Review of Challenges: January

End of January, time for a review of my challenge progress!

1. 50 Book Pledge

I'm committed to 150 books this year. My profile is here.

I've read 19 so far, which is above and beyond my monthly goal of 13.

2. 2016 New Release Challenge   

This one is about reviewing books released in 2016. I'm going to be aiming for New Release Enthusiast (45+).

Almost all of the books reviewed on the blog this month were New Releases.

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
Because of You by RaShelle Workman
The Art of Taming a Rake by Nicole Jordan
Fixer-Upper by Ines Saint
Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake
The Knave of Hearts by Elizabeth Boyle
Torn by Alexa Kim

** I have four additional titles with fully written reviews pre-posted for next month





3. Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2016

My goal for this one is Mt Ararat, which is 48 books from my TBR pile (i.e. books purchased/received prior to 2016). 

North Pole Reform School by Jaimie Admans
Sweet Girl by Cristin Harber
Kill Without Mercy by Alexandra Ivy
Vendetta by Gail Z Martin
Nuts by Alice Clayton
Escaping Reality by Lisa Renee Jones
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

4. COYER

So COYER runs from December 19th to March 4th. It's all about reading the freebies or nearly free books. 

I've read 18 books that qualify for COYER - mostly ebooks received for review, but a few that I've purchased on sale or gotten as freebies. I do need to get some clean-up done and post them to the link-up. To keep COYER in my mind for February, I've joined the Facebook group!

5. 2016 Reading Assignment Challenge 

 I'm going for reading level 2 - 2 books per month. This challenge asks you to make a list of all the books you are committing to read, and then check them off on a monthly basis.

I read my two books for January, and I've selected by two books for February.

1. Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins - February
2. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - January
4. I am Princess X by Cherie Priest
5. Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger
6. Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
7. The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
8. The Collector by Victoria Scott
9. Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
10. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - February (This will be a challenge!)
11. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
12. Reap the Wind by Karen Chance
13. Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
14. Magic Lost, Trouble Found by Lisa Shearin
15. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
16. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
17. Reckless by Cornelia Funke
18. Shooting Scars by Karina Halle
19. Outcast by Cheryl Brooks
20. North Pole Reform School by Jaimie Admans - January
21. The Duchess War by Courtney Milan
22. Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
23. Three by Jay Posey
24. Indexing by Seanan McGuire

6. 2016 Bookish Resolutions Challenge

This challenge is the biggie. This challenge is basically a to do list to accomplish over the year. The requirements are basically, choose at least two of Reading/Personal/Blogging and insert two-three sub-goals for each. But I'm going to go above and beyond! 

Reading Goals:

- get my Netgalley percentage up to 90% and keep it there (I'm at 84% currently)

Acquiring books for reviews through mid-March has screwed with my percentage. I'm down to 83%--the opposite direction I wanted to head in! I need to get in 35 reviews to hit 90%, which is a lot. But! I have a plan. There's 5 books that I've read but not posted reviews for; these were books I read quickly when I was sick, but didn't take time to review. I'll need to skim again to refresh my memory, but I think I can knock these out this month. Then there's another 8 that I already plan to review this month, so we're up to 13 total. That leaves 22. I have 5 that are for early March that I hope to review and have scheduled before the end of February, so that's down to 17. I won't be at 90%, but I'll be closer--granted, I'll probably pick up a handful of books to review for the end of March, but if I keep that number reasonable, I should still be farther ahead in this by the end of the month!

- read 1 book from Goodreads' Choice awards per month (doesn't have to be a winner)

I read The Book Thief, a book that came up in discussion during the Goodreads Choice awards the year it came out. I'm calling this done for February.

- create a prioritized TBR list 
I had a list for January, and I've got a list for February that needs a tiny bit of tweaking.

Personal Goals:

- lose 35 lbs   
 I'm down almost 8 right now

- deep clean/declutter/organize all rooms of my house 
  I'm done the major decluttering/organizing tasks in the kitchen

- write 500 words, 5 days a week, 48 weeks of the year. - This is going to be very hard to do this year - I wrote great the first week and not so great the last three.

- keep an up-to-date wall calendar so my husband has a reference point for family activities.  Calendar is up, I've kept it updated

- duolingo 5 days a week, 48 weeks of the year (rotate languages if need be). 
 I was good on this for the first three weeks, not so much for the last one.

Blogging Goals:

- post 2 blog posts per week, minimum  
  Absolutely on top of this so far.

- by the end of February, have created a buffer of 3 weeks on reviews   
  I have a buffer of a week right now, need to pump this up!

- maintain my goodreads/amazon/50 reads accounts with reviews and read books as I read through 2016  
  I've stayed on top of everything that's gone live on the blog so far.

I haven't tackled any of the following:

- catch up on all outstanding goodreads/amazon reviews from 2015 

- set dates for two themed weeks this year 

- tidy up tags. 

- make indices by rating, author, genre, year reviewed for past reviews, and create a spreadsheet to track, including publisher information

Stacking the Shelves, 2016-3

Stacking the Shelves is an awesome meme hosted by Tynga's Review.

Bloggers share the books they've received, bought, borrowed - and I collect more and more books for my 'must acquire' list.

I did buy a book this week, for $2.25, and I picked up a few freebies and a few for review. My budget is sitting steady at $29 left.

Torn by Alexa Kim

The Basics:
Torn by Alexa Kim
Science Fiction Erotic Romance
Book One in the Master Trooper series
Published January 13th, 2016
Source: Received from Tasty Book Tours Library in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I liked the cover, I liked the blurb, I though I'd give it a whirl!

Blog Tour: The Knave of Hearts by Elizabeth Boyle

When I first started reading romances, it was a historical romance that I picked up. Since then, I've always found something comforting about this genre. I'll grab a book by one of my MANY go-to historical romance authors when I'm having a crappy day and need a little pick-me-up.

Today, I'm happy to be touring The Knave of Hearts by Elizabeth Boyle. This historical romance was released by Avon on January 26th. It's the fifth book in Boyle's Rhymes with Love series.

Check out the other stops on the tour at Tasty Book Tours.

Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake

The Basics:
Extreme Honor by Piper J. Drake
Book One in the True Heroes series
Forever
Romantic Suspense
Published January 26, 2016
Source: Received Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I was intrigued by the cover, and the role of dog rehabilitation in the story.

Weekend What's Up?, 1

I haven't prepared my usual Stacking the Shelves and Sunday Update for this weekend.

I did pick up a couple books--and I used a whole $4 (or nearly) from my precious book budget!--but I stayed pretty clear of book acquiring in hopes that I'd get more read. I'm up to 15 for the month, with a week to go, though 2 of those were DNFs. I'm hoping to get at least three more read this week, and since I'm nearly three quarters of the way through The Book Thief, that does feel viable. 

Fixer-Upper by Ines Saint

The Basics:
Fixer-Upper by Ines Saint
Book Three in the Spinning Hills series
Lyrical Shine
Contemporary Romance
Published January 19, 2016
Source: Received Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

It looked like a light, fluffy contemporary romance, maybe something a little chick lit?

The Art of Taming a Rake by Nicole Jordan

The Basics:
The Art of Taming a Rake by Nicole Jordan
Book Four in the Legendary Lovers series
Ballantine Books
Historical Romance
Published January 26, 2016
Source: Received Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I really like the concept of the series, and I enjoyed book three, Secrets of Seduction, when I read it a year and a half ago.

Kill Without Mercy by Alexandra Ivy

The Basics:
Kill Without Mercy by Alexandra Ivy
Book One in the ARES Security series
Zebra
Romantic Suspense
Published December 29, 2015
Source: Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I love romantic suspense, and I enjoyed the last Alexandra Ivy book that I reviewed.

Sunday Update 2016-2

Every now and again, I get my act together enough to put up a Sunday post!

I'm hooking into: 

This is a meme hosted by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer wherein everyone gets to share their news for the week. It's a great opportunity to see what's happening out there in the blogosphere, so go check out some other Sunday Posters!

Today's post is going to have a few sections:

1. General Update

2. Currently...

3. Last Week/Next Week

4. Mid-Month Challenges Check-in

5. Managing Expectations

Stacking the Shelves, 2016-2

Stacking the Shelves is an awesome meme hosted by Tynga's Review.

Bloggers share the books they've received, bought, borrowed - and I collect more and more books for my 'must acquire' list.

I earned $35 for my book budget this week, but haven't actually paid for anything yet. I picked up four freebies off of Amazon (thanks Bookbub :P ) and then a few books for review...

Because of You by RaShelle Workman

Curiosity Quills Press is touring their January Releases, and I've signed on to share my review of Because of You by RaShelle Workman!  This is a contemporary romance, focused on a couple reuniting at university, after a long and traumatic separation.

Mid-week Musing, 2

I've heard a lot about Bookbub--getting your book promoted through it can be a huge boon. 

I hadn't really considered it from a consumer's perspective until this week, when I finally signed up. 

I've grabbed a handful of freebies this week, which is good for my book budget (I credited $35 to it last week! But I've stalled out on progress this week, so that $35 needs to last me awhile), but bad news for my TBR pile. I'm not knocking books off of it quickly enough!


Are you a Bookbub user? What have you picked up through it recently? 

My Secret to Tell by Natalie D. Richards

The Basics:
My Secret to Tell by Natalie D Richards
Sourcebooks Fire
YA, Mystery/Romantic Suspense
Published October 6, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I liked the blurb!

Sunday Update, 2016-1

Every now and again, I get my act together enough to put up a Sunday post!

I'm hooking into: 

This is a meme hosted by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer wherein everyone gets to share their news for the week. It's a great opportunity to see what's happening out there in the blogosphere, so go check out some other Sunday Posters!

Today's post is going to have a few sections:

1. General Update

2. Currently...

3. Current Schedule

4. Book Clubs

Stacking the Shelves, Issue 2016-1

Stacking the Shelves is an awesome meme hosted by Tynga's Review.

Bloggers share the books they've received, bought, borrowed - and I collect more and more books for my 'must acquire' list.

I stuck to my book budget this week and bought nothing!  But I did acquire a few new ARCs, most of which I'll be reviewing in the next couple weeks...

Vendetta by Gail Z Martin

The Basics:
Vendetta by Gail Z Martin
Solaris
Book Two in the Deadly Curiosities series
Urban Fantasy
Published December 29, 2015
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

I enjoyed Deadly Curiosities when I read it last year, and I wanted another book. It was a no-brainer for me to pick it up!

Midweek Musings, 1

I've invested a fair amount of time trying to select books I'll read this month. Because I've signed up for an assortment of challenges, I want to make sure that I'm putting in a reasonable quota for each. This means I need to plan, so I have a mixture of new releases and books I owned pre-2016.

But...when I finish a book, and it's time to pick up a new one, I find myself considering other options. I head for (one of) my bookcase(s), and my fingers tease the spines of books that didn't make the cut for January. 

I'm flirting with books that are 'off-limits!'

Maybe I'm not approaching the question of what to read next in the best way.

How do you decide what to read next?

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

The Basics:
This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
Sourcebooks Fire
Contemporary YA
Published January 5, 2016
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon Kobo Goodreads

Why I picked up this book:

The cover hooked me, and the book blurb reeled me in.

The Confessional, "Cheating on my Book Budget", Episode 1

One of the things I resolved to do better this year, over last, is to acquire fewer books. Last year, I read so many ARCs for review that I didn't make much (if any) of a dent in my personal TBR. One of my goals this year is to cut that TBR pile down to size. I love buying new books, I especially love receiving books through the mail (mail me books!), but if they're just taking up space on my shelves, unread, unloved...
wss
Not cool.

My plan for this year was to tie my book budget to my weight loss success. Thirty-five dollars to spend on books for every five pounds I lose.  I'm aiming for thirty-five pounds lost, so I'm budgeting $245 for the year for books. Which is... let's just say, significantly less than I spent last year. I'd guess I spent closer to $100 a month last year on books, most months (not all).

Anyways, I had this plan set in my mind starting early last week. And what did I do when I went to Walmart on December 31st?  Grabbed six books (two of them cookbooks) out of the bargain bin.

So that was my haul last week. Four books.

And that's my confession. I feel like I cheated on that last grab of books, because I knew that the long drought of book buying was about to begin.

The four books I picked up were:

Anyone else have a book budget for the year?

Anyone feeling more optimistic about sticking to it than I am?