Tuesday, March 3, 2015

2015 Reading Challenge Progress II

 I'm a little behind, but here are the books I read in February for the 2015 reading challenge!  To see my other posts on the challenge click here.  I didn't get as many books read this month because I was sick and I've been working a LOT of extra hours at work because my boss is injured.  I've been adjusting my schedule for much earlier hours than I'm used to and that leaves me so exhausted I can't read much at night before bed.  I am adjusting though and hopeful that my schedule can go back to normal soon, so hopefully I can get back on track.


I started off with Curse of the Scarabs by H.Y. Hanna.  You may notice that I read one of her books in January as well.  Some of you might know her from the Big Honey Dog blog actually.  I've been following her blog for years (I think since 2008 or 2009), so I'm very excited about her new writing career and self publishing.  It's been a dream come true for her and I'm so proud of her for going for it!  I've been wanting to read her books since she first published them, but I was in the middle of this long series and I have trouble putting a series down once I'm hooked.  I'm very happy that this challenge has given me the chance to read her books.  I LOVED this book!  It is very well written, very entertaining and it even made me cry.  If you love dogs, even if you're an adult, you can't go wrong with reading this book.  :D  This book could go in the made me cry, non human characters and female author categories.


I finished the Curse of the Scarabs in the middle of the night as usual and couldn't go to sleep, but I didn't have a book from my list on my Nook so I just grabbed Evil Breeding, the next book in the Dog Lover's Mystery series I was reading right before I started the challenge.  It helped me fall asleep, but once I start a book I can't just quit reading it, so I finished it and added it to the list.  This was not one of my favorites that she's written.  It was a great book with an interesting mystery, but it just dragged a bit for me.  I would still recommend all of the books in her series though if you love dogs and mysteries.
 
The next book I read was for the book written by an author with your same initials.  For the sake of internet anonymity I won't mention the title (if you know me on Facebook and want to know, just send me a message and I'll share it), but trust me you aren't missing out because it sucked.  It was the worst book I have read in years.  For that reason it took me a long time to read it because I tend to procrastinate if I'm not enjoying the story.  I did get it read though... finally.  I at least have that category checked off the list.


 The last book, Cold Sassy Tree, I actually finished last night, but since I read the majority of it in February I'm going to go ahead and include it.  This was a long book that I thought I wouldn't like at first because it seemed to drag at first, but I really did enjoy it!  It gives a fascinating look into what life was like in 1906.  I really, really enjoyed that aspect of it.  The redneck Southern lingo was hilarious.  Even though I'm from the south I do NOT talk like that hehe.  Okay I admit I'll sometimes say ya'll, but I'm telling you the language was so funny.  I really liked that once I got used to it.  I've started saying some of it out loud though... ahhh!!! ;)  I will warn you though, if you're a fan of neatly wrapped happy endings with no loose ends don't touch this book with a ten foot pole!!  However if you enjoy a really great book with characters that you will love like your own family and don't mind bawling your eyes out like a baby I totally recommend this book.  This one definitely falls into the category of a book that made me cry.  It also goes in the book by an author I've never read.  There are probably others, but I'm too tired to go look so I'll figure all of that out later.

Anyway I'm still really enjoying this challenge and I hope you're enjoying my short reviews and following along on my progress.  My mom and I are having so much fun we are thinking about doing this every year!  :D

3 comments:

  1. It looks like you're making progress with your reading challenge. As long as you read a book you're ahead of the game.

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  2. I admire you for being able to read so much. It takes me years just to get through one book. Part of my problem is that reading puts me to sleep, another part of the problem is that I am constantly being interrupted, and the third part of the problem is that I can't find a prescription for reading glasses that doesn't cause fatigue in my eyes. I can also spend hours pouring through book summaries, and finding reasons to reject every book based on the word choices or story line as it is portrayed in the summary. I think as I get older I get more jaded when it comes to reading material. I got my first two issues of Horse & Rider the other day, and could not find a single article worth reading that had anything to do with me or my horses. I keep hoping I will find a new suspense novelist who I like. Maybe I should take random reading challenges like these in order to find that gem in the rough.

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  3. Thanks Grey Horse!

    NuzMuz, my problem is insomnia, so I have all the time in the world (night) to read LOL! I also don't have a problem being interrupted. I even read at work where I get interrupted by customers constantly and I have no problem reading. I've read whole books at my old job lol. Heck I used to read when I would get stopped at train tracks too. There aren't any tracks here so I don't get stopped, but I would totally read at them if I did. :) I hope you can find an author you like. I guess I'm really not that picky. Some of the books I'm reading aren't my favorite, but they aren't horrible either (except for that one). This challenge has been really cool for trying out books I never would have even given a second glance though! I hope you can try it if you ever find the uninterrupted time and the right glasses. :D

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