#ReadingCram Challenge...With a Twist!

I haven't finished reading for the day....but I wanted to get on and do a review before I curl up in bed to read until I can't keep my eyes open.  Tonight and tomorrow, I am really pushing to finish Divergent and get at least halfway through the Book of Mormon.  I am not sure if I can...but I'm sure going to try!

Today's challenge is the top ten books we are excited to see released in 2014.  Maybe I'm lame or don't know where to look...but I cannot name a single book that is coming out in 2014.  So I decided to do this challenge with a twist...which books I'm most excited to read in 2014 (though some I hope to start in 2013). I have been reading so many great lists of best of 2013--my TBR list has gotten HUGE!

1. The Plague Legacy: Acquisitions by Christine Haggerty
2. Coiled Snake by Kate Robison
3. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
4. I am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
5. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
6. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
7. Inferno by Dan Brown
8. Janie Face to Face by Caroline B. Cooney
9. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
10. Just One Day by Gayle Forman

So excited to read some more books! And for a fresh start in the new year!

#ReadingCram and Spelling Challenge

Yay for more reading :) I am doing well with finishing Insurgent before the end.  And I caught up on a lot of online reading....though not books--it is nice to know that last night my Feedly was caught up and today my e-mail box only has one e-mail left in it :)

Today Kimberly Faye is hosting a challenge in which you spell a word with your book titles.  I spelled Staff :)

Sense and Sensibility
To Kill a Mockingbird
Angels and Demons
Fablehaven
Feels Like the First Time

Acrostic Spine Poetry (#Reading Cram Challenge)

Today's challenge for the #readingcram challenge is a twist on the spine poetry with an acrostic poem.  The challenge is supported by Tressa's Wishful Endings

Falling
Asleep
Beneath
Lights in the
Evening can
Have
Adverse effects on
Various
Each
New day

Honestly don't know where that came from except my once again tired brain....so glad that tomorrow is FRIDAY!!

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Book Reviews and #ReadingCram Update

So....today's challenge for the #ReadingCram was actually really simply....submit a review you've done this year.  So I submitted The Storyteller which was by far my "favoritest" book of the year.

As I looked for my reviews today--I was like wow....I have these page things that I probably haven't updated in FOREVER--sure enough just clicked on Bookland and I haven't updated that since February. Wow, I'm sad! This prompts a couple of comments. First of, I have been thinking about what I'm going to do in 2014 with my blog because I do NOT want to just let it die.  But I also get a bit sick of writing everyday--especially when I have nothing to say--or I'm tired like tonight.  Hence I think the stream of consciousness you're getting now. I have been thinking about coming up with a schedule with the blog so I have regular writing topics, goals etc.  And I have decided that January is going to need to be serious housekeeping time!  And maybe a new background....spice it up a bit--I dunno...I like the flying seeds with the Inspirefly and I don't want to go to like birds or something.

Second off, this also prompted a thought about book reviews.  I have been mentioning to some people in person that I do book reviews on my blog.  Talking about that and reading other people's reviews a lot more--it has been getting me thinking about how people get into this whole authors sending you books for reviews.  And I know everybody has these disclaimers and stuff....I haven't looked into this a lot--but if anyone wants to point me in a direction of where to even get started with this I would appreciate it!

Third of all--I wish there were more hours in the day! I am behind on books and I am behind on work and laundry and sleep and...ugh. Which brings me to the final thing....I have probably read for about an hour in the last two days, hence my lack of #readingcram updates.  So best of luck to the people that are still going...I will probably be like this until Friday when I have a weekend and then three days off so no work can be done :) So lots of reading will hopefully happen then!

Don't know if it is a picture that really fits..but it is where my ramble ended up :)

Top Ten New Authors To Me 2013

http://www.brokeandbookish.com/

I am going to separate this into books that I read this year in which I discovered a new author and new authors that I've heard of/recently published but I haven't had a chance to read yet.

1. Charlotte Bronte...yeah hadn't read anything really by her before Jane Eyre
2. Brandon Mull...absolutely loving his writing and I love how I found out he was in Divine Comedy at the Y
3. Veronica Roth...she has written what has so far been a great trilogy...can't wait to finish it
4. Shawn Inmon....this was cool as it was an author that contacted me through my blog and asked for feedback from me....the first time I really felt validated as a blogger

Authors that I Have Added to TBR Pile

1. Christine Haggerty-- She has been published!! So excited to read her book Plague Legacy: Acquisitions
2. Karey White--Excited to read My Own Mr. Darcy
3. Suzy Turner--Met her over the blogosphere and I'm interested to read the Raven
4. William Makepeace Thackeray---OLD author...wrote Vanity Fair, after seeing a read-along with this book, I am hoping to read it soon.
5. Norma Bannister--A Holocaust survivor that wrote her story...I have been wanting to read it since I found out about it

Hmm...I tried for ten I guess it just gets to be 9...

Day 8 #ReadingCram with Movie Cast

So I had planned to have today be a big reading day with baking--but then I ended up spending my whole night writing school reports.  And I wanted to start Northanger Abbey on Jane Austen's birthday and everything...oh well!! But I did continue to listen to my two audio books during my morning routine and driving.

Today's challenge is to pick a book and cast actors/actresses to fulfill the characters.  I decided to pick The Storyteller because it really hadn't been done yet.  But there are soo many characters....so I am going to just focus on a few of the characters.

For Sage

For Josef...if he can do a good German accent

For Minka

Jane Eyre in 166 Characters or Less

So...today is the seventh day of the #ReadingCram challenge.  I have not done as much reading today as I really had hoped/wanted to.  Yesterday ended up with having to constantly tell myself that there are things not in my control and that is okay....so things ended up getting pushed to today. I am hoping before I go to bed tonight that all of the Christmas presents will be bought and all I have to do is wrap some to ship tomorrow and I will be done with the presents part.  My goal for tomorrow is to bake some cookies and listen to some books while I do so---hopefully that all goes according to plan :)

Today's challenge from Mommasez is to summarize a book in 166 characters or less.  So I decided to tackle Jane Eyre, because I just barely finished it and I think people give up on classics waay too fast.

An orphaned girl can’t find her way in the world in which no one loves her. Shuffled from her aunt to a boarding school to a job as a governess, she falls in love with her boss—will she finally find love? 

 I hope it makes you read the book :) And that was harder to write than I thought!