Thursday, January 4, 2018

2018 Reading Challenges!!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be talking about the challenges I'm participating in during 2018!


2018 Reading Challenge

2018 Reading Challenge

Genni has read 0 books toward her goal of 100 books.
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As an avid goodreads user (profile here if you want to add me!), I am once again participating in the gooderads challenge. Every year I set my reading goal to 100 books. Sometimes I get exactly 100, sometimes I go over. While I would like to go over this year, I'm still setting it to 100, as I don't want to disappoint myself. However, if it looks like I'll surpass that goal early, I will be raising the challenge.

As for other challenges, I am participating in three other year-long challenges. This is my first time actively participating in a year-long challenge outside of goodreads, so I've decided to only do three for now, and choose some of the smaller levels.


The first is the Book to Movie Reading Challenge, hosted by Gather Together and Read!

For this challenge, I'll be doing level 3b: 4+ books from any release year, and 4+ movies from any release year.

This works out really well for me, as there are a lot of adaptions I want to read and watch over the years, but not necessarily a ton that are being released this year. I know I want to read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, but the rest is up in the air. I might read Ready Player One, or I might read some books from the Harry Potter series.

The second challenge is the 2018 Finish the Series Reading Challenge, hosted by Celebrity Readers!

The goal of this challenge is to finish series that we've started prior to 2018. So yes, series that you begin this year don't count, but I sure do have a lot of series I've started and have never finished, so that's not a problem for me!

I'll be doing the C-list series finisher level. This means that I have to finish 1 to 4 book series. While this is a low number, I now don't have any pressure to go out of my way and finish series. If I finish more than four, great! If I don't, great!

Here are some of the series I hope to finish this year.

Come Back to Me companion trilogy by Mila Gray - I've read the first and third books of this series, so now I only have to read the second (Stay with Me) to finish up! Lucky for me, I just got this book for Christmas. :)

Frostblood Saga by Elly Blake - I read the first book in this series in 2017, and the second book is recently published. By the end of June this year, the whole series will be completed, and I hope to have this series done by the end of the year!

Reawakened Trilogy by Colleen Houck - This will be a hard one for me to complete. I've read the first two books in the trilogy, but I actually DNF'd the third last year. However, I want to give the series another go, and I also just want to finish the book and get it over with.

Last but not least is the 2018 Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge, hosted by Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf! 

The goal of this challenge is to read witchy books - so books that include a witch as a main character or includes major witchcraft elements. There is a prize in this one, a 10 dollar gift card to Book Depository. Readers are already given one entry by signing up, and additional entries by reviewing the books. To be honest, I have no idea what books I am going to read, but I know I read at least one witchy book a year, and thought this was a great challenge to meet other bloggers as well as get more recommendations for witchy books!




All the buttons for these challenges will be on the bottom of my blog, next to prior challenges. If you want to know more about these challenges, click the link! All the links are to the sign-up posts. :)


What challenges are you doing in 2018?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading and good luck on your challenges!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Waiting on Wednesday #59!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in Waiting on Wednesday, and meme originally created by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. Jill hasn't been active for a while, so Tressa @ Wishful Endings has adopted it! If you see posts by the name of "Can't Wait Wednesday," it's the same thing!

The book I'm looking forward to this week is Markswoman by Rati Mehrotra!

Kyra is the youngest Markswoman in the Order of Kali, a highly trained sisterhood of elite warriors armed with telepathic blades. Guided by a strict code of conduct, Kyra and the other Orders are sworn to protect the people of Asiana. But to be a Markswoman, an acolyte must repudiate her former life completely. Kyra has pledged to do so, yet she secretly harbors a fierce desire to avenge her dead family.

When Kyra’s beloved mentor dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tamsyn, the powerful, dangerous Mistress of Mental Arts, assumes control of the Order, Kyra is forced on the run. Using one of the strange Transport Hubs that are remnants of Asiana’s long-lost past, she finds herself in the unforgiving wilderness of desert that is home to the Order of Khur, the only Order composed of men. Among them is Rustan, a young, disillusioned Marksman whom she soon befriends.

Kyra is certain that Tamsyn committed murder in a twisted bid for power, but she has no proof. And if she fails to find it, fails in her quest to keep her beloved Order from following Tamsyn down a dark path, it could spell the beginning of the end for Kyra--and for Asiana.

But what she doesn’t realize is that the line between justice and vengeance is razor thin . . . thin as the blade of a knife.

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

My Favorite Movies of 2017!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be looking back at the movies I absolutely loved last year. Not all of these movies are 2017 releases, but they are all movies I watched for the first time in 2017 and absolutely adored. If you want more info, all the movies will be linked to their Imbd page, and if I wrote a review for it, a link will be there as well! 

With that out of the way, here are some of the best movies I watched in 2017 (in no particular order!)

Blackfish
Before watching this film, I had no idea what atrocities took place at SeaWorld. Orcas are meant to be in the wild, and while habilitation is humane and I encourage it, keeping whales in pools for their whole lives and expecting them to be okay with it, is proposterious. Out of the six I'm mentioning today, Blackfish is my favorite movie of the year and made a huge impact on me. Here is my review.  

Monday, January 1, 2018

Favorite Books of 2017!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today I'll be discussing my favorite books of 2017, whether they are new releases or old. I did posts about my worst books, my favorite 2017 releases, and coming tomorrow are my favorite movies of the year.

Without further ado, here are the 20 (20!!! A fifth of my reads were wonderful!) books that I rated 4.5 stars or higher! All links are to goodreads, and I'll leave my review, if I have one, there as well. The order of these books are by date read, from the beginning of the year to the end.

1) Did I Mention I Miss You? by Estelle Maskame
Genre: YA Contemporary
Series? Yes! The third in a trilogy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.09

2) Dark Tide by Jennifer Donnelly
Genre: YA Fantasy
Series? Yes! The third in a series of four books
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.36
My Review!

3) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Genre: YA Historical Fantasy
Series? Yes! The second in a trilogy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.46
My Review!
 
4) Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
Genre: YA Contemporary 
Series? Nope!
Rating: 5 Stars
Goodreads Rating: 4.02
My Review!

Friday, December 29, 2017

Worst Books of 2017!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be talking about my least favorite books of 2017. As always, these are just my opinions, and if we differ, don't take it personally! I would love to hear why you loved a book I hated. :) At the time I am writing this, I have read 99 books, and am close to finishing three more. Without further ado, here are the books I rated two or less stars.

All of these links are to goodreads, and I'll leave my review (if I have one) right next to the goodreads link. 

1) Never Dare a Dragon by Ashlyn Chase
(my review)
2) Winter Kisses by Addison Moore
3) Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
(my review)
4) A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart
5) Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
(my discussion on why this was disappointing)
6) Recreated by Colleen Houck
(my review)
7) Unblemished by Sara Ella
(my review)
8) Better than Perfect by Simone Elkeles
(my review)
9) The Last Virgin Standing by Tiffany Huynh
10) Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
(my review)

Looking at these books, most of of them I rated two stars. The only ones I rated one star was Winter Kisses and Never Dare a Dragon. Out of those two, my least favorite was Winter Kisses; the novella really wasn't for me and I got nothing out of it. If I were to recommend any book out of these, it would be Mask of Shadows. I was the odd man out with this one. A lot of people loved this, but the writing style just didn't mesh well with me. Also, Throne of Glass is so well loved, and I will eventually be contnuing on with the series. 

I think it's also notable that the majority of the books were traditionally published. By worst books generally weren't ones that were self-published, on wattpad, etc., so let's get rid of that stigma that books that aren't traditionally published are bad! The Last Virgin Standing (which honestly, why did I even read it?) was written on wattpad, with no editors, which is completely different than books that are self-published or traditionally published. So if you are hesitant about reading self-published books because you don't think they'll be good, don't! Most of the time, self-published books do not disappoint. 


Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Favorite 2017 Releases!

Hey everyone and welcome back to my blog! Today, I'll be looking back on 2017 and reflecting on all the books I read that were released in the last year. I read more new releases than ever in 2017, and it's largely because I became more active on Netgalley!

I read 32 books released in 2017, so they accounted for just under a third of my reading for the year! Here are some of my favorite books of those 32, in no particular order!

1) Breath of Fire by Amanda Bouchet
2) Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3) Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
4) Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
5) Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
6) The Empress by SJ Kincaid
7) Run Away With Me by Mila Gray
8) When Dimple Me Rishi by Sandhya Menon
9) Hunger by Roxane Gay

Looking at these nine, all but two (Dear Ijeawele and Hunger) are fiction, which is no surprise to me, considering that's all I read. Of those that are fiction books, 6 are young adult, and one is new adult. Four of them are contemporary, two science fiction, and one fantasy! To be honest, I'm surprised I didn't love more 2017 fantasy releases. I am the most picky when it comes to fantasy though, since I read either fantasy or contemporary. I do have a soft spot for contemporary, and this year was no exception. It does seem like I should read more science fiction though, considering that The Empress and Nyxia were two of the three 2017 science fiction releases I read, and I loved them both.   

If you ask me to pick which one of these is my favorite, I wouldn't have an answer! Dear Ijeawele, Hunger, Breath of Fire, and Alex, Approximately are all up there. However, I would say that Run Away with Me and When Dimple Met Rishi are my least favorite, and yet they still got five stars! At the end of the day, I would recommend every single one of these. :)

Have you read any of these books above? What did you think? What are some of your favorite 2017 releases?

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday #58!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be participating in Waiting on Wednesday, and meme originally created by Jill @ Breaking the Spine. Jill hasn't been active for a while, so Tressa @ Wishful Endings has adopted it! If you see posts by the name of "Can't Wait Wednesday," it's the same thing!

The book I'm looking forward to this week is Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen!

Getting to Eden brought Emmett and his crewmates one step closer to their promised fortune. But surviving Eden may be the biggest reward of all. Discover book two in the trilogy Marie Lu called, “a high-octance thriller.”

Emmett Atwater thought Babel’s game sounded easy. Get points. Get paid. Go home. But it didn’t take long for him to learn that Babel’s competition was full of broken promises, none darker or more damaging than the last one.

Now Emmett and the rest of the Genesis survivors must rally and forge their own path through a new world. Their mission from Babel is simple: extract nyxia, the most valuable material in the universe, and play nice with the indigenous Adamite population.

But Emmett and the others quickly realize they are caught between two powerful forces—Babel and the Adamites—with clashing desires. Will the Genesis team make it out alive before it’s too late?