growing colder. I loved how the magical elements are intertwined within a very realistic story of survival. The writer has spend a lot of time on the way the characters develop and each and every character brings something new and valuable to the story. I learned from Gnoe that even the names of the characters have meanings, and that brings a whole deeper layer to the story. The ending was bitter-sweet, but fitting. I would recommend this book to almost anyone, but especially if you are into fairy tale retellings and symbolism, you will probably enjoy this book as much as I did.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: none
Other reviews: Rhapsody in Books,
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

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Wishlist Challenge 2013

Last year the Wishlist Challenge was hosted by Judith at Leeswammes. I had so much fun with the 2012 edition that gave me that extra push to allow me to read books that I actually wanted to read for a while. This year Judith asked me if I wanted to organise it, so here it is! Thank you Judith!

Here is the challenge (shameless copy-paste from last year):

Read 12 books (one for every month of the year) that you would like to read, but don’t already have on your shelves. 

Rules:
1. The challenge runs from January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2013.

2. You are to read 12 books from your current wishlist. If you don’t have a list anywhere, write down books that you are eager to read, that you don’t own yet, and choose 12 books off that list.

3. If you can’t find a book that’s on your wishlist (your library doesn’t have it, or you don’t want/can’t buy it) then you can use another book. But: you are not allowed to include any NEWLY added books for this challenge. So, whatever your list is now, that’s it. I.e. you can’t read amazing things about a book on someone else’s blog, decide you want to read it, then read it for the Wishlist Challenge. The opposite is true: you want to read something for the Wishlist Challenge, so you go to your wishlist, find a book that was on that wishlist before January 1st, 2013, and read it for the challenge.

4. You can overlap with other challenges, as long as you read books that were on your wishlist before January 1st, 2013.

5. Sign up here by leaving a comment with a link to your announcement post for this challenge.

6. When you’ve read your 12 books, come back here and leave a comment with a link to your final post about the challenge. Make sure you’ve done this by January 15th, 2014.

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Okay so here is my own list for now. But I know myself, I will switch it up ;) My books come from my Wishlist on Goodreads (which currently has 250 books on it!).

1. Unravel me - Tahereh Mafi
2. Reached - Ally Condie
3. The Kitchen House - Kathleen Grissom - Read
4. Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher - Read
5. Insurgent - Veronica Roth
6. Whats Left of Me - Kat Zhang
7. Across the Universe - Beth Revis - Currently Reading
8. Through the Ever Night - Veronica Rossi - Read
9. Requiem - Lauren Oliver
10. Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
11. Kobato vol. 5 - CLAMP
12. Kobato vol. 6 - CLAMP

There is an overkill of dystopia on here, I know. But I started a lot of series in 2012 and I really want to read the sequels or finish the series this year. Same goes for Kobato, which is manga. Those are the last two of the series :) I might use this month to add Dutch books from another wishlist on my phone, but for now this is it.

I hope everyone will have a lot of fun with the challenge :) I am looking forwards to seeing your lists!

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Book Review: Bluff by Lenore Skomal

Title: Bluff
Author: Lenore Skomal
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Subject: Coma, friendship, family.
Publisher: Lenore Skomal Press
Release date: October, 2012
Length: Not sure, had the Kindle edition
I got this book: offered to read as a part of a bookclub event

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"Jude Black lives in that in-between, twilight place teetering on death but clinging to life in order to bring her baby into this world. Only she knows the circumstances surrounding her mysterious fall off the bluff that landed her in the hospital being kept alive by medical intervention. Only she knows who the father of her baby is. In this poignantly crafted literary novel, the mystery unfolds and the suspense builds as the consequences of Jude’s decisions threaten to reveal everyone's deceptions, even her own. Bluff offers a sensitive look at essential questions such as the value of human life, the consciousness of those in a coma and the morality of terminating life support. At the core is the story of a tragically misunderstood woman who finds peace, acceptance, understanding and even love on her deathbed."

Personal opinion:
I picked this book because I normally enjoy books about people with illnesses, mainly to get an idea of what would be going on in a persons mind. I hoped that the reader would get a story where Jude would be the main voice. Unfortunately this is not the case. The book keeps switching viewpoints with almost each chapter. I could live with this if it were viewpoints from 2 or 3 persons. But I counted 7 before I gave up on the book and in my opinion this is just too many. I enjoyed certain characters like Jude's best friend Frances and Jude's sister. But the viewpoints of the detective, Frances' husband Hank and a nurse from the hospital, I couldn't care less about. When the next chapter started with yet another character, Jude's doctor, I threw in the towel. The main problem what I had was that, even though all the persons knew Jude one way or another, it was too much about themselves and their mid-life crisises. It seems that every character in the book seemed to suffer from one. Anyway, the story has some good elements and I liked the parts that were about Jude, but there is too much on the side, that to me didn't feel as relevant to the story. However if you haven't got a problem with viewpoints from many characters, this could be a good book, because the elements of a decent plot are surely there.

Purchase links: Amazon
Challenges: none
Other reviews: none yet
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

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Book Review: Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

Title: Sisters in Sanity
Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: YA
Subject: Mental Institutions
Publisher: Harper Teens
Release date: August 2007
Length: 304 pages
I got this book: borrowed it from the library

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"Have you ever had the "out-of-control" dream? The one where you know you're not crazy, but no one around you--not your parents, not your teachers, not even the authorities--will listen to you? For sixteen-year-old Brit Hemphill, the out-of-control dream comes true when her dad enrolls her at Red Rock, a bogus treatment center that claims to cure rebellious teen girls. At Red Rock, Brit is forced into therapy, and her only hope of getting her life back is in the hands of an underqualified staff of counselors. Brit's dad thinks Red Rock can save her, but the truth is it's doing more harm than good.

No girl could survive Red Rock alone--but at a treatment center where you earn privileges for ratting out your peers, it's hard to know who you can trust. For Brit, everything changes when she meets V, Bebe, Martha, and Cassie, four girls who keep her from going over the edge. Together they'll hold on to their sanity and their sisterhood while trying to keep their Red Rock reality from becoming a full-on nightmare."

Personal opinion:
I picked this up because I really enjoyed If I Stay and Where She Went from the same author and the subject seemed interesting. I liked Brits character. She wasn't that much of a rebel but she was a teenager who was missing her mother. Another good point was how Brit still managed to stay herself in spite of everything that happened. On the other hand, I did expect a more compelling read. Not that the things that happen weren't bad enough, but it just missed some tension to me. Other than that, I enjoyed reading the book. It has a good story, great character development and a rather original subject.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: none
Other reviews: The Readventurer,
By the same author: If I Stay, Where She Went.
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

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Book Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Title: Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Genre: YA, Dystopia, Mystery
Subject: Body Swapping, Family
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Release date: March 2012
Length: 352 pages
I got this book: borrowed it from the library

Summary:
From Goodreads:
"Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . ."

Personal opinion:
I wouldn't have picked up this book based on it's cover, because the cover kind of creeps me out. But the story sounded interesting enough for a good read. It kind of reminded me of the television series Dollhouse, which I enjoyed watching. Callie is a likable character. She is smart and determined to do what she thinks is right. I liked the action in the book, the twists in the story and how Callie handles everything she get thrown at her. There is also a romance going on, but none of it was sappy and unlike a lot of romance elements that are often just thrown in for the heck of it, I found that this actually added something to the story. The book is a refreshing read, not that predictable and I am curious how the story will continue.

Purchase links: The Book Depository
Challenges: Dystopia Challenge
Other reviews: Books and Movies, Anna reads,
If you have reviewed this book and want your link here, please leave a comment with the link, and I will add it :)

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Where in the world are you reading November

Where in the World Are You Reading is a monthly themed meme cohosted by Kailana, Lisa, and Trish. A Linky Post will publish the first Thursday of each month, and you can submit your post (as many as you want!) any time before the last Thursday in order to be included in the monthly wrap-up post. Look for more info here.

I actually wanted to join in for a while, but somehow I kept forgetting. The theme for November is who in the world are you reading with, hosted by Kailana. I found out rather late about this months theme but I thought it was too good to pass up.

I have 4 reading companions and all though they are mostly just on my lap or near me, sometimes they obstruct my reading ;)

 Like when reading a magazine in bed,

Or when I am doing homework,

 Or just because they can.

You shall not learn, you shall pet me.

Access Denied!

From 2000 pics on my iPhone, I only found 5 with cats on my books. And cat number 4 is nowhere to be found. Of course I do have a lot of cats on my lap pics while I am reading, but those weren't nearly as fun ;)

If you want in on the meme, you can still do so until next Thursday.

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Wishlist Challenge Wrap Up post

I participated in the Wishlist Challenge hosted by Leeswammes this year. Where the goal was to read 1 book each month from your wishlist (12 for the year).

My original list was this one:

1) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Read & Reviewed
2) The Kitchen Daughter by Jeal McHenry - Read & Reviewed
3) Crossed by Ally Condie - Read & Reviewed
4) Among Others by Jo Walton - Chose as prize from bloggiesta
5) Eve by Anna Carey - Read & Reviewed
6) When She Woke by Hillary Jordan - Read & Reviewed
7) Miles from Ordinary by Carol Lynch Williams
8) Orchards by Holly Thompson - Bought
9) Bitter Melon by Cara Chow
10) Season to Taste by Molly Birnbaum
11) Chi's Sweet Home vol.3 by Kanata Konami - Read & Reviewed
12) With the Light vol.5 by Keiko Tobe

As you can see I have finished 6 books of my orignal list. 2 of them I actually own, but I haven't read yet. (there is still time!) and the other 4 I wasn't able to get because they weren't at the library and too expensive to buy. (I don't buy that many books). Luckily you were allowed to use your whole wishlist as long as it was from before 2012 and I made a list of reserves. So lets see if I made 12 books!

1) Where She Went by Gayle Forman - Read & Reviewed
2) Left Neglected by Lisa Genova - Read & Reviewed
3) Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson - Read (dnf) & Reviewed
4) Chocolat by Joanne Harris - Read (review to come)
5) Kobato vol 3 by CLAMP - Read (review to come)
6) Kobato vol 4 by CLAMP - Read (review to come)

I barely managed to finish but I did it! To me the key was to set up a selection of my wishlist on the blog and choose from there mainly but not stick to it if you can't make it and switch in other books from your larger wishlist. It does help that my wishlist is huge! My current new wishlist is around 250 books ;) All though I plan to sort it out and see if I still actually want to read all those books ;) It also helped me to read a lot of those books in the beginning of the year when your choices are still new and fresh :)

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