2016 Reading & Blogging Goals

I’m back and hopefully more appearance than the past few months! Sorry for being MIA, there are just so many things that happened before 2015 ends like the wedding of one of my best friend which makes me super busy being a Maid of Honor, then there’s also the holidays and other life’s obligations. But now that I’m back I’m very much excited to share to all of you my 2016 reading and blogging plans.

Unlike last year where my reading and blogging plans was more “go with the flow” this year I’m actually lay-outing a more detailed plans with the push of my closest reading buddy Precious of Fragments of Life. Together we are organizing a blog event called “Celebrating Debutantes 2016”, wherein we are featuring debut authors of 2016 and their works. Since I love meeting new authors and discovering great talents I am actually excited to host this event with Precious.

Precious and I also targeting literary titles as part of our monthly reads this 2016. With a goal to try different genre than our usual YA fantasy or contemporary read we are trying a more mature/serious tone of reads. We already picked our target tiles for each month so watch out for our reviews.

As for my goodreads reading challenge this year, I’m back to 100 books to read. Last year I tried to cut it down to 50 books expecting for a more lay low reading in 2015, then eventually changed it to 100 since I am reading more than I targeted. I’m happy to report that I did finished the 100 books goals for 2015. Let’s see how I will perform for this year.

That’s all for now, will have to layout other plans too beside reading and blogging for 2016.

I hope everyone’s 2016 is getting off to a great start! Happy New Year to all!!!

Don’t Let It End Reading Challenge

I’ve been meaning to join this Don’t Let It End Reading Challenge hosted by my friend Rachel of Fikshun ever since she posted the idea on her Facebook account. But then I realized I don’t have much books to read from my TBR pile that will fit for the challenge. Until recently that I visited my goodreads shelf, I found out that few books are actually enough since Rachel didn’t include a minimum requirement of books to read. And the best part is any genre is acceptable. The challenge will run from February 14 to July 14, 2013. You may check the complete list of rules and regulations from her blog, Fiksthun.

Below are my target reads so far. And since there are some series that I’m planning to start reading early this year, their final books might be added too for the challenge.

My Target Reads

• Afterlife by Claudia Gray

• With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

• Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

If you want to know more about the reading challenge or simply want to sign-up go to this link.

2013 YA & MG Time Travel Reading Challenge

This is me signing up for the another reading challenge for 2013. As I said from my post of the first reading challenged in here, I’m only signing up to reading challenges hosted by bloggers I personally know. So I’m joining the 2013 YA & MG Time Travel Reading Challenge hosted by a book blogger friend, Precious of Fragments of Life with Dianne of Oops I Read a Book Again. The challenge is to read and review young adult or middle grade books that has time travel theme. The challenged will run from Jan 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013. If you are interested in joining, you can check the guidelines and other details from this link.

After checking the list of books that Precious and Dianne organized in goodreads, I decided to go for the Time Slipper level which requires reading & reviewing at least seven time travel books. From that list the seven books below are my top choices of books I want to read next year for the challenge.

My Target Reads

• Vortex (Tempest, #2) by Julie Cross

• Ruby Red (Edelstein Trilogie #1) by Kerstin Gier

• Timeless (Timeless, #1) by Alexandra Monir

• Waterfall (River of Time, #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren

• Cascade (River of Time, #2)

• Torrent (River of Time, #3)

• Saving Juliet by Suzanne Selfors

2013 TBR PILE Reading Challenge

It is the last month of the year, which means most of 2012 reading challenges will end this month and a lot of sign ups are opening for the coming year. Just like last year, I’ll be participating in some of those reading challenges online. I’ll be limiting my sign-ups though to those challenges hosted by bloggers I personally know. By that I can guarantee getting the updates and news that concern the actual challenge without digging the host’s blog too much.

So I’m signing up to TBR Pile Reading Challenge. This is officially my first reading challenge for 2013. The challenge is hosted by six bloggers and one of them is my friend Rachel of Fiktshun. Good thing about this reading challenge is it doesn’t require much other than to read and review books released in 2012 or earlier. Any genre, length and format of book counts. The challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 – Dec 31, 2013. You can check the guidelines and other details from this link.

I haven’t really check my shelves right now but below are some of the books that I’m dying to read but haven’t got the time or the chance to do so. Most of the books I listed below are in my TBR pile for more than a year just waiting to be cracked. I am aiming for A Friendly Hug level in this reading challenge, which requires 11-20 books to read & review, but lets see what will happen after a year.

My Target Reads

• Graceling by Kristin Cashore

• Fire by Kristin Cashore

• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

• Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Nes

• On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

• The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta

• Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

• Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

• Delirium by Lauren Oliver

• Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

• The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

If you want to know more about the reading challenge or simply want to sign-up go to this link.

SWEET EVIL Read Along Week Four: Halloween

This is the fourth and final week of Sweet Evil read along hosted by Mindy of Magical Urban Fantasy Reads together with her other co-host bloggers, Rachel of Fiktshun, Jaime of Two Chicks On Books, Tara of Tater’s Tall Tails and Nancy of Ravenous Reader. This week topic discussion is Halloween and we are required to read chapters 26 through 31 (pages 341-447). From these chapters we encounter Kaidan and Anna attending a Halloween Party which is where this week’s theme is based.

As for my Halloween…

Well, truth to be told, my Halloween experiences were as boring as they can be! I never experience attending Halloween party as a kid. Trick or treat doesn’t exists in my location until much recent years when I am too old to participate. My younger memories of Halloween is spending it with my family and relatives visiting the graves of our death relatives, bringing flowers, food and praying for them. On the night of Halloween, my Mom always light candles on our altar and even in our door steps. I don’t understand much what are those candles for, other than each candles represents each of our death relatives. Maybe it’s part of remembering them during this season and sending prayers as well.

Other than those usual ceremony, I also spend Halloween watching scary movies with my cousins, or simply chatting in dark with ghost stories scaring each others. Stories I never discover the authenticity which makes it harder to believe as I get older. I never really get scared by their stories anyway, no matter how interesting and convincing they delivered it. I like watching scary movies especially Japanese horror films, but I haven’t found one that really scared the hell out of me.

I never experienced attending costume parties for Halloween until when I was much older to organized one for others. My parents, especially my Mom doesn’t really approved of partying during Halloween, unless you are a kid. That she can tolerate more. She think Halloween should be spend more for the dead people, than attending party. Kids now a days are way luckier than me. They got the chance to do trick or treat with their friends, get candies or sweets and attend Halloween costumes parties.

Back to the book…

I already finished reading Sweet Evil during the second week of the read along. But I still do a re-read once in awhile as I love re-reading Kaidan’s scenes. Some of the quotes I like from this week required chapters read are:

“I’ve got a joke for you,” Kaidan told him. Jay nodded his head, ready.
“What’s the difference between a drummer and a savings bond?”
“I don’t know. What?” Jay beamed bright yellow.
“A savings bond matures and eventually makes money.”

“What do you want from me, Kai?”
“For starters?” His voice lowered to sexy, dangerous depths. “I want to introduce myself to every freckle on your body.”

For those who haven’t read the book yet, I hope those two quotes above will be intriguing enough to finally push you to start reading. You don’t want to miss Kaidan and Anna’s story. And since this is the final post for the read along, let me thank you once again the organizer/host and co-hosts of this event. Without their effort I wouldn’t discover Kaidan and Anna’s world or simply met Kaidan.

SWEET EVIL Read Along Week Three: Truth or Dare

This is the third week of Sweet Evil Read Along hosted by Mindy of Magical Urban Fantasy Reads. For this week we are required to read Chapters seventeen through twenty five (pages 232- 340). From these chapters we’ve known more about the other Nephilim and their world. We also get to know Anna’s Dad and his interesting story with Anna’s mother.

For this week read along the theme is “Truth or Dare” inspired by the truth or dare game played by Anna, Kaidan and his Nephilim friends.

“How about a game of Truth or Dare?” Marna offered.

I was immediately apprehensive. Just as I was about to suggest something else, Kaidan spoke and my heart faltered.

“I’ll go first,” he said. “I dare Kope to kiss Anna.”

Everything inside me flooded with fury and embarrassment. Kaidan leaned far back with his arms crossed, cocky. I stood up without thinking and hooked my foot under his chair, swiftly kicking upward and causing him to topple backward. He looked up at me from the ground with a stunned expression that morphed into a grin.

Truth or Dare

To be honest I’m not a fan of Truth or Dare game. I don’t enjoy this as much when I was younger. I’m not sure how can I choose dare without someone giving me an actual dare, so I’ll just go with the truth and since there no questions for me to answer I will just list some little facts about me. I will limit these facts to something book related but not purely Sweet Evil, though. Here they are:

• I haven’t read Sweet Evil earlier because of its angelic theme. I’m limiting my paranormal reads for this year because angel books are mostly missed than hit for me. Sweet Evil isn’t part of my priority read until this read along came.

• I’ve only read the whole Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling last July. I’ve had those books in my TBR for the longest time. But only after watching the eight movies in DVD for the third time, I finally dive in with the books.

• I don’t take notes while I’m reading so when the time comes that I need to review a book and I need a line or two to quote something, I have to scan the book all over again to find what I need to use. 

• I’m not good in remembering authors name especially when I only read one book from him/her. I can remember the story, characters and major events from the book but not the author unless he/she is really well known.

• I give copies of my favorite books to my friends not only because I want them to read it but also to avoid lending them my own copies and end up getting my books back battered.

• I usually buy children books so I have something to discard every end of the year for public schools/library or street children.

• When I was 18 I received tons of gifts but only one makes me cried so much, an inspirational book given by my brother’s girlfriend with a letter inside.

• When that said book above was doodled inside by a child, I got the urge to hit the child the moment I found out what happened but I didn’t do it, instead I end up crying & devastated for days.

That’s all I can think of for now. I know they are not entertaining nor interesting facts but I hope I’ve shared something new about me to all of you. Enjoy reading Sweet Evil!