Group Collaboration | Books We Vow To Read In 2020

Tuesday, 7 January 2020

Group Collaboration | Books We Vow To Read In 2020

Once again it's that time of year where we share the books we 'vow to read' over the next twelve months. As always, we've each chosen five different titles spanning various genres. If you've read any of these titles, or have made your own list for 2020, let us know!

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Group Collaboration | 2019 Reading Challenge Update

Sunday, 15 December 2019

Group Collaboration | 2019 Reading Challenge Update

Photo by Fabiola Peñalba on Unsplash

Ria... 2/5 books vowed to read 
I'm glad I did take my time to really read and enjoy the two books I did finish (Becoming, by Michelle Obama, and Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan). I'm also attributing my 2/5 to the fact I ended up reading other fantastic books this year - which made picking my 2019 favourites so hard!

Erin... 5/5 books vowed to read
Looking back through the archives, the last time I managed to cross all five titles off my list was in 2015! I chose this year's very carefully to give myself the best chance and it has definitely paid off! My favourite reads of the five would have to be Us Against You by Fredrik Backman and Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman.

Anastasia... 3/5 books vowed to read
I'm ashamed to say I completely forgot which books I had vowed to read this year, but I still managed to read 3 out of 5 of them anyway! The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman, Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton, and Puddin' by Julie Murphy were all great reads, and I might just have to scoot the other two books I didn't get to on to my list for 2020!

Anjali... 4/5 books vowed to read
Like most years, I didn't manage to get to all of my Vow To Read list, but I'm rather pleased to announce that I read four out of five! I'm quite happy with that. I had vowed to read (actually did end up reading) Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Rirrdan, King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo, The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (which I read twice!!), and Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. The only one I didn't end up reading was P.S. I still Love You, by Jenny Han. I'm actually hoping to read it this summer (Southern Hemisphere) before the movie adaptation comes out early next year.

Sophie... 4/5 books vowed to read
I read all of my vow to read apart from All the Light We Cannot See although hoping to fit it in before the end of the year but we’ll see how I go.

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Features | My Year In Books

Friday, 28 December 2018

Features | My Year In Books

Walk with me, down the bookshelves of memory lane...

One of my favourite features of Goodreads is how they create a beautiful infographic at the end of each year of all the books you've read in the past 12 months. Not only does it look amazing (shout out to their graphics department), but it's a real walk down memory lane. Some of the books I see on the list make me annoyed, because they were such a let down, but on the flip side, I'm reminded of great books I read earlier in the year that I perhaps haven't thought of in a while. Needless to say my re-read list gets a little bigger at this time of year.

I thought it would be fun, as my last post of 2018, to share with you some of the highlights from my book year, thanks to Goodreads.

This year I managed to read quite a few 5 star books, but at the same time managed to get quite a few duds in the mix. I usually find that most years are a mix of 3s and 4s, with the odd 5 thrown in, but either better books came out this past year or I'm getting better at picking. Who knows, but I find it interesting how much it can change year to year. You'll see my top five faves from the year in our group post, but it was pretty hard to pick just 5!

One of the things I wanted to do this year was get into comic books and graphic novels. I managed to read seven of eleven (I think?!) Runaways comics, and read a couple of graphic novels too. Hopefully next year I can a get few more in, so if you have any suggestions, please do let me know!

As you can see, I read 76 books this year, and that's a huge number for me. My goal was 45, but I think the reason I surpassed it so dramatically is because a) all those comics, and b) our Book Club this year was full of really short books, which pumped up the goal every month.

Overall, a great reading year! What about you? What did your reading year look like?

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Features | Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge Update #5

Saturday, 22 December 2018

Features | Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge Update #5

Somehow it's been a whole four months since I last shared a Popsugar update. Whilst I got off to a great start with the challenge, crossing off around half of my total completed prompts in the first three months, as the year has progressed I haven't quite managed to keep on track. As you'll see when I share my goals for 2019, I definitely took on a few too many different challenges back in January and as a result I haven't ended up completing all of them, including the ambitious 40 prompts set by Popsugar. Out of the full list I've managed to complete a grand total of 29, which is a couple more than last year's list. Here are a final few to round off this year's challenge...

A Book With Song Lyrics In The Title | About A Boy, Nick Hornby (1998)

Whilst I hadn't originally planned to use About A Boy for this prompt, things fell into place when we decided to revisit BB's first two reviews for our October book club. The film is quite possibly one of my most-watched of all time (at the time of writing this post, it was added it to Netflix about a week ago and I've already re-watched it four times...) and along with it comes the soundtrack! The book's title features in the lyrics of the song Something To Talk About by Badly Drawn Boy.

A Book That Is Also A Stage Play Or Musical | Strangers On A Train, Patricia Highsmith (1950)

I bought a copy of this as a potential book club pick and whilst it turned out to be a bit too long to fit our 'short story' criteria, I decided to use it for this challenge prompt instead. I actually ended up really enjoying the book and giving it 4/5 stars.

A Book By An Author Of A Different Ethnicity Than You | Men Without Women, Haruki Murakami (2014) 

This short story collection was the second Murakami title I picked up this year but sadly I didn't enjoy it as much as the first (The Strange Library). Although there were a few tales that I liked, there were none that have really stuck with me over the past few months. I'm still hoping I'll really enjoy 1Q84 though!

A Book About A Villain Or Antihero | You, Caroline Kepnes (2016)

One of the most interesting things about You is that it's not just about a stalker, but it's actually told from his point of view. I really struggled with how to rate this novel because I had such mixed feelings, but an adaptation is due to hit Netflix next week and I'm pretty interested to see how they will translate the story onto the big screen.

You can catch my previous Popsugar Challenge Update here.

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Features | Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge Update #4

Wednesday, 8 August 2018

Features | Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge Update #4

A Book With A Weather Element In The Title | Thunderhead, Neal Shusterman (2018)

I was so excited to read this book that I honestly didn't realise it would fit any of the challenge prompts until after I'd finished reading it! I was actually struggling with which title to pick up for this particular prompt so I'm happy that I managed to cross it off with a book I was already planning to read this year. I know I've said it already, but please pick up this series if you haven't yet!

A Book By Two Authors | Illuminae, Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (2015)

Another title that fit in with the challenge by happy accident was Illuminae, the first book in the popular Illuminae Files trilogy. Taking place in the future, this book has an interesting format with the story being told through interviews, emails, IMs and more. Whilst this kind of format is one I usually really enjoy, Illuminae just wasn't for me and sadly it's unlikely I'll be continuing with this series.

A Book You Borrowed Or That Was Given To You As A Gift | The Skeleton's Holiday, Leonora Carrington (2018)

I ended up borrowing a copy of our May book club pick The Skeleton's Holiday from a friend who was also joining in and reading along. This was an easy prompt to cross off the list and could have been one of many books!

A Book About Or Involving A Sport | Bear Town, Fredrik Backman (2016)

This is another prompt I thought I might struggle with as I'm not a sport fan at all. Luckily I realised that a book I already wanted to read would be the perfect fit! Beartown centres around a small town where hockey is a big deal and quickly became one of my favourites of the year so far. It's not an easy read as it tackles some truly difficult topics but I would highly recommend it and look forward to reading the sequel Us Against You.

A Book With Your Favourite Colour In The Title | Hannah Green & Her Unfeasibly Mundane Existence, Michael Marshall Smith (2018)

Another book I didn't realise fitted a challenge prompt until I was writing up my June In Books post (this seems to be a theme with this roundup!) was Hannah Green & Her Unfeasibly Mundane Existence, a Fantasy novel with some weird and wonderful elements. Overall it was an interesting book that encouraged me to temporarily step out of my comfort zone and read something a little different.

A Book Set In A Country That Fascinates You | Travelling In The Dark, Emma Timpany (2018) 

The final prompt of this roundup is one that I managed to cross of the list with my pick for our August book club. Travelling In The Dark takes place in New Zealand, a country that I would absolutely love to visit. Not only is the book based in NZ, but it also includes a lot of descriptive language about the setting, painting a vivid picture of the landscape.

If you're taking part in the Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge I'd love to hear from you. Let me know which prompts you've crossed off the list and which books you're planning to pick up next!

You can catch my previous Popsugar Challenge Update here.

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Features | Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge Update #3

Wednesday, 13 June 2018

Features | Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge Update #3

A Book About Mental Health | Challenger Deep, Neal Shusterman (2015)

I have to confess, this book had been sitting on my shelf (or rather floor...) part-read for a rather long time after I'd started reading it on a train in 2015 (my makeshift train ticket bookmark was still inside!) and then set it aside to finish at a later date. Cut to two and a half years later when I finally decided to pick it up and start again, and I'm so glad I did! The book follows Caden's experience, switching between the real world and a world that feels very real to him and is one of my top reads of the year so far.

A Book Made Into A Movie You've Already Seen | Stories Of Your Life & Others, Ted Chiang (2002)

I had a few books in my collection that would work well for this prompt but since I've been enjoying short stories so much recently I opted for Stories Of Your Life & Others. Story Of Your Life, the fourth tale in the collection was the inspiration for Arrival (2016) starring Amy Adams and was one of three tales in the book that I really enjoyed.

A Novel Based On A Real Person | Chasing Forgiveness, Neal Shusterman (2015)

Based on true events this YA novel deals with the themes of loss, family and forgiveness, telling the story of Preston Scott who was just twelve years old when his father murdered his mother. The book was originally published back in 1991 under the name What Daddy Did, but I picked up a secondhand copy of a more recent edition on Amazon.

A Book By A Local Author | Sunflowers In February, Phyllida Shrimpton (2018)

Originally I'd been looking at lists of authors from the general East Anglia area for this prompt but nothing was really jumping out at me. Then, whilst browsing the Waterstones events pages one day I landed on this YA title by Essex-based Phyllida Shrimpton and it turned out my local library already had the book on order so I reserved it straight away!

Personally I'm not 'double-dipping' with the challenge, but if you're taking part and are looking for ideas this one also fits several other prompts including 'a book about death or grief', 'a book with characters who are twins' and 'a book that's published in 2018'.

True Crime | Adnan's Story, Rabia Chaudry (2016)

Like most people I listened carefully to each episode of Serial's first season so this book has been on my TBR for quite a while. I'd recently discovered my local library didn't have a hardback or paperback copy, however they did have the audiobook version which is read by the author so I ended up listening to it instead. I actually think in the end this format was the perfect way to read this book!

A Book With Alliteration In The Title | The Gender Games, Juno Dawson (2017)

Although I've enjoyed lots of Juno's YA novels, this was the first of her non-fiction titles I've picked up and it was such an interesting read. In the book, which is subtitled 'the problem with men and women from someone who has been both', Juno discusses the topic of gender, looking at society's expectations and drawing on her own personal experiences.

If you're taking part in the Popsugar 2018 Reading Challenge I'd love to hear from you. Let me know which prompts you've crossed off the list and which books you're planning to pick up next!

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Group Collaboration | Books We Vow To Read In 2018

Saturday, 20 January 2018

Group Collaboration | Books We Vow To Read In 2018

Every January we join readers across the globe in setting brand new reading goals for the year ahead. As always, we asked you to share some of the books you plan to read over the next twelve months and you sent us lists featuring some amazing reads. We'd like to wish you all the best of luck with your reading goals for 2018 and hope you enjoy your picks!


Cover images via Goodreads & Amazon

Thank you to this month's contributors: Rachel, Lucy, Erin, Hannah, Ria, Aimee, Sophie, Anjali

If you would like to get involved with BB in future, sign up to our newsletter for updates!

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2016 Reading Challenge | Final Update

Saturday, 31 December 2016

2016 Reading Challenge | Final Update

For our final post of the year we wanted to share one last update on our 2016 reading goals. How many books did we read this year? And who managed to complete their 'vow to read' challenges? Find out below...

Ria... 21/30 books read | 2/5 books vowed to read

I've had a bit of a bad reading year in 2016 and majorly hit a slump around Summer which I've not quite recovered from. I did manage to hit 21 books though, which is still an achievement and I have really enjoyed the books I have read this year. I've also ticked off two of my books I vowed to read (Remix and How To Be A Heroine).

Rachel...
I've read 28000 pages this year and about 100 books (depends on if you count graphic novels). 

Erin... 3/5 books vowed to read

Unfortunately I only managed to read three (and a bit!) of the five titles on my 'vow to read' list this year - my favourite of the bunch was Do No Harm by Henry Marsh!

Cat... 5/5 books vowed to read
This is the first year since I joined BB that I have actually read all my vowed to read books! I would highly recommend all of them, and in particular I absolutely loved 'Amy and Roger's Epic Detour' and also 'A God in Ruins', the latter took two attempts to get into it but perseverance paid off. 

Image via unsplash.com

Thank you to everyone who shared their goals with us this year, and to all of our readers - see you in 2017!

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2016 Reading Challenge | Update #2

Sunday, 2 October 2016

2016 Reading Challenge | Update #2

It's time to check in again and see how everyone is getting on with their goals/challenges for 2016. With only three months left in the year (where has the time gone?!) here's where we're at...

Cat... 4/5 books vowed to read
Since the last vowed to read update I have finished 'Amy and Rogers Epic Detour' by Morgan Matson which I absolutely loved! I still have 'A God in Ruins' to go! I'm hoping to start this after I finish my current read.

Rachel...
The #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks challenge is not something I've kept up with very well. Next year I'm going to need to moderate it so that I make sure to read 1 book from my TBR each month. The biggest pain is that I want to support authors by buying the books, but the rules do not allow that.

As far as my page goal of 25000 pages read, I'm past the 20k mark already and with the Dewey 24-Hour-Readathon coming up, I'm fairly certain I'll reach my 25k goal before early December.

Erin... 2/5 books vowed to read

Since the last update I have crossed one more book off of my non-fiction-filled list; Do No Harm by Henry Marsh. I'm still only partway through both Forensics (Val McDermid) and What If? (Randall Munroe) but hopefully I'll be bale to finish at least one of these before the year is out!

Anjali... 29/40 books read | 1/5 books vowed to read
According to Good Reads I'm currently 1 book behind schedule. I think that's because I've read quite a few longer books this year, and I'm trying to make it up. I've only read 1 of my vow-to-read books (yikes!), and that was Invasion of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen. I've just finished reading A Darker Shade of Magic, and it's sequel A Gathering of Shadows, by V.E. Schwab, and they are 100% my favourite books of the year so far. Amazing. 

So that's how we're getting on with our 2016 reading challenges so far. We'll be checking in again for a final update at the end of the year so keep an eye out in December. If you missed our last update be sure to check that out too!

Don't forget to leave us a comment and let us know how you've been getting on with your own reading goals and challenges for 2016!

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2013 Reading Challenge | Final Update

Thursday, 19 December 2013

2013 Reading Challenge | Final Update

Images via Goodreads
We last shared how we were all getting on with our 2013 challenges back in June and today we have the final update...

Ria... 35/30 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read 

I've long past my reading goal for the year, which I'm so proud of! This year was all about upping my game and falling in love with reading books again so I'm really happy I've managed to hit above my original target. I'm also happy enough with completing 4 out of my 5 books I vowed to read for 2013 too. I really enjoyed challenging myself to read three classics (Fahrenheit 451, The Bell Jar and Brave New World), and have encouraged me to read more in the 2014! I'm also oh so glad to have gotten round to reading Harry: A History - especially as I got to compliment Melissa in person for writing such a fabulous account on the Harry Potter fandom at LeakyCon. The Mortal Instruments has been left by the wayside for now - I think the excessive amount of media coverage of the film put me off reading anything to do with the series - and I may have to give it another crack next year!

Anjali... 43/40 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read 
I'm super proud of myself for finishing so many books, and the fact that I was finished with 40 in October. However, I'm not too pleased with the books I vowed to read. In the last update, I had read Daughter of Smoke and Bone (by Laini Taylor) and also Feedback (by Robison Wells), and I had just started the Twelve (by Justin Cronin). I actually got bored of Twelve, so, although I'm planning to come back to it, I haven't finished it yet. I haven't yet read the other two on my list, but I have bought one (Casual Vacancy, by J.K.Rowling), so I hope to read that soon. A couple of 'non vow' books I've really loved have been A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness; The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green; and the Under the Never Sky series, by Veronica Rossi.

Laura... 27/25 books read - Woo! 

So I managed to achieved and surpass my reading challenge - I felt pretty confident I would although the last few books did seem to take me far longer than the previous ones. I however have no read anymore of my 'books I vowed to read' - only the same 3 I previously mentioned in our June update. I've really enjoyed having a reading target, it's kept me much more focused and was a gentle reminded to keep reading and not to let life pull me away from having a relaxing half an hour reading at the end of the day! I enjoyed all the books that I have read, there have been a few okay ones but there haven't been any that I didn't get some enjoyment out of.

Kath... 72/150 books read 
I’m quite obviously massively behind on my reading goal this year, but I did set myself a really high challenge and I’m proud of how well I’ve done. My reading goal was based on my reading habits of last year, and unfortunately life just got in the way this year. My absolute favourite reads of the year have been James Dawson’s Cruel Summer and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. A problem with having such a high challenge is that sometimes I've found myself reading for the sake of reading, but it has been wonderful finding new authors and diving in to new genres.

Niina... 21/35 books read

I'm definitely going to fail my reading goal the year! I've read 21 books so far and my goal was to read 35. I did pretty well in the first six or seven months of the year but I haven't been doing a lot of reading the last two or three months. My favourite books I've read since the last update is Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry and A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg.

Erin... 76/52 books read, 4/5 books vowed to read 
Since our last update I have managed to complete my challenge as well as make good progress on the books I vowed to read. Although I did start the last book of the five, Neal Shusterman's Everlost, unfortunately I wasn't enjoying it very much and decided to give up for now. I still haven’t given out any 5 star ratings this year - I feel so mean! - but there have been a few more reads that I have really enjoyed including Cruel Summer (James Dawson), Fangirl (Rainbow Rowell), Ketchup Clouds (Annabel Pitcher) and Thin Space (Jody Casella).

Don't forget to check back next month when we'll be sharing our 2014 goals!

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2013 Reading Challenge Update #2

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

2013 Reading Challenge Update #2

Back in January we set ourselves some reading goals for the year - five books or series we vowed to read in 2013 and a total number of books to be read over the year as well.

Welcome to our second progress update....!

Ria... 20/30 books read, 3/5 books vowed to read

I'm quite proudly powering through my reading goals, with only 10 more books till I hit my target! I also finished Brave New World and Farenheit 451, both of which I happily enjoyed, albeit they were both rather weird books. I've now bought, started and am loving Harry: A History and hope to finish/review it soon in time for LeakyCon in about 2 months. City of Bones is still on my to be read list, though I've heard some pretty rough reviews for it so forgive me if I seem a little reluctant to start...The Casual Vacancy and The Resistance are both still sat on my shelf but I'm having far too much fun discovering new authors and finding more bargain books in charity shops to care too much!

Niina... 12/35 books read

I'm doing pretty good with my reading challenge but I've only given out one 5 star rating so far, to Ashfall by Mike Mullin. Other books that I've really enjoyed this year are Love Is The Higher Law by David Levithan and The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams. My biggest disappointment so far this year is probably Blackbirds by Chuck Wending. It's not that I didn't enjoy it, but I thought I would enjoy it so much more!

Anjali... 26/40 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read

I'm feeling really pleased with my 26 books read so far! Not so pleased that only 2 of those are ones I vowed back in January to read, but nevertheless, I'm having a grand time! Last Reading Challenge Update I had already read Daughter of Smoke and Bone from my 'vow to read' list, but since then I've also read Feedback, by Robison Wells, which was on that same list. I really enjoyed the first in that series, Variant, so it was exciting to read the sequel. Sequels can often be a hit and miss I find, but Feedback was just as amazing as Variant. 5 stars, Robison, 5 stars. Despite only having read 2 out of 5, I have actually just started another from that list: The Twelve, by Justin Cronin, the sequel to The Passage. The first one was amazing, so I'm excited that I'm diving into another one of Cronin's adventures. In regards to other, non 'vow-list' books, I loved Carter Beats the Devil, by Glen David Owen. Ultraviolet, and it's sequel, Quicksilver, by R.J. Anderson were both really great too (you can read about my trip to the Quicksilver book launch here). And All Over the Place, by Serena Clarke was very good too! I haven't been sleeping as much as I should lately because of all these books...I've diagnosed myself with Just-One-More-Chapter-Itis.

Laura... 14/25 books read, 3/5 books vowed to read

I've read 14 out of 25 books so far! And have managed to read 3 book from my 5 to read list, I have now read: Miranda Hart - Is It Just Me? Sophia Kinsella - I've Got Your Number and Matthew Quick - The Silver Linings Playbook. I've actually managed to read one of those without realising it was on my list of books I vowed to read! The Sophia Kinsella book however I did purposely pre-order and waited weeks for, although I'm glad I did because I loved it! I'll be honest and say I pretty much forgot about how many books I was supposed to read this year but the number keeps steadily increasing as I delve through my 'to-read' shelf. So far I've enjoyed all the books I've finished and Goodreads says i'm 5 books ahead of schedule. - woo!

Lucy... 9/25 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read

I have read 9 books now which is slightly better but I truly believe that I will not get 37 books read by the end of the year. I've changed my goal number of books to 25 because I believe it's a slightly more achievable target. I have purchased Sever but apart from that, my vow to read books haven't been read yet. There is still six months left of the year though so hopefully, they will all be read by then. The books I have read have been brilliant however. Some of the more notable ones include Will Grayson Will Grayson by John Green and Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace. I'm also starting Game of Thrones and I am loving it so far!!! 

Erin... 31/52 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read

Even though I did hit a bit of a reading slump not too long ago I’ve still managed to pass the halfway mark. Notable favourites since our last challenge update would definitely have to be Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (review here) and Club Monstrosity (review here) although I still haven’t given out any 5 star ratings this year! Amongst the 31 books total I have crossed another one off of my ‘books we vow to read’ list. Fractured by Teri Terry was one of the sequels that I was really looking forward to this year but sadly I felt it was disappointing compared to the previous book (Slated). I’m currently working on Lord Of The Flies which was also in my five choices.

What are your reading goals for 2013?

Post by Erin / Images via Goodreads

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2013 Reading Challenge Update #1

Thursday, 14 March 2013

2013 Reading Challenge Update #1

Back in January we set ourselves some reading goals for the year - five books or series we vowed to read in 2013 and a total number of books to be read over the year as well. Here is an update on our progress so far!

Ria... 7/30 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read

Goals ticked off: The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath, Bought: Farenheit 451 and Brave New World, To Read: Harry, A History and The Mortal Instruments 

I'm plodding through this but I'm slowly getting there, the problem is I'm buying more books than I can read! I can cross Sylvia Plath off my list, which I loved and reviewed briefly here (http://wishing-for-chanel.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/february-in-books.html), and have also now bought Farenheit 451 (on Kindle) and Brave New World (as a book). I also downloaded and read the sample of The Mortal Instruments on my Kindle, and it left me quite intrigued. I'm just debating whether to buy physical copies or stick to the ebook versions. I simply haven't gotten round to buying Harry, A History - I really need to as LeakyCon is just 5 months away!

I've been really enjoying challenging myself to read and setting a goal has been just the kick I need to get back into my books. I'm also adding to my 2013 reading goals to finish The Casual Vacancy and The Resistance (both of which have been sitting on my TBR pile for months!) and One Day - which I recently bought and need to catch up on the hype!

Francesca... 8/20 books read, 2/5 books vowed to read

So, this year, I've made it through 8 books, so far (on my 9th!), which is nearly half-way through my goal for the year (20), and I'm really pleased I've made such progress!

I love reading, but being a busy student means I don't get to do much of it, once deadlines start pouring in, and have to get through my 'to-read' lists in the breaks or during summer, if I want to make any real progress! I've already managed to cross two of my five 'must-read' books off of my list, We Need to Talk about Kevin (LOVED!), and The Secret (…meh), and have promised myself the next installment of the Lying Game novels, Cross my Heart, Hope to Die, as a reward for finishing a big assignment I have due this term; I think I'm doing pretty well, really!

Lucy... 2/37 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read
Unfortunately, the total amount of books I have read is a miserable two. However I have already read one of the five books that I have vowed to read this year which is Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The other book I read was Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Both books were brilliant, I have to say. I feel horrified that I have only read two books so far this year but the only reason for this is that I've been doing a lot of stuff irl! I am making March a month of reading. I hope to read The Great Gatsby and Sever soon so that'll hopefully get me back into the reading swing of things!

Anjali... 10/40 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read

 Books read as of today/ this week: 10 So far, I've managed to cross one off my 'Books I vow to read this year' list, which was Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I really enjoyed that book, and wrote a review here on BB for it. I haven't managed to get any of the others from the library yet, but I'm hoping that some will appear soon. In regards to other books, I think I've done really well so far in my reading challenge for Good Reads. My goal is 40 books this year, so I'm pretty proud of my 10 books done and dusted. I've had a few favourites already this year, particularly Graceling by Kristin Cashore, and also The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Both are fantasy novels, and both have great story lines, characters and are a thrilling read. I also really enjoyed Slated by Terri Terry, but was a bit disappointed with Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I think I was expecting too much of it, and it let me down a little bit. I'm currently reading Beautiful Creatures, not because the movie was released (okay, partly), but because it's been on my list of books to read for ages, and I guess the making of the movie prompted me to borrow it from the library. I'm really enjoying it so far! Next I'll be reading either Ultraviolet by R. J Anderson or Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Both are on my floor at the moment, and I haven't decided which one will be read first. Either way, I can't wait for whatever adventure the next story brings!

Laura... 5/25 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read
I've read 5 out of 25 books so far! And have managed to read 1 book from my 5 to read list and that is Miranda Hart - Is It Just Me? So far it's going pretty good, Goodreads informs me that I'm 2 books ahead of schedule! When I set the challenge I forgot about how many books I end up reading to my class so I think hitting my target shouldn't be difficult although I must force myself to buy those other 4 books and make sure I read those!

Erin... 12/52 books read, 1/5 books vowed to read

So far my 2013 challenge is going really well, I’ve finished 12 books towards my target of 52 and have also managed to cross 1 (and a bit!) off of the books I vowed to read back in January’s post. 

My favourite reads of the year so far would have to be Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch (reviews to be posted here soon!) and Miranda Hart’s Is It Just Me? (review here) which was on my ‘books I vow to read’ list. I’ve also reserved Fracture from the library for when it is released and have made progress with another one of my chosen books Requiem, the third and final installment in the Delirium series as the first 80 pages or so are available to read online. So far so good and I’m looking forward to finding out how the series will end. I haven’t given out any 5 star ratings yet this year so I’m hoping to find a book I really love soon! 

What are your reading goals for 2013?

Post by Erin, Images via Goodreads

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Group Collaboration | Reading Goals & Books We Vow To Read In 2013

Saturday, 19 January 2013

Group Collaboration | Reading Goals & Books We Vow To Read In 2013

As it is the beginning of a new year many of us have been setting ourselves new reading goals for 2013. So, this month we asked you to let us know your personal reading targets and to choose five books or book series you vow to read by the end of 2013.

Every few months throughout the year we will also be checking in with regular reviewers Laura, Francesca, Lucy, Ria & Erin to find out how they are getting on with their 2013 reading challenges set in this post so make sure you keep an eye out for those to see how we are all getting on!

  *The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare, Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli ___________________________________________________________________________________________ *Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver, The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, Insurgent by Veronica Roth, Trapped by Michael Northrop, Wither by Lauren DeStefano ___________________________________________________________________________________________  
  *A Game Of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen, Sever by Lauren DeStefano ___________________________________________________________________________________________  
  *The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick, Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, The Growing Pains Of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend, Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella ___________________________________________________________________________________________  

  *The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, Blog Inc by Joy Deangdeelert Cho, Cross My Heart, Hope To Die by Sara Shepard, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne ___________________________________________________________________________________________


  *Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart, The Skinjacker Trilogy by Neal Shusterman, Requiem by Lauren Oliver, Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, Fractured by Teri Terry ___________________________________________________________________________________________      

  *Any Human Heart by William Boyd, The Catcher In The Rye by J. D. Salinger, On The Road by Jack Kerouac, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley ___________________________________________________________________________________________    
  *The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling, Daughter Of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, Feedback by Robison Wells, Reached by Ally Condie, The Twelve by Justin Cronin ___________________________________________________________________________________________   Don't forget to leave a comment below and tell us your reading goals for 2013! :)     Next month's group collaboration is all about our favourite couples in Fiction! If you'd like to get involved please email or tweet us the name of your favourite fictional couple and tell us a little bit about why you've chosen them.  

Contributors - Cat, Ria, Francesca, Lucy, Laura, Lulu, Anjali, & Erin
All book cover images via goodreads.com

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