It's Monday! What Are you Reading?

 

How is everyone feeling after Christmas? Did you get all the bookish goodies you wanted? I had such grand plans for finishing up The Return of the King, but alas...I did not. So, guess what's back on the menu for this week? You guessed it, The Return of the King. Good news is, I'm nearly halfway in so I should finish it this week! I'm only 2 books (including that one) away from completing my very sad and meager Goodreads goal for 2022. 

I'm hoping that by Tuesday I'll have finished it and can go into Elantris or American Gods (or both, but that seems a bit ambitious of me!) 

So what is on your reading menu this week? Let me know! 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

I hope everyone has a very wonderful Christmas/Weekend! I'm going to be having a chill one myself, just relaxing and reading as much as I can! I'd love to see or hear about any books you might get under your tree! 

It's Monday!

 

Okay peoples, another week has begun and I'm seriously feeling the crunch! I am 2 books away from my very pathetic reading goal for this year, but I aim to do it!

I am still chugging through LoTRs. I'm going to finish The Return of the King this week. End of story! I am also going to switch it up and finish Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I keep saying I'll finish Crime and Punishment but every time I crack into it my eyes go all crossed and my attention span turns to Tv static. 

So my week's "menu" 

So tell me about what you're reading? Have you hit your yearly goal yet or still trying to squeeze some in? 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

 

What can I say about a book that gets read a bajillionity times around this time of the year? Not much, but considering I have never (to my knowledge) read this classic I'm gonna do it anyways! So here we go!

So obviously from the beginning we know that Ebenezer Scrooge is kind of a grumpy, stingy, and moody douchebag. He's rich. He's miserable. He hates everyone. He's kind of a tyrant to his employee, Bob Cratchit, only reluctantly giving him a day off for Christmas. Bob should hate this dude, but he seems to just feel sorry for him. 

So the story starts with us finding out that Scrooge's former partner Marley has been dead for like 7 years. Leaving Scrooge to chill in Marley's house and take over the business completely. Ebenezer is rich AF, but doesn't spend his money on anything that he sees as frivolous. No excess food, no big warm fires in the middle of winter, and all that. 

So everyone has heard this story. He gets visited by three ghosts, learns his lesson and changes at the end. And that's what happens. He changes. 

He didn't start out as a douchebag. The first ghost that appears shows him his past. You see his sad and lonely childhood. Then you get to see him as a youth, finding himself in the world, finding a career and finding love. Though the love of career drives him to push the love of his life away. This is the birth of the Scrooge we all know and loathe. 

The second ghost allows him to see what is going on right that moment. The present. He sees the Cratchit family's meager Christmas celebrations. He gets to see that even when they don't have much they still find joy in life. We get to meet young Tiny Tim and see how loved he is, how ill he is, and how cherished he is. He also gets to hear what others really think of him. 

The last ghost that shows up gives him the biggest wake up of his life. He sees what's to come. He's dead and no one gives a crap. They actually somewhat celebrate that he's not so dearly departed. He sees the Cratchit's mourning the loss of Tiny Tim and all of this pulls at his heart strings. 

After all of this, Ebenezer wakes up a changed man. He appreciates life and the living, he's not so tight with his money and his affections. 

I kind of wished that every horrible person in the world was visited by three ghosts! 

On another note, I counted about eight "bah humbugs" while reading. I thought there would be so much more! 

My Thoughts on The Two Towers

 

Like I stated in my post about the Fellowship, I won't go full review on this. These books have been reviewed many times over, so I'll just state my thoughts as I read the book. 

I really liked the pacing of this book. In the Fellowship, there seemed to be some lags in the action and while I enjoyed the environmental/character development, it seemed (to me) like they threw the pacing off a bit. This book,  however, was non-stop. One conflict after another, and that was a great change of pace. I had already gotten to know the characters, understood the "mission" and what it all entails. This left me able to sit back and enjoy the ride along with the group. 

I really really really enjoyed the part with Treebeard, and hearing about the Entwives. I told my friend, who is a BIG Tolkien fanboy, that I wanted to know more about the Entwives and his reaction was "too bad." But anyhoo, that part was my favorite. 

The group was split up so each had their own adventures. Frodo and Sam were continuing their journey towards Mordor. The rest were just trying to find each other (alive). They gave poor Gollum a bit more development and at times you feel bad for him and at times you want to yeet him off a high cliff. (Yeeting was my vote btw!)

I realllly enjoyed the way this book ended. Usually I hate "cliffhangers" but having it end with the main character's fate in limbo was a great way to smooth the transition over to the next book. 

I'm still chugging away with The Return of the King, so look for my thoughts on that soonish. 

It's Monday! What are you Reading?

 

I'm just two books away from my goal for this year! I think I can make it! So this week I'm going to try to get as much reading in as I can! It's rough this time of year, but I think I can do it! I've been chugging away quite nicely at The Lord of the Rings series, but I did manage to slide into the Christmas Spirit and read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. 

So this is what I'll be reading this week:

The last book in the trilogy. The Return of the King. 

I'm also going to try to finish up Crime and Punishment. I really like it but it's kind of on the dry side. I'm about halfway through, so hopefully I can get that one done. IF (BIG IF) I have any spare time I'll also finish up American Gods. 

So what are you reading this week? Let me know! 

My Thoughts on The Fellowship of the Ring

 

I will not even attempt to "review" this book as anything I have to say won't do it justice. However, I will share some of my thoughts about it. I will admit that I have only seen a smattering of the movies, so most of this read was a mix of  "oh yeah I remember this scene" and "omg what the heck!?" 

I do love how Tolkien lays it all out there but keeps things quite mysterious. I was swept away by the journey the Company took. I love me a good fantasy read, but this one so far has been amazing (kind of a duh statement I know) The grouping up of the main characters felt both planned and like a merry group of complete randos all at once. The way that Tolkien paced the story was excellent. There were just enough dropped hints to the past that kept me intrigued. I haven't read The Hobbit or the Silmarillion yet, so the sprinkling of explanations and "refreshers" on the history of Middle Earth were much appreciated. 

There was just enough back story on the characters to give me a good idea about who they were and to sort of understand why they were placed in the group. Obviously the main focus was on Frodo and Sam, but I did get a little pinch of "aww" about Boromir and his storyline. The rest of the characters were fun. Obviously Gimli is a sarcastic dude and I do love how his relationship to Legolas developed over the course of the book. So while this is an ensemble cast, the whole of the group felt natural and well developed. 

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Completely kicked my own ass for having not read it already. I won't drag this out for too long because everything that I want to say has probably been said before by much more skilled reviewers. The Fellowship of the Ring was a deeelight to read. I can't really compare the movies to the books (yet) but I think the old saying "the books are better" really does apply here. 

I have finished The Two Towers, so my thoughts on that will be posted soonish. 

Got any thoughts on these books? Lemme know! 

I'm Going On An Adventure!

 So I want to really get a good chunk of my reading goals done by the end of this weekend! Starting at 3pm (off work) I will be a reading machine! I'm really loving LoTRs and want to finish The Two Towers this weekend! 

I'm starting on page 470 of my complete set. The Two Towers ends on page 725.

That's a nice hunk of book I know but I think I can do it!

I also want to try to get in at least one more this weekend if possible!

Which book should be my second one?
Cast your vote:

• Crime and Punishment
• American Gods
• Elantris
• City of Thieves  

So what are you reading this weekend? 

Mid-Week Check In

 

Hullo! So this week is chugging along well! I didn't do a Monday post, simply because the books I'm working through are the same this week too. 

So far so good: I've finished up The Fellowship of the Ring and have gotten a dent in The Two Towers. 

My goals this week:

• Finish the Two Towers
• Get a nice chunk into A Christmas Carol 
• Try to squeeze in some Crime and Punishment (I realllly want to finish this book this year!) 

Real life stuff has been a bit stressful. I have a very ill family member that I'm helping to take care of. My work schedule has changed plus it's the holiday season. So STRESSSSSSSS! But I want to hit my goals! 

How's your week going? 

2022 Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge and Readathon! (UPDATED 12/15)

Dates: November 21, 2022 through January 6, 2023

Three ways to participate:

1. Challenge - Pick a level
2. Readathon - read as much (or as little) as you want
3. Participate in both!

Reading Challenge Levels:
--Candy Cane: read 1 book
--Mistletoe: read 2-4 books
--Christmas Tree: read 5 or 6 books, or more (this is the fanatic level!)

Additional levels:

--Fa La La La Films: watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!
--Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read

So I will say that I usually DON'T read Christmas-y books. It's not that I'm all "bah humbug" about the holiday it's just not my thing. HOWEVER, since I want to up my reading game before the end of the year, I figured why not? So here is how I'm gonna do it.

Gonna aim for Mistletoe Level

Book I'm Aiming to Read:

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (my christmas entry)
• (Finish) Lord of the Rings
• (Finish) American Gods
• (Finish) Crime and Punishment
• (Finish) Elantris 

I have a few others but for now that is my list! I may "try" to get more in! 

I know I'm a little tardy to the party but this should be fun! I'll keep updates rolling out! 

UPDATED 12/9

I have finished:
The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

I am currently going to split my reading time between The Return of the King and A Christmas Carol. 

I do not think that I can fit the other three in but I will give it my best shot! 

UPDATE 12/15

I have finished A Christmas Carol (post is coming on 12/16)

I am starting up The Return of the King and continuing Crime and Punishment! 

It's Monday! What Is On Your TBR?

 

I'm plowing through the LoTRs series! I've always wanted to read the books, but never got a chance. My fiancé had a copy (mine now mwahaha) of the complete trilogy in one volume and so I had no excuse! This is going towards my goal of 5 books read by the end of the year! 

I'll also take breaks to pick up Crime and Punishment and American Gods so that I can maybe squeeze in more reading, but LoTRs will be my focus this week!

 So what's on your reading agenda this week? 

Hello Again! It'sa Me Mario!

 

I'm back! Did you miss me? (don't answer that!) Anyway, I've been busy with "life stuff" so I haven't been the best bookworm I can be! But I'm bound and determined to change all that! I'm getting back in the book review game! I've got a small goal set to finish up 2022, but then it's back on when the New Year kicks off! 

What I am planning for this here blog:

• Reviews again (duh) but mostly books I own or borrow. I might consider doing some book review tours, but probably not any promo tours. And I'll be a bit more selective with what I agree to review. 
• Life stuff. I'll sprinkle in a few updates on what I'm up to and what I'm thinking about here and there. Maybe even a few videos too!
• Challenges! I want to really up my reading game in 2023, so if the world doesn't come to a fiery end then I plan on reading at least 100 books this next year!

So why did I post a picture of the LoTR series? Well that's what I want to finish by the end of the year. I have been such a bad bookworm this year, so my goal (mentioned up top) is to finish up 5 books by December 31st! The LoTRs complete set that I'm reading from is 3 books. I have 2 other books that I'd like to finish up as well. 

The other two are: 

• Crime and Punishment
• American Gods

I will try to post again regularly, and will be adding reviews as I go. I'll aim for at least 2 book reviews per month and I'm thinking bi-weekly reading/life updates. 

That's it for now, I  hope you all have a great week!