Blog: ARC August TBR

Guess what I am doing in August? ?

A book blogger friend at Read.Sleep.Repeat is hosting an annual ARC August challenge, and I decided to participate! This means that in the month of August I have to try and read as many ARCs as I can. It is a great way to tackle some of those books that have been sitting on my shelf.

There will be a readathon on August 4-5, which I doubt I would be able to participate in since I will be in NYC, but I will try. There is also going to be a bookish bingo, that I am very excited about! And the best part - you can potentially win some bookish prizes!! ?

Use hashtag #ARCAugust on social media to track your progress and see how others are doing. (You can follow me @foxcloudsblog on Twitter and Instagram.)

Now, onto my ARC August TBR.

My main goal is to read a bunch of eARCs that I have sitting on my Kindle - and I have a lot of them. Some of them have been waiting to be read for months. (It is making me rather anxious.) But of course, I have physical ARCs on my TBR too.

My top priorities are "City of Ghosts" by Victoria Schwab, "The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein" by Kiersten White, and "Seafire" by Natalie C. Parker. The rest I will read if I have time. (I hope I will as I am very excited about all of these!)

*"The Unbinding of Mary Reade" is actually not an ARC. This is the final copy from the library, but I was sent an eARC of this book, I just didn't read it on time in June. ?

Aren't they all wonderful books? ?? Can't wait to start ARC August!

I will have an ARC August TBR video on my channel next week.

Cheers!

N.

My book reviews

My 2018 Reading & Blogging Goals

 

December came and went in such a quick flash that it took me by surprise. I, unsurprisingly, failed at Blogmas. But now I am ready to revive my blog once again. And what can be better but reading & blogging goals?

In 2017, my reading/theatre goals were simple:

• read 100 books (GoodReads challenge) - which I did
• watch 10 theatre plays - I watched 24 and will talk about them later
• listen to 20 audiobooks - I came close but didn’t hit 20

I also wanted to read one book in French and one book in German, and I didn’t even come close to doing that. So, I am going to try again in 2018.

I am mostly satisfied with 2017 as my reading year, although I read a lot of short fiction but not enough solid novels, and most of them were Young Adult. Plus, I purchased way more books than I read, so in 2018 I decided to additionally challenge myself.

My reading goals:

• read 100 books (GoodReads challenge)
• listen to 20 audiobooks
• read 20 plays/scripts
• read 1 book in German
• read 1 book in French
• read 30 adult books
• participate in 1 read-a-thon

I set additional reading challenges for myself as my goal this year to seriously dig into the books I own and either read them and unhaul them or donate them.

Reading challenges:

• Read 5 books owned for 1 new book purchased
• Read 1 Kindle book for 1 Kindle book purchased
• Read all plays owned
• Listen to 10 audiobooks in my Audible library
• Reduce “to be read” on GR
• Reduce “on hold” on GR
• Reduce holds at the library
• Unhaul minimum 50 books
• Read 10 book released in 2017
• Read 10 books released in 2018
• Finish 5 trilogies/series
• Read all manga/graphic novels owned
• Re-read all of Sherlock Holmes stories
• Re-read The Three Musketeers
• Re-read Katherine Kurtz books (at least the first trilogy)
• Re-read Lynn Flewelling books (at least the first duology)

Additionally, I aim to:

• watch 20 plays
• watch movies at TIFF 2018

Blogging goals:

• review every book I read (blog and/or GR)
• review all plays I watch on my blog
• review all movies I watch at TIFF
• post on my blog every Tuesday & Friday
• post videos every Wednesday & Sunday on my YT
• reach 500 subscribers on YT
• participate in 1 vlog-a-thon (like Vlogmas)
• post more art journal and planner related post on my blog

I am very satisfied with my goals. I feel that they all I fairly achievable. I struggle the most with maintaining my schedule as my work and life sometimes get in the way of blogging, but I am willing to make a conscientious effort to get better at it. I am making this post for the record and to keep myself accountable ?

Cheers!

My book reviews

My Instagram

I Suck At Read-A-Thons (#ISATRAT) Read-A-Thon TBR

I suck at read-a-thons. Sad but true. I was only ever mildly successful with BookTube-A-Thon Read-A-Thon 2016. I did okay with LGBTQIA+ read-a-thon too, but I still did not finish all I wanted. So, when Sam from Sam's Nonsense came up with idea of a "I Suck At Read-A-Thons (#ISATRAT)" Read-A-Thon, I immediately jumped on it. Even though I will probably fail at it too... This read-a-thon will take place from Sept 18th-22nd.

Challenges:

1. Read the smallest book on your shelf

2. Read 10 pages/day

3. Read a graphic novel

4. Finish 1 book

5. Read for 20 mins/day

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ISATRAT2

Twitter Sprints will be 9am PT/12pm ET & Again at 7pm PT/10pm ET And Twitter chats are daily at 5pm PT/8pm ET

Sam’s video announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uib76P1MZEM&t=5s

So, here is my TBR:

1. Read the smallest book on your shelf

The shortest book on my shelf is Sophie Carlon's Burn and zines. But I have read those already, so I needed to pick something else (unless her third zine arrives on my doorstep during the week).

Since I am seeing Yerma next Thursday, I picked Frederico Garcia Lorca's collection of plays a month ago. I will be reading Yerma as my choice for the smallest book as it is only 50 pages long.

2. Read 10 pages/day

Shouldn't be a problem.

3. Read a graphic novel

I have several graphic novels borrowed from OverDrive that I need to finish this upcoming week (or more like in 1-2 days), but I am putting only 1 volume of manga on this list. It will be "What did you eat yesterday?" volume 8.

4. Finish 1 book

At least 1 graphic novel + Yerma.

5. Read for 20 mins/day

If I have time to read, I usually do not read for less than half an hour.

***

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

***

My book reviews

BookTube-A-Thon TBR

Who doesn't love a good challenge? Or an opportunity to tackle some of the books that you have always wanted to read but never had time to? Well, that's what read-a-thons are for.

Next week, beginning Monday, July 24, and till Sunday, July 30, the BookTube community will strive to complete all of the seven challenges announced by Ariel Bissett in this video. Obviously, I have to try too.

So, here is the list of challenges together with books, I picked (some links are affiliated):

The 2017 Reading Challenges:

1. Read a book with a person on the cover.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Genre: YA, contemporary, LGBT, Own Voices

 

2.  Read a hyped book.

Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy

Genre: YA, fantasy, anthology

3. Finish a book in one day.

Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld by Matthew Heiti

Genre: play/script

4. Read about a character that is very different from you.

Fishbowl by Bradley Somer

Genre: adult, contemporary, humour, magical realism

 

5. Finish a book completely outdoors.

genre: classic, detective, graphic novel

(I don’t think it is available in stores now, but I found this listing on Amazon - http://amzn.to/2uNADce)

6. Read a book you bought because of the cover.

Sherlock: A Study in Pink (Manga)

genre: TV-tie in, manga

7. Read seven books.

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes

Genre: play/script, LGBT, magical realism

OR

Grief is the Thing with Feathers

Genre: poetry, novella, magical realism

 

Let's see how I do this year :)

My #LGBTQIAREAD TBR

Okay, I am not very good with TBRs or read-a-thons or read-a-longs as I am a moody reader and prefer to read what I want to read in a particular moment. But when I watched George’s video on YouTube announcing Queer Read-A-Thon, I just had to sign up! I mean, I read queer lit anyway, and it is Pride Month, so I am going to do it!

I put together a list of books and graphic novels that I would like to read in that week. It is, undoubtedly, a pretty big list, but like I mentioned before - I am a moody reader and I need to have options. I also need to tackle some of my eBooks, as I keep shopping on Kindle and not reading them (does anyone else have the same problem?).

My TBR:

• “The Seafarer’s Kiss” by Julia Ember (eBook) - picked this one as it was recommended by Cece from ProblemsofABookNerd
• “And It Came To Pass” by Laura Stone (eBook) - also picked based on Cece's recommendation
• “This Book Is Gay” by Juno Dawson (eBook) - it was recommended by George more than once
• Utena (manga) - I recently got the new reprint!
• Kaptara, vol. 1 (graphic novel) - it has been sitting in my Hoopla account for awhile
• “The Love Interest” by  Cale Dietrich (young adult) - a new spring release that I can't wait to read!

The read-a-thon takes place during one week, June 25 - July 1. #LGBTQIARead is going to be the official hashtag on Twitter, if you would like to join in.

I can’t wait to start as I have been meaning to read some of those books for awhile!

Sign up here: http://daydreamersthoughts.co.uk/lgbtqiaread-is-back/

George’s video: https://youtu.be/xJBK3pQmo4A

September TBR // September 7, 2015

 

Under a spell of temporary insanity, I decided that these are going to be all the books I will read in September. Considering the fact that September 10-20 will be devoted to TIFF (and my schedule there is pretty intense), this TBR pile is overly ambitious. Or outright crazy.

Nevertheless, I am excited. I have heard great things about these books, and I am super pumped about some of these (I'd say probably about the books on the right). I understand that there is a very high chance I won't have time to read even half of these, but I will try my best. Almost all of them were picked from the library, so I will just go in the order of which books are due sooner. (Worst scenario, I will just read the rest of the books in October.)

I have already started reading Margaret Atwood's collection of short stories, as you know. I am reading one story at a time, whenever I fancy it, so this book will be featured in my TBR piles until I am done with it.

I am 70% done with Rook and I love it. I thought I'd finish it in August, but August was a pretty busy month for me.

So here's the list:

• Sharon Cameron “Rook” [still reading – almost done]
• Margaret Atwood “Moral Disorder And Other Stories” [I started it but I am still reading]
• Kelley York "Made of Stars"
• Stephanie Kuehn "Charm & Strange"
• Nina LaCour "Everything Leads To You"
• Melissa Landers "Alienated"
• Libba Bray "Beauty Queens"
• Courtney C. Stevens "Faking Normal"
• Becky Albertalli "Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda"
• Patrick Ness "More Than This"

Eight books to read if you don't count Rook and Atwood. That's crazy! But I am super excited.

If you are going to see movies at TIFF this year and see someone reading one of those books in the line, that will probably be me. ;D

August Wrap-Up // September 4, 2015

 

So, here is the list of books I read in August:

• Andy Weir “The Martian” (my review)
• Charles Bukowski “Absence of The Hero: Uncollected Stories and Essays Vol.2 1946-1992” [I didn't really like it as much as I expected]
• Margaret Atwood “Moral Disorder And Other Stories” [I started it but I am still reading]
• John Green “The Fault in Our Stars” (my review)
• Vera Brosgol “Anya’s Ghost” (my review)
• Andrew Smith “Grasshopper Jungle” (my review)
• Patrick Ness "A Monster Calls" (my review)
• Sharon Cameron "Rook" [still reading - almost done]
• Justin MacCormack "Twilight of the Faerie - Book 1: Spring" [the ebook I was sent to review - my review is on GoodReads]

Compare it to my planned TBR list.

I didn't read "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater as I really want to marathon the whole series, but I still haven't bought book 3. I also started but haven't finished Margaret Attwood's collection of short stories. But I did read one eBook which was not on the list and I almost finished "Rook", so it was a really good reading month! Almost all of the books I've read were fantastic!

But if I have to choose, The Martian, A Monster Calls and Grashopper Jungle are my favourite reads of the month.

Bookshelves Reorganization // August 30, 2015

 

My bookshelf reorganization looked way easier than it turned out to be. ???????? Probably this is the only good outcome (the opportunity to reorganize things) out of the whole mess.

On the right is the photo of my reorganized bookshelves. Took me almost an hour but I managed to cram everything in 3 shelves. ????????

From the bottom to the top:

1) The biggest books and hardbacks. Alexandre Dumas books (how many copies can you spot? ????), Sherlock Holmes, crime, sci-fi books and others.

2) My favourite shelf: high fantasy, Katherine Kurtz, Lynn Flewelling, Elizabeth Bear, Sarah Monette, etc; middle grade; Divergent series, contemporary, plays, classics. A complete mix but my favourite and well read books.

3) TBR/YA/recent purchases shelf. The majority of books are unread and also some are just first books in the series that I plan to buy and read later.

August TBR // July 31, 2015

So here is my TBR list for August! Some of these books I have already started reading, so I am hoping that I will get through this list no problem:

• Andy Weir "The Martian" (I bought this book 2 days ago and I am already half through it! The movie based on this book is premiering at TIFF in September this year and I am SO pumped to see it!)
• Charles Bukowski "Absence of The Hero: Uncollected Stories and Essays Vol.2 1946-1992" (I got it from the library and I have read the half of the book although I admit that it is a slow progress, as I do not enjoy it as much as vol.1.)
• Margaret Atwood "Moral Disorder And Other Stories" (I had it on my July TBR and I didn't read it, so I am adding it again)
• Maggie Stiefvater "Shiver" (I plan to start this series in August)
• John Green "The Fault in Our Stars" (I haven't seen the movie and I don't think I would, so I'd rather read the book)
• Vera Brosgol "Anya's Ghost" (I saw it mentioned on booktube and got it from the library; it is a graphic novel)
• Andrew Smith "Grasshopper Jungle" (It was recommened by Regan at "peruseproject" on YouTube and it sounds fantastic, so I am really excited about reading it - also a library book)

In July I got 4 ARCs from the authors on GoodReads (one is a hard copy with a gorgeous cover, and three are ebooks). I started one of ebooks and I really like it so far. I hope I will finish it as well in August.

Seeing as it is the last day of July and I am already half way through two of the books on my list, I have very high hopes for this month! I am trying to balance the types of genres I am reading, so I have YA, fantasy, contemporary, a graphic novel, a collection of short stories, sci-fi and a dystopia. I am VERY excited! :D

p.s. I need to stop buying books. And stop requesting books at the library too.

July Wrap Up // July 31, 2015

 

Here is the list of the books that I read in July*:

• Veronica Roth "Insurgent", "Allegiant", "Four" (my review)
• Malinda Lo "Asha" (my review)
• Charles Bukowski "Portions from a Wine-Stained Notebook: Uncollected Stories and Essays, 19-44-1990" (it was a library book and sadly I returned it before I took this photo, but it was in my July TBR photo)
• Jamie Meadows "Against the Odds" (ebook, finished in July)

*I don't know why I added James' book to the pile - I finished it in late June... Oops.

My target was to read 5 books in July, which I did, although I didn't get to reading Margaret Atwood's books and swapped them for the rest of the Divergent series.

Overall, I am quite happy with myself! I am back on track and I am reading writing reviews! Yay!

August TBR to follow.