July 2016 TBR

Jen

Mel and I had so much fun with our buddy read last month that we decided we wanted to do it again in July! This time we decided to come up with our own challenges and we are giving ourselves the entire month to complete them. We can also double up on as many challenges as we want, or none at all.

The Challenges

1. Buddy read a book

2. Read a classic

3. Listen to an audiobook

4. Read a book under 300 pages

5. Read a sequel
6. Read a graphic novel/manga  

Jen’s TBR

Challenge #1 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - I have never read anything by Tolkien but I have wanted to for such a long time so I’m glad that Mel suggested this one for the buddy read. 

Challenge #2 - It’s so difficult to choose just one book because there are so many classics that I want to read. Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery would be a great choice because I need to continue on with that series. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett is one that I’ve been really wanting to read lately. However, depending on if I’m running short on time or not, I could also just end up going with The Hobbit for this challenge as well.

Challenge #3 - The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy - I had such a hard time deciding on an audiobook for this challenge so I couldn’t believe it when I stumbled across this one! I LOVED the TV series so much as a kid and even now as an adult, I still go back and rewatch it periodically. I don’t even care that the books are for young readers, I still want to read them. And then probably watch the TV show again.

Challenge #4 - Black by Fleur Ferris - I don’t have many books that are under 300 pages to begin with, so I’m happy that Black meets this challenge. I read the debut novel Risk by this author in 2015 and absolutely loved it, so this is one of my most anticipated 2016 releases!  

Challenge #5 - If you’ve seen my mid year reading progress post, you’ll know that I am in the middle of far too many series. I’ve decided to list the book that I am currently up to in each of the series that I’m reading even though there’s no way that I’ll be able to get to them all. But this will give me some choice and also serve as a reminder of the series that I need to complete!

The Patchwork Girl of Oz (Oz #7) by L. Frank Baum

Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne of Green Gables #4) by L.M. Montgomery

Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia #4) by C.S. Lewis  

The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey

The Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1 - #0.5 novellas) by Sarah J. Maas

The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus #2) by Rick Riordan

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi

Cresendo (Hush, Hush #2) by Becca Fitzpatrick

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling

Challenge #6 - Another long list. I have not read many graphic novels or manga before so (with the exception of one) I decided that this was a good opportunity to try out the first volume of a few different ones. All the graphic novels I had heard about on booktube and really liked the sound of them. Some of the manga came highly recommended to me by Mel, and some I discovered while perusing the shelves of my library and I just liked the sound of the title.

Saga, Volume 6 by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples - I read the first 5 volumes last year and was super excited when I found out that volume 6 had only very recently been released.

Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham,  James Jean and Alex Maleev

Morning Glories, Vol. 1: For a Better Future by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma

Rat Queens, Vol. 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch

Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona

Sex Criminals, Vol.1: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky

Death Note: Black Edition, Vol 1 by Tsugumi Ohba, Yuki Kowalsky and Takeshi Obata

Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya, Alethea Nibley and Athena Nibley

Fairy Tail,  Vol. 01 by Hiro Mashima and William Flanagan

Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 1 by Kiiro Yumi, Hiro Arikawa and Kinami Watabe

Kitchen Princess, Vol. 01 by Natsumi Ando and Miyuki Kobayashi

As if that list wasn’t ambitious enough, I still have a few other books that I really want to read this month that don’t really fit in with any of those challenges.

One Was Lost by Natalie D. Richards

This is a review book from Netgalley. I have been loving the YA mystery thrillers that I’ve been reading lately and this one sounded really intriguing to me.

The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

This is one that Mel read in June and introduced me to. It is another YA mystery with a fantastic sounding synopsis and I have just really been in the mood for this genre lately.

The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This one was a contemporary that I really wanted to read last month but I didn’t get to it so I’m going to try again this month.

The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I’ve been reading this since April and big surprise, I still haven’t finished it. I did actually make some progress with it in June though and I would absolutely love to just finish it in July, particularly as season 6 of the TV show has just finished. 

Mel 
Since last month's buddy read was such a fail for me, I'm really hoping that I do much better with this one! I made a suggestion based on what I'm into right now, and that's Tolkien! Luckily Jen agreed, so this challenge looks promising!

Challenge #1 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - It's been a long time since I read this (2002!) so I'm looking forward to reading this again! I've been watching the movies recently and they've really messed up what I remember of the book, so I'm going to rectify that this month so my brain can finally take a break from trying to sort it out!
Challenge #2 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - Yep, I'm doubling up! I just want to make sure I've not been too ambitious because I need to read other books outside the buddy read too.
Challenge #3 - Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - I have read the book, but I've only recently purchased the audiobook and have yet to give it a listen.
Challenge #4 - The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - Yep! My edition is the 1991 Grafton edition and has a total of 285 pages, making it perfect for this challenge!
Challenge #5 - The Treason of Isengard (The Two Towers Book #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien - I have been slowly making my way through The Lord of the Rings, and since my edition of the series is a 7 book boxed set, each individual part counts as a book. This makes the challenge a bit shorter, since I don't have to read the whole of The Two Towers all in one go.
Challenge #6 - Bleach 3 in 1 Volume 4 by Tite Kubo - I've been loving this manga so much lately that I hauled 3 omnibuses in one transaction! So it makes sense to read one of them for this challenge.

Since that's quite a small TBR (and one of them requires barely any effort, let's be honest!), I feel like adding a few more books isn't going to hold me back too much.

The Doon Series by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon - I've been looking forward to reading this series for a while now, and since I have the opportunity to read and review Forever Doon before the publication date, I need to get a move on!