Do you guys remember last year when I posted this blog about how I wanted to read more? I wasn’t very good at sharing it here but I did end up meeting my goal. I mean, the goal wasn’t to read a certain number of books but just to actually rekindle my love of reading and I’m pleased to say that it happened! In the end, I ended up finishing 24 books. Including two that I never shared because I’m a bad blogger. Those two were: The Outsiders because Sadie was reading it for class and I’d never actually read the book (Loved it. Stay Golden Pony Boy!) and also Unbroken because I wanted to see the movie but had to read the book first and it was a phenomenal story. If you’d like to see all of the books that I finished last year, check out my Pinterest board here.
This year my reading buddy Courtney found a new challenge for us..jpg)
Fun, right? I started today off reading to my friend’s Pre-K class in honor of Dr. Suess’ birthday. I figured now was the perfect day to share my new challenge and what I’ve read so far this year to mark off on the challenge. Hopefully I’ll be better at updating my reading this year. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah – I used this for “A book that made me cry”. It doesn’t take much for me to cry so it’s not surprising (at all) that this was the first thing to be able to mark off. I really enjoyed this book. It’s about a friendship, started as teens and followed through the years. Really good easy read.
Fly Away by Kristin Hannah – This was the sequel to the first book I read and my “A book by a female author” book. Again, made me cry. Surprise, surprise.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – Ugh. I can’t stop crying! This book. Man. SO good. I really liked it a lot but it sure did put me in a funk. By the time I was finished I decided I needed to read something that was not at all likely to make me sad! This was my “A book set in a different country” book.
Prophet by Frank Peretti – Eh. It didn’t make me cry, so there’s that. This “Book with a one word title” was hard for me to get through. It just didn’t really capture me like some books do. I kept thinking I’d not finish it and then try to give it a little bit longer before abandoning it. Eventually I was too invested to not finish so I did.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – Ok, Courtney said that her son liked this “Book with magic” so I thought I’d give it a shot. I will admit that right off the bat I wondered if it was wrong for me. I love the teen genre but this seemed a little too young at first. However, it didn’t take long for me to get to the point where I couldn’t put it down. I texted Courtney when I finished and said it would make a great movie and then she told me it WAS being made into a movie. Yes! Can’t wait to see this one in theatres.
The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks – I’m a sucker for a Nicholas Sparks love story. This was “A book recommended by a friend” when Courtney gave it to me after her Nannie read it. It may have been a large print edition which made me feel a little silly at first. It was really good though and I zoomed right through it.
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper – This is “A book that became a movie” that I’ve been wanting to watch. I have this thing though where I really prefer to read the book first so that’s how I ended up with it. Plus, a few different friends said it was funny and I should read it. I will say that it has a lot more bad language than I like. It was really good though. REALLY funny. What a dysfunctional family. Totally makes me feel better about my own crazy fam!
Nothing Is Terrible by Matthew Sharpe – Guys, guess what. I got a library card! I decided that I needed to have one so that I wasn’t spending so much money on books. Although I’d really like to own all the book. All of them. I’d be pretty happy with one of those rooms with high ceilings and books lining the walls all the way around and a ladder that you have to use to get to every last book. So, a library I guess. Anyway, I got a library card and went to the nonfiction section and found the S’s. Then I scanned all the books with “An author with my initials” and decided on this one. Um, skip it. SO weird. I read the whole thing and am pretty sure I had a “what the WHAT?!” look on my face the entire time. No lie.
So there ya have it. I’ll be back in a month to report what else I’ve marked off the challenge. Hopefully!