#30DayBookBinge - kicking it off.. again!

(click here for my 2 1/2 week vlog update)

For the last 17 days, I 've been 'participating' (I use the term loosely because I'm currently in a slump) in the #30DayBookBinge created by Book Rat Misty (links and info. at the end). My personal intentions for this readathon/reading challenge were to get myself to read 'more.' What does more mean to me? More than just graphic novels and 3 books a month, honestly. I've been reading at a pretty good pace in 2017 and have made my reading goals much more fluid, but I feel like because of this I have begun to fall off the reading wagon.

 For the past 17 days, I have yo-yo'd between graphic novels and actual novels several times, only to wind up here. Stuck with tons of books I own physically and the want to only play PS4 and watch YouTube. I've felt unmotivated like this only one other time this year, so I'm taking my current mood as a kick in the butt to just READ SOMETHING ELSE. I'm putting down my current read, The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham and looking to greener pastures.

What do I want to read next? I'm thinking something standalone, preferably under 400 pages, and of course scifi. As I also resurrect this reading blog, I will be updating you with some of the details I keep out of my BookTube/YouTube (it's both, not just BOOKS, guys!) videos. I want this to be something separate from my videos because I enjoy writing and can sometimes formulate much more coherent thoughts in written format versus rambling at my phone camera.

Where you can find Book Rat Misty:
YouTube - BookRatMisty
Blog - The Book Rat

2016 Reading Goals Wrap-Up ... #failure

Well, let’s just start off by kicking the dust off these web pages. It’s been quite a few months since I updated this blog, or my YouTube channel. I’ve still been reading, but my habits have changed. I’ve grown to enjoy my love for reading graphic novels and not just feel guilty when I read them instead of normal novels. I read an absolute ton of them in 2016, and as 2017 seems to really settle in, I’ve read even more of them.

My Goodreads goals have become pretty arbitrary, but I still enjoy tracking my progress and keeping my running tally of books I’ve read. But really, the reason I failed most of my goals… is because I just want to read and not keep confined to a box. Pretty chill, right? The Man can’t stop me, right? Honestly, I just feel that my reading habits change with my mood, my current work or financial situation, whether or not I’m stressed or want to go to bed. I’ve honestly let everything loose and just read when I want to, and what I want to.

So let’s look at the fails, yes?

2016 Goals Wrap-Up

• Reading 3 classics - FAILED
•  Read 3 books I can’t seem to finish (or start) - COMPLETED
1. 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad (finished 8/10)
2. The Pox Party by M. T. Anderson (finished 9/29)
3. Unsouled by Neal Shusterman (finished 4/3)
• Reading 2 books that were added during each year I’ve had a Goodreads account (2012-15) - COMPLETED
• 2012
1. Bumped by Megan McCafferty (finished 1/14)
2. Disclosure by Michael Crichton (finished 9/15)
• 2013
1. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs (finished 4/9)
2. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (finished 3/7)
• 2014
1. Vicious by V. E. Schwab (finished 5/6)
2. The Walking Dead vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman (finished 6/12)
• 2015
1. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (finished 1/10)
2.  The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (finished 1/26)4
• Participate in 1 read-a-thon - COMPLETED
• #RYBSAT Round 7 (January 9-25)
• Read 5 e-books that I already own - FAILED
1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (finished 2/23)
2. Reached by Ally Condie (finished 5/26)

No classics? No problems. I am honestly not too concerned about my lack of classics this year. I wasn't inclined to read them because they weren't at the front of my mind. I am personally upset that I didn't get through any of my older e-books. My e-reader is practically on the brink of exploding with how many downloads I have. Although my flooding bookshelves IRL are the most visually striking evidence that I had books to read, my e-books are much easier to avoid. In the next year, I'll have to commit more time to my e-reader so I can archive some books!