Why Project TBR and Not #0by16?

Well, the reason is simple. I'm a mood reader and I love my local library. Also, I have books that are sequels that I ordered thinking they were the first in a series. Ooopsies!

I currently own 139 books that I have not read. I have organized them all on to a goodreads shelf (which you can see here). It would be grand if I could finish them all by 2016, but as I have mentioned in previous posts, I am coming out of a HUGE reading slump. Also, I have my last semester of High School and my first semester of College this year and I don't know how that will affect my reading.

With me participating in Project TBR, I have a goal in sight. But the goal of finishing my ENTIRE TBR pile that I own this year is quite impossible. I have a goodreads goal set for 50 books, which I'm pretty sure I can surpass because I set the same goal last year and didn't start reading until May and I still managed to surpass it. I'm thinking with a few extra months of reading thrown in there, I will be able to read more than 50 books.

But, as I am planning to read adult books and it takes me quite a while to read them, it may stay at 50 books. We will see.

I will frequently be updating this blog on how I am doing on project TBR and you can see what books I've read this year for Project TBR in that same link above.

I look forward to discussing more books with you guys in the coming months. I will have a video up on my YouTube channel soon with my monthly wrap-up. But I like to do them on the first day of the next month because my reading patterns are very unpredictable.

I will talk to you soon!

Until then,

Shea

Reading Goals for 2015

I know this is extremely late, but I thought I would share my Reading Goals for 2015 with you anyway!

1. Read 10 adult books

This is something that has scared me for a while. I'm not one for eroticness, and I thought all adult books had graphic sex scenes in them. But, I've learned that if I choose carefully, I can avoid this as much as possible. (As of today, I've read 1 adult book.)

2. Read at least one book with more than 500 pages

This is actually quite easy for me to accomplish, as most of my books have 300 to 500 pages in them. As I am typing this, I have completed this goal already! But I'm sure I will read several other large books (Game of Thrones is one of those huge books at the top of my list!).

3. Read a book written by someone under 30

I've probably read books like this unknowingly, but I would like to read a book written by someone close to my own age. A few years ago, there was a girl at my local high school that published a novel. That is my TBR for this challenge!

4. Read a book set in a different country

I really want to read a book set in all of the continents if I can get my hands on them. I want to be more aware of reading diversely. As of now, I've read a book set in Italy!

5. Read a book based on a true story

I really want to read Orange is the New Black because I am in love with the show. But, I also want to read a fictional work based on a true story. Any suggestions?

6. Read a graphic novel

I've realized that graphic novels became really popular this past year and I want to jump onto that band wagon and see what's so good about them!

7. Read 5 classics

If you know me, you know that I am not fond of classics. I don't know if it's the ones we've been forced to read at school that has lead to that or while I was in a giant reading slump that was what we were reading at school. But now, I want to see if I can read some good ones of my own accord.

8. Read an e-Book each month

I'm already failing at this one. There's six days left in January and I haven't read an e-Book this month. But, to make up for that, maybe I'll read two in February. Or, I might even squeeze one in. Who knows. My reasoning for this is because I really enjoy physical books, but I want to read the books that I've bought on my e-Reader that I've neglected.

9. Project TBR

I have sworn off buying books this year and have decided to participate in project TBR. I have around 150 books on my shelves that I have not read that I must read before I buy new ones. I'm not participating in #0by16 because I have so many  books that I don't think that I can complete it. I'd rather set a goal that I can actually see myself achieving. Thus, my GoodReads challenge is set at 50 books, but I can change that later in the year if I need to.

10. Read 50 Books

I've only recently come out of a hugenormous reading slump. I'm planning on doing a YouTube video about it on my YouTube channel in the future, but for now here's just a brief bit about why my goal is set at 50. I went almost 2 full years without reading anything but required reading for school. But in May of last year, I began to read again. I managed to read 50 books last year and I know I can surpass that goal this year, but I wanted to set a number I could surpass and then eventually change that number.

Well, that's about it for me for today! I will have January book reviews up possibly tomorrow or the next day. I'll talk to you soon!

Series Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection series is compared to a sort of Hunger Games with no killings. Basically, a group of thirty-six girls from around the country of Illea are brought to the palace to compete to become the wife of the prince. Our main protagonist, America Singer, is one of the Selected girls. She comes from one of the lower castes in the country (I'm not going to even try to explain the caste system in this book series, as I am still quite confused of it all). When America goes to the palace, she is not intent on becoming the princess and future Queen of Illea because she had a boyfriend back home. But eventually, her intentions change.

This was one of my favorite series that I read this year. I gave the series as a whole 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

This is the story of Jacob who travels to an Island off the coast of Whales after a note left by his late grandfather leads him there. He manages to get to the orphanage where his grandfather was raised. Jacob then meets some of the other children.

I found this story very entertaining. The character of Jacob reminded me a lot of my brother, Jacob. They are so similar. I also really enjoyed the character of Miss Peregrine. I gave Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

This is the story of R. R is a zombie and we get a look at what life as a zombie looks like. R lives in an airport hanger with a small army of other zombies. Though there is not a lot of dialogue in this book, we really get a sense of the feelings of the zombies and their surroundings.

I believe this was meant to be a series, but I don't think there are any other of the books out. But even if they were, I don't think I would be picking them up. I wasn't a huge fan of this book as others seem to be. My issue with this was that it was a post-apocolyptic contemporary novel and those aren't two generes I would typically put together. I gave Warm Bodies 3 of 5 Stars.

Review: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Shatter Me is the first in a trilogy in which our main protagonist, Juliette, has a lethal touch. She is kept in a type of mental hospital/jail for almost a year. She is forcibly removed by Warner, who wants to use her for his own gain. Juliette will do anything she can to avoid what Warner wants her to do. Even if that means falling for one of the guards and escaping.

Shatter me was nearly perfect in my opinion. The only flaw that I found was that the story was quite similar to Annabel's from the Delirium trilogy. Not the lethal touch part, but the escaping from prison part. I will be picking up the rest of this series as soon as I can. I gave Shatter Me 4.5 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Beneath the Glitter by Elle and Blair Fowler

I was genuinely surprised by this novel. We follow sisters Ana and Sophia London who have become immensely popular on YouTube. Their primary goal in this book is to start a makeup line.

While there are some awesome characters in the novel, it does have it's flaws. I, personally, would have liked to see the sisters from the beginning of their YouTube journey, where we would have seen their struggles on their rise to internet fame. Instead of this, we are thrown right into their success. While I would have like a less predictable story line, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. I will be reading the sequel eventually. I gave Beneath the Glitter 3.75 out of 5 stars.

Review: Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

The premise of this book is amazing and right up my alley. A girl's father is a bounty hunter and she joins him on some of his runs. Together, they set off chasing skips- people who have skipped their court dates and must go back to jail to get new ones. They turn in two skips without any trouble, but the third leads them on a wild goose chase.

While this book has a great idea behind it, the story itself falls flat. There is hardly enough detail. The story happens too fast and doesn't have enough content to it. I gave Chasing the Skip 2 out of 5 stars. 

Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Hello everybody! I hope this finds you well!

I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's been crazy since the new year started, because only my school has finals in the middle of January. Anyway, back to reviewing! These next few posts are continuing on my December book reviews that I haven't posted yet. So here we go!

Eleanor and Park is a contemporary novel about Eleanor, a young girl who comes from a family with an abusive step-father and three other children. The boy, Park, comes from a family with Ph.D's for parents. On Eleanor's first day at her new school, she gets on the bus to find no one will let her sit with them. Until she reaches the back of the bus, and Park. As the days progress, Park notices Eleanor reading his comic books over his shoulder. Park starts to bring Eleanor comic books and their story progresses from there.

While this book was excellent, I found that I didn't love it as much as I expected to. I think that the reason behind this was all of the 1980's references. I was born in the late 1990's, so the references flew right over my head. I gave Eleanor and Park 4 out of 5 stars.