Start time: 8 am EST

Check-in and progress:

I started A POUND OF FLESH earlier in the week and plan on finishing it today.
8 am: Starting on page 308
11 am Update: Am now on page 370. So as not to feel guilty, since there are some household chores that need to be done, I have taken a couple of breaks to do laundry. It is such a beautiful Fall day, here in RI, I think I will go on the deck and read until my next update.
1:30 pm Finished reading A POUND OF FLESH. 5 stars. Review to be written and posted in the near future.

1:45 pm Starting SOMETIMES I LIE by Alice Feeney
8 pm: I read for 12 hours but had to stop due to eye strain. However, it felt good to immerse myself in reading for the day.

I have been so busy lately that I have not been reading as much as I would like to. Plus I have so many books in my TBR pile, that I have been so frustrated, that I haven’t gotten to them YET! I knew Dewey’s Read-A-Thon was coming up, and am so glad that I didn’t miss it. IT’S TOMORROW!! Care to join? There is still time….you can sign up HERE.

I really should be doing my Fall cleaning, however, there are priorities in life, and me reading is right there on the top!! So I’m in!!

I will be checking in when I need a little break. You can see how I’m doing HERE.

DAILY POSTINGS BELOW

This is a STICKY POST

Progress Report for A #SpringHorrorRAT hosted by Michelle @ Seasons of Reading

04/17 Monday
Book: GLASGOW KISS by Alex Gray
Pages read: 25%
04/18 Tuesday
Book: GLASGOW KISS by Alex Gray
Pages read: 0 🙁
04/19 Wednesday
Book: GLASGOW KISS by Alex Gray
Pages read: 23%
04/20 Thursday
Book: GLASGOW KISS by Alex Gray
Pages read: 5%
04/21 Friday
Book: GLASGOW KISS by Alex Gray
Pages read: 10%
04/22 Saturday
Book: GLASGOW KISS by Alex Gray
Pages read: Finished Pgs read 384
04/23 Sunday
Book: PRACTICING NORMAL by Cara Sue Achterberg
Pages read: 174
04/24 Monday
Book(s): PRACTICING NORMAL by Cara Sue Achterberg
Total pages read: 21
04/25 Tuesday
Book: PRACTICING NORMAL by Cara Sue Achterberg
Pages read: 40
04/26 Wednesday
Book: PRACTICING NORMAL by Cara Sue Achterberg
Pages read: Finished
01/26 Thursday
Book:
Pages read: 0
04/28 Friday
Book: FORBIDDEN by Feather Stone
Pages read: 22%
04/29 Saturday
Book: FORBIDDEN by Feather Stone
Pages read: 39%
04/30 Sunday
Book: FORBIDDEN by Feather Stone
Pages read: 43%
05/01 Monday
Wrap up/Link up
Books Read:
GLASGOW KISS by Alex Gray
PRACTICING NORMAL by Cara Sue Achterberg
FORBIDDEN by Feather Stone 82%

Progress Report for A #Dewey’s24hourRead-A-Thon hosted by Dewey’s 24 hour Read-A-Thon @ Dewey’s 24 hour Read-A-Thon April 29th thru 30th

Unfortunately, life interfered with my plans for reading during this Read-A-Thon.
Saturday 1:30 pm to 2: am: FORBIDDEN by Feather Stone
Sunday:
FORBIDDEN by Feather Stone
Total read: 82%

DAILY POSTINGS BELOW

This is a STICKY POST

Progress Report for A #WintersRespite Read-A-Thon hosted by Michelle @ Seasons of Reading

01/16 Monday
Book: THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Pages read: 112
01/17 Tuesday
Book: THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Pages read: 22 (Didn’t have much reading time today 🙁
01/18 Wednesday
Book: Finished THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
Pages read: 52
01/19 Thursday
Pages read: 0 🙁
01/20 Friday
Book: STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 5%
01/21 Saturday
Book: STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 15%
01/22 Sunday
Book: STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 25%
01/23 Monday
Book(s): STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Total pages read: 36%
01/24 Tuesday
Book: Finished STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
Pages read: 24%
01/25 Wednesday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 130
01/26 Thursday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 72
01/27 Friday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 0 🙁
01/28 Saturday
Book: KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 49
01/29 Sunday
Book: Finished KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Pages read: 154
01/30 Monday
Wrap up/Link up
Books Read:
THE LAST INNOCENT HOUR by Barbara Taylor Sissel
STOLEN by Carey Baldwin
KILLING KATE by Alex Lake
Total pages read: 955

2017 READING CHALLENGES

Unfortunately, 2017 is starting off slow as far as my reading goes. Gina, Wendy and I have been so busy with tours that I haven’t done much reading this week but am hoping I get into a reading routine.

I have been waiting for this Challenge and, since I’m not doing well with Bout Of Books this week, I will be signing up for the Winter Respite Read-A-Thon.

Hosted by Literary Escapism
My goal is to read 20 New Authors
Welcome back to the New Authors reading challenge! I’m hoping everyone is still enjoying this reading challenge as we head into our eighth year.

For those new to the New Authors Challenge, the whole idea started when I first started reviewing and I didn’t know that many authors in my new favored genre. So I went looking. I gave myself a goal of finding 50 new authors and ended up reading 56 that first year. I loved finding these new characters, worlds and cultures, so I want to help others find new ones as well. Since 2006, I’ve tried over 150 different authors I may not have tried otherwise (and that’s when I lost count, I’m sure there’s more) and I have found some really great authors.

The idea behind this is to find new authors that you’ve never tried before, not necessarily ones that are debuting. They can be in your genre of choice or be brave and try something new. You never know what you’re going to like until you try it. If you’re looking for some suggestions, you can check out the Author page here at Literary Escapism or the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 Challenge pages. With over 1000 reviews posted, I’m sure there will be something there for everyone.

For those who have joined us before, last year I made a couple changes – using google forms instead of Mr. Linky and there’s no more goal levels. Everyone reads at different speeds, and opportunities change. Why stress over numbers? The important thing is simply to try a new (to you) author. So, you tell me how many new authors you want to discover. If you only want to read one new author in 2017, fine…go for it. If you want to read 100 new authors in 2017…now that would be pretty fantastic!

Getting back to what’s going on now…it’s the New Authors Reading Challenge 2017 guidelines:
The challenge will run from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from short stories/novellas or anthologies.

I want this to be an easy challenge, so you tell me how many new authors you want to discover. If it’s 1 or 100, go for it. It all depends on how fast you read and how adventurous you want to be.

After reading your new author, write your review and then come back here and add your link to the form.
Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome. You don’t have to have a site to participate. You can link up via Facebook, GoodReads or even Amazon if you’d like.

Hosted by Michelle at Seasons of Reading

Well, the holidays are behind us and we are now in a new year. Goodbye, 2016! Now it’s time for some winter’s respite and recovery. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and I wish you much health and prosperity this new year!

This is the official sign up for A Winter’s Respite Readathon! Dates are January 16 – 29, starting at 12:00am Monday the 16th, and ending at 11:59pm on Sunday the 29th. Times are central standard time so adjust your times accordingly. Yes, the readathon is now two weeks long! I, for one, am pretty excited about that!

Of course, like most readathons, the books read must be novels or novellas, adult or young adult are fine, and you can read children’s books too (as long as you do read some novels too). Note: Non-Fiction is also okay! You DO NOT have to participate the entire two weeks. Join in when you can, start in the middle, end early…whatever works best for your schedule. As with all of my readathons, it will be a time for relaxed reading during which we can personally challenge ourselves and whittle away our ever looming TBR piles/shelves/libraries.

Guidelines for the readathon can be found HERE or you can access in the tab at the top of the blog. Any information you need about the readathon can be found there. Please do be sure to check the guidelines to make sure you’re following along correctly. There are specific rules regarding signing up and wrapping up, especially in regards to the giveaway. Also, regarding the giveaway, I’ll be again adding a Google form to capture names and email addresses so if you’re interested in winning a prize (and you’ve met the sign up and wrap up criteria), I will ask you to fill in that form which will be located on the prize page.

2017 READING CHALLENGES

Oh well….just a few more!! I sure am making up for those 2 years of non-participation. And between requested reviews and all the books I downloaded, I need to read a lot in 2017!

Hosted by Robin at My Two Bessings
The challenge will run from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.
Our book weeks begin on Sunday.
Participants may join at any time.
All books are acceptable except children books.
All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc.
Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2017.
Books may overlap other challenges.
Create an entry post linking to this blog.
Sign up with Mr. Linky in the “I’m participating post” below this post.
You don’t need a blog to participate. Post your weekly book in the comments section of each weekly post.
Mr. Linky will be added to the bottom of the weekly post to link to reviews of your most current reads.
The mini, weekly and monthly challenges are optional, Mix it up anyway you like.

Craving For Cozies 2017 – Reading Challenge
Hosted by Lori at Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book
Cozy mysteries, also referred to simply as “cozies”, are a sub-genre of crime fictionmysteries in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. The crime solver is an amateur sleuth, usually but not always a woman, who is thrust into the aftermath of the murder. The protagonist frequently has an occupation or hobby that brings appealing information to the reader.

The challenge runs from January 1, 2017 and ends December 31, 2017
Rules
1. Choose the level you wish to participate:
Levels
Peckish – 1 – 10 Cozy Mysteries
Famished – 11 – 20 Cozy Mysteries
Yearning – 21 – 40 Cozy Mysteries
Starving – 41 – 60 Cozy Mysteries
Ravenous – 61 – 80 Cozy Mysteries
Voracious – 81 – 100 Cozy Mysteries
Completely Satiated – 101 or more
2. You can Feed Your Need To Read with print, digital or audio books.
3. You do not have to post a review but the authors would appreciate it if you did. If you need help just let me know.
4. You do not need to have a blog to participate.

Hosted by Lisa at Books and Feminism
This reading challenge is pretty simple: only read books by women writers for one year. Bonus: Review it in as many places as possible – blog, Goodreads, Twitter, smoke signals, whatever gets the word out about fabulous women writers. I’ll be using #womenwriters2017 on Twitter and Instagram

What counts? Any writer who identifies as a woman.That’s it. Books co-authored by men are ok, but a woman has to be one of the authors. If it’s a collection, one of the editors should be a woman OR at least half the entries should be by women.

Due to requested reviews, I am going to tweak this a bit and challenge myself to read 10.

2017 READING CHALLENGES

What can I say? I’m making up for not participating in Challenges when I was on my LOA!

Hosted by The Herd Presents
Welcome to the 2017 New to Me Reading Challenge!
This challenge is all about pushing your boundaries and trying something new! And author, a series, a subgenre, etc.

Anything “new” to you. For example…
–First time reading an author
–first book in a series
–first book you’ve read from a series (doesn’t have to be book one)
–first time trying a genre/subgenre
–a debut book from an author (even if you’ve read them before)
*books need to be over 80 pages

2017 eBooks Reading Challenge Hosted by Book Dragon’s Lair
Hard Rules
All books counted must be electronic – I don’t care if they’re kindle, pdf, nook, etc.
The ebook in question must have an ISBN or equivalent. If you can buy it or borrow it, it counts.
Guidelines
You can list your books in advance or as you read them. You can also change your list.
Any genre or length of book counts.
Anyone can join, you don’t need to be a blogger, just let me know in the comments.
Reviews are good but not necessary. Once again, you don’t need to be a blogger, there are lots of places to post reviews. Hopefully, they’ll link up so we can read them.
You may move up a level but not down.
Crossovers for other challenges count
Books started before January 1st, 2017 don’t count – unless you start over 😉
Levels
bit – 1 book
Byte – 10 books
Megabyte – 25 books
Gigabyte – 50 books
Terabyte – 75 books
Petabyte – 100 books
Empty the Cloud – 101+ books
. . . yeah, this look good.

Since I am doing the Alphabet Soup Challenge for Books/Titles, I thought it would be fun to do an Author A-Z. This is a personal challenge since I haven’t found a group one as of yet.

Hosted by Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!
Challenge Rules:
You can read any book that is from the mystery/suspense/thriller/crime genres. Any sub-genres are welcome as long as they incorporate one of these genres.
You don’t need a blog to participate but you do need a place to post your reviews to link up. (blog, goodreads, booklikes, shelfari, etc.)
Make a goal post and link it back here with your goal for this challenge.
Books need to be novellas or novels, please no short stories. (At least 100 pages +)
Crossovers into other challenges are fine.
The Challenge will be from Jan. 1st to Dec. 31st. (Sign up ends April 15th)
There will be a monthly link up so that others can check out your progress and look at your reviews. At the halfway mark and at the end we will have a giveaway for those participating.
If you tweet about your progress or reviews please use the hashtag #2017CloakDaggerChal so others can see it.
Levels:
5-15 books – Amateur sleuth
16-25 books – Detective
26-35 books – Inspector
36 – 55 – Special agent
56+ books – Sherlock Holmes

Hosted by The Herd Presents
I am guilty! So I thought that maybe if I signed up for this Challenge it would make me feel even more guilty and read at least 3 past review books that are currently sitting in my Kindle and bookcase.
Yes. We’re hanging our heads in some blogger-girl shame. lol
The Blogger Shame challenge is a cheeky way to admit our guilt…and go about fixing it. Tackling those review books that have slipped through the cracks over the years. Any review book over 4 months past due is game!
Any review book that is 4+ months PAST DUE.

Yep. Only OLD review requests that have slipped through the cracks count.
Any format, any length.
Number of books tackled is entirely up to you!
Minimum…1 review book.

 

2017 READING CHALLENGES

One month and counting!! The kickoff is right around the corner. Are you joining any challenges? If so, which ones? You can see the ones I will be participating in here. Hope you will join the fun!

I just signed up for:

2017 LITERARY ESCAPES CHALLENGE
I used to participant in a challenge like this at Book Journey but she didn’t host it this year so I did it on my own. Just using the books I read for review so far I have traveled to 43 States and 8 Countries Abroad. Several of my maps can be found here. The 2016 map is here. I also have a list on my blog of Books by State. I am a little behind updating those pages but hope to get caught up before this year ends.

Challenge – Try to read 1 book set in each of the 50 states + the District of Columbia. (51 Points). If you complete the challenge you earn 50 Bonus Points. You also can earn Bonus Points for books set in Counties around the world. 1 Bonus Point for each country. (No repeats – only 1 point can be earned for each country.)

Your books can be fiction or non-fiction and can be in any format, print, digital, audio.

So how do you decide what state a book is categorized under?
1. In a fiction read it would be the State or Country that the book spends the most time in. (Ie. If your main character is from Wisconsin but the book is all about his/her time in college in California – the books should categorize under California….)

2. Non fiction reads categorize in whatever State or Country it is about (Ie…. a book about fly fishing in Colorado is a Colorado point, and a book about women in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan point.

3. If the book goes from one state to another… go with the state that most of the time is spent.

Bloggers please grab the graphic above and post about this challenge on your blog.

To sign up just fill out this form.
I have found people like to share and communicate about the challenge and their progress so I have set up a Facebook Group for that purpose.

2017 Literary Escapes Facebook Group
At the end of the year (before January 15, 2018) just fill out this form.
Prizes will be announced as we get closer to 2018.

Bruce at The Bookshelf GargoyleIf running around like a headless chook trying to find your next read isn’t really your style, then why not try the Wild Goose Chase Reading Challenge 2017? This is a category-based challenge and is designed to be fun, frivolous and filled with feathers.

Well, maybe not that last one.

Read on for the basics and to sign up using the linky!

* The Challenge will run from January 1st to December 31, 2017.

* Challengees must read at least one book from each category (listed below). Challengees must read a DIFFERENT book for each category – even if your book title might fit a number of categories, it will only count towards a single category. Challengees are free to choose which category best suits.

* Books selected can be from any genre and aimed at any age group. Picture books, anthologies, nonfiction, graphic novels and audiobooks are all okay to include.

* The categories listed are a loose guide and creative interpretation of the categories is not only encouraged, but applauded.

* Challengees should link their reviews/progress under the relevant linky lists on this page. If you don’t have a blog, you could link to your Goodreads shelf/reviews, or simply comment on this page as you go.

*Feel free to display the challenge button (html for which is in the sidebar) and share about the challenge wherever you like!

1. A book with a word of phrase relating to wildness in the title – any interpretation of the word “wild” is acceptable (eg: The Call of the Wild, Angry Aztecs, Crazy for You; An Untamed State)
2. A book with a species of bird (or the word “bird”) in the title: (eg: The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Thorn Birds, Turkey: A Modern History)
3. A book with an exotic or far-flung location in the title – fantasy and mythical locations are acceptable (eg: Paradise Lost, The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu, Atlantis Rising)
4. A book with an object you might hunt for in the title (eg: Treasure Island, One for the Money, The History of Love, Dreams from my Father, A Monster Calls, All the Answers)
5. A book with a synonym for chase in the title (or its derivatives: chasing, chased, etc) (eg: We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, The Girl Who Chased the Moon, Follow the River, Man’s Search for Meaning, The Night Stalker)
6. A book with a means of transport in the title (eg: If I Built a Car, Walk Two Moons, The Girl on the Train)
7. A book with an object you might take on a search or hunt in the title (eg: The Golden Compass, The Map to Everywhere, Water for Elephants, Team of Rivals )

Hosted by Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!2017 New Release Challenge Sign UpI can’t believe it’s already time for sign-ups!! 🙂
The 2017 New Release Challenge is a year-long challenge in which we aim to read books released in 2017. I am lucky enough to have an awesome co-host for the New Release Challenge, Lexxie @ Unconventional Book Views is here to share both the fun and the burden 😉 She is really the brains of the challenge. 🙂 There will be monthly update posts, and each quarter – the end of March, end of June, end of September and in December, there will be a giveaway with the update as well.
So I did pretty good this year with reading almost 70 new releases, this year I really want to try and concentrate on books I already have but I know I will get a few of those new releases no matter what I say…lol. So I am going to sign up for the New Release Pro.
If you need some help with what books are coming out check out Lexxie’s post as she is on the ball and has a goodreads page set up with some listed already!! 🙂
The rules for the 2017 New Release Challenge are simple:

Books have to be released and reviewed in 2017.
Other challenges can be used as well, if you are participating in the Netgalley / Edelweiss challenge or in the COYER challenge, books can count towards more than one challenge, as long as the ones you use for the 2017 New Release Reading Challenge qualify to the other rules.
The minimum length for a book to qualify is 100 pages, it can be in any format though, physical, e-book, ARC or audiobook.
The New Book Release Challenge is open from January 1st through December 31st 2017, and sign-ups are open until February 15th 2017.
You don’t have to be a blogger to participate, you can link to your review on Goodreads or Booklikes instead – so don’t be shy!
There are five levels in the New Release Challenge:

1-30 books per year – New Release Newbie
31-60 books per year – New Release Pro
61-100 books per year – New Release Veteran
101-200 books per year – New Release Enthusiast
200+ books per year – New Release Obsessed

2017 MONTHLY KEYWORD READING CHALLENGE
Hosted by Claudia at My Soul Called Life
Welcome to the 5th Annual Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge!
How does this challenge work?

For this challenge, I have chosen six keywords associated with each month in 2017. Your task is to read one book each month whose title includes one or more of the keywords for that month. Simple right?

Challenge Guidelines

• This challenge will run from January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017
• You can join anytime before December 31, 2017
• Books must be read and reviewed in 2017
• You don’t have to be a book blogger to participate! You can track your progress on Goodreads, Shelfari, Booklikes, etc.
• The book title you choose can be a variation on one of the keywords. Meaning, you can tweak the keywords. For example, your title could include the word ‘snowing’ or ‘snowflake’ even though the key word is ‘snow.’ Further, if the key word is ‘family‘ then your title could include the word ‘sister’ or ‘mother.’ It’s similar to the word game Word Association.
• Link up below to participate linking your post, Goodreads shelf, Shelfari, Booklies, etc.
• Lastly, have fun! This challenge is simply for the pure satisfaction of reading so please don’t worry if you have to skip a month or if you have to read your books out of order!

Here Are Your 2017 Keywords
JAN- Court, Fall, Of, Way, Deep, Thousand
FEB- And, Rose, Promise, Every, Deception, Blazing
MAR- Shall, Go, By, Silence, Her, Saga
APR- From, Trigger, Tale, His, Crown, Mist
MAY- Four, Wind, All, Fury, Days, Shade
JUN- Without, Know, Good, Watch, One, Have
JUL- Before, Final, All, Freedom, Life, Dream
AUG- Sun, Infinite, Big, My, Wherever, Most
SEP- Sand, From, Between, Ever, Reasons, Clash
OCT- Darker, You, Ashes, Out, House, Sea
NOV- Place, War, Heart, Why, Give, Meet
DEC- Forget, Twilight, Only, Crystal, On, Will