It's Monday...What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Book Journey!

So this past week, my son had to have his tonsils taken out.  With that being said my normal reading time wasn't available for me to take, seeing as I was taking care of him.  Right now he's doing okay and I'm hoping this week I can finish the books I started last week.  Below is another glimpse at what I'm currently reading/listening to. 

 

 

Currently Reading 

 

 

How Willa Got Her Groove Back by Emily McKay

 

(I'm reading this one for an upcoming blog tour and I'm loving it so far!) 

 

 When your life feels like a bad movie, rewrite the script.

When Willa Schofer’s father comes home from a business trip with an über-famous new fiancée, Willa’s senior year blows up in paparazzi-fueled flames. Overnight, she has a new house, a new car, and a new soon-to-be stepbrother—the unbelievably hot, unbelievably arrogant, Finn McCain. Thank god he’s constantly pushing her buttons, or she might do something irresponsible. Like fall for the jerk.

Just when Willa’s decided to avoid him for, oh, ever, Finn lands in the center of her senior project team. Seriously—how hard is it to shake a guy? At least her work on the project snagged the attention of the (second) hottest guy in school. He might only be into her because of her famous stepmom, and he’s not quite as exciting as a certain annoying housemate, but at least she’s allowed to crush on the guy.

Because crushing on your annoying stepbrother? So not cool.

 Audio Book Pick For the Week:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

 In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

The Victorious and the Vanquished #3

It's that time again, time to crown the Victorious and say farewell to the Vanquished.  If you would like to know more about this post CLICK HERE.  The amazing blogger at Lost in Wonderland is the host of this fantastic post and I for one love it! The only difference in her's is she does the post once a month, I'm posting it twice a month.  Mainly because my tbr pile is so large and I would like to lower my number a lot faster.  

Mainly each month, or twice a month in my case, I have a random generator pick a number for me and I corispond that number with the number on my Goodreads TBR shelf.  Then I decide if I want to keep that book around, leaving it on my shelf or if I want to say goodbye to the book and mark it Vanquished!

 The Victorious

The Vanquished

The Worlds We Make is the third in a series, one of which I haven't even read the first book in the series. So therefore I went ahead and took this one off my TBR. After I read the first book though, this one might be added back on. 

 So what about you, any books you need to put under The Vanquished list?

Ali Talks: Bullet Journaling

Recently I started Bullet Journaling and for once I'm actually sticking with a planner and enjoying every single minute of it.  So when I was sitting down and making a list of discussion posts for the blog, I thought of doing a post all about Bullet Journaling and how I'm using it in my daily life.  This includes how I use it for my reading and my blog.

I know some of you are looking at the computer and wondering what the heck is Bullet Journaling, so that's the first question I'm going to answer.

What is Bullet Journaling?

The Bullet Journal is a customizable and forgiving organization system. It can be your to-do list, sketchbook, notebook, and diary, but most likely, it will be all of the above. It will teach you to do more with less (This definition came from the Original Bullet Journal Website.)

What I Use My Bullet Journal For

My whole life is pretty much scheduled in my bullet journal and that also goes for this blog.  I draft out some of my posts in the journal and I schedule posts on my calendar.  There are times when I use my brain dump page to come up with new ideas for the blog, including blog post titles and topics.  There are so many things you can do with a bullet journal.  I think that's the main reason I've stuck with this planner style for the past few months.  

I also have a running tab on the books that I want to read and the reviews that need to be written in my Bullet Journal.  Like I said there are so many different things you can keep track of inside a bullet journal.   

Below are a few images of just three of my pages that I have going right now in my journal.  Every month I have a collection (Page) for my favorite book quotes that I read or heard that month. I'm also getting ready to start tracking my reading progress every day on the book I'm reading that day.  Right now I track if I've read more than 20 pages that day.  

  Now most people have journals that don't have the lines.  Most use the dot paper or the grid.  I actually like my lines so far and will be sticking to this one till I fill this 500 page journal.  Another great thing about this journal style is that if something doesn't work for you, then you just stop doing that.  Most planners you're stuck with a cookie cutter design and after awhile, for me at least, I get bored and stop using the planner. Not with this style, at least not yet, with Bullet Journals you make them what you want.  It's all up to you what you put in it and how you use it. 

If you would like to see more of my bullet journal or if you have any questions, please leave a comment below and I would be happy to share what I know with you.

Teaser Tuesday #85

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

 I gave myself a crash course in '80's Saturday-morning cartoons.  I learned the name of every last goddamn Gobot and Transformer. Land of the lost, Thundarr the Barbarian, He-Man, Schoolhouse Rock!, G.I. Joe--I knew them all.  Because knowing is half the battle.

Yep again this is more than two sentenses, but I couldn't stop.  This book is amazing!!  Hope you enjoyed this little tease into what I'm reading right now.

 

It's Monday...What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Book Journey!

So last week I was totally engrossed in a book and wouldn't walk away till I finished it.  It's one that's been on my shelf for a long time and finally broke down and started to read/listen to it.   This year like I've been saying, I'm reading for fun and seeing as this book was a bit larger than I had time for last year, I didn't read it.  That has changed now! 

Last Week I Read 

This book was fantastic and I finally finished reading/listening to it on Friday morning.  It took me all week, due to listening to it in the car and at work sometimes, but I finally finished it.  I can't wait to read the rest of the series now. 

This Week I Plan To Read:   

 How Willa Got her Groove Back by Emily McKay

 When your life feels like a bad movie, rewrite the script.

When Willa Schofer’s father comes home from a business trip with an über-famous new fiancée, Willa’s senior year blows up in paparazzi-fueled flames. Overnight, she has a new house, a new car, and a new soon-to-be stepbrother—the unbelievably hot, unbelievably arrogant, Finn McCain. Thank god he’s constantly pushing her buttons, or she might do something irresponsible. Like fall for the jerk.

Just when Willa’s decided to avoid him for, oh, ever, Finn lands in the center of her senior project team. Seriously—how hard is it to shake a guy? At least her work on the project snagged the attention of the (second) hottest guy in school. He might only be into her because of her famous stepmom, and he’s not quite as exciting as a certain annoying housemate, but at least she’s allowed to crush on the guy.

Because crushing on your annoying stepbrother? So not cool.

Audio Book Pick For the Week: 

 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Book Club Book I'm Reading This Month:  

Alienated by Melissa Landers 

 Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.