Bookmarked... #23

The return of the (mostly) weekly post letting you all know what I'm reading and have lined up for the week! It's my own version of Sheila at Book Journey's It's Monday What Are You Reading (now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date) and I have her permission to rename it for my own nefarious reasons...

More great reading this week along with a really disappointing read, one that I was so excited to read but turned out not to hit the mark. It's Bout of Books this week so I have a fantastic stack of books lined up including 4 more of the Fables collections and some middle grade reading too. I'll be updating via Instagram and Twitter for the first 2 days as I'm away but will then update on the blog after that.

Finished

Still Reading

Started

Bout Of Books 16 Updates

Welcome to my Bout of Books 16 update post! Rather than have lots of small daily posts I shall just update this one every day with my progress (or lack of) and any challenges I may do.

Goals

• Read at least 7 books over 7 days
• Participate in social stuff - Twitter, commenting etc.

Progress Report

Day 1

I am so behind with everything in real life just now that reading and blogging seems to have taken a back seat. I managed to read a fabulous middle grade book today, The Windvale Sprites by Mackenzie Crook - yes, that Mackenzie Crook, the actor from The Detectorists etc. No socializing though and still haven't done the 'introduce yourself in six words' thing.

Today's Read(s): The Windvale Sprites - Mackenzie Crook
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 203
Total number of books read: 1
Total number of pages read: 203

Day 2

Today was a day of frustration, Blogger wasn't working properly and of course it was my stop on a blog tour so I was not in the best of moods. I also had the opticians, eye test and choosing prescription sunglasses ready pour mes vacances en France at the end of the month!

Today's Read(s): The Girl With A Clock For A Heart - Peter Swanson
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 333
Total number of books read: 2
Total number of pages read: 536

Day 3

I wasn't well today so the thought of doing anything but going to bed after finishing work was not appealing. I was only briefly online to try and sort out a blog post which hadn't posted thanks to Blogger and that was it! As for reading I decided to pick up possibly the biggest, heaviest book on my TBR pile and read about 100 pages.

Today's Read(s): Aeronaut's Windlass - Jim Butcher
Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Number of pages I’ve read today: 105
Total number of books read: 2
Total number of pages read: 1625

Day 4

Much improved but still not 100% so curled up in bed for most of the day. Aeronaut's Windlass was just too heavy to keep reading in bed so I picked up a psychological thriller by Carol Goodman and devoured the whole thing!

Today's Read(s): River Road - Carol Goodman
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 360
Total number of books read: 3
Total number of pages read: 1985

Day 5

Ill again but not too ill that I couldn't read, curled up in bed most of the day with a stack of library books. I started about five different books and eventually kept going with The Edge Of Nowhere by Elizabeth George.

Today's Read(s): The Edge Of Nowhere - Elizabeth George
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 496
Total number of books read: 4
Total number of pages read: 2481
 
Day 6

Today's Read(s): Daddy Dearest - Paul Southern
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 245
Total number of books read: 5
Total number of pages read: 2726

Day 7

Today's Read(s):  Reckless - Cornelia Funke
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 344
Total number of books read: 6
Total number of pages read: 3070 

Bout of Books 16

It's that time again!!! Bout of Books 16 starts tomorrow and I'm signing up for my tenth (I think, I've completely lost track) attempt. If all goes to plan BoB 16 should be a blast! Join in here... Hopefully this signup post post will appear as scheduled otherwise I won't be signed up!

Dewey 24 Hour Readathon

So, it's readathon time again! I debated over whether to take part or not given my current lack of enthusiasm for anything at the moment but decided to go for it in the end! I haven't done any of the mini challenges, I was on Twitter very sporadically and I posted a few picture updates on Instagram. It's not over yet though, still just over an hour to go so there might be a couple more reading/book updates on Instagram up until the end, 1pm BST/8am EDT.

Readathon Book Stack & Sweet Snacks

Maybe slightly ambitious for 24 hours of reading but if I read at least 3 of these I'll be happy!

First Book & Lunch

I'd already started  Dark Days Club before the start of the readathon but was enjoying it so much I wanted to carry on reading it!

Nearly The Witching Hour

Three books finished! Dark Days Club put to one side for now as it's too good to rush!

After Midnight

Some easy reading for sore eyes... Finished Mind Over Murder at 3am and decided it was time to sleep!

Last Books Of The Readathon

After a great 5 hour sleep I picked up the first Fables graphic novel, Legends In Exile, which I have been meaning to read for years. I raced through it and had time to fit in Fables: Animal Farm too!

WrapUp

Not a bad readathon, by my standards! I read 6 books, I slept for 5 hours, I did post a teeny tiny bit on Twitter and I didn't spam anyone who follows me on Instagram with too many pictures. Roll on October!

PS. If you can't wait, Bout of Books 16 is coming very soon...

Nearly That Time Again... Dewey!

Yep, it's nearly time for the 24 hour Dewey read-a-thon! I'm really hoping that taking part will kick-start my energy for reading/blogging/social media as I appear to have fallen into a black hole of lethargy and sheer can't-be-bothered-ness. April 23 also coincides with World Book Night here in the UK -I'm giving out Shadow and Bone, yay! - and the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare so it's an all-round bookish weekend.

I have no idea what I'm going to read, I'll have a new stash of library books by then, but what I really want to do is read my own books off my shelves and try to make a dent into my TBR Pile Challenge. I'll be posting photographic updates on Instagram and status updates here on the blog. If you want to join in there's still plenty of time to sign up.

Bout Of Books 15 Daily Updates

Welcome to my Bout of Books 15 update post! Rather than have lots of small daily posts I shall just update this one every day with my progress (or lack of) and any challenges I may do.

Goals

• Read 7 books over 7 days
• Participate in social stuff - Twitter, commenting etc.

Progress Report

Day 1

Day 1 started off looking after the twins and ended after a long train journey back home. I was very proud of myself though for finishing my first book and replying to some messages on Twitter while trying to stay awake on the train!

Today's Read(s): The Seventh Bride - T Kingfisher
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 183
Total number of books read: 183
Total number of pages read: 183

Day 2

Back to the everyday routine today after Christmas/New Year break and straight back into a mound of paperwork and assorted other mundane jobs. I didn't think I'd have much time to read never mind anything else but I managed to fit in some contemporary fluff. That was it though, I don't think I even managed to look at Twitter never mind tweet!

Today's Read(s): The Christmas Surprise
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 382
Total number of books read: 2
Total number of pages read: 565

Day 3

A hospital day today so wandering attention! I picked up and started 3 books, read more of some than others and contemplated starting another... No socializing as no signal at all in the hospital and no challenge :(

Today's Read(s): The Chill of Night - James Hayman, Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer - Derek Landy, Deadly Curiosities - Gail Z Martin
Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Number of pages I’ve read today: 505
Total number of books read: 2
Total number of pages read: 1070

Day 4

Not much of anything done today but I did manage to finish one book, Death Bringer, from the Skulduggery Pleasant series which I'm loving more with every book. By the time I got home I was too tired to do anything except read a few more pages and then watch old episodes of Criminal Minds...

Today's Read(s): Skulduggery Pleasant: Death Bringer - Derek Landy, The Chill Of Night - James Hayman, Deadly Curiosities - Gail Z Martin
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 450
Total number of books read: 3
Total number of pages read: 1520

Day 5

Bad day today, biggest panic attack I've had in a long time so was pretty much out of it from about 4pm onward with no reading done. I did however manage to finish The Chill Of Night in the morning in between sporadic bouts of work - no pun intended!

Today's Read(s): The Chill Of Night - James Hayman, Deadly Curiosities - Gail Z Martin
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 366
Total number of books read: 4
Total number of pages read: 1886

Day 6

It's got much colder here over the last couple of days so I spent most of the day curled up with a blanket, book and a large cup of tea! The only time I wasn't reading was when my niece & nephew came over to deliver our invitation to his wedding in April. I've now read 6 books so hopefully I'll meet one of my two goals for the week and that was to read 7 books in 7 days. As usual I've been a complete fail on the socialization front but between work, panic attacks and sheer exhaustion I just haven't been able to do it.

Today's Read(s): Deadly Curiosities - Gail Z Martin, Thirteen Chairs - Dave Shelton
Number of books I’ve read today: 2
Number of pages I’ve read today: 481
Total number of books read: 6
Total number of pages read: 2367

Day 7

Last day and I made my reading target!!!

Today's Read(s): Neversuch House: Mask Of The Evergones - Elliot Skell
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 384
Total number of books read: 7
Total number of pages read: 2751

Bout Of Books 15

Yes, it's that time again!!! Bout of Books 15 is nearly here and I'm signing up for my fifth sixth seventh ninth(?) attempt! If all goes to plan  BoB 15 should be a blast! Join in here...

Bout of Books 14 Daily Progress

It's that time again! This is my ninth Bout of Books and, I'm hoping, my most productive! No specific goals but I do want to make a significant dent in my Jar of Shame. If I can read a book day I will be ecstatic but I'll be happy with five.

Day 1 and the internet went down. Always happens, without fail, every single time I do Bout of Books.

Day 2 was mostly spent either at the hospital having tests done or having the biggest nap ever...

Day 3 and I'm having trouble... I've been picking up books left, right and center but nothing (except Kate Elliott's Court of Fives) is holding my attention. I'm definitely suffering from some sort of Bookish Attention Disorder a.k.a. BAD!

Day 4 was a good day for reading

Day 5 was spent at the hospital having tests and napping. Again... I've also veered away from my Netgalley/Edelweiss books that I was meant to be reading this week for ARC August. My concentration has been bad...

Day 6 was mostly spent watching Netflix or napping!

Daily Challenges

Ooops, day 6 and I've yet to do a single challenge!

Daily Progress

Monday August 17th:

Today's Read(s): Becoming Death - Melissa Brown, Starborn - Lucy Hounsom, Lorali - Laura Dockrill
Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Number of pages I’ve read today: 180
Total number of books read: 0
Total number of pages read:180

Tuesday August 18th:

Today's Read(s): Becoming Death - Melissa Brown, Lorali - Laura Dockrill
Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Number of pages I’ve read today: 190
Total number of books read: 0
Total number of pages read:  370

Wednesday August 19th:

Today's Read(s): Court of Fives - Kate Elliott, Becoming Death - Melissa Brown
Number of books I’ve read today: 190
Number of pages I’ve read today: 0
Total number of books read: 0
Total number of pages read: 560

Thursday August 20th:

Today's Read(s): Neversuch House - Elliot Skell, Mountwood School For Ghosts - Toby Ibbotson, Codex Born - Jim C Hines
Number of books I’ve read today: 2
Number of pages I’ve read today: 584
Total number of books read: 2
Total number of pages read: 1144

Friday August 21st:

Today's Read(s): Codex Born - Jim C Hines
Number of books I’ve read today: 1
Number of pages I’ve read today: 260
Total number of books read: 3
Total number of pages read: 1404

Saturday August 22nd:

Today's Read(s): First Class Murder - Robin Stevens
Number of books I’ve read today: 0
Number of pages I’ve read today: 200
Total number of books read: 3
Total number of pages read: 1604

Sunday August 23rd:

 Today's Read(s):
Number of books I’ve read today:
Number of pages I’ve read today:
Total number of books read:
Total number of pages read:

Bout of Books 14 SignUp!

Yep, it's that time again folks! Bout of Books 14 is nearly upon us so here's my sign-up post, keep your fingers crossed that I actually get to read/join in this time. I'm pretty certain BoB 13 was a washout in the end...

Click here to sign up if you too want to join in the bookish madness!

Bout of Books 13

Hurrah! Barely recovered from the after-effects of the Dewey Read-a-thon we get Bout of Books to do the same thing again but this time for a whole week! And of course I'm signing up although I think I'm away for three of the seven days so updates should be fun :)

If you want to take part, sign-ups are open here!

Dewey Read-a-thon Time Again!

It's that time again folks! Read-a-thon time! This is my fourth or fifth, maybe even my sixth Dewey read-a-thon and, I'm hoping, my best one yet, I haven't got any books lined up as I've discovered I read best in these situations by completely winging it! It all kicks off at 1pm UK time so I'm going to shower, get dressed. get my snacks ready and start thinking about what my first book might be.

I'll be doing semi-regular updates here on the blog but if my internet connection is anything like it's been the last two days (non-existent) I'll probably either be on Twitter or nowhere. Wish me luck!

Hour 0 - Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Sunny Somerset in the UK

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

All of them!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Peanut Butter M&M's

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm a bookseller, a bookaholic, a reader, an insomniac, a collector...

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

Stay awake! And hopefully find an internet connection every time I want to update!

Hours 1 - 4

Chosen my first book!

And my second book...

Hours 5 - 8

Trying to choose book number three and time for some dinner!

Book #4

Hours 9 - 12

Internet went off a while back so no online updates from for a while. Noy unless I want to go and stand in the back garden in the dark to find the wi-fi hotspot! Still reading I'll Give You The Sun and nodded off for an hour!

Hours 13 - 16

Feeling wide awake after my cat nap! Looking for book number five...

Call me crazy but picked up

The BBC have made a seven part adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell so I want to reread it before the show starts. Only thing I'm not looking forward to about the tv version is that they've cast Marc Warren as The Gentleman With Thistledown Hair and I'm not a huge fan.

Hours 17 - 20

Fast asleep after reading 50 pages of Jonathan Strange!

Hours 21 - 24

It's nearly all over...

Bout of Books 12

Yes, it's that time again!!! Bout of Books 11 is nearly here and I'm signing up for my fifth sixth seventh(?) attempt! If all goes to plan and I'm following my new super organized blog schedule then BoB 12 should be a blast, if I'm not then it could be a disaster like the last two Bouts of Books!

If you feel like taking part too, sign up here!

Dewey Read-a-thon!

Hurrah! Dewey's Read-a-thon has just kicked off and I'm taking part again! I've lost track of how many I've done, I think this might be my fourth one? I'm hoping to stay awake longer during the night this time so at some point this afternoon I'll be sneaking off for a nap :)

Hour 0 - Kick Off!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

  Gloomy Somerset in the UK

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The one physical book I'm reading for the read-a-thon, Horrorstor!

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

It's Chinese night tonight so spring rolls! Oh, and some Maltesers that I accidentally bought earlier...

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

Ummm, I'm an insomniac and night owl - except when I try to deliberately stay up all night. I read a lot as I have nothing else to do with my sad life ;)

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I lost my internet connection for most of the last one so I didn't do any challenges or socialize either, this time hopefully I'll do both :)

Hour

Bout of Books 11 - It's Nearly Time!

Yes, it's that time again!!! Bout of Books 11 is nearly here and so this is me signing up for my fifth attempt!

This one will be a little more interesting for me as I'm away until the 20th and I'm in London on the 21st for the Jo Walton & Mary Robinette Kowal signing at Forbidden Planet. I'll be updating on Twitter for the first four days of BoB 11 and updating on the blog for the last three days, this probably also means no challenges until I'm home but we'll see what they are! I'll schedule a post about my goals for BoB 11 to go up but check out @BookishOutsider to see how I'm doing.

If you want to take part sign-ups are open until the end of Tuesday August 19th, just add your sign-up link here.

ARC August

Yep, it's that time of year when you realize you have a rather extortionate amount of unread ARC's and Octavia at Read Sleep Repeat pops up at just the right time with ARC August. I'm not going to say how many unread ARC's/review copies I have but it's safe to say the pile is in double figures. I'm hoping to get fifteen ARC's read in August but will be happy with at least ten. They will include

• Smiler's Fair - Rebecca Levene (just about to start this one!)
• Gates of Thread & Stone - Lori M Lee
• Jackaby - William Ritter
• The Dark World - Cara Lynn Schultz
• Glimpse - Kendra Leighton

I also need to write reviews for

• The Geography of You & Me - Jennifer E Smith
• Landline - Rainbow Rowell
• A Place For Us Pt 1 - Harriet Evans

I'll update this post as I go and, hopefully, add links to reviews!

YALC Reading Challenge

Next month sees the first ever Young Adult Literature Convention in the UK and I'm going!!! There's a vast array of authors including Rainbow Rowell, Patrick Ness and dozens of others that I can''t wait to meet/hear talk/get books signed by. In honor of this auspicious occasion Jess of Jess Hearts Books, Vicky at Books, Biscuits and Tea, Carly at Writing from the Tub and Michelle at Fluttering Butterflies are hosting a YALC read-a-thon at the end of this month which I've decided to join. A lot of the authors attending are already firm favorites of mine but I've decided to go crazy and try & read a book by every single one by the time YALC starts. Given that the read-a-thon is only a week long I'm not that crazy so I'll stick to reading books by the authors that I haven't read, looking at the list it might be too many to read in a week. I may cheat slightly and start reading now, I have a handful of books by the marked authors already so will read them first and hit the library for the rest in time for the read-a-thon! Below is a list of the authors attending, the ones I haven't read are marked in red, the ones marked in purple are authors whose books I own but have never read and all will have a book title next to them which will be what I'm reading :)

• Malorie Blackman
• Holly Black
• James Dawson
• Sally Gardner
• Sally Green
• Matt Haig
• Isobel Harrop
• Charlie Higson
• Will Hill
• Derek Landy
• Sophie McKenzie
• Patrick Ness
• Natasha Ngan - The Elites
• Meg Rosoff
• Darren Shan
• Holly Smale
• Jonathan Stroud
• Ruth Warburton
• Holly Bourne
• Tanya Byrne
• Alexia Casale - The Bone Dragon
• Lucy Christopher
• Cat Clarke
• Steve Cole
• Sarah Crossan
• Kim Curran
• Phil Earle
• Ian Edginton
• Garen Ewing
• Frances Hardinge
• Catherine Johnson
• Nick Lake
• Andy Lane
• Julie Mayhew
• Sarra Manning
• Amy McCulloch
• Anthony McGowan
• Sarah McIntyre
• Robert Muchamore
• Beth Reekles
• Tim O'Rourke
• Bryony Pearce
• Non Pratt - Trouble
• Andy Robb
• Rainbow Rowell
• Lucy Saxon
• Marcus Sedgwick
• C J Skuse
• James Smythe
• Emma Vieceli

Bout of Books 10 - It's A Wrap!

And that's another Bout of Books done, more successful in the reading part than the socializing/challenge part but I expected that with everything that suddenly appeared on my calendar last week! I managed to read 6 books, enter 1 challenge and I think I commented on a pitiful 3 blogs but hey, I finished 6 books! My goal was 8 so I'm pleased with 6 and I intend to visit people's wrap-up posts to congratulate you all on a job well done! If you want to join in the madness next time, Bout of Books 11 has been confirmed and the dates are August 18th to 24th! Check the BoB blog for announcements, sign-ups and so on.

Books read

Glaze | Panic | Rivers of London

Jasmyn | We Were Liars | Now You See Me

Bout of Books 10 - The Final Countdown

So, it's nearly all over :( Halfway through day 7 and I've yet to pick up a book but the UK has had amazing weather the last few days and it would have been ridiculous not to take advantage. Apart from the event I went to on Friday night I've spent most of the last 2 days in the garden and I have the aches & pains to prove it! Who knew it was so much hard work emptying pots and replanting them ?! Off to lie down with a cold drink and a good book...

Day 7

Time reading - 4 hours

Pages read today - 576

Books started

Books finished

• Rivers of London (aka Midnight Riot)
•  Glaze
•  Panic 
• Jasmyn
• We Were Liars
• Now You See Me

Day 1

Time reading - 4 hours

Pages read today - 290

Books started 

• Panic by Lauren Oliver

Books finished

•  Glaze by Kim Curran

Day 2

Time reading - 3 hours

Pages read today - 416

Pages read total - 706

Books started

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic

Day 3

Time reading - 20 minutes

Pages read  - 41

Pages read total - 

Books started

• Jasmyn

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic

Time baking birthday cake - 1 hour

Time spent shopping - 3 hours

Day 4

Time reading - 2 hours

Pages read  - 270

Books started

• Rivers of London (aka Midnight Riot) 

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic 
• Jasmyn

Day 5

Time reading - 1 hour

Pages read  - 140

Books started

• Rivers of London (aka Midnight Riot) 

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic 
• Jasmyn

Time spent traveling - 2 hours

Time spent with hilarious authors - 2 hours

Day 6

Time reading - 0

Pages read today - 0

Books started

Books finished

• Rivers of London (aka Midnight Riot)
•  Glaze
•  Panic 
• Jasmyn

Bout of Books 10 - Halfway Point Update

So, we've reached the halfway point of Bout of Books 10 or BoB as I like to affectionately call it! After a strong start, Glaze and Panic finished, a review for Glaze written and notes for a review of Panic I first got distracted by the arrival of my sister & brother-in-law then found myself entertaining the four year olds rather than reading! I did pick up a book so I had something to read waiting for my doctor's appointment, Jasmyn by Alex Bell and oh my gosh! I'm in love with this book, loved it! I finished it today but that will be in Day 4's updates :)

Day 5

Time reading - 1 hour

Pages read  - 140

Books started

• Rivers of London (aka Midnight Riot) 

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic 
• Jasmyn

Time spent traveling - 2 hours

Time spent with hilarious authors - 2 hours

Day 1

Time reading - 4 hours

Pages read today - 290

Books started 

• Panic by Lauren Oliver

Books finished

•  Glaze by Kim Curran

Day 2

Time reading - 3 hours

Pages read today - 416

Pages read total - 706

Books started

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic

Day 3

Time reading - 20 minutes

Pages read  - 41

Pages read total - 

Books started

• Jasmyn

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic

Time baking birthday cake - 1 hour

Time spent shopping - 3 hours

Day 4

Time reading - 2 hours

Pages read  - 270

Books started

• Rivers of London (aka Midnight Riot) 

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic 
• Jasmyn

Bout of Books 10 - The Update Post!

Bout of Books 10 is finally here, a legitimate excuse to read all day, every day! I'll update here every day and hopefully have an accurate record of my BoB reading for once, my Goals post is here but I still need to narrow down the list of books I'm choosing from. Let Bout of Books 10: The ARC Edition begin!

Day 1

Time reading - 4 hours

Pages read today - 290

Books started 

• Panic by Lauren Oliver

Books finished

•  Glaze by Kim Curran

Day 2

Time reading - 3 hours

Pages read today - 416

Pages read total - 706

Books started

Books finished

•  Glaze
•  Panic

Challenge -

Books You're Looking Forward To hosted by River City Reading

• The Boy With The Porcelain Blade - Den Patrick
• Dreams of Gods & Monsters - Laini Taylor
• Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch
• A Shiver of Light - Laurell K Hamilton
• House of the Rising Sun - Kristen Painter
• Heir of Fire - Sarah J Maas
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Maggie Stiefvater

Day 3

Time reading -

Pages read today -

Pages read total -

Books started

Books finished

• Glaze
• Panic

Challenge

Day 4