Bout of Books - Wrap Up Post

Whew! I made it through the whole week with Bout of Books! Yesterday was the last day and it ended up being the day I was able to get the most pages read. My goal was 100 pages minimum a day, which I exceeded all 7 days, and my total goal was 700 pages and I ended up reading 1.5 times that. Whooo! Nothing like a challenge to keep me focused and start my new year of reading off right.

In the end:

Pages Read Today: 254
Total Pages Read: 1051

Books Read Today: 5, Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood by Anna Eastland and others, Mass Education by Adam Thomé, Theology of the Body in Simple Language adapted by Philokalia Books, Don't Kill the Birthday Girl by Sandra Beasley, and some of my Bible
Books Finished Today: 1, Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood
Total Books Finished: 4

Books Read with the Kids Today: 2, I started reading 2 graphic novels today with Tobias and Linus for our Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. Tobias and I started with A Bag of Marbles by Joseph Joffo and Linus got sucked in as he heard it and was pretty soon leaning over my shoulder reading along with us. This story is based on a true story and the subject matter is heavy so after we finished the first part we started another graphic novel, this time a fiction one, Space Dumplins by Craig Thompson.
Total Books Read with the Kids: 19

Bout of Books - Day 6 Challenge

Today we did our last round of Christmas celebrating for a while. Three family members came for a visit and we had a great visit. I also managed to get some reading in before they got here, and then some reading with the boys in after they left.

Today's stats:

Pages Read Today: 128
Total Pages Read: 797

Books Read Today: 2, Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis, and The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker
Books Finished Today: 1 Spilled Milk
Total Books Finished: 3

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 17

Bout of Books - Day 5 Challenge

Another day, another challenge. Today's challenge is "If you like this, try this" so for my contribution: If you like Historical Fiction try The Midwife of Venice. It's also a great choice for those who like dramatic stories that feature midwives, such as fans of The Birth House.

I once again did all of my reading when I couldn't sleep during the night last night. The day got busy though and I didn't get any more done once it was daylight, except for the books I read to the boys at bedtime. I am a breath away from my goal of 700 pages for the week though, so it wasn't a loss overall.

Today's stats:

Pages Read Today: 158
Total Pages Read: 669

Books Read Today: 2, Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis, and The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 2

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 14

Bout of Books 18 - Day 4 Challenge

We are officially more than halfway through Bout of Books 18. I am having a great time and I am so glad I joined.

Today's challenge prompt is Book Spine Poetry. I've never done this before but I attempted it today:

Today I started exploring the world of Kindle Unlimited. I've seen it advertised every time I'm on Amazon get more books but I'd never jumped in. There was a book I wanted to read that was available for free to subscribers so I started my 30 day free trial. I ended up downloading 10 books (the max that you're allowed at one time) and I think I'm hooked. That's just what I needed... more books that weren't ones that I already need to read from my shelves. Ah well, I am very glad I started reading the one that made me jump (Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood, a compilation by five Catholic bloggers), and I think that Kindle Unlimited may be my newest best book friend.

Pages Read Today: 121
Total Pages Read: 511

Books Read Today: 3, Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood by Anna Eastland and others, Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis, The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 2

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 11

Bout of Books 18 - Day 3

Day 3 is done, almost half way through the challenge! The good news about today is that I read a lot. The not so good news is that I didn't have any inspiration at all for the challenge prompt. However I want to keep my updates flowing so here are today's stats:

Pages Read Today: 143
Total Pages Read: 390

Books Read Today: 3, I finished both Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox, and Like Living Among Scorpions by Jennifer Fulwiler, and also read some of my Bible
Books Finished Today: 2
Total Books Finished: 2

Books Read with the Kids Today: 5
Total Books Read with the Kids: 8

Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully I feel more inspired tomorrow.

Bout of Books 18 - Day 2 Challenge

Day 2 of Bout of Books 18 is quickly coming to an end. Today's challenge was to post 2017 in a picture. I had no pictures handy of my books I was reading so I did up a graphic that sums up some of my goals for the year:

Today was a mixed bag. I read a bit more in the first two hours of the day than I did in the whole day yesterday. However, I didn't read any more at all after those first two hours. I didn't get any reading with the kids in. Tomorrow is a new day and I'll try again. Now for the update:

Pages Read Today: 124
Total Pages Read: 247

Books Read Today: 2, Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox and Room by Emma Donoghue
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 0

Books Read with the Kids Today: 0
Total Books Read with the Kids: 3

Bout of Books 18 - Day 1 Challenge

Today was the first day of Bout of Books 18. The challenge for today is to introduce myself #insixwords

Grateful wife and Mama to boys

That's me in a nutshell. I'm lucky and I know it.

My challenge to myself in this reading challenge was to read at least 100 pages of my books a day and also to read with my kids. To that end today was a good day. The final tally was:

Pages Read Today: 123
Total Pages Read: 123

Books Read Today: 2, Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox and my short story of the week for the Deal Me In reading Challenge was Burd from Home From the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
Books Finished Today: 0
Total Books Finished: 0

Books Read with the Kids Today: 3
Total Books Read with the Kids: 3

Ready, Set, Reading Challenges 2017

All this week I'll be posting my introductory posts for the reading challenges I am planning to complete this year. I'll add links to those posts into the 2017 Reading Challenges page above once they are live.

I plan on taking part in 11 year long reading challenges, as well as other mini challenges or read-alongs throughout the year. I am really looking forward to reading all the books and I am hoping the challenges help motivate me to stay on track.

I'm going to kick off the year by taking part in Bout of Books 18. Join me and others taking part. A bit about Bout of Books:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team