Monday, January 13, 2014

Bout of Books: Wrap-up

 
Bout of Books 9.0 was a great success!
 
Books finished: 4
 
* Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovich
* Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
* Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
* Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson
 
Books read from: 7
 
Another three books that I read from but didn't finish were
 
* The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
* Bullerby lapsed by Astrid Lindgren
* The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (probably the biggest surprise so far, this book is so much better than I expected, and definitely a lot better than all the other YA I've read so far).
 
Page count: 1243
 
Challenges participated: 4
 
Post daily: I did!
 
Regarding other goals - I didn't visit that many new blogs, but I did visit some; I could still have done better regarding Internet vs reading time, but looking at that pretty page count, I will not be too harsh on myself... Also, Packing for Mars was not in my Bout of Books TBR list (only because it arrived during that week), but I don't regret a single second I spent on this book.
 
Until the next time!

10 comments:

  1. I don't think your week can be called anything but a complete success. Well done! That page count is most impressive and four books (!) - wow. After Thursday things for me went downhill but only because I was having a really good time. I've seen my family and my boyfriend this weekend so there wasn't a whole lot of reading time. Perhaps too much alcohol though...as always! Still, I'm feeling pretty bookish in general at the moment so I'm going to continue in the spirit of BoB this week :) I'm looking forward to any reviews you write on these books.

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    1. Feeling bookish is good - I think if after a readathon one feels like taking a break of books for the rest of the month, it kinda beats the purpose. If I had family over and alcohol involved, I would have been "a completely useless muppet" this week :)

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  2. That page count in seriously awesome! Makes me think I should join next time to dedicate a week to extra reading, but I think I would struggle with internet vs. reading time a LOT -- I never post daily, so writing updates and trying to actually be social within the event, I think it would get me even more off track from the actual goal of reading than usual -- maybe I should do my own version of it that doesn't involve blogging and just do it for myself - something to think about, anyway!

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    1. It's the most difficult thing, I think, finding the balance between social activities and the actual reading. I think I did a bit better than last time, so hopefully it'll be even better next time! You could maybe try taking part but not put any pressure on yourself and just see how it goes and how you feel. Reading is so different for each individual that I am positive readathons as such do not work for everyone.

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  3. You made some great progress during the read-a-thon! I would definitely be happy with that! I always struggle with reading vs internet time during these things. My blog takes a serious hit with posts because I never plan ahead and can't spend that much time writing posts and reading and reading comes first during the read-a-thon for me. And I always wish I had visited more blogs. Maybe next time I'll be better!

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    1. I have problems with planning ahead too and my blogging schedule is usually so erratic that during the readathon is probably the only time I post regularly :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. Woooo you did awesome! Especially considering yours are all actual books, and not just a crapton of graphic novels (*cough*likeme*cough).

    You're enjoying The Coldest Girl in Coldtown? Hmmmm I may have to request is from the library again. I never got around to it last time I checked it out.

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    1. Graphic novels are books! :D Truth be told I wish I got over my fear of a graphic novel, so I'm determined to read at least Relish this year.

      The Coldest Girl is pretty well written but now that I am about half-way through, I'm beginning to have a bit of problems with pacing... so I am not sure how it'll pan out but I will definitely finish it (hopefully in coming days).

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  5. Wow! That is a lot of pages! I have heard good things about Purple Chair, and your review makes it sound really interesting. I started to read it though and the whole sister dying thing freaked me out so much I couldn't read the book.

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    1. The topic of death can probably be intimidating for some readers, but at the same time, I found that the way she tackles it is very comforting and reassuring in the end. I think this was one of the goals of the book - how reading helps to overcome all these negative emotions regarding death of a close person.

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Leave a comment if you feel like it - it warms my little bookish heart. :)