Reading Catch-up: 2007

Since I had my baby boy in April, I have taken a step back from accepting review requests. Instead I have decided to focus the little reading time I have on catching up with some older books. Most specifically the backlog I've had on my TBR for years now. While I read from a variety of genres, I noticed that many of the books I'd like to read are among the most read in their year of publication. So I decided to make a list for myself using Goodreads "Most Popular" compilations, divided by year starting in 2007. To encourage myself to read more I will reward myself after I have completed my list for a specific year. How will I reward myself, you ask? With books of course! Most specifically with a Book Outlet order. Stay tuned for my monthly wrap-ups, where I plan to update my progress on these challenges. 

Now let's travel back to 2007. Click on the link below to check out all the top books published in that year.

Most Popular Books Published in 2007

Here is my list from that year (including books I have already read

2007 Book Releases
Title	Author
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7)	JK Rowling
The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3)	Rick Riordan
The Shack	William Paul Young
Sarah's Key	Tatiana de Rosnay
Shopaholic and Baby (Shopaholic, #5)	Sohpie Kinsella
The Luxe (Luxe, #1)	Anna Godbersen
The Book of Negroes	Laurence Hill
Lean Mean Thirteen  (Stephanie Plum, #13)	Janet Evanovich
Flawless (Pretty Little Liars, #2)	Sara Shepard
Perfect (Pretty Little Liars, #3)	Sara Shepard
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood (Sisterhood, #4)	Ann Brashares
Plum Lovin' (Stephanie Plum, 12.5)	Janet Evanovich
War Brides	Helen Bryan
The Last Summer	Ann Brashares
The Uncommon Reader	Alan Bennett
Queen of Babble in the Big City (Queen of Babble, #2)	Meg Cabot

2007 Releases Read to Date:

Current Progress:

Fingers crossed that I stick to this plan! Wish me luck. 

2016 Challenge Wrap-up

Let's see how I did with my challenges throughout the year...

2016 Challenge Wrap-up

The Canadian Book Challenge #9

Host: The Book Mine Set 

Duration: July 1. 2015 - July 1 2016

Objective: To read as many Canadian books throughout the year. 

Books Read: 8/13 

Comments: Even though I didn't get to 13 I am quite happy with the 8 Canadian books I read during this time frame. 

2016 New Release Challenge

Host: Unconventional Bookviews & Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My! 

Duration: January-December 2016

Objective: To read as many newly released books as possible.

Books Read: 14/15 (Level: New Release Newbie)

Comments: One book shy of my goal, but still pleased with the number of new releases I read in 2016. 

2016 Netgalley Reading Challenge

Host: Fictively.com 

Duration: January-December 2016

Objective: To read as many Netgalley's throughout the year as possible. 

Books Read: 6/10

Comments: This challenge helped me use and get to know Netgalley more than I had before. 

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 

Host: My Readers Block

Duration: January-December 2016

Objective: To read books from my own collection.

Books Read: 12/12 (Level: Pike's Peak)

Comments: Yay, I completed this challenge! I really enjoyed this one. Its a great way to motivate yourself to read the books you own.

2016 E-book Reading Challenge 

Host: Annette's Book Spot 

Duration: January-December 2016

Objective: To read as many e-Books throughout the year as possible.

Books Read: 21/25

Comments: 21 books is a good number in my opinion. I'm not upset that I didn't complete this goal. 

How did you do with your challenges in 2016? Did you complete any? If you did a wrap-up like this, please leave me your links so I can check out your post. 

Summer COYER Sign-up

Hosted by: Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun, Michelle @ Because Reading & Stormi @ Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my! 

www.coyerchallenge.com 

Duration: June 18 - September 2

The Rules:

1. You must create a sign-up post anytime between now and August 1st -on blog, goodreads, fb, google+, etc.Yes, that means you can sign up until August 1st! But don’t wait, you’ll miss most the fun!
2. You must link that sign-up post below (don’t link to your blog, link to the sign-up post).
3. You must review books somewhere & link the reviews to the review linky to be eligible for one of the grand prize giveaways.
4. Have Fun!

My Goals:

1. To read at least 3 books from Kindle for PC
2. Read at least 5 older books I have had on my Kobo for a while.
3. Participate in games and interact with other participants.

Melissa Lee's 2016 Reading Challenges

Well 2015 has come and gone and we are now full into 2016. The means its time to start setting our reading goals for the months to come.

Today I would like to share the challenges I will be participating in 2016..

 My starting goal for the Goodreads Reading Challenge (which may change as I go along) is to read 50 books this year. 

 The 8th Canadian Book Challenge began back in July and is hosted by John at The Book Mine Set.
The goal is to read 13 books or more by Canada Day (July 1, 2016).

Books Completed: 2/13

The 2016 New Release Challenge is hosted by Lexxie at Unconventional Book Views and Stormi at Books, Movies, Reviews, Oh My!

My goal for this challenge is to read 15 New Released Books in 2016.

The Netgalley Reading Challenge is hosted by Fictively.com.
My goal is to read between 5-10 Netgalley books in 2016.

The Mount TBR Reading Challenge is hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block.
My starting goal is Pike's Peak (12 books), although I may increase it as I go along.

And last but not least, for the second year in a row I will be participating in the Ebook Reading Challenge, which is hosted by Annette's Book Spot.
I will be attempting to read 25 eBooks in 2016.

Well hopefully I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. But here goes nothing..

Did you sign up for any challenges this year? I'd love to hear from you. Leave me a message in the comments.

Bout of Books 15 Master Post

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, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th 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 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

My Sign-up Post and Read-a-thon TBR

Bout of Books Read-a-thon 15 Wrap-up

Overall Bout of Books Stats:

Total Pages Read: 375

Total Books Read: 5

Total Books Completed:4

Dispite the fact that my progress seemed to die out towards the end of the week, I am very happy with the books I completed and read. The first three books were short stories, so they didn't take me long to read. I picked shorter books this time for this reason. Also because it is a great way to stock pile reviews. The last book I was in the middle of when the read-a-thon began, so it was nice to be able to finish that up. 

Unfortunately I didn't participate in all of the challenges and I didn't interact very much with the other participants. Hopefully I will remedy that when the next read-a-thon comes around.

 

 

Sunday Stats:

Total Pages Read: 0

Books Read: 0

Challenges Completed: 0

Comments: Yep.. big fat zeros all down the board for me on this last day of BOB. Basically I slept.. all day long and didn't pick up a book at all. Not a great way to cap off the week, I know, but it happened

Saturday Stats: 
Total Pages Read: 35

Books Read:
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

Books Completed: 0

Challenges Completed: 0

Comments: Do you ever have those days where you thought that you read more than you actually did? Yep that was Day 6 for me. I didn't participate in the challenge either. :(

Overall Bout of Books Stats:

Total Pages Read: 375

Total Books Read: 5

Total Books Completed:4

Friday Stats:

Total Pages Read: 28

Books Read:

 The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

Books Completed: 0

Challenges Completed: 0

Comments: Clearly not such a great day in reading. And I didn't participate in the challenge. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Overall Bout of Books Stats:

Total Pages Read: 340

Total Books Read: 5

Total Books Completed:4

Thursday Stats:

Total Pages Read: 61
Books Read: 1
The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede

Books Completed: 1

Challenges Completed: 0
Comments: I'm glad I was able to finish off this book that I had been reading previous to the read-a-thon. Unfortunately I didn't participate in the challenge.


Overall Bout of Books Stats:

Total Pages Read: 312

Total Books Read:4

Total Books Completed:4

Wednesday Stats: 
Total Pages Read: 40

Books Read:

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede

Books Completed: 0
Challenges Completed: 1


Challenge 3: The Rainbow Author Challenge hosted by Ranty Runt of a Reader


R- Rosnay, Tatiana de
O- Oke, Janette
Y- Young, Wm. Paul
G- Gowda, Shilpi Somaya
B- Brashares, Ann
I- Ius, Dawn
V- Vonnegut, Kurt

Comments: Eh, only 40 pages read today. Not so great, but I did participate in the challenge and I am enjoying the book I'm reading. I hope to get it finished on day 4.

Overall Bout of Books Stats:

Total Pages Read: 251

Total Books Read:4

Total Books Completed: 3

Tuesday Stats: 

Total Pages Read: 62

Books Read:

Steak in a Drawer by Eric Conroy

Books Completed: 1

Total Challenges Completed: 1


 Challenge 2: Would You Rather? Hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale

1. Would you rather: Lend books to someone who dog-ears or to someone who reads with cheesy Cheetos fingers?Both of these options make me cringe, but I'd go with someone who dog-ears because then I could still read the book again.
2. Would you rather: Be able to meet one character of your choice or meet one author of your choice?I would rather meet the author because they know their characters better than anyone else, so in turn you are essentially meeting both.
3. Would you rather: Never be allowed in a bookstore again or never be allowed in a library again?I would go with never being allowed to go into a bookstore again. Mostly because it would save me a lot of money, ha!
4. Would you rather: Have to choose one of your favourite characters to die in their book or have to pick one of your favourite couples to break up in their book?One of my favourite couples to break up because that way at least I can still enjoy these individual characters. And there is always the chance they could reunite.
5. Would you rather: Be required to read Twilight once a year for the rest of your life or The Scarlet Letter once a year for the rest of your life? I have never read either of these books, but reading The Scarlet Letter interests me more than Twilight.
   
   

Comments: I didn't spend as much time reading on day 2, but I did start and finish 1 book. I also participated in the challenge. So far I am happy with my progress.

Overall Bout of Books Stats:

Total Pages Read: 211

Total Books Read: 3

Total Books Completed: 3

Total Challenges Completed: 2

Monday Stats:

Total Pages Read: 149

Books Read: 2
Total Time Read: 2.1 hrs

Books Completed:
The Mitford Snowmen by Jan Karon
Full House by Maeve Binchy 

Total Challenges Completed: 1

Challenge 1: Introduce yourself using only 6 words.

#insixwords #boutofbooks

A Canadian blogger and book lover.

Comments: I am really happy with my progress for Day 1. I read two short stories and participated in the first challenge.

Overall Bout of Books Stats:

Total Pages Read: 149
Total Time Read: 2.1
Total Books Completed: 2

Total Challenges Completed:1

#FitReaders: Weekly Check-in: September 4 2015

#FitReaders hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog  and That’s What I’m Talking About.

Hello all,
Just a quick post to check-in for the #FitReaders challenge, I recently joined. 

You know those weeks where you blink and its over? Well that is exactly happened to me. It felt like we had just gotten home from our trip this past weekend and here it is Friday night already. What did I even do this week? Not a whole lot, to be honest. With my heart problem I tend to get tired easy, especially after having several busy days in a row. It often takes me a couple of days to recover, just resting and getting a lot of sleep. So that is what I have been doing this week. 

I admit that I haven't been very active, nor did I get out on any walks the past 5 days. However my fridge is full of yummy fruit that I have been nibbling away on. I've been eating fresh pears, raspberries and watermelon. 

Thursday evening was probably my most active day this week. I went for a long swim and got out just in time for a big storm to hit. That swim did me good though because I was so exhausted when I got home, I slept like a baby last night.

Hopefully next week I will have a better report to share. 

Have a great weekend, everyone.

-Melissa

Bout of Books 14 Master Challenge Post

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 23rd 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

 I decided to change up the way I do my posts for this Bout of Books Read-a-thon. Instead of doing individual posts for each day I have made 2 master posts, that I will update throughout the week. The first post will feature all my updates and this second post is specifically for challenges.

Bout of Books Read-a-thon Updates and Totals 

 Road Trip Challenge

Hosted By: Steph in Wonderland 

" For this challenge, I'd like for you to come up with a list of the top 4-5 states/places you'd love to visit and find a book (you either read or want to read) that takes place in that state/place or a book by an author who lives or is from there. :]"

 1. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes (Setting: Tuscany, Italy)
 2. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks (Setting: North Carolina)

 3. Letters to Juliete by Lise Friedman and Ceil Friedman (Setting: Verona Italy)
 4. Shopping, Seduction and Mr. Selfridge by Lindy Woodhead (Setting: London, England)

I didn't participate in the challenge for day 5. 

I didn't participate in the challenge for day 4.

 Challenge 3: MASH

Hosted By: Rocky Top Real Talk

Growing up in the 90's I was no stranger to MASH. My friends and I used to play this over and over again using celebrity crushes and even boys in our class. I had so much fun with this challenge! It turns out I will marry Gilbert Blythe and become a doctor. We will live in a house in Avonlea (which is quite fitting) and I will drive a Chevy Nova. We won't have any children.

 Challenge 2: Scavenger Hunt

Hosted By: The Book Monsters 

"Book Scavenger Hunt:

1. A Book that begins with “B”  (for Bout of Books!)

2. A book you’re planning to read/currently reading for Bout of Books

3. Blue Book(s)

4. Books from your favorite genre!

5. A book on your TBR shelf, or your full TBR shelves"

1. Big Stone Gap
2. A Bride at Last







3. Anybody Out There, Where Are You Now? and Winter Garden
4. Historical Fiction
5. TBR books that don't fit on my shelves.






I am also posting this challenge to my Instagram as well. You can follow me @melissaleesmanyreads.

Challenge 1: Fictional World Travel
Hosted By: Between Library Shelves

"Today's challenge is to list 3 to 6 books of fiction that take place in countries other than the one you currently reside in. Some countries are easy to find books set in them, but possibly the more challenging of picks will be the ones that intrigue the most. All you need to do is list the books of choice on your blog, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, YouTube, etc., and display them how you wish. BE CREATIVE! Then come back here and link up your results, and then visit other participants' blogs and social media link-ups and see what books they chose for the challenge. 

If posting on Twitter, Instagram and/or other social media platforms, please use #FictionalWorldTravel."