Bout of Books 8.0 - The Results

Bout of Books 8.0 is now complete! I didn't reach all my goals, but feel like I did a decent job considering all my distractions. Here is a re-cap of my first experience with Bout of Books:


My Goals

• To finish reading the books on my Summer Reading List.
• To make some progress toward reading all of Charles' Dickens novels before I'm 30.
• To give my normal reading binge a purpose!

My Results

• 3 complete books read, including two off my Summer Reading List.
• 134 pages of Martin Chuzzlewit read toward my Dickens goal.
• 1,062 total pages read this week.

What I Read

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein was a wonderful read. It is historical fiction, set during WWII in England and France. It is beautiful and heartbreaking.

The Roving Tree by Elsie Augustave was an interesting read about a Haitian girl, brought up in America who later journeys to Africa in an attempt to find her true place in the world. The story includes Haitian and African traditional beliefs in a modern context.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is the story of a teenage boy who receives thirteen cassette tapes created by a girl who recently committed suicide. The tapes explain her thirteen reasons why she chose to end her life. I was somewhat skeptical of the message this book would send until the end when the narrator makes it clear that everything that happened was a choice. An interesting read to get you thinking about the dynamics of relationships, high school drama & angst, and the choices we make.

Bout of Books 8.0 - Days 2-4 Progress

Wednesday

Today is Day 3 of Bout of Books 8.0 and I have been slacking! I should've known it would be a mistake to start with Dickens, so I am about to change up my strategy!

As for my progress up to today, I am on page 135 (of 716) of Martin Chuzzlewit. Since that is moving slowly, I'm going to set it aside while I start on Code Name: Verity. I hope that these other books in my pile will be quicker reads so that I can make a bit more progress!

Friday

I am happy to say that in the last two days, I have redeemed myself a bit! On Wednesday, I read Code Name: Verity, which was excellent! On Thursday, I read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. It was heartbreaking and reminded me of many of the reasons I hated high school. And as of today, I am on page 37 of The Roving Tree by Elsie Augustave. I hope to finish it up today because I have five more books waiting to be read. I'm not sure I'll meet my goal of 6 complete books, but I will get at least 4 by Sunday, which isn't too shabby.

I'm Joining Bout of Books!

I love reading, so when I found out about the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon, I decided to sign up!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Since I have a few weeks to prepare, I am going to start collecting a stack of books to get me through the week. Usually, when I am on a book binge, I can read one good-length book in a day. So here are my goals for the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon:

My Goals

• To finish reading the books on my Summer Reading List.
• To make some progress toward reading all of Charles' Dickens novels before I'm 30.
• To give my normal reading binge a purpose!

Books to Read

Code Name: Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Circle of Shadows by Imogen Robertson
A Conspiracy of Faith by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

I think that my current record is five books in one week, so I don't think a goal of six is too ambitious. I will update my progress throughout the week of the read-a-thon. If you like to read, you should sign up, too!