May Reading List

We're already two weeks into May and I've not got much reading done. I'm currently reading two books. First is Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse, part of my April Read-a-thon book choices. The other is The Last Man by Mary Shelley; this book is going really slow and probably why I'm in a reading slump.

I have selected light reads for this month because I don't feel like reading any heavy book this Summer even though some of the heavy reads are books I'm been waiting long to read this year. I made some good purchases this month and one of them is the perfect Summer romance book, so I'm very happy, and I can't wait to begin it.

My May Reading List

Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse
I plan to finish Something Fresh this weekend. I'm already more than 50% done and its a nice comic relief book about the adventures involving a heist at Blandings Castle.

The Last Man by Mary Shelley
This is a Gothic post-apocalyptic novel and one of the reasons I picked this up. However, the story just introduces the main protagonists' early and married life in the English countryside. The apocalypse that is brought about through a mysterious plague only begins some 40% into the book. I read this book on my Kindle during my work commute and I'm already some 50% done. I just hope to finish it soon.

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
This is the book I'm most looking forward to read this month. I just purchased it and I'm saving it to read the next weekend. I've seen high ratings for this book by other book bloggers. I can't wait to see the movie in June. I haven't read any reviews or seen the trailer yet because I want no spoilers. Hope this book lives up to my expectations!

An R.L. Stine book
For old times' sake! Horror is one of my favourite genres. Even the campy ones. I enjoyed watching the show Scream Queens recently. I had bought two books by R.L. Stine around the time the Goosebumps movie came out, which I haven't had time to read yet. I've not yet decided the book I'll read; maybe both.

I love to reread books and I plan to reread some of my old favourites including a series this year. Maybe I'll begin this month. Now back to reading. =)

End of Event Survey: Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon

I just completed my first ever read-a-thon. I was very excited throughout the event and really spent the first few hours online instead of reading. I had planned to read 6 books in 12 hours, but I managed to spend only 8 1/2 hours spaced throughout the day. Here's my response to their Dewey's 24 hour read-a-thon end of event survey.

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?It was already 11 pm barely six hours into the read-a-thon time for me. However, I was completely able to read at a stretch only then. Around 1 pm, I had barely 45 mins of the book remaining to go. I was feeling very sleepy and thought I would continue the book in the morning. But I pulled through and manged to read the last half hour or so of the book standing to avoid falling asleep. =)
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?I would suggest picking books from your favourite genre. It would be best to keep aside a well-reviewed book on your TBR list for when you're less energetic. I think I should have spent better time planning my books, but I just randomly selected unread books I had lying around at home at the 11th hour.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next season?This was my first time participating and I was not sure how exactly to respond to the mini challenges. At first, I left my response in the original blog comment. Then I didn't know I had to link my blog/twitter where I was active.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?I thought the hosts and organizers did a splendid job. I cannot compare to the previous ones as I didn't participate earlier.
5. How many books did you read?I managed to read 2 and 1/2 books in 8 and 1/2 hours. One was a graphic novel and I was already 67 pages into my first book, but in all I read 381 pages.
6. What were the names of the books you read?The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
   Nancy Drew #9: Ghost in the Machinery (Girl Detective, Graphic) by Stefan Petrucha
   Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse
7. Which book did you enjoy most?I enjoyed Ladies' Detective for its theme of life as a woman in Africa and the small mysteries. However, I'm really enjoying the humour in Something Fresh. It's definitely a book I will read more than once. I still have 50% left to complete it.
8. Which did you enjoy least?I did not enjoy the Nancy Drew graphic novel. I thought the plot was not much developed. I think its marketed towards the pre-teen group, but I think the plot is insufficient for that age group as well.
9. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?Very likely! I'm already looking ahead to the October read-a-thon. Horror and mystery is my favourite genre. I will plan and buy some of the books I've been wanting to read for long and will save them till October if possible. I loved responding to tweets and checking out other readers' posts so I might sign up for a cheerleader as well.

I cannot wait for the next read-a-thon. I don't know if the date is fixed yet, but I can surely put in more time to read and will definitely sign up. I would love to have a more immersive experience next time and to read for longer stretches, maybe even the whole 24 hours! My weekend was definitely well spent.

Read-a-thon Time

Yesterday, I signed up to take part in Dewey’s 24 hr read-a-thon. This will be my first read-a-thon challenge. The read-a-thon is online, and hence open to all. It starts on 23 April US time, which starts at 5:30 pm here today.

I thought this event would be a great opportunity to read some of the many unread books I have at home. The only Kindle book I have added to my list is the one I was already reading. I won’t be reading the entire 24 hrs but I will spend as much time as I can reading.

I will try to post individual reviews of the books as I finish them and will have a last timeline post of how I completed the challenge. I think the number of books I’ve selected is a lot, but I hope I can get through most of them as they are mostly fast reads.

So, I’ve selected 5 books and 1 Kindle book. I wish I had an unread horror book lying around to read late at night. I’ll get some for the October challenge. I might, possibly also switch one for another Shakespeare, because of all the Shakespeare posts everywhere!  I will probably follow the below reading order. 

1.       The No. Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. (Pgs.67/234)

2.       A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (Pgs.152)

3.       Something Fresh by P.G. Wodehouse(Pgs.260)

4.       Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Pgs.187)

5.       Leave it to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse (Pgs.328)

6.       Nancy Drew: Ghost in the Machine, a Graphic Novel by Stefan Petrucha and Sho Murase (No pg. numbers)

My total page count is 1094, which should be possible to achieve. I will try to read for at least 12 of the 24 hours. I’m very excited to begin and I wish all of the other participants a very good reading time.

Mini Challenges Completed:

Hour 01: Opening Meme
Hour 02: Our Bookish Childhoods (Missed the deadline)

Hour 03: Five Word Story 

Readathon Hour 2 Mini-Challenge: Our Bookish Childhoods

1. My family does not read much. But my mom still told my sis and me the stories she knew. My first memory was my mom reading out bedtime stories. She would always tell us about Cinderella, the only fairy tale she knew I think. She won the fairy tale book as a prize for a science competition.

2. Around the age of 10, I made friends who liked to read and was introduced to Enid Blyton. My favourite series were Secret Seven and Famous Five. This made a big bookworn. And then, I was also introduced to Harry Potter and i stuck with the series till seven years later when it ended and still continue to love it.

3. During my pre-teen years I would read the occasional Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and more Enid Blyton books. I read below my age level as you can guess.

4. We would have Scholastic book fairs in my school when I was teenager. I started reading Agatha Christie, Sherlock, Goosebumps and Fear Street books. I also began reading YA books around supernatural events similar to Fear Street novels, which were a guilty pleasure.

5. Where I live, we finish schooling by 15 yrs of age. I had started reading Sidney Sheldon and the Nancy Drew On Campus series. I was also desperately waiting to get my hands on the Order of the Phoenix that had just released and all friends were reading.

Readathon Hour 3 Mini-Challenge: Five Word Story

The words came to life.

A Little Intro

Welcome to my blog!

I hope you enjoy reading as much about books as actually reading them. I, myself, spend way too much time reading about books and this has led to an ever-growing pile of TBR books. I now have tonnes of physical and Kindle books, which I will do a post about in the future.

Let me first introduce myself. I fell in love with reading, or rather stories, from the day my mom first told bedtime stories to my sis and me. My love for reading really grew during secondary school with easier access to a library, both local and the school one. I would spend hour after hour reading and could easily manage to read a new book every day.

Then unfortunately, during college, when I really had a lot of free time on my hands, my reading took a back seat and I can barely remember reading (just a handful of books L). After getting a full-time job, other priorities took over and somehow I almost forgot about reading. A couple of years ago, however, during a really slow time at work, I stumbled across Gutenberg while looking for free books to read online. I read Anna Karenina and it brought back my joy and lost love for reading.

Over time, I slowly got back into the habit of reading but it would still be an occasional read. Last year, I took up a Twitter reading challenge hosted by local newspaper, #BrunchBookChallenge, joined GoodReads, and managed to read 26 wonderful books. There are so many books I have bought since then and I really hope to find some relaxing time to read.

I’m starting this blog to share all the amazing stories I come across and to keep a journal about the things I loved most about each book. I have already managed to read 18 books this year and hope this will be a great year for reading. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to add more beautiful books to your TBR list.

Happy reading!