New Year, New Bout of Books, New Post

I know I barely post anymore but I do love to keep up with the blogging world and I try to keep up with y'all's posts.
I'm trying to keep up with my reading also, which has also fallen horribly behind. I got 21 books read for 2019! I'm proud of myself for at least getting those done but I also look back at a few years ago when I could read a 100 books a year easily. Times have changed though. My goal for this year is 20 books. With another little Hobbit on the way I think that's a reasonable goal.
I've been recently inspired by the Literary Life group on Facebook and the Literary Life podcast. It's my new book nerd place. It's definitely classics focused but it has a bit of everything and is tons of fun. I can pretend I read more books when I read the posts and listen to the podcasts about books. 😂

There's a new Bout of Books starting today also so I'm going to jump on that and hopefully use it to inspire me to get some more reading in this year.
Currently I'm trying to finish up books I started last year that have been taking me forever before I start any new ones. I'm getting close to being done with Don Quixote and then I'll work on finishing up Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. After that there's a world of possibilities!

I was inspired by the Literary Life group's 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge but I knew there were some categories that would stretch me further then I really could expect of myself this year so I took some of their categories, some of my local library's reading challenge categories and some of the Popsugar reading challenge categories and put together my own challenge for myself. It will still challenge me a bit this year but hopefully still be realistic.

What is up with y'all's reading life? Hopefully you're doing better than me.

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Bout of Books Sign Up August 2019 Plus Announcement

So looking back apparently I haven't posted since January?!?! Oops! I have a few drafts in the works though that in my head I had posted.
Anyways there's another Bout of Books coming around starting up next Monday! Here's what Bout of Books is about if this is new to you.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. 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. There are challenges, Twitter chats, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 26 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I haven't participated in Bout of Books in probably over a year but I really need a kick in my butt to read more so I'm hoping this is it. I looked back today over what I had read so far this year on Goodreads and of the thirteen (absolutely pathetic number for me!) books I've reads of far this year almost half have been for my book club, almost another half was nonfiction (mostly parenting books) and then only two for fun books I picked out for myself! I am just sadly not making the time for so many of the fun reads on my list so I'd like to spend this Bout of Books enjoying some new fun books I've had on my TBR list for awhile.
Here are a few I'm looking at:

• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling 
• Love and Friendship by Whit Stillman (based off of Jane Austen's Lady Susan obviously) 
• Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth
• At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon 
• Daddy Long Legs by Jena Webster
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton 
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine 
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio 

I also need to work on finishing up Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark. I've really enjoyed it but I haven't picked it up in awhile. 

Obviously I won't get to all of these but I'd like to get to a couple of them. My little Hobbit thankfully still takes a good 2-3 hr nap in the afternoon which gives me some time to read though I normally fritter it away looking at my phone or watching Midsomer Murders. Sometimes napping. This pregnancy has been exhausting and I need the rest! 

I'm hoping to keep up a bit more with blogging... hoping. I do love it. I do keep up with y'all's blogs still! Sometimes when I can't get out to keep up with my real friends it's nice to keep up with my virtual friends. So see ya'll in the blogosphere. 

And yeah, you read that right, I'm pregnant! 😁

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Bout of Books May 2018

I'm crazy and I want to compete in Bout of Books with a newborn. Send me mental help ASAP!!!! Honestly though I'm not sure I could read any less than I normally do with Bout of Books. I have a proud history of scarcely reading during Bout of Books... normally I forget it's happening. However, I've actually been reading more probably since our little Hobbit was born as I really have little else to do while I'm breastfeeding her then read.
Anyways.... here's the link for this Bout of Books. Be sure to check it out if you're interested in participating. It's always fun... even if you're a terrible participant like me.
My goals for this Bout of Books are...

1. Finish War and Peace.... I'm very close to being done! What better time to finish it up! 
2. Read or finish one other book. I'm currently also reading The Invisible Man (audiobook), The Portrait of a Lady and God Is and then of course there is always the off chance I'll start something else before the Bout gets started! 

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Bout of Books January 2018

It's time for Bout of Books again!!! Here's the official blurb from the sign up page!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 8th and runs through Sunday, January 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 21 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm so excited to kick off my reading year with Bout of Books! I'd love to finish up some of the books I'm reading right now and I've been reading some of them way too long so it's time to finish them up!

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Bout of Books- May 2017

Part of me says I don't have time for Bout of Books right now... the other part of me says I need Bout of Books to motivate me to read right now! So yeah.... I'm signing up for Bout of Books!
Here's what it's about....

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 8th and runs through Sunday, May 14th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 19 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

My goal for Bout of Books is to finish Home by Marilynne Robinson and read Lila by Marilynne Robinson. I'd love to do more but I'll stay conservative.

Interested in Bout of Books? Click on the link above and get in on the fun!!!

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Bout of Books January 2017

I'm excited to participate in another Bout of Books!
Here's what it's about.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

The dates actually run during my family's ski trip this coming year so I'll have quite a bit of car time for reading (though I'm sure I'll spend plenty of it talking too... you know me).
My goals for this Bout of Books are:

• Finish two books
• Read a little every day

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Bout of Books- May 2016

My favorite read-a-thon is here!

Here's the rundown on what Bout of Books is all about.

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, May 9th and runs through Sunday, May 15th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 16 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm hoping to get a few books read during the read-a-thon, though I don't know which ones yet. What I'm currently reading and what I'm wanted to read next always seems to be changing so who knows where I'll be when May 9th comes!

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Bout of Books August 2015 Wrap Up and Beat the Heat Readathon Kick Off

Today marks the end of Bout of Books and the beginning of the Beat the Heart Readathon!
For Bout of Books I read:

• Germinal (It's entirety)
• Jo's Boys (seven chapters) (audiobook) (re-read)
• Peter Duck (six chapters) (re-read)
• Emma (five chapters) (re-read)

Yeah.... I re-read a lot! 

For Beat the Heat so far I've read:

• Jo's Boys (1 chapter) (audiobook) (re-read)
• A Child's History of England by Charles Dickens (three chapters)

I'm loving that these readathons are encouraging me to read more and hopefully I'll continue to keep up with it after the readathons are done. :)

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Bout of Books Challenge- Scavenger Hunt

The Bout of Books challenge for today is a Scavenger Hunt hosted by The Book Monsters.

1. A book that begins with B- Bleak House by Charles Dickens
2. A book you're reading for Bout of Books- Germinal by Charles Dickens
3. Blue Book(s)- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
4. Book from your favorite genre- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (Fantasy)
5. A Book on your TBR shelf- Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

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Bout of Books August 2015- Day 1 Progress

All of my posts are coming out late today. Sorry! I'm working tonight (sad life of a night shift nurse) so I was sleeping most of today so I wouldn't be tired tonight.
So here's a little update on my progress so far with Bout of Books.

I read.....

• Germinal by Emile Zola- Over half of it actually! 

I listened to...

• Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott- One chapter 

All of my siblings were starting school yesterday so I was kind of at a loss as to what to do as this whole summer I've been spending time with them but now they were all busy. The worst is that since they're all homeschooled I see them around the house but we can't hang out together because they're working on school! However in the evening we were able to a game of Settlers of Catan and I won so that kind of made up for it. ;)

Are you participating in Bout of Books? How are you doing? 

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Bout of Books! Fictional World Travel

Today starts the Bout of Books! Between Library Shelves is hosting a Fictional World Travel. Check out her blog to see the rules and participate yourself!
The books that are pictured are all from different foreign countries (foreign to me that is).

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom- Netherlands

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare- Italy

The Samurai's Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard- Japan

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens- England 

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith- Botswana

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens- France

When finding books for this challenge I realized I have a lot of books that take place in England! It was fun though to find the different countries represented on my book shelf. :)

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Bout of Books- August 2015

There's another Bout of Books coming up! Maybe it will be the kick in the pants I need to get more reading done. ;)

Here's a little information about what the Bout of Books is.

The Bout of Books is a week long read-a-thon that  begins 12:01 a.m. Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways and a grand prize, but they are all completely optional. For more information be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. 

I'm not sure what all I'll have finished by the time I get to the Bout of Books so I'm not sure what I'll work on reading during it. Here's a rough idea though.

• Peter Duck by Arthur Ransom (re-read)
• That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
• Germinal by Emile Zola 
• Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott (re-read) (audiobook) 

Happy Reading! 

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Bout of Books #3- Wrap up Post

It's been a fun Bout of Books though I don't think I was as motivated as I should have been throughout it. However, I did get a good chunk of reading done and that's what counts! ;)

Finished

• The Fearsome Inn by Isaac Bashevis Singer
• Zlateh the Goat and other stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer
• When Shlemiel went to Warsaw by Isaac Bashevis Singer

In Progress

• Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell- eight chapters
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (audiobook) (re-read)- six chapters
• Trusting God by Jerry Bridges- six chapters

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Bout of Books- Days 3&4&5&6

Multiple day updates! Sorry but not sorry. ;) I've been too lazy and too busy to get these taken care of these Bout of Books posts. :(
So on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday I read:

• Gone With the Wind- 3 Chapters
• Trusting God- 5 Chapters
• Little Women (re-read) (audiobook)- 4 chapters

I need to catch up on my reading more but I keep wanting to watch stuff instead. :( I did finally finish watching Our Mutual Friend. It was good but dragged in some places... but that's Dickens. ;)

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Bout of Books- Day 1&2 Updates

I've been a little behind with the Bout of Books updates but I'm catching up! I had this little matter of a final that heavily influenced my future and work so I wasn't really having time for blogging. I did have time for reading though. :)
Oh, and yes, I PASSED NURSING SCHOOL!!! I'll be graduating at the nursing pinning ceremony on Thursday!!!! More details and fun pictures then. :)
So far for Bout of Books I've read:

• Gone With the Wind- Six chapters
• Little Women (audiobook) (re-read)- 1 chapter
• Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories- COMPLETED
• When Shlemiel went to Warsaw and Other Stories- COMPLETED

Pretty good so far! The two last are children's books so were fairly quick reads but I'm still proud of myself. ;)

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Bout of Books #3 Sign up Post!

It's time for another Bout of Books! This one starts the day of my final so it's perfect timing. I'll have tons of free time afterwards to read! :) Well... that is I hope I'll have tons of free time. ;)

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, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I'm excited to sign up and hopefully get caught up with some reading!
In May I have a few books "scheduled" to read for my various reading challenges so I'll be reading those for sure. Those are:

1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
2. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
3. Dream Thief by Stephen Lawhead

I also hope to dive into some other books though. Those are listed below.

1. Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
2. Big Red by Jim Kjelgaard (re-read)
3. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White (re-read)

Are you joining in the Bout of Books? It's tons of fun! :)

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Bout of Books #2- Day 5

Yesterday was the fifth day of Bout of Books. I didn't get much done actually in the way of anything.
While I was doing dishes I listened to three chapters of Anne of Green Gables. After that I watched one episode of The Adventures of Merlin and then watched far too many Studio C YouTube videos. They're addictive people. :( Number one reason I should never get on YouTube... I never get off. ;)
In the evening before bed I did read one prayer from The Valley of Vision, as is my new custom. I always have to read them twice because they are incredibly theologically dense. I'd definitely recommend it.
With family coming in today and last minute preparations I doubt I'll get much reading done but I'll try my very best. At the least I'm sure I'll listen to Anne of Green Gables. :)
How is everyone else doing on their Bout of Books?

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Bout of Books #2- Day 4

Yesterday was day four of Bout of Books.
I read a chapter of Book of Lost Tales part 2, listened to seven chapters of Anne of Green Gables and read a couple more prayers from The Valley of Vision. 
I love the time I have right now to study and I'm not looking forward to the resumption of school in a couple weeks and the lessening of time for reading. However, I think I need school in my life again as I feel I'm just getting lazier and lazier. :(

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Bout of Books #2- Day 3

Yesterday was day three of Bout of Books!
I listen to several chapters of Anne of Green Gables (I'm through chapter 18) and also read in Tolkien's Book of Lost Tales part 2. I also started reading The Valley of Vision which is a collection of Puritan prayers. I only read a couple prayers last night. My plan is to read one or two every evening until I'm through. It isn't something you can just rush through. :)

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Bout of Books #2- Day 2

Yesterday I listened to a couple chapters of Anne of Green Gables and read a chapter from The Book of Lost Tales part 2 (The Fall of Gondolin!). Not too much I'm afraid. I was running around getting my hair cut and shopping. To clarify, I wasn't running while my hair was being cut. ;)


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