All posts tagged ABC Book Challenge

Hello! It’s another week, and another day for the ABC Book Challenge! Today we’re on the letter P. I didn’t get this done ahead of time (life had so many time sucks last week, such as shopping for a car to replace the one that got totaled) but I’m doing it now. I discovered this challenge at Me, Myself, and Books, but I think it was started at The Thrifty Bibliophile. For this book tag, I go through My Books on Goodreads and pick out the books I really liked and the ones I’m most excited to read one day. Here we go!

It’s been several years since I read A Patriot’s History of the United States, but I think I’ll read this one again someday. The writing style drew me in. I just ran across this book several months ago when going through my garage and set it aside to read again. Someday. I’m currently looking up at all the other books in my closet that are also clamoring for my attention. ::Sigh::

The Poppy War gets a little dark in places, but it’s still good, and has a lot to say about society. I haven’t gotten the chance to read the second book in the series, The Dragon Republic, yet. So many books, so little time!

Pennies is a book I kind of stumbled upon. It was free, and it came with a free audiobook version too. One day I was driving home from work and needed something to listen to, so I picked up this book. It’s good, but disturbing at the same time. I couldn’t finish it on audiobook, but I did finish the Kindle edition. Then I went on to read the next two books. I hope to read the next book in the series this fall. This is NOT a YA book.

I’m reading Pumpkinheads today. It is so funny and cute! It is a perfect October read if you’re looking for something YA but not scary. I think this is one of my favorite graphic novels. Full disclosure here, I haven’t read a lot of graphic novels yet, but I’m putting this one up in the top two. Even though I haven’t finished the book, I don’t think the ending will disappoint me.

So that’s it! There aren’t that many P books in My Books on Goodreads (not too many Q books either). Have a great week!

I’m starting my fourth month of the ABC book challenge, where I go through my Goodreads books, one letter at a time, and note some of the more interesting books in “My Books”. Some I have read, some I have not. I originally found this challenge at Me, Myself, and Books, but I think it was started by The Thrifty Bibliophile. Today’s letter is N.

I read Naughts & Crosses last month. I really liked it. There are five books and two novellas in this series, and I’m not sure whether I will continue with it: not because the first book wasn’t good, but because the story doesn’t deal with the same people. I may continue with it someday, but it’s not one of my priorities. Nevertheless, this book is definitely worth reading.

Never Stop Walking is a memoir by Christina Rickardsson. It details her childhood in poverty in Brazil, as well as her adoption by middle-class parents in a European country. It wasn’t highly publicized, but it was a good read, so I have to recommend it here.

Most of the books in my TBR get there either as a result of hearing about them on blogs, or hearing about them on Twitter. I first heard of Nicholas and Alexandra at my weekly Russian meetup group. The whole story of the Romanovs seems fascinating, and hopefully I’ll find some time to get to this book someday.

Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House is probably the most anticipated release starting with letter N this year, at least among book bloggers. It’s release date is finally almost here! I already have it on my calendar to start reading it on Tuesday. Renée Ahdieh’s The Beautiful also comes out on Tuesday; I had to think about which one to read first, but I think this one wins out.

Those are the N books that stand out to me this week. Not too many. There will probably be more O books next week.

Time for another episode of the ABC Book Challenge! We’re up to the letter M, which means we’re halfway through the alphabet. In this challenge, I go through my Goodreads books and find books that start with the letter. Some I really want to read, while others I read and thought were good. I first found this challenge over at Me, Myself, and Books, but it was started by The Thrifty Bibliophile (I think).

A Million Junes is described as Romeo and Juliet meets A Hundred Years of Solitude. Okay, maybe that’s not a ringing endorsement because I kinda hated A Hundred Years of Solitude, but I’m kinda interested in the whole “forbidden boy” angle.

I was already out of college before I realized that my grandparents were millionaires. Up until the 1990s, they had a tiny black-and-white television, they never had cable, they had a really old car, and my grandma would get upset when she had to pay $.32 to replace a part to the faucet. But they were the classic Millionaire Next Door that owned their own business and saved — a lot. This book has a lot of really good info on how to eventually have a lot of money. It’s not easy to follow, but it made me rethink my idea of what “wealthy” really means.

Most of us (if you’re reading this) are some of the luckiest people to ever walk the face of the earth. Despite the political bickering that seems to go on all the time, we tend to be wealthier and freer (and safer) than most people that have ever lived. We can thank little miracles that happened throughout history for giving us the society we live in today. The Miracle of Freedom: 7 Tipping Points That Changed the World discusses seven events, from ancient times to World War II, that were crucial to leaving us with the world we live in today. I haven’t read it, but it sounds good.

I had the opportunity to read My Real Name is Hanna last year. While this book didn’t make my favorite books of the year list last year, it was pretty good. It didn’t get enough publicity when it came out, as far as I’m concerned. It’s about a Jewish girl who survived Hitler by hiding out in a cave. The book is based on a true story. It’s definitely worth reading.

The last M book for today is My True Love Gave to Me. It’s hard for me to believe I’m already starting to think about Christmas stories when I was just considering whether or not to read Summer Days and Summer Nights just a few weeks ago. Both of these anthologies are great. It might be a little too early to start reading this one. It’s not too early to start planning your TBR, however.

Those are some of the M highlights from My Books on Goodreads. There aren’t as many N books, but we’ll see them next week!

Hello! It’s a new week, and a new addition to the ABC Book Challenge: a six-month journey through my “My Books” section on Goodreads where I go through the more interesting books that I’ve either read or would like to read. I found it over at Me, Myself, and Books, but I think it was started by the Thrifty Bibliophile. This week, we’re on the letter L.

I can already tell that there are going to be a lot more L books than we’ve seen in recent weeks. The first book for today is Lady Midnight, the first book in The Dark Artifices. I love these Shadowhunter books. I’ve been rereading City of Fallen Angels and I can’t help but be impressed at how there were already glimpses of The Infernal Devices in this book. Anyway, this series is excellent as well.

There’s a link in my life between The Last Jihad and Lady Midnight, oddly enough. When I read the first Shadowhunter book, City of Bones, I wasn’t entirely impressed. I only gave it three stars on Goodreads. There was something about that book that I liked though. I continued reading the series because I accidentally read the last book in The Last Jihad series, Dead Heat, first. That book completely blew me away. Then I realized it was the last book in a series… and I read this book, and it was good… but it wasn’t amazing like the last book. So I decided to give City of Ashes a chance, and I didn’t regret it.

The Last Year of the War is such a beautiful story of friendship. It came out earlier this year and I don’t think people have talked about it enough. It’s one of those books that you should read with a supply of tissues nearby.

Oh Legend, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. The letter L could be full of books from this series: Legend the Graphic Novel, Life Before Legend, Life After Legend, and Life After Legend II. I’m pretty sure I’m going to need tissues for the conclusion of this series, Rebel, which comes out in… nine days. Although… since I ordered both the Kindle version and a hardback, I’ll start reading it Monday night, so it’ll actually only be eight days. Is it time to start freaking out yet?

Speaking of Legend, it was inspired by Les Misérables, which I haven’t read–yet. I just recently bought the audiobook (which is 60 hours and 26 minutes long). I’ve wanted to read it for a while, but haven’t gotten around to it. I plan on reading it as soon as I finish reading American Panda.

I have to include another classic today: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The Chronicles of Narnia is a great series, although I haven’t read it in a long time.

There are actually two more classics on today’s list. The Little House on the Prairie series actually starts with Little House in the Big Woods, but this book is the best known of the series. I loved these books when I was a kid.

The final L book is Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein. I haven’t read this for a very long time, and when I did, I had aspartame poisoning, so I don’t remember it as much as I should. I have seen the movies though. Maybe I should read it again someday. Looking over at my TBR, it might be a while.

So those are some of the L books I have on Goodreads. There won’t be as many M books next week (mostly because a lot of my favorite M books are the second in the series and I try to avoid using them here). We’ll see them next week!

Aaah! I almost forgot to do the ABC Book Challenge today! I apologize for my lateness. You’d think that quitting my job would give me more time to do things, but not really. I have school to teach (I homeschool my boy), two doctor’s appointments to drive my daughter to every week, and then coop.

I found the ABC Book Challenge over at Me, Myself, and Books, but it was started (I think) by the Thrifty Bibliophile. Every week, I go through my books on Goodreads and find books that start with the letter of the week. There are more books that start with K than with J, but we still have a dearth of books. Anyway, let’s get to the K books!

I usually like Bill O’Reilly’s Killing books. I’ve read five of them already (I think… I don’t think I’ve read more than five), but I haven’t read Killing the SS. I’ll probably eventually listen to it on audiobook since they’re a good way to sneak in extra books that I haven’t had time for. But first I need to listen to American Panda and Les Miserables, which I want to listen to as soon as possible. So maybe in 2020?

If king and kingdom didn’t begin with the letter K, I’d have a lot fewer books to work with today. I really want to read King of Scars. It was at the library a couple of times that I’ve been down in the teen section of the library, and I really wanted to get it, but I had other books to read. I will get to this at some point, but I’m pretty sure I’ll read Ninth House first.

Kingdom Cold looked like an interesting book, so when I saw it on sale, I decided to pick it up. I think the cover is gorgeous! Anyway, I don’t hear too much about this book, but I still hope to get to reading this book someday.

Unlike the other books on today’s list, I know when I will start reading Marie Lu’s Kingdom of Back. Well, kind of. I’ll probably get a digital copy and hardback of this book, and the digital copy should arrive at 10 PM March 2nd. I’m sure I’ll read a chapter as soon as I get it, but if I have homeschool coop the next morning, I’ll have to get some sleep. But I can pretty much guarantee that I’ll read this book mostly on March 3, 2020.

The Kiss Quotient had me at math. It was a sweet book, and at some point I want to read the sequel, The Bride Test. This isn’t a YA book by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re looking for a sweet adult romance with autism representation, you might like this book. And you don’t actually have to enjoy math to enjoy this book. I identified with the main character in this way though.

So that’s the list of K books for the ABC Book Challenge. For the past few weeks, there haven’t been a lot of books for me to choose from but there are many more L books for me to choose from next week. Let’s hope that I don’t dawdle and post this on Monday morning when I should post this on Sunday.

Hello! Welcome to the ABC Book Challenge! I first heard of it over at Me, Myself, and Books, but as far as I know, it was started by The Thrifty Bibliophile. Every week from July to December, I go through “My Books” at Goodreads and point out some of the highlights.

This week is the letter J. I literally have three books on Goodreads that start with J, and one of them I didn’t really care for, so today’s going to be short.

Jukebox Joyride is a cute middle grade story about a couple of kids who love music and have a time-traveling music box. I listened to this in the car with my boy, and it was a lot of fun.

Jefferson’s War: America’s First War on Terror 1801-1805 talks about America’s war against the Barbary pirates during the early years of the republic. It sounds like it might be interesting, although if this had been any other week, it might not have made the challenge.

So that’s all I have for today! K doesn’t have a ton of books, but it does have more than J, so next week’s list should be bigger.

It’s Sunday again, and for the second half of this year, I’m going to go through my Goodreads books and am highlighting books that begin with a certain letter each week. This week, we’re highlighting the letter I (which I have less than a page of). I first found this challenge over at Me, Myself, and Books, but I think it was started by the Thrifty Bibliophile. So here are the I books from my limited selection:

It’s been a while since I read In the Garden of Beasts, but it was a good book. It discusses the days before Hitler really came into power.

The cover to I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest is gorgeous! I haven’t had the chance to read this one yet. I haven’t heard much about this one for a little while, but it sounds like a lot of fun.

I got to see The Insanity of God movie a year or two ago. It was pretty interesting, and I thought it would be interesting to read the book that goes along with it.

I was able to read Lynn Vroman’s Into the Hollow last year, and it was really good. It’s one of those books that didn’t get much of a marketing budget so I don’t hear much about it, and that’s a shame, because more people should read this.

Makiia Lucier’s Isle of Blood and Stone was a good book. Sound of the Abyss, a companion novel, just came out recently.

That’s all the I books I want to highlight today. Next week is the letter J, which I only have three books listed… and one of them I didn’t care too much for. So there won’t be much next week. See you then!

It’s Sunday again, and time for another letter in the ABC Book Challenge! Until the end of the year, I’ll be going through my Goodreads TBR and highlighting books that I really want to read or thought were really good. I first found this tag over at Me, Myself, and Books, but I believe it was started by Thrifty Bibliophile. The letter H doesn’t have a ton of books to it, but we’ll go over some of the ones that stick out to me.

The Heavenly Man was such an inspirational book! I loved reading the miraculous story of his life.

Here Be Dragons came out 11 years ago, but I just found out about it in the last year, and I really want to read it. The story is set in thirteenth century Wales, which seems like such an interesting time period in history. Some of her other books look pretty interesting too.

Here and Now and Then is a cool time travel story set in San Francisco, both in the present and the future. And the past.

The H’s I guess are for history. A History of Modern Europe from the Renaissance to the Present by John Merriman is a huge book, but it was also pretty interesting. I found it a lot easier to read than Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, which is ginormous, and Kindle says I have over 90 hours of reading left (this book here didn’t take that long).

J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit is a classic H book. Although it wasn’t set in our world, it still kinda fits into the history theme of this letter, as Middle Earth has a lot in common with our medieval era.

The Hunger Games seems to be the odd one out in our “H is for history” theme today. This book is set in the dystopian future. If this is what our future has in store for us, I think I’d rather go hang out with the dragons. Although I can’t imagine they’d be that pleasant either.

So those are some books on my TBR that start with the letter H. The I books on my Goodreads TBR take up less than a full page, so I’m guessing that there won’t be too many on my list next week, but we’ll see what we can come up with.

It’s hard to believe that I’m already up to the letter G in the ABC Book Challenge. It was started by Thrifty Bibliophile (as far as I can tell), although I first found it over at Me, Myself, and Books. Every week between now and the end of the year, I will be going through my Goodreads books and finding books that start with the letter of the week, highlighting the books that I liked, find interesting, or am looking forward to.

One book that I hope to get the chance to read is Kiersten White’s book, The Guinevere Deception, which is coming out this November. I still haven’t read anything other than a short story by this author, but I hope to fix that sometime in the future.

I’m reading Ghost Fire right now, and it’s pretty good. I bought it with some of the points I’ve been getting over at Bookish First. I’m sure this book will end up on some of my Top Ten Tuesday lists at some point. I had never heard of Wilbur Smith before, but evidently he’s written a lot of books. I might want to read more of them at some point.

The letter G must be the letter of ghosts, because another G book for today is Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare. I really enjoyed following Jem from the past to the present in this collection of short stories. It makes me more excited for Chain of Gold, which they postponed to March 3rd of next year. There are already three books I want to read that come out on that day.

It’s been a couple years since I read A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Will we ever read Winds of Winter, let alone A Dream of Spring? I suspect that if Mr. Martin doesn’t finish it in his lifetime, a ghostwriter will take whatever draft he’s on and finish it for him.

As I’m writing my own book, I can see how it can take a while to write a book… but these are really taking a long time.

Well, those are the books I wanted to highlight that start with the letter G. There aren’t that many this week, but there should be more H books next week.

Hello again! It’s another week, and time for another letter of the alphabet. Today’s edition of the ABC Book Challenge is brought to you by the letter F! I originally found this challenge over at Me, Myself, and Books, but it was originally started (as far as I can tell) by the Thrifty Bibliophile! There are actually a lot of books that I love or want to read starting with the letter F. Here are some of them:

With the start of school just around the corner, now’s a good time to read Fangirl, if you haven’t already. Cath is a fanfiction writer who, at the beginning of the book, is starting her first year at the university.

I absolutely loved Flame in the Mist! The sequel wasn’t quite as good, but I enjoyed that one as well. This one deserves a reread at some point (although with so many books, so little time, who knows when).

I’m looking forward to reading The Fountains of Silence, which is a book set in Franco’s Spain! I ended up using my points over at Bookish First in order to get a copy of the ARC. This is one of the six books I want to read that come out on October 1st, so I’m glad I’ll get to read it early!

One of the wonderful things about reading a lot of books is… you read a lot of books. One of the downsides is… you start to forget that you read some of these amazing books. I read Four Dead Queens as soon as it came out, and I loved it. I don’t talk about it as much any more, but it came out earlier this year and it was really good.

I haven’t read as many nonfiction books recently, but Freakonomics was a book I read quite a long time ago, and it was really interesting.

Frequency by Christopher Krovatin is a book that I really enjoyed, but it never got a lot of marketing dollars, so I think a lot of people haven’t heard about it. Sadly, there are a lot of books like this.

So those are some of the F books that I either really liked or are on my TBR and I really want to read. There aren’t very many G books on my list, so next week might be a little sparse.