I’ve been MIA the past month or so, but it’s not because I’m tired of blogging! I’ve just had a crazy busy month, and it’s been all too easy to neglect certain areas of my life, including this one. So Bout of Books 11 couldn’t have come at a more perfect time! Here’s the official description of the event:

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 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th 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 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Since I have yet another busy week ahead, my goal will be a small one: Finish two books. I’m currently reading Farthing by Jo Walton, so I’d like to complete it and one more — most likely Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson. Hopefully I won’t have too much trouble achieving my goal! I’ll be updating this post throughout the week with my progress. Good luck to all the other BoB participants, and happy reading!

Monday 8/18

Due to Bout of Books, I actually carved out some time to read today! I haven’t finished any books yet, but I did make some headway in Farthing, so I’m counting today as a win. I did end up finishing Farthing, so today was definitely a win! 🙂 Also, below are my entries for today’s challenges!

For the scavenger hunt hosted by The Book Monsters, here’s what I grabbed from my shelves:

1. A Book that begins with “B” (for Bout of Books!) — Beauty by Robin McKinley. A lovely book by one of my favorite authors!

2. A book that has been made into a movie/tv show — The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais. The movie actually caught my eye first (although I still haven’t seen it), and then my aunt gave me her copy of the book when she finished reading it.

3. A series you love — The Julian Kestrel series by Kate Ross! It’s about a Regency dandy who solves murder mysteries, which basically pushes every single one of my happy buttons. Cut to the Quick is the first book (sadly, there are only 4 total).

4. An anthology of poems or short stories — The Robert Frost Reader: Poetry and Prose, edited by Edward Connery Lathem and Lawrance Thompson. I’ve owned this book since college, when I took a class on modern British and American poetry. It’s almost a cliché to like Robert Frost since he’s so popular, but it’s because he’s just that good!

5. A book on your TBR shelf, or your full TBR shelves — I don’t separate my TBR books from my already-read books, so I just included one of the many TBR books I own. I really liked Rachel Bach’s Eli Monpress series (written under the name Rachel Aaron), so I’m looking forward to trying her science fiction series, which begins with Fortune’s Pawn.

And for LuLoFanGirl’s playlist challenge, here’s the playlist I made for Jo Walton’s Farthing:

1. The Ramones, “Blitzkrieg Bop” — The book is set in an alternate reality in which England made a separate peace with Hitler during World War II, so this song is a no-brainer!

2. Emerson Lake & Palmer, “Jerusalem” — The group of politicians who brokered the peace were upper-class aristocrats who wanted to preserve their “green and pleasant land”…but at what cost?

3. Staind, “Outside” — When one of the prominent “Farthing set” is murdered, suspicion automatically falls on David Kahn because he is Jewish. The Scotland Yard inspector who investigates the case is also an outsider, though for a different reason, so this song seems apt.

4. The Who, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” — When England makes peace with the Third Reich, the Farthing set has an unprecedented opportunity to gain power. “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” indeed.

5. Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” — Because of the book’s focus on Jewish persecution and anti-Semitism, it seems only right to include a Jewish artist on this list! The lyrics are also quite relevant, as the characters in the book hope for a better future, even when it seems unlikely.

Tuesday 8/19

After finishing Farthing last night, I’ve moved on to Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson, which I’ve been wanting to read this month for the centennial of World War I. Is anyone else reading a WWI-related book for BoB (or in August generally)?

I have to say, I’m somewhat at a loss regarding the One True Pairing (OTP) challenge at Infinite Ink. I don’t have one specific couple that I can automatically point to and say, “OMG these two, they HAVE to get together!” That said, right now I’m kind of shipping Crake and Jez from the Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding. I’ve only read the first two books in this series so far (so please don’t spoil me if you happen to know how it ends!), and I may be wrong, but I think they would work really well as a couple! As fellow crew members on a disreputable airship, they both have pretty big secrets about their pasts, and they’ve entrusted their stories to each other. Though they come from very different backgrounds, they seem to be able to understand and support one another. Don’t want to get more detailed for fear of spoilers (because y’all, if you love “Firefly,” you should read this series!), but I’ll definitely be thrilled if they get together — and somewhat disappointed if they don’t!

And here’s my entry for one of my favorite recurring challenges, Book Spine Poetry hosted by My Little Pocketbooks:

Since you’ve been gone,
[I am] Cut to the quick.
By love possessed, [I am]
Waiting on you,
Left drowning,
Stitching snow.
My one and only,
You don’t have to say you love me:
I’ll give you the sun.

Wednesday 8/20

All right, guys, I’ll level with you: I did NOTHING related to Bout of Books today! I didn’t do the mini-challenge, and I didn’t even crack open my book! However, I’m hopeful that the rest of the week will be better. Flailing, not failing! 🙂

Thursday 8/21

Another slow day for me…I did manage to do some reading, and I’m now about halfway through Somewhere in France. Oh well, at least I’ll definitely be able to participate more on the weekend!

Friday 8/22

Heyyy, another day of no reading! This week has been insane. But I WILL finish Somewhere in France by the end of tomorrow, dammit!

Saturday 8/23

Finally I have time to sit down and do a mini-challenge! Here’s my entry for the Spell It Out challenge at Kimberly Faye Reads:

C – Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
H – Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda
R – [A] Room with a View by E.M. Forster
I – In the Woods by Tana French
S – Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
T – To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
I – Indiscretion by Jude Morgan
N – Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A – Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Also, I finished Somewhere in France by Jennifer Robson today! I have now officially achieved my Bout of Books goal (finish 2 books), but I’ll definitely continue reading until the end! I’ve just started The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee.

Sunday 8/24

I didn’t do much reading on the last day of Bout of Books, but I did make some headway in The Gaslight Dogs, which started off slowly but definitely became more compelling as it went along. I’m really happy that I achieved my goal (albeit a small one) and participated in some mini-challenges! Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog, and I hope you all had a successful Bout of Books as well — however you define “success”!