reading challenge

Summer Reading Challenges: Book Challenge by Erin 9.0 + Comment Challenge

June 28, 2018 by Megan 8 Comments

New Reading Challenge

As you may recall, I kicked off the year by participating in the Book Challenge by Erin, version 8.0, which lasted from January 1 until April 30. And now, I’m excited to be participating in version 9.0 of the same challenge because I really love reading challenges. Here are the details:

Duration: July through October 2018

Challenge: Choose 10 books across specific categories and read as many of them as you can over the four month challenge period

The Power of Habit + Turkey Taco Zucchini Boats

June 5, 2018 by Megan 4 Comments

In May, the task for The Literary Feast Reading Challenge was to read a book you’ve seen someone reading in public. Now, this may be an easy task for people living in large cities, where public transportation is rampant, or even people who frequent coffee shops. I neither live in a large city nor do I visit many coffee shops, so I counted myself lucky when, in March, I finally stumbled upon my first person reading “in the wild.” Or, more accurately, she was walking in the hallway between my office and the parking garage. She is still the only person I’ve seen reading this year, and she was reading The Power of Habit.

Charles Duhigg’s nonfiction book explores the science behind why we do what we do, or how we create and form habits. I’ll admit, I thought the title sounded interesting, but I was not expecting to love it as much as I did. It probably helped that at the same time, I was attempting to undergo a personal transformation - and still am - to become healthier. So, much of what Duhigg covered about how we can change bad habits and create new, good habits really resonated with what I was focused on anyway.

Reading Challenge Wrap-up: Book Challenge by Erin 8.0

April 26, 2018 by Megan Leave a Comment

With a third of 2018 already behind us - how did that happen so fast, by the way?! - I wanted to do a quick wrap-up of my first reading challenge of the year, the Book Challenge by Erin 8.0. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, you can read more about it in my announcement post from January.

I’m excited that I was able to finish reading all of my selected books by the end of March, leaving my April pretty commitment-free (as far as books go). Below, I’ve included short overviews of each, with a link to my posts with full-length reviews and recipes.

New Year + Reading Challenges

January 6, 2018 by Megan 1 Comment

The first week of 2018 is almost over, and I hope everyone’s year is off to a great start! I’m coming at this year with a positive outlook, and while I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions, I do have some personal, professional and blogging goals in mind. To have a successful book-related blog, of course, it requires lots of reading.

As such, I’ve committed to two reading challenges this year - because what better way to read more than to be (somewhat) competitive about it? Now, both of these challenges are intended to be low-key, low stress and not really all that competitive. But, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t try to do my best to succeed at the challenges I set for myself. So, I wanted to share a bit about them with you (accountability and all that). And, if you’re interested, there’s still time to join both of them, so you too can enjoy the benefits of reading more in 2018. 🙂

Book Challenge by Erin (8.0)

Duration: January through April 2018

Challenge: Choose 10 books across specific categories and read as many of them as you can during the first 4 months of the year

All books must be 200 pages or more and you each book can only be used for 1 category. If you’d like to include a book you’ve already read, you can only do so once but you must actually re-read it for it to count.

You’re supposed to pick your 10 books up front, but it’s no big deal if you change your mind and want to read something else for that category instead! Most of all, this challenge is supposed to be fun - I personally am using it as a motivator to read a bunch of books on my TBR list, and I pulled the titles using as many books as I could from those I already own.

5 points (Freebie): Read a book that is at least 200 pages - The Secret Life of Bees

This was the third book I read this year (after MAUS I & II, more on that below), and I loved it. Great way to start the challenge!

10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “L” - Love & Gelato

This has been on my TBR for a bit now, and while I don’t own it, the library has it readily available. I picked it before I joined the challenge from A Literary Feast, but it fits for the February pick, so it’s conveniently going to do double-duty for me.

10 points: Read a book that has a (mostly) red cover - Red Clocks

This is one of the books I’m most looking forward to this year, and I was so excited to see that BOTM had it as one of their January selections! You can bet I scooped it up, so there will be no library waitlists for me this time. I can’t wait to get started on it.

15 points: Read a book with a character’s name in the title - The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

This was a BOTM sometime in the middle last year, and it’s been sitting on my shelf ever since. I’ve heard amazing things about it, though, which is why I’ve kept it, and now I have a great excuse to pick it up and experience it for myself.

20 points: Read a book from Book Riot’s list of 100 Must-Read Books with Plot Twists - The Book of Unknown Americans

I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book through my office’s Diversity Book Club, but was unfortunately not able to attend when the time came (due to meetings and all that). I was surprised to see it on this list - not exactly a book I was expecting to have a big plot twist. Now I’m all the more excited to finally be able to check it out.

20 points: Read a book with the words “house” or “home” in the title - The Two-Family House

Another book from my TBR, but not one I owned until this past week - thanks to a very fortunate book swap! I had a few books I could’ve chosen for this category, but this one has intrigued me from a distance for long enough.

25 points: Read a book by an author whose first and last name begins with the same letter - The Mothers by Brit Bennett

When I was perusing my shelves for alliterative authors this is the first one that caught my eye. I got it in a book swap last year (seriously, where would I be without book swaps?) and don’t know a ton about it, but I’m sure it’ll be worth the read.

30 points: Read a book that was originally published in a different language than your own - Britt-Marie Was Here

Britt-Marie was originally published in Swedish by the wonderful Fredrik Backman, who has written a couple of my favorites (such as My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry), so naturally I was excited to dive into his charming writing again. It’s the second book I decided to tackle from the challenge and I'm about a third of the way through. So far, so good!

30 points: Read a book where most of the action takes place on a form of transportation (i.e. bus, boat, car, plane) - Life of Pi

Such an interesting category! My first thought was of the movie Speed, but that wasn’t a book and so obviously I couldn’t pick that. I remember loving Life of Pi when I read it before, but it’s been so long now, that I don’t recall much of the specifics - except that it takes place mostly on a raft. Perfect for this challenge! And another book already on the shelf 🙂

35 points: Read a book with a character that suffers from a debilitating physical illness - Tell the Wolves I’m Home

Full disclosure: I don’t know much about this book, except that when I was googling around trying to find a book for this category that I hadn’t already read (since I used my re-read for the previous category), it popped up. It was on my TBR and the library had some copies, so here we are. I’m looking forward to it, and also a grateful that I don’t have any high expectations to hamper my reaction.

Have you read any of the books above? What would you recommend picking up next?

If you're interested in joining Erin's challenge, stop by her Facebook page here. There are typically three challenges per year, each lasting four months.

2018 Reading Challenge from A Literary Feast

Duration: Entire year

Challenge: Read a book in each appointed category, which changes each month

My kindred spirit in the book blogging community, the lovely Grace of A Literary Feast, started this challenge and I'm excited to be able to support her and participate. I only chose the first few months, since even summer seems so far away in these frigid temperatures! I’ve outlined all the categories below though, so you can get a feel for what the rest of the year will bring.

January: A book that was published in your birth year - MAUS I (and MAUS II)

MAUS I has been on my TBR list for several years now, and conveniently it was also published in 1986! The second one was published a few years later, but together they’re still pretty short - and as graphic novels, quick to get through. These were the first books I picked up in 2018 because the library was super quick on their interlibrary loans, and I finished both on January 1.

February: A book that has a food in the title - Love & Gelato

I already mentioned the double-duty this book is doing, which is awesome in and of itself. I’m also excited about the prospect of making gelato. (Ice cream has no season, so I don’t care that it will still be unbearably cold outside when I do it.)

March: A book that was made into a movie you’ve already seen

I haven’t chosen a book for March yet, and I’m all over the map for this category. Initially, after a quick search, I was leaning towards The Green Mile because I enjoyed the movie… but I’m super terrified the book will be scary where the movie wasn’t really. Then, while watching Funny Farm over the holidays, I discovered it was actually based on a book and thought maybe I’d pick that because it’s more light-hearted. I don’t know, guys… I’ve seen a lot of movies but I’ve also read a lot of books-turned-movies, so I’m trying to find one I’ve seen but not read yet. Looking for suggestions!

April: A book set in a country that intimidates you

May: A book that you saw a stranger reading in a public place

This would’ve been amazing when I lived in NYC and rode the subway all the time. I think I’m going to have to start hanging out in some coffee shops or airports between now and then.

June: A book about a mid-life crisis or finding your true self

July: A childhood classic that you’ve never read - The Little Prince

This is the lone book I chose past February, mostly because as soon as I saw this category, I knew what it had to be. The Little Prince is one of my coworker’s favorite books, and after hearing all of her praise about it, I’m looking forward to finally reading it too. That being said, I’ll probably have to get it out of the library since her copy is in French.

August: A book that you’ve loved and read before

I don’t usually re-read so this will be a welcome change of pace.

September: A book that was published in 2018

October: A blind date book (someone else chooses for you)

I’m going to let Deanna pick this one for me, since I am constantly forcing her to read books I recommend, and I know I can trust her to pick a good one.

November: A book with an ugly cover

Because you should never judge a book by its cover.

December: A book set in a cold climate

Obviously looking for recommendations for the book/movie category, but if you have suggestions for the others I haven’t chosen yet, please comment below! I’d love to hear from you. 🙂 If you're interested in joining the 2018 challenge from A Literary Feast, there may still be time - check out the original post here.

Thanksgiving Readathon Wrap-up

November 27, 2017 by Megan 6 Comments

What a whirlwind 5 days this Thanksgiving Readathon has been! I set a loose goal to read 5 books in 5 days (read my announcement/sign-up post here), since this “challenge” is supposed to be less of challenge and more of a conscious effort to set aside some time for yourself to read in a stress-free way while interacting with other book bloggers and bookworms on social media.

I don’t think I actually expected to get through the entirety of the stack of books I lined up to read during the readathon, so maybe that’s why I stayed un-stressed. Somehow, though, I did it, and I’m super excited about it. I also finished my 2017 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal in the process (with book number 4), which means I’ll also be less stressed next month because I’m already set for the year. Woo hoo!

Here’s a brief overview of the books I read, some of which I’ll write longer reviews of in future posts (with book-inspired recipes, of course!):

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak

I expected this to be a bit like The Family Stone, as I mentioned in my kick-off post, but it wasn’t. Even though it took place over Christmas, the story was more about the family dynamic and the fact that they were stuck together in a seven-day quarantine, which just happened to take place over the Christmas holiday. I’m going to do a longer post on this one, so I won’t go too deep here, but I did enjoy it for the most part. It was a solid read, and it led to an interesting back-and-forth with the author, which was a wonderful bonus. (I didn't include some of the conversation, which was a bit spoiler-y.)

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

I was sure this would sustain me through a readathon, since it’s one of my favorite faux-genres, books about books. Alas, it was my least favorite of the long weekend; it was also the longest. I’m not sure what to say about it, though I suppose I’ll have to formulate some thoughts, since my book club is discussing it next week… The characters were all a bit one-dimensional and sometimes felt a bit mixed up, as though the author got them confused.Above all, it took much too long to get to the charming-bookstore-turns-the-town part of the plot, and that didn’t really land for me. I’m not sure the bookstore changed the town at all! Mostly, it was just disappointing.

It also lacked descriptive food mentions, and though it prompted a brief discussion about mini dogs versus sloppy joes - sadly, the only foods relevant to the story - I’m left feeling too underwhelmed to be inspired to do a longer post on this one.

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg

I have been listening to Molly’s podcast Spilled Milk for a few years now, and though it’s one of my favorites, I had yet to read any of her (or her co-host Matthew’s) books until this weekend. I am delighted I did! I loved this food memoir so much; it was definitely my favorite of the readathon. It is full of rich descriptions of every food that ever made an impression on Molly, and of course, the recipes for most of them. I’m going to have a lot of trouble deciding what to make for my review post on this one, guys. Has anyone else read it and made the recipes? Any suggestions?

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

At 160 pages, I expected this environmental dystopia to be a quick read. That was an understatement. I don’t think I spent more than an hour with this book, which read more like lyrical or poetic meeting notes. The only character that was named was Zeb, the main character’s son, but he was primarily called Z as all the other characters were only called by their first initials as well. I’m not sure I’ve completely processed it, but it didn’t haunt me like dystopias usually do. The characters as initials felt distant to me, and in the end, the immediate threat (which wasn’t well-outlined to begin with) seemed to disappear, or at the very least lessen.

How to Behave in a Crowd by Camille Bordas

My final read, which I started on the way to a football game Saturday (lest you thought I curled up in my reading chair all weekend!), was a quirky novel about a brilliant French family. It’s told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Isadore - who prefers Izzie though everyone calls him Dory - the youngest of 6 children. As he figures out how exactly to be a normal adolescent in a family of overachievers, he makes sharp and amusing observations about those around him. It struck me as a sort-of The Family Fang meets This Is Where I Leave You and ended up being a wonderful note on which to end the readathon.

Aside from the football game, I spent a lot more time not holed up reading than I had initially thought I would. I enjoyed most of Thanksgiving Day with family (not reading); scored some shopping deals and celebrated a birthday with family on Friday; wrote and cooked for Saturday’s blog post; and even got in a little yard work (ugh) and holiday decorating (yay)!

I loved participating in the Thanksgiving Readathon because not only did I surprise myself by reading so much, it was fun following along with everyone else on social media and being a part of those interactions too! Most importantly for me, though, it made me realize that I probably can squeeze in more reading each day if I just make the time for it. 🙂

This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure here.

Announcement - Thanksgiving Readathon 2017

November 20, 2017 by Megan 6 Comments

I recently found out about this year’s Thanksgiving Readathon, put together by fellow book bloggers Ottavia at Novels and Nonfiction and Jackie at Death by Tsundoku - just in the nick of time! And I am beyond excited to participate! Thankfully, I had already taken off of work on Wednesday, November 22, which is the first day of the readathon, and am fortunate enough to have the rest of the time off as well.

I was already hoping to use the extra time away from the “everyday” to catch up on some reading and meet my 2017 goal, or get much closer to it, so this readathon couldn’t come at a more perfect time.

Here’s what I have on my TBR shelf, ready to go! I’m planning to start with Seven Days of Us, which is a cozy Christmas novel that sounds reminiscent of The Family Stone (one of my favorite holiday movies). I’m hoping it will be the perfect way to kickoff the season.

From there I’m not exactly sure where I’ll go, but I’ve opted for a stack with both genre and topic variety to keep it interesting: The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend (a book about books!), The End We Start From (a short environmental dystopia), How to Behave in a Crowd (a supposedly hilarious but dark family drama), and finally, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table (a food memoir).

I’ll keep you updated on my progress across my social channels (check me out on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, if you’re not already a follower). You may also want to follow the dedicated hashtag #ThanksgivingReadathon across all channels to connect with other bloggers and readers who are devouring books over the holiday.

On a Thanksgiving note, tomorrow I’ll be posting the 10 Books I’m Most Thankful For as part of my usual Top Ten Tuesday participation. I’d love it if you’d stop by again to check them out and share which books you’re most thankful for too!