Bout of Books 14.0 – Updates

Bout of Books is here and I am in desperate need of it. My reading challenges are nowhere near finished, I’m drowning in review copies, and I feel like I’m still missing out on all the new books coming out this year. This post is where I’ll keep track of how the read-a-thon is going for me, what I’m reading, the challenges I’m participating in, and so on. Maybe I’ll add a special bonus bullet point for how ungodly hot it is outside…

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 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23th 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 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

Let’s get started! I have a lot of books to get through.

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OVERALL STATS

Books read:
Terry Pratchett – Soul Music
Bill Willingham – Fables: The Deluxe Edition, Vol. 10
Fran Wilde – Updraft
Pages read: ~  715
Challenges: 3
Twitter chats:

 

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MONDAY

Total books read:  0
Total pages read: ~ 165
Pages read today: ~ 165
Challenges: Fictional World Travel
Books I’m reading:

• Fran Wilde – Updraft
• Terry Pratchett – Soul Music

Notes:

I had started both Updraft and Soul Music before the read-a-thon so finishing those two shouldn’t take too long.
Updraft is a gripping and fast read, although I do think it’s getting a bit silly. I have enormous trouble suspending my disbelief about the world-building and at the same time appreciate the original ideas. A city in the sky, people living on structures of growing bone, flying around with attachable wings… it sounds really good but you really can’t think about it too much or it all falls apart.

Also: IT’S BEEN RAINING ALL NIGHT! Ladies and gentlemen, we have weather again. The days of blazing heat and sleepless nights seem to be over. For someone who’s normally always cold, I now know that 38°C is just too damn hot.

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TUESDAY

Total books read: 
Total pages read: ~
Pages read today: I don’t know, 5?
Books I’m reading:

• Fran Wilde – Updraft
• Terry Pratchett – Soul Music

Notes:

I couldn’t sleep at all last night and feel like a cast member of The Walking Dead (not one of the ones with speaking parts, mind you).  Thanks to my spontaneous insomnia, I almost finished my Terry Pratchett book, however. A few more pages today, and a review shall follow soon. Soul Music was fun, funny, and – as every Death novel – a little bit heartbreaking.

Updraft is also getting more and more interesting. I still have trouble with the world-building but it’s gotten better. I generally dislike when an entire society of people doesn’t question the status quo, but Fran Wilde took care that there are people who wonder what those in power plan and if it’s really for the greater good. I officially want to know All The Secrets!

This turned out to be one of the worst work days ever. I was completely sleep-deprived and several shots of coffee didn’t really help. Even on enough sleep, this would have been a horrible day. Instead of reading, I went shopping with a friend (which was wonderful!), ordered food, and went straight to bed. Better luck tomorrow, I hope.

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WEDNESDAY

Total books read:  1
Total pages read:  ~ 210
Pages read today: ~ 40
Books finished:  Terry Pratchett – Soul Music
Books I’m reading:

• Fran Wilde – Updraft

Notes:

Still trying to catch up on sleep, so not much reading today. Audiobooks, however, worked beautifully – although I had to go back and re-listen a lot because I fell asleep pretty randomly. I am now starting to put all my hope into the weekend as I suspect the rest of my work week will be just as awful.

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THURSDAY

Total books read:  1
Total pages read: ~ 225
Pages read today: ~ 15
Challenges: Four Seasons in Book Covers
Books I’m reading:

• Fran Wilde – Updraft

Notes:

The tired overcame me again. I’m putting all my money on the weekend now. Now time to read during the week, and if I did have time, I was so exhausted that I couldn’t. I may start another audiobook tonight…

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FRIDAY

Total books read:  2
Total pages read: ~ 609
Pages read today: ~ 384
Books finished: Bill Willingham – Fables Deluxe, Vol. 10
Books I’m reading:

• Fran Wilde – Updraft

Notes:

IT’S FRIDAY!!! Thank the gods for weekends. I finally had some time to just sit down and curl up with my book. Updraft will be finished today and I’m not sure yet what book I’ll start next. There are so many that look intriguing…

I also noticed I completely forgot to mention that I read Fables: The Deluxe Edition Vol. 10. Spread out over the week, I nibbled at this comic book every day. I’ll put that one in today’s stats, but please note that I’m not made of magic and couldn’t actually read that much in a day. 🙂

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SATURDAY

Total books read:  3
Total pages read: ~ 715
Pages read today: ~ 106
Books finished: Fran Wilde – Updraft
Challenges: Road Trip Challenge
Books I’m reading:

• Rosamund Hodge – Gilded Ashes

Notes:

I slept all morning (seriously, I properly got up around 1pm) and finally, I feel rested. I finished Updraft and must now dive into my huge TBR pile to find my next read. Reviews of all books read during this week will follow of course. But only next week when I’ve had time to mull them over a bit.

Alright, I’ve made my decision. I picked a very short book because then I might squeeze another one in tomorrow. After reading the first paragraph of Gilded Ashes, I knew I had to continue. Cinderella retold in the Cruel Beauty universe? That sounds awesome. And the first chapter already offers up plenty of spins on the Grimms’ tale. Yes, I am happy with this. Now, let’s read.

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SUNDAY

Total books read:  4
Total pages read: ~ 826
Pages read today: ~ 111
Books finished: Rosamund Hodge – Gilded Ashes
Books I’m reading:

• ??

Notes:

The Hugo Awards are over and I am so happy! My favorite novel (The Goblin Emperor) didn’t win but in almost all other categories, my number one votes got the rocket. The discussions on Twitter are ugly (and the Puppies’ conspiracy theories more and more out of this world) but I don’t care. I’m already making a list of great books to nominate next year and I hope that all the new voters will do the same and nominate their favorites. I want to read some good stuff again next year!

Back to the read-a-thon though, Gilded Ashes by Rosamunde Hodge was a lot of fun. The romance started developing slowly, then took an insta-love turn, but it did some really amazing thing with the female characters. Maia and her stepsisters have more layers than you’d expect from a 100-page story based on a fairy tale. I am impressed.

Now back to the TBR pile for my next read. There’s so much stuff that looks amazing.