August 2016 Wrap Up

Jen

August turned out to be a pretty good reading month for me. I was definitely a bit too ambitious and hopeful when I made my TBR and I didn’t read as many novels as I wanted to. However I did get to a lot of the books that I really wanted to read, which I think is an accomplishment in itself! I’m also pretty proud of the fact that I managed to read the entire Death Note manga series and watch almost the entire anime series all within one month.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, John Tiffany & J.K. Rowling → 4/5

Fruits Basket Volume 1 by Natsuki Takaya → 4/5

Tik-Tok of Oz (Oz, #8) by L. Frank Baum → 4/5

The Scarecrow of Oz (Oz, #9) by L. Frank Baum → 3/5

Matilda by Roald Dahl (Audiobook narrated by Kate Winslet) → 5/5

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi → 1/5

Library Wars: Love & War, Volumes 14 & 15 by Kiiro Yumi, Hiro Arikawa & Kinami Watabe → both 5/5

It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover → 4/5

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (Audiobook narrated by Douglas Hodge) → 5/5

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan → 4.5/5

The Cabin by Natasha Preston → 3/5

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas → 5/5

Death Note: Black Edition, Volumes 1 - 6 by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata → all 5/5 except volume 6 which I gave 4/5

Challenges completed:

Finish a series - Ignite Me: I ended up hating this book (and the series overall) but I am super happy that I finally got it read and can just unhaul these books and move on to better books.

Read a standalone - The Cabin: this book didn’t quite meet my expectations but it was still a good read and one that I’m glad I finally got to since I needed to review it!  

Read a favourite children's book - Matilda & Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: I had originally only planned on reading Matilda for this challenge but after finishing that book, I was just in the mood for another childhood favourite of mine.  

Challenges not completed: 

Read a middle grade book - The Son of Neptune: while I did read and ended up loving this book, it was kind of a fail on my part since I subsequently found out that Goodreads lists this as a young adult book and not middle grade like I originally thought it was. Oops. 

Read a book by an author who writes under more than one name - The Problem with Forever: this one didn’t happen since I failed to even pick up this book once. I ended up prioritising other books and this one just kept getting pushed back. But I am determined to read it, and soon, since I’ve been wanting to read it since it was released!

Mel
I'm a bit annoyed that I only completed two of the challenges set for the month, but I did read a few other books in the month, so I'm not too disappointed.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne  4/5
Black and Blue by James Patterson and Candice Fox  3/5
Cross Kill by James Patterson  5/5
Mind = Blown by Matthew Santoro  5/5
Nerve by Jeanne Ryan  3.75/5
Fruits Basket Collector's Edition Vol 1 by Natsuki Takaya  5/5
Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare  5/5

Challenges completed:
Finish a series - Clockwork Princess
A Stand Alone - Nerve: This was actually a substitute for The Messenger by Markus Zusak, because I just didn't feel like reading that genre.