It's Kick-Off Time for the Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon! #TackleTBR #Readathon
The Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon is hosted at Wishful Endings. It runs from September 11th through 24th with the goal of diminishing our to-read pile of books. All books in any format and source count and you do not have to be a blogger to participate. There are challenges and giveaways as well. You can sign up through September 23rd. Read all the specific details here.
This is something I really need to do! I'm am going to set a goal of getting through six books, maybe more. Here are the next six on my TBR:
Books Read: Finished Twilight Empress, began The Smallest Thing
Pages Read: 125
Total Books Read: 1
Total Pages Read: 179
Finished Books: Twilight Empress
Challenge: Autumn Cover Challenge! My pic is Jaybird's song, the orange, yellow and lonely bird remind me of fall.
Books Read: The Smallest Thing
Pages Read: 100
Total Books Read: 1
Total Pages Read: 300
Finished Books: Twilight Empress
Challenge: Top 5 Books You Would Buy Right Now!
1. The Evening Road by Laird Hunt
2. Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession by Allison Weir
3. The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve
4. The Lost History of Stars by Dave Boling
5. The Life She was Given by Ellen Marie Wiseman
Books Read: The Smallest Thing
Pages Read: 172
Total Books Read: 2
Total Pages Read: 620
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing
Challenge: Initials Book Challenge
S- Spore by Tamara Jones
R- Rare Objects by Kathleen Tessaro
H- Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Books Read: Sick
Pages Read: 178
Total Books Read: 2
Total Pages Read: 735
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing
Challenge: First Line Challenge
" I turn to face a stout, broad-shouldered dude sporting a short blue mohawk."
Books Read: Sick
Pages Read: 112
Total Books Read: 3
Total Pages Read: 852
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick
Challenge: Clean Read Suggestion- Jane By the Sea by Carolyn V. Murray
Books Read: Journey from Skioria
Pages Read: 100
Total Books Read: 3
Total Pages Read:952
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick
Challenge: Twitter Chat
Books Read:Journey From Skioria
Pages Read:44
Total Books Read:4
Total Pages Read: 996
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria
Challenge: Mid-Point Check in
Books Read: Last Christmas in Paris
Pages Read:59
Total Books Read:4
Total Pages Read: 1055
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria
Challenge: 21st Page challenge-
- "Lovely, as ever to hear a few lines from you and yes, you are absolutely right..."
Pages Read:100
Total Books Read:4
Total Pages Read: 1155
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria
Challenge: Duo Color Book Challenge- Yellow and Blue
Books Read: Last Christmas in Paris
Pages Read:100
Total Books Read:4
Total Pages Read: 1255
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria
Challenge: A book you have always meant to read, but haven't- Wolf Hall and Cloud Atlas
Books Read: Last Christmas in Paris
Pages Read:100
Total Books Read:5
Total Pages Read: 1355
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria, Last Christmas in Paris
Challenge: Book Cover Matching- Here's my best- 7-A 3-B 2-C 5-D 10-E 8- f 9-G 6-H 1-I 4-J
Pages Read:100
Total Books Read:5
Total Pages Read: 1455
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria, Last Christmas in Paris
Challenge: Post Reviews to Two Books read during Tackle Your TBR! This one is easy for me, I've reviewed all the books I've read...see reviews below
Pages Read:125
Total Books Read:5
Total Pages Read: 1500
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria, Last Christmas in Paris, The Most Happy
Review of Twilight Empress:
Galla Placida is sister to one of the last Roman Emperors in 400 AD. As a young woman Placida is captured by the Goths. Growing up in their camps, she comes to respect their way of life and skills. Placida especially enjoys the company of Ataulf. She eventually marries Ataulf and becomes Queen of the Goths by his side, helping with decisions and in battle. Placida's brother, however, sees her marriage to Ataulf as a political move by the Goths and orders her home. Unfortunately, Ataulf is killed in a plan to overthrow him. Placida is captured and uses her strength and intelligence to escape and enact revenge. Now, she must return to her brother and the marriage that he has arranged for her; although, she returns with a groups loyal to her until the very end.
Placida is a force to be reckoned with. I am so happy I got the chance to learn about her life. Even though women were not allowed to rule in their own right, Placida managed to keep Rome together in its dying days. I was amazed by her patience and willingness to understand and learn from the Goths when she was originally captured instead of just fight back. She seemed to continually look at decisions long term and for the good of her people and land. The story follows Placida from a young women to her death. I very much enjoyed watching her grow and seeing how she hand a hand in political decisions through her brother, both of her husbands and her son. As conflict rose throughout the territories and Placida aged, Placida's job became more and more difficult. Through the writing, I got a wonderful sense of Placida's character while sticking to the history of the time period. Overall, a breathtaking and immense journey through one inspirational and impactful woman's life in Rome.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Emmott Syddall wants nothing more than to leave her small town and move to London. She does not want to become another dead Syddall buried in the small Eyam cemetery. Emmott make plans to move to London with her boyfriend, Roland right before her 18th birthday. However, before she can get out of Eyam, her neighbors begin dying. At first, it looks like a weird flu, but no one really knows, and then, Eyam is quarantined. There is no leaving, the exits are surrounded by military patrol. Relief workers in yellow haz-mat suits flood the town and begin asking questions. No one wants to go out and about or interact with anyone else. Except for Emmott, who just wants to escape and her father, who just wants to help his neighbors. Emmott's mind begins to change about leaving when a suited up relief worker named Aiden begins visiting.
The Smallest Thing is a creative re-imagining of the self-imposed quarantine of the village of Eyam in the 1660's due to the plague. At that point in time, the villagers of Eyam were seen as selfless, heroic- allowing the plague to ravage them, saving countless others. In modern times, with social media and aggressive TV reporters, the town is a spectacle, the victims are no more than statistics. Emmott is very easy to identify with, restless and burgeoning on adulthood, her story is one of growth and finding her place. I enjoyed watching her change her opinion of her father from a fearful man who is tying her down, to a hero who allowed her to grow. The virus also interested me, this was not just a resurgence of the plague, but something unknown, brought about possibly by climate change and increased human movement. The romance in this felt just right, not rushed, not insta-love, but definitely intensified by the situation. If not for the fact that it was a haz-mat suit, the fact that Emmott saw nothing but Aiden's eyes felt almost exotic their connection was based on something deeper than physical attraction when Emmott wants nothing more than to connect with someone. Overall, a heartfelt story of devastation and how a community can pull through.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
High school is a place where many kids feel like they just don't fit in. That is definitely true for Brian and his friends, a collection of misfits who decided to skip a few classes they day of the school pep rally. They get back to school just in time for stagecraft class, and for a deadly virus to take hold of their school. A strange sickness has rapidly spread, something that gives people a drawn, wasted look and develops crusty scales, oh- and it gives the infected person a taste for human bone. Ground zero is the pep rally, but the theatre building is farther away and able to be protected. It's too bad that Brian's sister and ex-girlfriend decided to go to the pep-rally, now Brian has to find a way to get the girls out of the zombie infested hallways as well as the stagecraft class.
This is a very fast-paced young adult zombie outbreak story that does not skip on the gore and held me in suspense. Centered in a high school with high schoolers as the only uninfected people left, I was really interested to see how high school dynamics would go into play. Especially since this high school was overcrowded, had a lot of racial tension and general intolerance of anyone who is different. Luckily, this group of survivors is centered in the theatre, where different is the norm. When any differences are brought up, they manage to be quickly resolved or changed in the minds of the teenagers for the benefit of survival. I was really interested in the virus itself and I got a little bit of information on it through Brian's mom, who was on the first response team. I did want to find out if there was a cure and how it began. The book really just focused on the outbreak itself and how this small group of highschoolers was able to survive. There were some very awesome moments of zombie smackdowns and creative weaponry, but there was no resolve after the teens were rescued from the school.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Challenge: No challenge, just read!
Pages Read:256
Total Books Read:6
Total Pages Read: 1756
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria, Last Christmas in Paris, The Most Happy, The Witch and other Tales Re-Told
Challenge: Wrap Up!
Total Books Read:7
Total Pages Read: 2310
Finished Books: Twilight Empress, The Smallest Thing, Sick, Journey From Skioria, Last Christmas in Paris, The Most Happy, The Witch and other Tales Re-Told