Unlocked Bonus Reads

The best way I can describe these prompts is as unlock challenges. G. Posted these once we as a group met certain page count and book challenges within the readathon.

OPS They Did it again- Read a book with an O, P, and S in it

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

Wow! This book was a true page turner. I was a little worried about how long it was, but I finished in under Twelve hours. A little rom com, a little teacher/student, and a lot of slow burn! It was just the guilty pleasure I needed.

 

Cute Hippogriffs need helpers- Read the Most Recent Book you have added to your TBR

Creepy Cat VOL 3 by Cotton Valent

The Creepy Cat Manga was a hit for me, for the third time this month! I cannot wait for volume 4 to be released!

 

Artificer supplies requires- Read a book over 5 Days

Midnight Spells by Kim Richardson

It took me a while to read this book as initially it was not one of my listed prompts.

Then I stumbled upon this bonus prompt and it fit right in! I have been devouring the Tessa Davenport books this month. The first installment was a bit bumpy but I definitely love Tessa! She is a klutzy, snarky, and awkward, in all the right (but also cringy) ways. Sometimes she reminds me of myself. Sometimes she goes too far. You never know.

I will have to ask for grace in regards to formatting as I am once again posting from mobile.

Week 4 Readathon Updates

Please give me some grace regarding formatting this week. My Mac book is giving me some trouble so I have to format everything in an email and post from the mobile word press app.

Call for Bounty Hunters- Read a book and post a picture with an outfit inspired by it

Charmed Nights by Kim Richardson

I originally picked Nightingale’s Lament as my husband and I try to read a book together regularly, however, we puck extra time in on reading together during readathons. This readathon we have had a difficult time. So I switched out for Charmed Nights, Tessa is a Kick Butt witch with my kind of style. Flats, dark wash jeans, and a nice shirt. That is my kind of look. I was not sold on the first book, but I am glad I gave the series a second shot, I have already read through a large chunk of the series in addition to my reading goal!

*Picture to come*

Potion Testing- Book with poison or potions

Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

It’s interesting how my husband has a Cheshire cat tattoo and our bridal shower was Alice in wonderland themes, however, until now I had never picked up the book. I have watched all the Disney adaptations, Phoebe in wonderland, and many other off shoots. To my surprise guinea pigs were mentions in the book!

Study Buddy Required- Book with a morally grey character

Death note VOL 2 by Tsugumi Ohba

I ended up swapping this book out for Death Note. I was in the mood for manga. If anyone is morally grey the characters of L and Light fit the bill. L and Light go head to head and are sometimes Allies in this psychological thriller. 

I would like to note that the all-in-one edition is super heavy to read from as a warning to future readers. I needed to prop up the book to read it as my wrists started to hurt, lol.

Week 3 Bonus Reads Update

Amphibian Wranglers Wanted– Choose a book with an Author’s name that begins with B or F

Buffy the Vampire Slayer VOL 3 by Jordie Bellaire

This is one of the books I picked up on a date/adventure day a few months ago. I have been keeping the Buffy Graphic Novels as quick additions to my reading list for challenges just like this. I enjoyed this installment, even if it was a bit difficult to follow. The story line in the graphic novel is a complete left turn from the TV show, but not in a bad way. It just keeps it fresh for the fans.

TAHPS Volunteers– Read a historical fiction book

Standing in the light by Mary Pope Osborne

This book was difficult to get into at first, but once I got through the first portion it was a page turner! By the end of all the twists and turns in the plot I could not figure out up from down. I was happy the journey was over, but my heart ached for the main character.

There are moments I had frustration with the representation of the Lenape tribe, I was always taught their tribal name was the Lenni Lenape. My only wish for this book is that there was an “elevated” version. One more steeped in the culture, and rich enough for an adult to read. It is a wonderful novel, but it felt like an appetizer and not a main course.

The AWW Needs You– Book Featuring Undead Characters

Buffy the Vampire Slayer VOL 4 by Jordie Bellaire

Courier Needed– Read a Book with a Movie Adaptation- BFG by Roald Dahl

I had originally planned to read The Fellowship of the Rings, however, I have to be in a specific mood for Tolkien and I was not in the mind set over the past week. So I checked out the BFG in audiobook format from my local library.

BFG is an adorable book, although at time I found the giant’s speech frustrating instead of cute. All in all it was a nice re-read.

Discreet Help needed– Shrubbery on the cover

Trespass by Kindle- Wildlife by Jeff VanderMeer

I have never been so confused, disappointed, or frustrated with a book in my life. If I could un-read a book this would be one of them. When the sequence of events started to clear up, the last three pages made the ending clear as mud. I have to say this writing style is not for me!

Paid Animal therapy– Read a book with multiple animals on the cover

Creepy Cat VOL 2 by Cotton Valent

While the first volume was definitely better, I loved the plot movement. I enjoyed it enough to pick up the third volume which you may see in a post sooner than you think!

TBR Week Three Updates

Alchemy

Q Level- Read an Orange Book- Tangerine by Edward Bloor

I first read this book in sixth grade, as an advanced reader it was a good book for learning vocabulary and complex sentence structure. However, I think the nuances about classism, poverty, and trauma were lost on me. While it is a heavy read, I think it is well worth it. *I would really recommend it for high school students due to the heavy themes*

D Level- One Word title- Nova by Cara Clare

I substituted in this book for Pandemonium. When I sit down with Pandemonium I want a lighter work week so I can absorb all the elements. My reading load and workload have been heavy so I swapped it for Nova, Paranormal Romance. The book is a “reverse harem”.

Nova is the right mix of drama, angst, spice, and fantasy for my week 3 mood. The paranormal plot is complex, but intriguing. The male love interests are smart, sexy, a little broody, and worth while. I will be picking up the next book when it is released.

Inscription

D Level- Cozy Read-Shortcake VOL 1 by Suu Morishita

I cannot think of a cozier read than this book. I would describe it as light, fluffy, delicate, sweet, just like a strawberry shortcake. (BTW this is my favorite cake). This book has elements of boarding school, coming of age, light romance, and friendship. I would pick up the next volume when I can find it!

Lore

O level-A book that has a color like your country’s flag-The Winter of Red Snow by Kristiana Gregory

As a child I loved reading the Scholastics journal style books. I do not remember having picked this one up as a child, however it was very fascinating to read. As someone who has gone to Valley Forge several times, and lived in Pennsylvania I can say this read was fascinating. There is also oral tradition in my family that my Great-Great-Great Paternal Grandfather was in the Revolutionary war and came home with rags on is feet. Much like the soldiers in the book. I may never know if that passed down story is true, but the book resonates with me.

Q Level-Story featuring a betrayal- Night In Terror Tower by R. L. Stine

I substituted in Night in terror Tower as by the time I reached for the Tudor era retelling I was not in the mood for historical fiction. Night in Terror Tower is one of my all time favorite Goosebumps books. I also like the TV show version. It is interesting to me that both stories I chose for this category featured London, England.

With that I managed to finish all my required reads. My bonus reads from week 3 will be going up in a subsequent post. It was a very productive week for reading!

TBR Week Two Updates

Alchemy

O Level- Book on Someone’s Worst List you think you might like-The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

Wow! This book was intense, detailed, complex, and dark. I have learned recently I like the darker areas of fiction and this book came through in a big way. I did listen to the book on audio, but I fully intend to re-read the hardback copy. Then maybe read it again.

For context there are very few books I read again and again. This is one that I will read many times, there are so many details to absorb I would not do the book justice with a one and done reading.

Inscription

Q Level-Read a Graphic Novel- Those not so sweet boys VOL 1 by Yoko Nogiri

This book was so good, when I went to the book store I looked for the next volume, it was not available, but my next manga treat to myself will include the next volume. The book is a “reverse-harem” romance with elements of high school crushes and coming of age. This was a great read for a serotonin boost.

Restoration

O Level- A single object as the focus of the cover- Tithe by Holly Black 

It took a lot of effort to get through the first two chapters of this book, however, once I got over that hurdle this book was worth all the effort. Once I got to the middle of the book it was really hard to put it down, so I could go to bed at a decent hour. The touches of magic, romance, and darkness were perfect for me.

Demonology

O Level- Read a fantasy-Rogue the complete collection by Robert Rodi, Tony Bedard, and Cliff Richards

I have loved Rogue since the 1990’s animated X-men show came out. Rogue is misunderstood and unable to act in society due to her mutation. I feel like a lot of people can relate to having limitations within our society. This collection included two story lines, of the two the first storyline gave us more background for Rogue and featured Gambit. The second story is a follow up with the characters from the samurai arc.

New Responsibilities at Work

So I have recently joined the CEU committee which has led me to some new responsibilities. I have been researching free and low cost CEU events that are local and online for one of my colleagues to collect into a weekly email blast.

In doing some research I received an email to a free CEU held by I local private practice. I had attended a webinar by them before and all was well. Most of my team, including a few supervisors, decided to join the webinar. The presentation was so bad I ended up sending an apology out to my team for even sending an invite around.

The presentation was supposed to be on Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, it really ended up being a person talking at the audience and rattling off mnemonics for steps in the process. Even fifteen minutes or so the presenter would ask for questions then kept on going though more mnemonics. There were no slides or visuals. I was honestly lost in the first five minutes.

I am hoping to attend a CEU on DBT in the future, held by one of the national organizations.

Rightstuf Mini Haul

My husband made a rightstuf order to pick up the latest season of Datealive! So I checked on the coupons and sales which landed me with some Avatar Library Editions!

Avatar the Last Airbender The Search 

Avatar the Last Airbender Smoke and Shadow 

Avatar the Last Airbender The Rift

Avatar the Last Airbender Imbalance 

Avatar the Last Airbender North and South 

Avatar the Last Airbender The Promise

Early August Book Haul

My local Barnes and Noble is having a moving sale and I could not help but ask my husband to stop by on our way home from some errands.

Book Haul

Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews- I have a love for Greek myth retellings (as if you could not tell from my binge reading of Lore Olympus) so this book quickly made its way into my shopping basket. 

Chi’s Sweet Home by Konami Kanata- Parts 2 and 3 (volumes 4-9)- I started reading Chi’s sweet home on Kindle Unlimited so I have been wanting to pick up the sequels for a while. 

Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama- Volumes 4, and 6-8- My online order arrived to the house while we were out so volume 4 came in the mail and volumes 6-8 I managed to find in person. I will be ordering volume 5 after my next pay period so I can binge read the next few volumes. 

Creepy Cat by Cotton Valent- Vol 2 and 3- I was so excited to see these two volumes on the shelf. I loved the first volume so much I NEEDED the next few. I like to think of this series as a young adult Wednesday Addams finds a gothic mansion inhabited by a creepy cat. 

The Modern Witch’s Journal by Wendy Hobson- This was an impulse purchase from the discount section. However, I hope it gives me some focus to my own practices 

If you Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson- I read the back of the book jacket regarding the book synopsis where it mentions star crossed lovers, high school, and misfits. After a brief goodreads lookup, I realized this book is a modern classic that touches on difficult topics including police brutality and racism. 

The Young Witch’s guide to Magick by Cassandra Eason- To be perfectly honest this was an impulse buy based off the cover and topic. 

Sailor Moon Eternal Edition by Naoko Takeuchi- I have wanted to read the Sailor moon manga since I started watching the anime as a child in the 90’s. My sister would watch them with me during Sunday morning cartoons along with power rangers, and Digimon. Tuxedo Mask was my first comfort character. 

The Abandoned Empress by yuna- Volume 2- The first volume wrecked me emotionally at first then gave me a strong female lead to rally behind. I have not felt this way about a female lead since I first read Squire by Tamora Pierce. 

The Ancient Magus; Bride Wizard Blue by Makoto Sanda and Kore Yamazaki- This is the companion series to The ancient magus’ bride, which I have a minor obsession with, is it a surprise to anyone this made its way to my cart? The only surprise for me was that my husband pointed it out for me. 

Brief update

After my recent hair cut I have been suffering from an infection on my scalp caused by a nick from the trimmers. I have limited spoons on my good days but when Ill I am even more limited. I have been requiring additional time to sleep, twice daily hair washing, warm compresses, ect. This has left me with little time to blog and read.

I have some content prepped for a post this weekend. I will also, hopefully, be back to my normal posting starting next week.

I also spent last week on call at work and this weekend I have an overtime shift. Overall it has been a tough two weeks.

Weekend Updates!

Hello All,

This past weekend was super hectic but rewarding.

Friday: I spent the whole of last week on call from 5-8pm every evening including Friday. We also had to take Rosie the Guinea pig to the vet. Poor thing has a combo fungal/bacterial skin infection as she has had many of her lymph nodes removed some time ago. Now that she is on four medications she is improving rapidly! It’s a long wait for our vet every time but always worth it for the great care we receive.

I also may have stayed up until 3am binge reading all the Lore Olympus episodes available in the webtoon app.

Saturday: This weekend was supposed to be one of relaxation but once we left the house the errands kept coming. We stopped by my work to visit with a coworker who had ordered some Guinea pig food for us on sale. While there we received a call out new license plates were ready so that was the next stop. Of course on the way there I saw the local (ish) Barnes and Nobles was having a moving sale. So hubs and I spent a few hours in the store. I scored a bunch of manga, book marks, and a few other things. I will be posting my haul soon! I did some reading and chores once we returned home.

Then while watching the new season of shield hero I cut off over a foot of hair in five sections for donation and scheduled a last minute appointment with the salon for Sunday.

Sunday: Hubs and I slept in and then got ready for my salon appointment. This is the first time hubs has been present when I have gotten my hair cut and he was surprised when it took almost three hours. I was not, even with getting an undercut on one side and long layers, it still takes an hour and some change for my hair to dry. As soon as I was done we grabbed some Cava for lunch and headed home for a nap, which turned into not waking up until bed time, taking care of our pets and going back to bed.

A bit exhausting but I was over all productive.