Tuesday, December 27, 2016

TBR 2017

Hello Everyone,

I plan on reading 52 books in 2017 (one for each week).  When planning out everything that I wanted to read I wanted to leave a few spaces open for me to fill in as the year goes on, but I ending up filling in everything and still had books on my list that I wanted to add. (edited, I did leave a few spots blank before posting. It was a hard choice, but I made it).  I don't think I will ever complete my TBR pile! As always, I will be updating this list every three months.

  1. The Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (6-13)
  2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore 
  3. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
  4. The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J Maas
  5. The Young Elite by Marie Lu
  6. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
  7. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
  8. Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks (1-3)
  9. The Grisha Trilogy by Liegh Bardugo (1-3)
  10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
  11. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
  12. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
  13. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
  14. A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
  15. Vicious by VE Schwab
  16. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
  17. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
  18. Looking for Alaska by John Green 
  19. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
  20. Caraval by Stephanie Garber
  21. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (1-4)
  22. King's Cage by Victoria Aveyard
  23. Throne of Glass #6 By Sarah J Maas
  24. The Heros of Olympus (1-5)
  25. The Kane Chronicles (1-3)
  26. Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
  27. The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings


Good luck with all of your reading in 2017!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Read 5 Buy 1 #7 Completed

Hello Everyone,

Another one! I cannot believe how quickly I read five more books.  I am planning on changing how I do deal with my self in 2017, but I am still working it all out.  Here is the latest list I have finished:

Read:
1. Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas
2. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
3. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
4. The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
5. The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

Bought:
1. The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Book Series I Finished This Year

Hello Everyone,

This year I noticed that I finished a lot of book series that I have been reading for a long time.  I was proud to get so many done, especially with how busy I was.  I decided to make a list of all the book series I read this year, but I divided it into two groups.


Book Series I Read All This Year:
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (5 books)
I Am Number Four (7 books)
The Winner's Trilogy (3 books)
Six of Crows (2 books)
The Kiss of Deception Series (3 books)

Book Series I Ended This Year:
The Fifth Wave Series (2 read in 2016)
The Selection (1 read in 2016)
Shatter Me Series (1 read in 2016)

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Friday, December 2, 2016

Review: Empire of Storms (Spoilers)

Hello Everyone,



Summary:
Book by Sarah J Maas
The long path to the throne has only just begun for Aelin Galathynius. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those don't.

As the kingdoms of Erilea fracture around her, enemies must become allies if Aelin is to keep those she loves from falling to the dark forces poised to claim her world. With war looming on all horizons, the only chance for salvation lies in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

Aelin's journey from assassin to queen has entranced millions across the globe, and this fifth installment will leave fans breathless. Will Aelin succeed in keeping her world from splintering, or will it all come crashing down?
Taken from Goodreads

Review:
3.5/5 Stars
Starting out, this is a completely different series from the books that started this series.  I personally like the inclusion of more fantasty and magic, but that may be the only thing I like better.  From the beginning of this series I have been on the fence about whether or not I would keep reading it.  At this point, with one book left, yes I am going to finish the series.  Saying that, no I do not look forward to the last book.

I found the first half of this book not too bad.  Sure not much happened, but the magic and fantasty elements kept me reading.  I liked a few of the POV characters even though I could NOT stand Aelin. At all.  Lysandra, Manon, and Lorcan/Elide kept me interested enough when they finally got a turn to speak.  (On that note there are too many characters by the end of this book that I have a few of them mixed up).

The second half of this book I hated.  There was a moment when I almost put the book down and didn't pick it up again because I was tired of hearing about how beautiful everyone was.  That is literally all this book is about.

Also who introduces extremely graphic sex scenes into the fifth book of a series but doesn't have them in any other book.  There has been mention to sex before, but never has it been described in detail.  I personally am not a fan of reading that, and thought it was not needed, but if she wanted to have it Maas should have had it from the beginning.  This series has gone from weak assassin novel to fantasty to erotica.  Please just pick a genre.

I'm going to pass over the missing charcters here.

The ending I liked.  No not the part about the marriage, that was totally out of the blue and pointless.  I liked the torture scene.  It felt like something was finally being interesting, and the fact that I really dislike Aelin probably helped my interest of that part.

Now lets talk about the characters.  Beyond Aelin who is childish, secretive for no reason, sassy to the point of annoyance, and overall just thinks shes better than everyone else, we have a cast of walls.  Yes, you heard me right.  Literally every single man is described as a wall. A beautiful, strong, manly wall.  Last time I walked outside there was no one fitting that description, but in this world they are sold by the dozen.  It felt like Maas was trying to generate new characters but her description bars were stuck on manly, beautiful, and really into women.

On that note, I HATED the claiming.  That was disgusting and wrong.  Sure put a sex scene in my book, I can get over that, but the fact that everyone was claiming everyone else was terrible.  That better stop.

Things I heard too many times in this book:
-He/she was on top of him/her
-Claiming.
-Beautiful (get a new word)
-Aelin (she better die in the last book or the series will be pointless)
-He was in her
-Queen, King, Prince, Godess
-Fireheart

The only reason this book could get 3.5 stars was because I felt too bad giving it 3 flat.  Honestly my opinion might change over time. Until this book I had wanted to re-read the series for the release of book six, but now I want to just get the last one done so I can say goodbye to this author forever.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tomes Topple Read-A-Thon Progress Week Two

Hello Everyone,

I poster HERE that I would be doing the Tomes Topple Read-A-Thon.  Here is the second week of my experience with it this year.  You can find week one's progress HERE.


Dates: November 18th - December 1st 2016
Theme: books over 500 pages
Books: Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

November 25th- I listened to one more hour of Empire of Storms.

November 26th- I finally got to sit and do some reading, although it was not as much as I wanted to.  I got two more hours done in Empire of Storms.

November 27th- I got three more hours read in Empire of Storms today.

November 28th- I got to read for four hours today.  I was super happy with what I was able to accomplish, although I am not super happy with what I am reading.  More on that later.

November 29th- Today was a super busy day but I managed to listen to two more hours of Empire of Storms while relaxing this night.

November 30th- I only managed to listen to 30 minutes of Empire of Storms today.  I was busy finishing up things for this school semester.

December 1st- I listened to six and a half hours today.   Unfortunately I did not get as much done in Crooked Kingdom as I wanted to, but I hope to finish that in December.

Totals:
Pages: 105
Listened: 25 Hours

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, December 1, 2016

November Wrap Up

Hello Everyone,


Read:
1. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
2. The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore
3. Demian by Hermann Hesse
4. United as One by Pittacus Lore

Started:
1. Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas

Continued:
1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Bought:
1. The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

December TBR (Re-read month)

Hello everyone,

For the month of December I decided to try and do a lot of re-reading that I have been wanting to read all year long, but haven't gotten to do to trying to make my 30 book challenge.  Here is what I plan to accomplish.

Start and finish:

1. The Hunger Games

2. The Chronicles of Narnia

Finish:
1. Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo


Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Tomes Topple Read-A-Thon Progress Week One

Hello Everyone,

I posted HERE that I would be doing the Tomes Topple Read-A-Thon.  Here is the first week of my experience with it this year.

Dates: November 18th - December 1st 2016
Theme: books over 500 pages
Books: Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Leading up to the Read-A-Thon I finished three shorter books I have been wanting to read for a while to get the joy of finishing a book out of my system.  That meant on November 18th I was all ready for a long and steady wins the race style of reading.

November 18th- I mangaed to only read about 30 pages of Crooked Kingdom, although I couldn't wait on this book so I was already about 200 pages in.

November 19th- I started Empire of Storm and got 4% done (1 hour).  I then got to read 5 pages of Crooked Kingdom.

November 20th- I listened  to another hour of Empire of Storm putting me at 8% done.  I also read 30 pages of Crooked Kingdom.

November 21st- Two and a half hours listened to in Empire of Storm putting me at 18% done.  I also managed to read 40 pages in Crooked Kingdom.

November 22nd- Got to listen to one and a hald hours of Empire of Storm putting me at 23%.

November 23rd- No reading done today, I instead spent some time with family before Thanksgiving.

November 24th- Due to today being Thanksgiving, I got no reading done.  I did not get as much done this week as I hoped, but I am travelling tomorrow so I know I will get some of my audiobook finished.

Pages read: 105
Listned: 6 hours

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Read 5 Buy 1 #6 Completed

Hello everyone,

One more Read 5 Buy 1 completed.  I plan on continuing this challenge for the rest of this year, and then I am going to re-evaluate it to see how I can make it better.  The entire point of this challenge was to read more of the books that I own and to stop buying so many books.  While the amount of books I am buying has decreased, I have been reading a lot more borrowed books sense starting this challenge.  I want to change the rules so that I will get more of the books I own finished in 2017.

Read:
1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
3. The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore
4. Demian by Hermann Hesse
5. United as One by Pittacus Lore

Bought:
1. The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Reading Habits Tag

Hello Everyone,

I am trying out another tag today. Let's get started.


1. Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
Mostly at my desk, but I also read in a comfy chair I have and in bed.

2. Bookmark or random piece of paper?
Random piece of paper. For some reason I'm not a fan of bookmarks.

3. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop after a chapter/ a certain amount of pages?
I have to stop at the end of a chapter or if there are breaks in chapters that works too.

4. Do you eat or drink while reading?
Drinking water, but that's it.

5. Multitasking: Music or TV while reading?
No TV. I prefer to have music playing while reading, it keeps me from getting distracted by random noises.

6. One book at a time or several at once?
SEVERAL.

7. Reading at home or everywhere?
I prefer to read at home. I always find if I read out and about people try to talk to me and I really dislike the distraction.

8. Reading out lout or silently in your head?
Silently. Is reading outloud something people do?

9. Do you read ahead or even skip pages?
Never. I have to read ever word in order.

10. Breaking the spine or keeping it like new?
I actually have no preference.  I like the look of new, perfect books, but I also get super happy when I see well loved books.  I do both with mine.

11. Do you write in your books?
I do, but only to underine quotes I find amazing.  And by that I mean AMAZING.


I hope you enjoyed this.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Friday, November 4, 2016

Tomes Topple Read-A-Thon

Hello Everyone,


I have decided to take part in the Tomes Topple Read-A-Thon.  If you don't know what that is, here is the video that I watched about it.




Dates: November 18th - December 1st 2016
Theme: books over 500 pages
Books: Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Get ready to here my update in December.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

October Wrap Up

Hello everyone,

I am very happy with how this month went.  Not only did I read 6 books, but I knocked off 5 from my TBR for this month.  This leaves me with only two from this month not touched, and I am pretty proud of that. On that note, here are all of the books I read in October:

Read:
1. Queen of Shadow by Sarah J Maas
2. Paper Towns by John Green
3. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore
4. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore
5. The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson
6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Started:

Continued:
1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Quit:
1. And I Darken by Kiersten White (maybe)

Bought:
1.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, October 30, 2016

November TBR

Hello everyone,

Here are all of the books I hope to read in November:

Start and Finish:

1. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

2. The Fate of Ten by Pittacus Lore

3. United as One by Pittacus Lore


Finish:

1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo



Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Read 5 Buy 1 #5 Completed

Hey Everyone,

One more Read 5 Buy 1 finished. I have been able to read more than I thought I could this year, and that makes me very happy.

Read:
1. Queen of Shadow by Sarah J Maas
2. Paper Towns by John Green
3. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore
4. The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore
5. The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

Bought:
1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Rapid Fire Book Tag

Hello Everyone,

Another fun tag that I will be trying today. The point of it is I have to answer this questions as quickly as possible.  Here we go!


 -E-Book or Physical Book? 
Physical
- Paperback or Hardback?
Paperback
- Online or In-Store Book Shopping?
Online for deals, In-store if I'm browsing
- Trilogies or Series?
Series. I am so tired of trilogies.
- Heroes or Villains?
VILLIANS
- A book you want everyone to read?
Six of Crows, and I do reccomend it to everyone.
- Recommend an underrated book?
The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey. I think most people miss the indepth analysis of the human mind that these books offer.
- The last book you finished?
The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore
- The Last Book You Bought? 
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
- Weirdest Thing You've Used as a Bookmark?
Goodwill clothing tag or my social security card (yes the real one)
- Used Books: Yes or No?
Major yes. the more used, the more loved.
- Top Three Favorite Genres?
Fantasty.
Sci-Fy.
Dystopian.
- Borrow or Buy?
Buy paperback, borrow audiobooks
- Characters or Plot?
Plot.
- Long or Short Books?
about 450 pages.
- Long or Short Chapters?
Short
- Name The First Three Books You Think Of...
The Hunger Games.
The Beauty of Darkness.
Crooked Kingdom.
- Books That Makes You Laugh or Cry?
Harry Potter. Chronicles of Narnia.
I have only ever cried in one book, but these series make me so happy from nostalgia it gets close.
- Our World or Fictional Worlds?
Fictional. Duh.
- Audiobooks: Yes or No?
YES! If it lets me read while working, then I love it.
- Do You Ever Judge a Book by its Cover?
I try not to, I prefer judging the cover and then reading the summary.  I will never buy a book based on the cover alone.
- Book to Movie or Book to TV Adaptations? 
Book to Movie
- A Movie or TV-Show You Preferred to its Book?
Pride and Prejudice.
Fight Club (although the book is amazing)
- Series or Standalone's? 
Series.


I hope you enjoyed this, I know I did.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Book Series I have Quit

Hey Everyone,

This is a list of book series that I have quit.  This all depends on lots of different reasons, so instead of explaining I'll just list all of the books (although the number one reason is I grew out of the series before the next book came out).

These are in no particular order.


  1. The Lunar Chronicles
  2. A Wicked Thing
  3. The Eighth Guardian
  4. Infinity Lost
  5. The Ruby Ring
  6. Legend
  7. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel
  8. Gallagher Girls
  9. The Lord of the Rings
  10. The Inheritance Cycle
  11. Book of Ember
  12. Redwall


I will be trying to update this list each year for I can see how it changes.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Review: Slaughthouse-Five (Spoiler Free)

Hello everyone,

Taken From


Summary:
Book by Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore. In a plot-scrambling display of virtuosity, we follow Pilgrim simultaneously through all phases of his life, concentrating on his (and Vonnegut's) shattering experience as an American prisoner of war who witnesses the firebombing of Dresden.

Don't let the ease of reading fool you - Vonnegut's isn't a conventional, or simple, novel. He writes, "There are almost no characters in this story, and almost no dramatic confrontations, because most of the people in it are so sick, and so much the listless playthings of enormous forces. One of the main effects of war, after all, is that people are discouraged from being characters."

Slaughterhouse-Five is not only Vonnegut's most powerful book, it is also as important as any written since 1945. Like Catch- 22, it fashions the author's experiences in the Second World War into an eloquent and deeply funny plea against butchery in the service of authority. Slaughterhouse-Five boasts the same imagination, humanity, and gleeful appreciation of the absurd found in Vonnegut's other works, but the book's basis in rock-hard, tragic fact gives it a unique poignancy - and humor.
Taken from Goodreads

Review:
4.5/5 Stars

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It was a confusing read; not in the sense of it was confusing writing, but in the sense of it had confusing emotions.  This is a book about World War 2. And time travel. And society. And death.

Yet, it was fun and happy.

I found it to be a quick read.  I started and finished it very quickly.  At only 215 pages, I was worried it would feel rushed.  Nothing like this of the sort.  I never wanted to put it down and found myself wanting to read it when I was supposed to be doing other things.

Kurt Vonnegut is an amazing writer.  He takes the theme of war and makes it something that could entertain anyone.  Now this book was not for anyone.  It dealt with very mature topics, and I would not tell just anyone to read it, but it was good enough that I would tell most adults to read it.  I found myself genuinely enjoying my time as I read this book.

This is a book inside a book.  The first chapter is a little slower, and I was tricked into reading an intro.  The first chapter is an intro into the book.  It is important for things that happen later on, and I am glad I did not skip it like I do other intros sense the information came back around.

It opens up with an author explaining a book he wants to write. He meets with some friends to help him write it.  And after that he gets a contract to write another two books.  One of them turns out to be Slaughter House Five.  The author even appears in the book later on.

Kurt Vonnegut is a genius.  I found so many amazing quotes in this book that will stay with me forever.  he has such interesting ideas which he brings up.  How is war explained by time travel? You'll have to read the book.

The only reason for half a point taken off of the book is while I loved it, I still felt like there was a small thing missing.  I can't even tell you what I want, because the book was fantastic, but I just wanted something else too.

So it goes.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn



Monday, October 3, 2016

Read-A-Theme Read-A-Thon October

Hello Everyone,

Another Read-A-Thon for this month.  I am excited about this month's theme because it is more fitting to what types of books I own.

October info:

Date- September the 30th at 6pm till October the 2nd at 11:59pm
Theme- Cozy reads

Now this theme feels very open to me, so how I am interpreting it is books that I have been wanting to buckle down and read.  I am only choosing two books, but these are both very long books that I would like to sit and marathon this weekend.  I do not plan on finishing both of them, but I want to get a lot of reading done.

Books:

-Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas (I have 8 hours left to listen to on this audiobook)
-Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (I have about 400 pages left in this hardback)

Progress:

September 30th-  SOMEHOW they planned this read-a-thon on another weekend where I was traveling.  Good thing I had an Audiobook that fit my category.  I listened to 3 hours (15%) of Queen of Shadows.  That leaves me with only 5 more hours!
October 1st- Today was a busy day but I managed to listen to 2 hours (10%) of Queen of Shadows.  Only 3 hours left, and I have a 3 hour ride home tomorrow.
October 2nd- I finished listening to Queen of Shadows which took my 3 hours (15%).  I was VERY happy with the ending of this book and I think I can say this would be my favorite in the series.  After finishing QoS I decided that I needed something with a little different feel, and I still had plenty of time in the day to get some reading done.  I continued reading Paper Towns by John Green.  I was on page 100 and I read 100 pages.

Conclusion:

Pages/Hours: 8 hours and 100 pages
Books: 1 finished

Sunday, October 2, 2016

October TBR

Hello Everyone,

This month I made a more realistic TBR.  In the past I have tried to make it ambition on purpose, adding books I know I won't read trying to challenge myself or adding them because they are on my bookcase and I want them done.  This month I only added books I actually intend to read, although I do not plan on finishing all of them.

Start and Finish:

1. The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E Pearson

2. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff


Finish:

1. And I Darken by Kiersten White

2. Queen of Shadow by Sarah J Maas

3. Paper Towns by John Green

4. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore

5. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo


Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Saturday, October 1, 2016

September Wrap Up

Hey Everyone,

September was a big month for me.  I passed my 30 book reading challenge and just kept going.  Here are a list of the books I read:


Read:
1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
2. Annabel: Delirium 0.5 by Lauren Oliver
3. Hana: Delirium 1.5 by Lauren Oliver
4. Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Started:
1. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore
2. Paper Towns by John Green
3. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo


Continued:
1. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
2. And I Darken by Kiersten White

Bought:
1. Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas
2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

T5W: Gateway Books

Hello Everyone,

One more Top Five Wednesday! Enjoy.

Gateway Books to Your Favorite Genre 
--What books do you think are good to introduce people to your favorite genre? If you have more than one favorite genre, feel free to split it up to cover both.

Genre: Dystopian

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
Great book for anyone who just wants to read, but it was one of the first books that got me into dystopian.

2. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
You want a little more romance.  Read this dystopian series.

3. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Interesting idea. Okay ending.

4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
As many people have already read this book, it is an easy and interesting read for dystopian books.

5. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld 
Such a lovely and different idea.

Other amazing books to read in this genre:
The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Crooked Kingdom Release

Hello everyone,

As you have figured out if you have been keeping up with my posts the past few months I am in love with Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows.  I am excited to say that today is the release of Crooked Kingdom, the second and final book in the series.  As I had to do, I went to the store and bought it.  I am thrilled to be reading this book and will keep you all updated as it goes.



Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Friday, September 23, 2016

Read 5 Buy 1 #4 Completed

Hey Everyone,

One more finished! So thrilled with how much I have been able to read this year.

Read:
1. Raven: Delirium Series 2.5 by Lauren Oliver
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
3. Annabel: Delirium Series 0.5 by Lauren Oliver
4. Hana: Delirium Series 1.5 by Lauren Oliver
5. Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Bought:
1.Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Monday, September 19, 2016

Try a Chapter Book Tag

Hey Everyone,

So the point of this challenge is to find a next great book to read.  I am supposed to pick five books on my TBR and read the first chapter of each, talk about them, and then pick on to read.  Here are the books that I am picking between:

1. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore

2. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

3. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

4. Paper Towns by John Green

5. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Now I hate reading like this.  I usually have three books at a time that I am reading and I simultaneously read all three.  But due to this challenge I will be picking up five books and then setting down four of them.  Now all four of these I want to read pretty soon, but it stresses me out to start so many books and stop a bunch of them.  We will be lucky if I don't just pick up the first book I try out and continue through with that.

#1- The Fall of Five

I have this as an audiobook and the first chapter is 18 minutes long.  I listen at 1.5 speed for this series, because the readers are too slow for me.
While I didn't mind this chapter, I wasn't hooked to it.  Let's move onto the next book.

#2- The Winner's Kiss

I have this book in a hardback and the first chapter is 14 pages long.
I got a few pages into this book and knew it wasn't the right time to read it.

#3- Paper Towns

I have this book in a paperback and the first chapter is 8 pages long.
I liked the beginning of this.  It had me caught right away, and I was in the mood for this kind of writing.

#4- The Testing

I have this book in hardback but as I sat reading the summary I found myself not in the mood to start it.  So I moved on.

#5- Nevernight

I have this book in hardback.  But a few things stopped me from reading it.  First my interest was piqued with Paper Towns.  Second I am expecting a book to come next week that I will be picking up as soon as soon as it gets here.  So I want to start something short, and this book is not as short as I want.  Saying that, this will be next on my list to try the first chapter of once I am done with that other book.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, September 18, 2016

30 Books Read in 2016 Finished!

Hello Everyone,

So today I finished my goal of reading 30 books in 2016.  This is just a short post to mark the moment.  If you want to see a list of all the books I have read this year, check out my Goodreads, which is linked on the side of the page.  And remember to check back in as I will continue to read more and more books this year.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Top 5 Books I Read This Summer

Hello everyone,

I read a lot of books this summer, way more than I planned to read.  You can go and see just how many on my Goodreads page which is liked to the left. Anyways, I decided to tell you about my top five favorite books that I read.


1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Rated 5/5 Stars

2. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
Rated 4.5/5 Stars

3. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson
Rated 4/5 Stars

4. Fight CLub by Chuck Palahniuk
Rated 4/5 Stars

5. Entire Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan
Average Score 3.5/5 Stars
I had to put all of these together because I read all five of them this summer.  I felt like they were talked about so much as I was growing up and I never managed to read them.  While I liked them, I fell that the appropriate time in my life to read them had passed, and I enjoy different things more now.  Still, I liked them enough to add to this list, and I plan on reading the next two


Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Reading List 2016 (September Update)

At the beginning of this year, I planned to read 30 books.  I sat down and made a list of 30 books that I planned to read, but I knew that the list would change a lot.  So every three months I sit down and edit my list.

But as I sat to write out my September list, I realized that I was going to end up reading way more than 30 books this year.  I wrote extra books at the end to give myself more of a challenge!

I am reading 30 books in 2016. Here is my September update.
These are in no particular order, just how I typed them out.

Read Already:
1. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
4. Queen Song by Victoria Aveyard
5. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
6. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
8. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
9. The Crown by Kiera Cass
10. A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas
11. The Winner's Curse by Maria Rutkoski
12. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
13. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
14. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
15. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
16. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rotkoski
17. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Reread)
18. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore
19. The Heart of the Betrayal by Mary E Pearson
20. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Reread)
21. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Reread)
22. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (Reread)
23. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
24. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
25. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore
26. Raven: Delirium 2.5 by Lauren Oliver
27. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
28. Annabel: Delirium 0.5 by Lauren Oliver
29. Hana: Delirium 1.5 by Lauren Oliver

Currently Reading:
1. And I Darken by Kiersten White
2. Queen of Shadow by Sarah J Maas
3. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

To Read:
1. Graceling by Kristen Cashore
2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Will be released in September)
3. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4. The Winner's Kiss by Maria Rutkoski
5. Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas (Will be released in September)
6. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
7. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
8. Damien by Herman Hesse
9. The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E Pearson
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
11. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
12. Paper Towns by John Green


Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Read-A-Theme Read-A-Thon September

Hello Everyone,

Recently I was asked to join the Read-A-Theme Read-A-Thon group on Goodreads.  I found the bio interesting so I will now be participating in month Read-A-Thons with a predetermined theme.

I cannot say that I will be doing all of them, but I am going to start out by trying the September one and seeing how it goes.

September info:

Date- September the 2nd at 6pm till September the 4th at 11:59pm
Theme- Quick reads (books under 300 pages)

I had very few books that fit this category, but after some searching I found two that I wanted to try. I also borrowed two books under 70 pages from the library to try this weekend.  I only planned on reading one of these, because of some traveling I was doing this weekend.


Books:

-Slaughter House five by Kurt Vonnegut
-Brave New World byAldous Huxley
-Hana (Delirium 1.5) by Lauren Oliver
-Annabel (Delirium 0.5) by Lauren Oliver

Progress:

September 2nd- I travelled all day and had no time for reading.  I had an audio book on in the car, but I only listened to an hour of it and the book is over 600 pages so it does not fit in the category.
September 3rd- Started and finished Annabel (Delirium 0.5) by Lauren Oliver.  It was a quick read, perfect to start off this Read-A-Thon.
September 4th- I did a lot more traveling but managed to do some night reading before bed.  I started and finished Hana (Delirium 1.5) by Lauren Oliver). It is double the previous one and brought my page count up.

Conclusion:

Pages- 98 Read
Books- 2 Finished

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Friday, September 2, 2016

Read 5 Buy 1 #3 Completed

Hello Everyone,

I completed my third Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge! Here is a little update:

Read:
1. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Reread)
2. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (Reread)
3. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
4. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
5. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore


Bought:
1. Vicious by V.E. Schwab


I have already read two books for my next set of Read 5, Buy 1 challenge.  I am doing a Read-A-Thon this weekend and I hope that I can finish it so that I can buy Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas on the release date of September 6th.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

August Wrap Up

Hello Everyone,

Here is a wrap up of all the books I went through in August:

School started back up this month, and the two weeks of August I had before then I was training for a new job.  Saying that, I am pretty happy with how much I was able to read!

Read:
1. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
2. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
3. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore
4. Raven: Delirium Series 2.5 by Lauren Oliver

Started:
1. And I Darken by Kiersten White
2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Continued:
1. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

Bought:
1. And I Darken by Kiersten White
2. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

Sense I had a credit left over from a past Read 5 Buy 1 I was able to buy And I Darken by Kiersten White.  I finished my third R5B1 so I bought the book Nevernight by Jay Kristoff.  This means that I am on track with buying books!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, August 28, 2016

September TBR

Hey Everyone,

Here are all the books I plan to read in September:

This list is a long one due to the fact that I plan on buying two books this month and need to keep up with my Read 5 Buy 1 plan.  That means if I don't want to be in debt to my deal, I will need to read ten books this month.  While I know that I will not be able to do that, I hope to at least be able to read six and make up the other four the following month.

Start and Finish:

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

2. The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E Pearson

3. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Release date: September 27th)

4. Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas (Release date: September 6th)

5. The Fall of Five by Pittacus Lore


Finish:

1. And I Darken by Kiersten White

2. Queen of Shadow by Sarah J Maas

3. Cinder by Marissa Meyer


This month I have high ambitions. I don't know if I can do all of them, but fingers crossed I can get a lot of reading done.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Friday, August 26, 2016

Intimidating TBR Tag

Hey Everyone,

Today I will be doing the Intimidating TBR Tag. Let's get started.


1. A book on your TBR pile that you haven't finished
I have three:
-Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld
-City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
-Champion by Marie Lu

2. A book you just haven't had the time to read for
-Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

3. A book you haven't read because it's a sequel 
-Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass
-The Mind Thieves by Lori Brighton
-Extras by Scott Westerfeld
-Fable by Chanda Hahn

4. A book you haven't read because it's brand new
-Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Release date: September 27th)
-Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas (Release date: September 6th)
-A Beauty of Darkness by Mary E Pearson

5. A book by an author you read previously but didn't really like
-The Young Elite by Marie Lu

6. A book on your TBR pile that your just not in the mood to read
-Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

7. A book on your TBR pile that you haven't read because it's enormous 
-The Final Empire (Mistborn) by Brandon Sanderson
-Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

8. A book on your TBR you bought because of the cover
-The King Slayer by Virginia Boecker (Borrowed because of the cover)
-And I Darken by Kiersten White

9. The book on your TBR you find the most intimidating
-The Final Empire (Mistborn) by Brandon Sanderson

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Book Series I Am Currently Reading

Hey Everyone,

This is a list of book series that I am currently reading.  Whether the author hasn't released all of the books yet or I haven't had time/determination to finish them yet, these book series will be finished one day!

These are in no particular order.


  1. The Winner's Trilogy 
  2. Red Queen
  3. Six of Crows
  4. The Remnant Chronicles 
  5. Throne of Glass 
  6. Mind Readers 
  7. I Am Number Four/ The Lost Files
  8. Legend
  9. Uglies
I will be trying to update this list each year for I can see how it changes.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Book Series I Have Finished

Hey Everyone,

This is a list of the current book series I have finished.  This may or may not include companion books, it all depends on the series.

This list is in no particular order and is more for me to see how many series I have finished.  I think this was an interesting list to make, because I always feel like I have not finished many series.  Doing this reminded me that I have read more than I thought.  I think I will be updating this series each year to see how it changes.

More post will be coming out in the future about other book series related things.


  1. Harry Potter
  2. The Hunger Games
  3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians 
  4. The Selection
  5. The 5th Wave
  6. The Maze Runner
  7. Delirium
  8. Whispering Woods
  9. Shatter Me
  10. Divergent
  11. The Chronicles of Narnia 
  12. Maximum Ride
Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Currently Reading Book Tag

Hey Everyone,

Today I am going to be trying a different Tag.  Enjoy!


1. Currently Reading 
-Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
-The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore

2. Next on your TBR 
-Shadow and Bone by Liegh Bardugo

3. Next book you plan on buying
- Empire of Storm by Sarah J Maas

4. Next Anticipated Release
-Crooked Kingdom by Liegh Bardugo

5. Current favorite character
- Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows by Liegh Bardugo

6. Current favorite genre
-Fantasy

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

August TBR

Hey Everyone,

Here are all the books I plan to read in August:

This month I will be starting school, and before that happens I have two weeks of training for a job, so I am not sure how much reading I will be able to accomplish.  Saying that, I hope I can actually get a lot of these done!

Start and Finish:

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

2. Storm and Siege by Leigh Bardugo

3. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

4. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Finish:
1. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore

2. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

3. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

4. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi


Wow this looks a lot like my July TBR! Do to my traveling, I read a lot of books on my computer and did not manage to read as many physical copies of books as I wanted to be able to read.  I plan to sit down soon and binge these books (hopefully I'll actually do it this month).

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

July Wrap Up

Hello everyone,

Here is a wrap up of all the books I went through in July:

I had a lot of traveling and working to do this month, so unfortunately I did not get to read as much as I wanted to.  Saying that, I am still ahead of schedule for this year, so I am happy.

Read:
1. The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E Pearson
2. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Reread)
3. The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (Reread)
4. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (Reread)

Started:
1. The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore
2. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
3. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

Continued:
1. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Bought:
1.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Friday, July 29, 2016

End of July Update Challenge Day Five

Hello Everyone,

Books I am currently reading:

-The Last Olympian
-A Court of Thorns and Roses
-Queen of Shadows
-Ignite Me

-The Last Olympian
54% Done

-Ignite Me
20 more pages read

Check back in on Sunday for more!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, July 28, 2016

End of July Update Challenge Day Four

Hello Everyone,

Sorry about missing yesterday.  Due to my traveling so much recently, I am only home for a short time so I did no reading and spent time with friends instead.  Today is also going to be a lack of reading due to spending time with family, but I do have a few updates to make.

The books I am currently reading or planning to read soon are:

-The Titan's Curse
-The Battle of the Labyrinth
-The Last Olympian
-Grave Mercy
-A Court of Thorns and Roses

And here is my progress with them:


-The Titan's Curse
100% Done

-The Battle of the Labyrinth
100% Done

-The Last Olympian
36% Done

-Grave Mercy
Decided to not finish.  The book was too slow, and after reading a few online reviews they all said it did not pick up.  Great idea, poor execution.

-A Court of Thorns and Roses
I got my hands on the audio book for this, so I plan to be starting it after I finish the Last Olympian.

Because I made so much progress the first few days, I am going to be updating my list for the next two days.  Here are the current books I plan to read during this challenge:

-The Titan's Curse
-The Battle of the Labyrinth
-The Last Olympian
-A Court of Thorns and Roses
-Queen of Shadows
-Ignite Me

I know I will not be able to finish all of these, but I hope to make a lot of progress with them these next few days.

Out of the new books I managed to continue reading Ignite Me.  I had DNF this book a few months ago and decided to pick it back up.  I read about 110 pages of it.

Check back in tomorrow for more updates!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Reading Multiple Books

Hello Everyone,

Today I will not be able to post an update for my End of July Update Challenge, so please enjoy this instead.


I know that many people have a preference for how many books they read at one time.  Most people either read only one book at a time or a few.  I happen to fall into the category of reading a ton of books at once.  I figured I would explain and give some advice on that, because most people cannot seem to understand how I do it, why I do it, and what the point of doing it is.

Before I explain all of those things, I'd like to explain just how many books I read at one time.  I usually have about four-eight books going simultaneously.  I usually don't keep all of them updated on my Goodreads page, just the ones I am most focused on.  I have two tiers reading: books I am currently reading and books I was currently reading but am not ready to claim as DNF.  After about two years of sitting in the second category they leave my mind as currently reading and are put back on the shelf to either be sold or abandoned.

Currently, I am reading six books.  Four in the first category and two in the second.  One of the ones in the second is about to reach its two year mark.

How I do it:

So I normally have an audiobook, an Ebook, and physical book going so that I can be reading anywhere I am. I listen to the audiobook while driving, working on projects, and cleaning.  The Ebook is for when I am out and about so I can just read on my phone.  The physical book is for cuddling up in bed when I can just relax.

I have no problem keeping the stories different.  I never understood people who mixed them up.  I actually like having lots of different stories going at once.

It took me a long time to be okay with reading this many books at once.  My mom is a one book at a time person and she always would get on my case about starting and buying new books before finishing old ones.  But I just had to realize that everyone reads differently.  She couldn't understand my way and I don't understand hers.  I do a few times a year try to bring down my currently reading shelf to zero so that I can have a fresh start on reading.


Why I do it:

 Because I am an artist, I started to struggle with keeping up on my reading, but audiobooks allow for me to listen and work on projects.  Beyond that I just really enjoy having lots of things happening at once.

I really enjoy the beginnings of books.  I like the part where everyone is happy before the problems start.  So I like to start lots of books.  If I book doesn't keep my interest though, I will start a new one.  I used to have a problem with never DNFing a book.  I have learned that sometimes you just have to call it quits.  Eventually I might return to the book, but most likely, I will forget I ever tried to read it.


What is the point:

Reading is a very important thing.  I wish that more people did it; in fact I recommend it to all of my friends.  I think why most people don't read is because they see how someone else does it and assumes if they aren't doing it the same way, it isn't right.  So I like to share how I read with lots of people to help show them that there are many ways to read, and as long as you are doing it, you are doing it right.

Happy reading,
-Amanda Lyn

End of July Update Challenge Day Two

Hello Everyone,

The books I am currently reading or planning to read soon are:

-The Titan's Curse
-The Battle of the Labyrinth
-The Last Olympian
-Grave Mercy
-A Court of Thorns and Roses

I have made a lot of progress the past two days.  Here is where I stand with these books:

-The Titan's Curse
Finished

-The Battle of the Labyrinth
I stayed up late last night reading again and I managed to finish this book.  

-The Last Olympian 
I started this one today after sleeping for a while last night.  I made it 27% through the book.

-Grave Mercy
After finishing the Labyrinth I wasn't super tired so I read a few chapters of this book before going to bed.  I'm hoping to finish this one next after I finish the Last Olympian.  I plan to read it a few chapters at a time while finishing up this book though. 

Don't forget to check back in tomorrow for more updates!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Monday, July 25, 2016

End of July Update Challenge Day One

Hey Everyone,

I am back at it again! Like I did in April, I will be posting every day for the last few days of this month on my reading progress.  Here is day one!

The books I am currently reading or planning to read soon are:

-The Titan's Curse
-The Battle of the Labyrinth
-The Last Olympian
-Grave Mercy
-A Court of Thorns and Roses

So I decided to try and start over on the Percy Jackson series.  I read them a long time ago, but quit half way through the fifth book.  Now I am working on finishing them up this month.  I have been listening to all of them on Audiobooks borrowed online from my library.  The public library near where I go to college has some amazing online resources.

This is my progress:

-The Titan's Curse
I was reading until 3 am and I finished this book last night. I was super tired so I had to go to bed before finishing the next book.

-The Battle of the Labyrinth
I got this book and the last one from online so that I could just finish this series as soon as possible.  My day was pretty quiet and I only had a few small tasks to accomplish.  This meant that I could leave this playing in the background while working.  I made it through 60% of the book.

Check back in tomorrow to see how much progress I make!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Mid-Year Book Freak Out 2016

Hello Everyone,

I am trying a new challenge today! Check out where I heard it from HERE.


1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2016. 
-Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2016.
-The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to.
-Ruined by Amy Tintera

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
-Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

5. Biggest disappointment.
-The Crown by Kiera Cass

6. Biggest surprise.
-The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E Pearson

7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)
-Leigh Bardugo

8. Newest fictional crush.
-Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows

9. Newest favorite character.
-Inej from Six of Crows

10. Book that made you cry.
-None

11. Book that made you happy.
-Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

12. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)
-The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
- Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
-Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
-The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutoski
-Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
-Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
-The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
-Grave Mercy by Robin LaFever
-A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
(Too Many???)

14. Favorite Book Community Member
-Little Book Owl on Youtube


Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday: Additions to Wishlist

Hello everyone,
I am back again with another Top 5 Wednesday!


Most Recent Additions to Your Wishlist:
Books you are dying to get your hands on for your collection, or if you are a library-exclusive reader, books you recently added to your list there.
These are all books that I want to add to my bookshelf and really cannot wait to get my hands on.
You can join the Goodreads group HERE

1. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
This book will be coming out in September and I will be getting it the day it comes out.  I cannot wait for this sequel to one of my favorite books.

2. Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman
I have heard great things about this book and have been looking for it for a long time.  I cannot seem to find it except online.

3. A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
This cover is so beautiful and the description sounds really good.  I am a sucker for a good time-travel book.

4. The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
This is another book that I just keep hearing good things about and I really want to get my hands on it.

5. Ruined by Amy Tintera 
I was recommended this book by a friends and I have wanted to read it ever sense I heard what it was about.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Read 5, Buy 1 Completed #2

Hello Everyone,

I completed my second Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge! Here is a little update:

Read:
1. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rotkoski
2. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Reread)
3. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (Reread)
4. The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E Pearson
5. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan (Reread)


Bought:
1. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

I have not decided what book to buy next.  I will be updating this post as soon as I buy my next book.  I will be home July 24th and hopefully visiting a local bookstore then to check out some books.


Updated on August 9th 2016
Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Saturday, July 9, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday: Book Outside of my Comfort Zone

Hey Everyone,

I know I am a few days late on this one, but I have been super busy this month with work.  Hope you enjoy this list!

Favorite Books Outside Your Comfort Zone:
I normally read YA and fiction.  Most of these books are things that I read for school.  I was lucky and had great English teachers in high school so most of the books we read were enjoyable.

1. 1984 by George Orwell

2. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

3. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick

5. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand


Happy Reading!
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

June Wrap Up

Hello everyone,
Here is a wrap up of all the books I went through in June:


I am so happy with how many book I read this month.  I am super ahead of my 2016 reading challenge.  I am thinking about up-ing my amount that I want to read this year, something I have been thinking about doing all year.  I am just a little worried that once school starts again it will be hard to keep up with it.  We shall see what I do.


Read:
1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
2. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
3. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
4. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rotkoski
5. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (Reread)
6. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (Reread)

Started:
1. The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson

Continued:
1. City of Fallen Angel by Cassandra Clare

Bought:
1. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
2. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo


So I slipped up this month by buying two books.  The problem was, I finished Six of Crows the first day of June and realized that I needed more of this amazing world.  I already owned Shadow and Bone, so I ordered the next two.  I will be counting these as one book sense they are in a series together, meaning I am caught up with my Read 5, Buy 1 rule.

I also finished my first Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge! Check out the books for that HERE.  Time to start the next five so I can buy one more book.

-Happy Reading
Amanda Lyn

Monday, June 27, 2016

July TBR

Here are all the books I plan to read in July:

(I will be traveling throughout July, so I am limited to the books that I take with me and borrow online.)


Start and Finish:

1. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

2. Storm and Siege by Leigh Bardugo

3. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

4. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Finish:
1. The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E Pearson

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Review: The Kiss of Deception

Hey everyone,

It has been a little bit sense I have done a review like this.  Get ready for some opinions!

Taken from
Summary:
Book by Mary E. Pearson
A princess must find her place in a reborn world.

She flees on her wedding day.

She steals ancient documents from the Chancellor's secret collection.

She is pursued by bounty hunters sent by her own father.

She is Princess Lia, seventeen, First Daughter of the House of Morrighan.

The Kingdom of Morrighan is steeped in tradition and the stories of a bygone world, but some traditions Lia can't abide. Like having to marry someone she's never met to secure a political alliance.

Fed up and ready for a new life, Lia flees to a distant village on the morning of her wedding. She settles in among the common folk, intrigued when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deceptions swirl and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—secrets that may unravel her world—even as she feels herself falling in love.
Taken from Goodreads

Review:
4/5 Stars
I was recommended this book a long time ago, and while the concept intrigued me, I was hesitant to read it.  Finally I managed to borrow the audio book from the library and listened to it.

I was instantly shocked, in a good way.  I found I could not stop listening to this book.  I finished it in four days, which for an audiobook that is 14 hours long, while I was working 8 hour days was impressive.

So back to the book.  I was pulled in instantly.  This land was magical and enchanting.  I thought that the main part of the book would be the romance between the characters, but it was much more about the mystery.  I was constantly stuck between wanting to google who was who and not wanting to know.  The truth is told about 60% through the book, and still now I am not sure if that was too quick or too long of a wait.

Lia was a decent character.  I understood where she came from and why she left in the beginning.  I loved her relationships with her brothers and Paula.  Like any good main character she has flaws.  I hate that she lied to her best friend.  I understand the reasons, but I fear that this will cause a problem in later books.  Also I felt little character development from her.  In the end she was still a princess, like the book had lost all of the progress she wanted to make.  This I was okay with because it leads me to believe that in the future she will try again and succeed.  Finally it was a little hard to understand her knife skills.  I am assuming they grew suddenly because of her "gift" but it was unclear and seemed sudden.

The main problem I had with this book was the "gift" was unclear.  It took me a long time into reading it to understand what exactly she could do.  I did not mind the mystery, but even after it was explained, or assumed, I was still wondering constantly if there was more to it.  Some more clarification would have been nice.

Now on to the boys.  I will leave this as spoiler free as I possibly can, but for the sake of someone who has not read the book, I recommend skipping this paragraph.  I, like every other reader, started out with a clear mindset believing extremely that one boy was the assassin and the other the prince.  As I was listening though, I started to wonder about the fact that it seemed so clear that each was one of them, and I began to question it.  Now, this has nothing to do with the writer and is totally the audiobooks fault, I began to pay more attention with they would be talking to figure out who was who.  Suddenly I noticed that the voice of the assassin matched one boy and the prince matched another.  This unfortunately ruined the big plot twist in the middle of the book, but I still loved what the author did by trying to trick the reader.

I loved the journey in this book.  All of the places that I got to read about were so well described.   I do wish I had the physical book so I could have seen a map, but again that has nothing to do with the writer.  The second have of the book was my favorite.  I loved the ending and plan to start the next one as soon as I can get it.

Things I loved about this book:
-royals becoming poor
-free person becoming a slave
-questioning who she really loved
-Vagabonds
-Quotes to start chapters
-Different POVs

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

What is the Opposite of a Reading Slump?

Hello everyone,

What is the opposite of a reading slump?

Me. Right now.

Yesterday I finished two books, reading over 300 pages.  It was great.  Normally after I finish a book I have to wait a few days to start reading or continuing another one.  But today I woke up, after finishing two books, and I started to continue another one.

I am very happy with this update.  I have a few more days before I leave to go back to school for this summer.  My goal is to finish two books before then.  If I use most of my free time towards reading, I think I can do just that!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Read 5, Buy 1 Completed #1

Hello everyone,

I completed my first Read 5, Buy 1 Challenge! Here is a little update:

Read:
1. The Crown by Kiera Cass
2. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
3. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
4. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
5. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Bought:
1. Siege and Storm/Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

Check out HERE for while I am counting these two books as one and to view them being unboxed.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

A Package Arrived

Hey Everyone,

I ordered a few books the other day and they came today. 




After finishing Six of Crows, read more HERE, I had to order three other books by Leigh Bardugo. 

I plan to read this books while I am back at school this summer RAing for some events.

Now how does this package affect my Read 5, Buy 1? I already owned the first one in a digital copy so I am not counting this as a buy.  The second two I am counting as one sense they are a series.  I am almost done with five books read, in fact today I finished number four.  That means as soon as I am done with one more I will have read enough for this package!

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Character Names

Hey everyone!

Another Top 5 Wednesday! This week was more difficult for me to do than last week.  I came up with three almost immediately, and then I was left running through my book shelf trying to remember character's names.

Favorite Character Names: 
Fairly self-explanatory. Names you like for whatever reason!

1. Cassiopeia from The 5th Wave Trilogy
Not only are these books some of my favorites, I love anything to do with the night sky.  As soon as I learned that Cassie's names was short for Cassiopeia, it made my number one favorite name in any book.

2. Inej from Six of Crows
Six of Crows is my number one favorite book right now, and I actually had a battle with myself on who's name to choose.  After some debate, I picked Inej because I truly believe the other person I liked their personality and therefor I loved everything else about them.  Inej is just such a pretty name, and I like how it rolls off the tongue.

3. Eustace Scrubb from The Chronicles of Narnia 
"There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." -The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

I read this quote when I was young, and have never been able to not love that name.  It's like an ugly critter.  You find it so repulsive, it becomes cute.

4. Warner from Shatter Me Trilogy 
This one I have to wonder if I just really like the character and not the name.  The only reason why I say it is the name, is because in the books he asks Juliette to call him something different, and I remember cringing and saying no out loud.  I like your name, please do not change it.

5. Murtagh from Eragon 
This name has been with me sense I was little.  I never seemed to be able to get it out of my head.  For a long time this was going to be my first borns name, then I realized I needed to name them something more sensible like Phoenix or Sunshine.  But this name will forever stick with me as a top 5 favorite names.  And who knows, Phoenix will need a cool little sibling.


You can join the group on Goodreads to see what the future categories will be!
Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Saturday, June 4, 2016

A Six of Crows Appreciation Post and Review

Hello everyone,

I have some amazing news for you today. I have found an amazing book.

Back in September, some of my friends and I traveled to a book store for some fun.  We used to make jokes that we were a murder (group of crows) because of how obnoxious we were when we went places. I saw this book called Six of Crows, and my friend Sarah and I joked that I needed to buy it for our group.  The book was $20 so I said I would look online.

Months passed.  I would periodically check online and in stores.  The book dropped to $15, but me being me, I refuse to pay more than $10 for a book.

Finally Audible offered me a deal to buy any book for only $7.  I chose this one.  Quickly I realized that there were too many names and I was getting confused.  I was going to have to spend some real money on this book.

Summer came and I was dying to read it.  The summary and the few chapters I had listened to left me wanting more.  I had to go to a few book stores to find it, because at this point it was not a new book.

I went home and I started it right away.  I had it done in a few short days. I loved it so much.

Taken From

Summary:

Taken from Goodreads
Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums. 

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes. 

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.


Review:

5/5 Stars
The characters were so interesting, and I loved how we got to see from their different perspectives.  The ending left me wanting more, and I already have my eye on the next one that comes out this year in September.
I have not read a book this good in a long time.  After finishing the book it left me wanting to go on an adventure and longing to read more.  Days later I am still thinking (and dreaming) about this book.  If you read nothing else in your lifetime, spend the money, get this book. I already want to re-read it.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday: Book Theme Songs

Hey everyone!

Today I thought I would try something new. I love watching the BookTubers do there Top 5 Wednesday, so I found the theme for day and I am going to be trying it!

Book Theme Songs: 

Songs you associate with different books, whether it's because of the lyrics matching the story, the tone fits the story, or just because you listened to it a lot while reading that particular book! Taken from Goodreads

1. Black Water by Of Monsters and Men for City of Ash by Cassandra Clare
I believe this one mainly goes with it for me because I listened to this song on repeat when I read this book.  But I also think it goes well together because of the dark theme of the song and the water which is a big part of the end of this book.

2. Monsters Calling Home by Run River North for Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
This one is simply because I listened to it a million times while reading the book.  The title goes along well with some of the themes in the book, but other than that they don't match too well

3. Renegades by X Ambassadors for the Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
The entire book is about the last of the human race trying to fight back and survive, making them renegades.  I also feel like the sound of the song matches the lost feeling the people have in the book.

4.  Rivers and Roads by the Head & the Heart for Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
This song always reminds me of the fight and the nature of this book.  Most of the book takes place outside with the main character fighting to stay alive, forget her pain, and become stronger.  This song always makes me think of fighting to be the best you can be.

5. The Lament of Eustace Scrubb by The Oh Hellos for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis
Well this song was LITERALLY made for this book, but every time I listen to it I get a huge urge to read the book again.


You can join the group on Goodreads to see what the future categories will be!

-Happy Reading
Amanda Lyn

Reading List 2016 (June Update)

At the beginning of this year, I planned to read 30 books.  I sat down and made a list of 30 books that I planned to read, but I knew that the list would change a lot.  So every three months I sit down and edit my list.

I am reading 30 books in 2016. Here is my June update.
These are in no particular order, just how I typed them out.

Read Already:
1. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
2. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
3. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
4. Queen Song by Victoria Aveyard
5. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
6. Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
8. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
9. The Crown by Kiera Cass
10. A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas
11. The Winner's Curse by Maria Rutkoski
12. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Currently Reading:
1. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
3. The Winner's Crime by Maria Rutkoski

To Read:
1. Graceling by Kristen Cashore
2. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (Will be released in September)
3. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman
5. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
6. The Young Elite by Marie Lu
7. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
8. Damien by Herman Hesse
9. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
11. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
12. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
13. Paper Towns by John Green
14. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
15. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

(Edit had been made on June 4th 2016)

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

May Wrap up

Hello everyone,
Here is a wrap up of all the books I went through in May:

Read:
1. The Crown by Kiera Cass
2. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Started:
1. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Continued:
1. City of Fallen Angel by Cassandra Clare
2. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Bought:
1. The Last Star by Rick Yancey
(I would have started this book and read it like i said I was going to do in me May TBR, but the book was not delivered to me in May.  So it will be one of my first reads in June!)

I did have been following my Read 5, Buy 1 rule and am happy that I did not break it! The Last Star was pre-ordered, so I do not count it as being bought during the time of my rule.

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Review: A Winner's Curse (Spoilers!!!)

Taken from

Summary:

Book by Maria Rutkoski
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
Summary taken from Goodreads

Review:

4.5/5 Stars

I really enjoyed this book.  I found it surprising and intense.  I am not easily shocked in books, and while it was not necessarily "shock" that I felt, I was surprised at a few points.

It was a very quick read.  It left me wanting more and wondering what was going to happen next.  I fell in love with the characters.  Their interactions were interesting.  With the idea of slave and slave master, how it changed during the book, and how they reacted was amazingly done.

My favorite part was when Arin threw the revolution and then suddenly owned Kestrel.  I thought that was so well written.  I am a sucker for a good revolution and having spoiled people become slaves.

I also felt that the romance was appropriate for the book.  Sometimes in YA books it can be over done.  There was enough action, revenge, history, and other things in this book to keep my attention.

I have bought the next two books in the series and am reading them now!
-Happy Reading
Amanda Lyn

Thursday, May 26, 2016

June 2016 TBR

Here are all the books I plan to read in June:

Finish:
1. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

3. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski


Start and Finish:
1.The Last Star by Rick Yancey

2. The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

3. The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

4. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff

5. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I hope to read at least four books this month.  That will put me head of schedule and I can always use that when the school year starts and I will be busy.  I do have some traveling and working to do this month, so I am not sure I will be able to accomplish my goal, but I can try.

-Happy Reading
Amanda Lyn

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Reading Slump

Hello Everyone,

May brought many wonderful things for me.  I got to move back home for the summer after finishing my first year at college, and while I thought that coming home would leave me with tons of time for reading, I find that I have entered a terrible reading slump.

Normally I would just continue to watch tv all day and wait for the slump to pass on its own.  Usually I can get myself out of it by buying one good book and reading that in a day or two.  But with me not buying any books until I finish reading 5 I cannot do the second.  It has been over a week of tv and work so I find the first is not happening either.

If this problem ever happened in the past, I would then analyze why I was having this slump.  I am currently reading four books, three of which I am enjoying.  I should be excited to keep reading.  But no. I look at my shelf and have no urge.  I am even reading books from different genres, but nothing seems to interest me.

I did pre-order a book about a month ago with will be coming on May 24th; I am hoping that it will draw me out of this slump.  If that does not work I might have to lock myself down with one book and try to press through.  Finally if none of those work, I do have a pile of other books I have bought in the past I can try to start.  I will not be buying a new one though!

Anyways. Hopefully this slump will end soon.
Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Read 5, Buy 1

Hello everyone,

In an effort to minimize the amount of books I own and have not read, I am implicating a new rule. I am calling it the Read 5, Buy 1.

It is pretty self explanatory but in case you are confused, this means I have to read five books before I can buy one.

If this sounds like a cool idea to you feel free to join me.  I will be doing this for all of 2016, and in December I will see how it went and decide if I want to continue.

A few more rules to consider:

  1.  If I break this at anytime I must sell or donate a book I own.
  2. I can break this rule for books I need for school (although I should not need any next semester)
  3. If a book I have been wanting for a long time goes on sale for an AMAZING price, I can buy it. It just means that when I finish my five books I am reading I cannot buy a new one.
  4. This includes: paperbacks, hardbacks, eBooks, and Audio-books.  If I get the book for free it is not included. That includes library books, free books from Netgalley, and borrowing from friends.
  5. If I make it to 2016 with these rules, I can treat myself and buy 3 new books. 
  6. If I magically read five books and do not have a new one I want to buy, I am allowed to save it for a later time.
Hopefully I can keep with this all of 2016. Time to get reading!
You can keep track of my progress on the side of my blog-->

Happy reading
-Amanda Lyn


Favorite Book Covers

We have all heard the old phrase, " You can't judge a book by its cover" but as a book lover I know the truth.  The only reason why I pick up a book that I have not heard of is the cover or the title.  So having a pretty covers does mean something (for books).

Here are my top five favorite book covers, with the specific edition:


  1. The Selection 
  2. Red Queen         
                                   
  3. The Infernal Devices (British Covers) 
  4. Throne of Glass Series (British Covers)
  5. Shatter Me Series

Happy Reading
-Amanda Lyn