Armchair BEA: Day Two, Book Covers, Progress

And... it's Day Two of the Armchair BEA ReadaThon, hosted annually in correlation with the BEA events, which are this year in Chicago. I had a pretty good reading day today. Got a lot of reading done during school, since we had a substitute who didn't really have any lesson plans... I digress.

Progress:

Currently Reading: The Enchantress, by Michael Scott
Pages Read Today: 144
Total Pages Read: 259
Thoughts: So I finished The Warlock, and moved right along to the final book in this series. It makes me so sad for some reason to be finishing up this series for the second time... I haven't read this last book since the month it originally came out, and I sort of grew up with these books. I will reread them again someday, I'm sure!

Blogging Prompt:

How often do you judge a book by it's cover? Do you like your covers to match, or is that not really a concern?

I must confess... I judge books by their covers quite often. But hey! It's worked out at least once. The only reason I picked up The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima was because it was cheap and I liked the cover (it was the foreign edition). And that turned out to be one of my favorite books!

As for if the covers have to match -- it used to matter a lot less to me than it does now. Before I started blogging and getting into the book internet place... I didn't care if my shelves matched or if the covers were the same. I didn't even care about owning books, I often just checked them out from the library. Now, I do care if they are the same. They have to match otherwise it just doesn't seem right to me.

There was a second part to today's prompt, asking about blog branding and stuff, but I've never put much thought into that! Maybe I should?

Photo:
A book cover you love or think reflects the book inside.

Sorry for the poor quality on this one (and lighting)! This is the novelization based off of my favorite movie, My Neighbor Totoro. I love the artwork on this cover, I think it is absolutely adorable.

 

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I had another great reading day today! I can't believe I've already finished a book. Granted, I started it before the ReadaThon began, but I am still happy with my progress. I've also read 26 pages of this next book, and anything more I read shall be included in tomorrow's update. I hope everyone has a very good day today. Or evening, since I'm getting this up late (again).

 

Until tomorrow, happy reading!

Armchair BEA: Day One, Diversity, Armchair + Progress

So, Day One of the Armchair BEA readathon is pretty close to finishing up. I had a pretty good reading day today. I didn't have too much homework, so I decided to read a little more than I normally would on a school day.

Progress:

Currently Reading: The Warlock, by Michael Scott
Pages Read Today: 115
Total Pages Read: 115
Thoughts: I'm going to read some more tonight, so that isn't really a final tally, but I'll add whatever else I read tonight into tomorrow's total, or maybe update this post tomorrow with an official end count. (Update from the future: I just added in here.) I think I did pretty good today, although I was in a bit of a funk today, so I'm afraid I didn't have the most enjoyable reading experience. There are some plot holes and some phrases are repeated a lot. However, I still am enjoying this a lot! It brings back memories.

Blogging Prompt:

Today's Prompt: Discussing which voices we hear in books, which we need more of, and which may be portrayed negatively or stereotypically.

Diversity in books is so important because everyone needs someone to identify with, and if a book character can be that someone who helps you along, then it could change your life forever. I think all the representation we already see is magnificent and making leaps and bounds of progress. However, there's a few characters that I would love to see more of:

• Characters with anxiety/social anxiety: Okay, so I'm biased. But I would love to see a character who is anxious (or struggles with a similar mental illness) go on an adventure and help defeat the big bad. I always am a little sad when the only character who seems even a little scared is the stereotypical jittery sidekick. I would like to read about a hero/ine in that role, instead. Someone who suffers from panic attacks but still proves that they can be brave!
• Asexual, pansexual, and/or transgender characters: I don't think I've ever read about an asexual, pansexual, or transgender character in a book, and I think that they are very underrepresented.  
• Blind, deaf, or mute characters: I think I've read a couple of characters who are blind, deaf, or mute, but not many. Especially mute characters. I would love to have them in the lead for once.
• Characters with a stutter: So, having a mute character reminded me of characters with a stutter! I don't see them hardly ever. I'm not sure if this counts as "diverse" but I'm going to count it anyway?
• Native American character: Again, never read about one as the main character,
   
  although I'm sure they're out there. But having a Native American character who is not stereotypical or portrayed negatively would be awesome and it would make me so happy.

Snapshot:

Today's photo prompt: Favorite ReadaThon reading spot! #myarmchair

 

This is my kinda old armchair! It belonged to my Grandma, and now it belongs to me. I like to read in it because it reminds me of her. (I apologize for the mess in the background...I really need to tidy up around here.)

 

 

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I hope you all had a great first day of this ReadaThon, if you are participating. If not, I hope you had a great day otherwise, and I will (hopefully) see you again tomorrow with a new update. Until next time, happy reading!

Armchair BEA: Introduction Questions + TBR

Hello, everybody! Today, I am excited to say that I will be participating in the 2016 Armchair BEA! This is an event for all the bloggers/booktubers/etc. who are unfortunately unable to attend Book Expo America this year. It's a ReadaThon that takes place from May 11, 2016 to May 15, 2016.

Today, there were some questions on their blog to answer in order to introduce oneself a little. The entirety of the "first group" is to be answered, while only 4-5 of the second group are meant to be answered. Without futher ado, here are some of my answers!

Group 1:

1. What is the name you prefer to use?

Emma.

2.  How long have you been a book blogger?

I can't quite remember... I think since Summer 2013?

3. Have you participated in ABEA before?

No, this is my first time!

Group 2:

1.  Do you have a favorite book? If you cannot choose a favorite book of all time, pick your favorite book today - just this second. Remember that favorites are allowed to change if something affects you deeply enough.

Unlike some (most?) people, I know exactly what to say when someone asks me for my favorite book: "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien. This is my most cherished book. I love everything about it - Bilbo Baggins is the fictional character I relate the most to out of every book, movie, or TV show. I love Tolkien's writing style in this, the little bits of humor, the characterization, the fizzy, happy feeling that fills me whenever I so much as read the opening sentence. This will never change as my favorite book, I know that already!

2.  What is your favorite genre and why?

Fantasy is by far my favorite genre. To be specific, High/Epic Fantasies, especially if there are multiple books in the series! I love the magic, and how it transports me to another world when I want to escape this one. There is such variation in Fantasy, and I love the creativity that the authors always put into their work

3.  How do you arrange your bookshelves? Is there a rhyme or reason? Or not at all?

It's kind of (mostly) random - I arrange by height, author/series, and the most recent books I bought!

4. What book are you most excited for on your TBR? What are you most intimidated by?

Now, for the TBR that I promised in the title of this post.

•  The Warlock by Michael Scott - Currently reading this one, I'm a little ways through, but still have hundreds of pages to go. I'm excited for this!

• The Enchantress  by Michael Scott - Aww, the last book in the series. I'm going to be so sad to be finishing up my reread of this series, since I like it so much! Hopefully I'll finish this during the ReadAThon, though I doubt I will...

• Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare - For class. Not going to read all of it, but totally going to count what I do end up reading of it. Haha.

After that, if I finish those, no clue what I'll pick up! I'm excited about all of them, but I think The Enchantress" is my most anticipated.

5. If you could choose three characters to have lunch with, who would they be and why?

Ooh, this is a good question to be sure! I think I'd have to invite Bilbo Baggins, of course. Hobbits make the best tea, and we could talk about his adventures and maybe some books, since we both enjoy reading.

Luna Lovegood would be my second choice, as she is such a dreamer, and I would love to just learn so much about her and what's going on in her head. I'm sure she'd have many interesting factoids for me.

The last character I would love to have tea with is Mr. Tumnus from the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. These books were part of my childhood, and being able to talk with an actual faun would just be too cool. Again, he seems great at making tea.

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This was my introduction and TBR, if you are also participating then you could link to your own post, if not you can tell me your answers, if you want! Have a great day!

 

May TBR | 2016

This is the second month in a row that I've done a TBR post! But I already have quite a clear plan of what I am hoping to start/finish reading this month. So without further ado, here are the books I want to read in May!

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I'm hoping to (re)read The Sorceress, The Necromancer, The Warlock, and The Enchantress by Michael Scott this month. These are books 3-6 of the Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, which was a childhood favorite of mine. Now that I'm closer to the age of the protaganists, I wanted to read it again with new eyes! I read the first two books last month, and I'm anxious to finish up my second time reading this series.

Next, I want to pick up Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. I currently have this one out from the library, so I'm definitely hoping to read it before I have to return it! This is a YA High Fantasy following two girls with powers? I think? It was really hyped after BEA last year, and this year when it came out, it seemed many people enjoyed it. So, hopefully, I will too!

I also have out from the library Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, a historical fiction novel set around a really bad marine accident that took place near the time of the second World War. I've heard nothing but great things about it and I've been wanting to read more Historical Fiction, so I checked this one out.

For school, I have to read Taming the Shrew by William Shakespeare which I am (gasp) actually looking forward to. Though I haven't read much by Shakespeare, I've enjoyed what I have read, so this is one that I am going to try to power through (because the language can be super confusing, to me).

Lastly, if I manage to get to it, I want to read (or at least start reading) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling. This is one of my favorite Harry Potter books, and I was hoping to get to it in April, but sadly that didn't happen. This month, though! *crosses fingers*

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I'm going to be really busy with school in May, because it's almost the end of the school year, which means preparations/last big push before finals, and of course, AP Testing. Which I dread. A lot. Wish my luck.

Until next time, happy reading!