January 2017 TBR

Jen

I’m always so excited when a new year of reading begins! As usual I have way too many books I want to read and I just can’t get to them all. There are also multiple series that I want to start but I don’t want to be reading too many at once! I’m such a mood reader that I often deviate from my TBR so for that reason I’m not going to set strict TBR lists in 2017. Instead I’ll just list the books that I most feel like reading at the time so that it can be more of a guide that I can refer back to if I can’t decide which book to read next.

The entire month of January is the tennis season here in Australia, so quite a lot of my time will be taken up by that, leaving little time for reading. I know that I more than likely won’t be getting to all the books that I’m putting on my list, and I'll probably change my mind about them, but that doesn’t matter. I’m going to take a much more relaxed approach to reading this year and just read what I can, when I can.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (#7) by J.K. Rowling

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

Anne of Ingleside (#6) by L.M. Montgomery

Girl Online: Going Solo (#3) by Zoe Sugg

Code Name Verity (#1) by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire (#2) by Elizabeth Wein

Deltora Quest series by Emily Rodda

Half-Blood (Covenant series #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer 
The Darkest Minds (#1) by Alexandra Bracken 
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett 

Bakuman manga series by Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata  

Mel 
I'm in much the same mindset as Jen. I just want to read what I happen to be in the mood for, since set TBR's really don't work for me much. That being said, I do want to complete a few series that I've left unfinished for years (that's not an exaggeration!). I have some books that I've only kept to see how the series finished, but are not part of a series that I particularly enjoyed anyway, so I want to unhaul them and free up some space on my shelves.

I also decided that I want to restrict rereads. The only exceptions to this will be Harry Potter (since I already started a reread last year), manga and graphic novels (because it takes no time at all to read them), The Kiss of Deception by Mary E Pearson (because it's been almost two years since I read it and I want to refresh my memory before I continue the series) and maybe Trick by Natalia Jaster (because I've been wanting to reread it, even though I only read it in January 2016!). So the reread of Throne of Glass that I was going to do this year isn't going to happen (I'm crying on the inside), but I really need to focus on reading books that I've been buying. The amount of unread books on my shelves is really getting out of hand!

Anyway, here's a few books that I have an interest in reading this month. Very sci fi driven - probably because I've been watching a lot of Star Trek Voyager lately!

The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Kate Ling
The Martian by Andy Weir
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Gravity by Melissa West
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Something Doctor Who related. Either 12 Doctors of Christmas, 12 Doctors or Timelord Fairy Tales.

December 2016 TBR

Jen

My top priority will be to finish all those damn series that I have been very slowly trying to make my way through for months now. I really want it to happen by the end of the year, so it’s gotta happen this month!

The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5) by Rick Riordan

The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan   

Girl Online Going Solo (Girl Online #3) by Zoe Sugg

Anne of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables #6) by L.M. Montgomery

Rainbow Valley (#7) by L.M. Montgomery

Rilla of Ingleside (#8) by L.M. Montgomery

The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia #6) by C.S. Lewis

The Last Battle (#7) by C.S. Lewis

The Royal Book of Oz (Oz #15) by L. Frank Baum

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (#5) by J.K. Rowling - It’s completely ridiculous that yet again, this book is back on my TBR. My re-read of Goblet of Fire was back in June and somehow I STILL haven’t managed to continue on and finish the series. I’m hoping that since Harry Xmas to You is taking place in December, it will be an extra push for me to finally finish my series re-read.  

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (#6) by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (#7) by J.K. Rowling

Mel

This month, I'm in the mood for manga!

Fruits Basket Collector's Edition Volume 2 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket Collector's Edition Volume 3 by Natsuki Takaya
Fruits Basket Collector's Edition Volume 4 by Natsuki Takaya

Bleach Omnibus Edition Volume 4 by Tite Kubo
Bleach Omnibus Edition Volume 5 by Tite Kubo
Bleach Omnibus Edition Volume 6 by Tite Kubo
Bleach Omnibus Edition Volume 7 by Tite Kubo

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling

November 2016 Wrap Up

Jen

I tried, but I didn’t get quite as much reading done in November as I wanted to. I did make some good progress on the series that I have been working on finishing before the end of the year, but I also deviated from my TBR towards the end of the month because I was just wasn’t in the mood for what I had planned on reading.

Anne’s House of Dreams (Anne of Green Gables #5) by L.M. Montgomery - 3.5/5

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia #5) by C.S. Lewis - 4/5

The Making of Outlander: The Official Guide to Seasons 1 & 2 by Tara Bennett - 5/5

The Martian by Andy Weir (Audiobook narrated by R.C. Bray) - 5/5

The Magic of Oz (Oz #13) by L. Frank Baum - 3/5

Glinda of Oz (Oz #14) by L. Frank Baum - 3/5

Library of Souls (Miss Peregrine’s #3) by Ransom Riggs - 3/5

Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs - 4/5

Shine: The Making of the Australian Netball Diamonds by Jenny Sinclair & Megan Maurice - 5/5

The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by Gerard Way, Shaun Simon & Becky Cloonan - 3/5

Summer Days & Summer Nights (Twelve Summer Romances) Edited by Stephanie Perkins - 3/5

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon - 4.5/5

Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey - 4/5

In Ecstasy by Kate McCaffrey - 4/5

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston - 3.5/5

The Hunger Games (#1) by Suzanne Collins (Audiobook narrated by Carolyn McCormick) - 5/5

Catching Fire (#2) by Suzanne Collins (Audiobook narrated by Carolyn McCormick) - 5/5

Mel

I managed to read a few books in November! And most of these were read when I was supposed to be writing! Lol.

Alex + Ada Volume 1 by Jonathan Luna  5/5
Alex + Ada Volume 2 by Jonathan Luna  5/5
Alex + Ada Volume 3 by Jonathan Luna  5/5
Clockwork Angel Manga by Cassandra Clare  5/5
Clockwork Prince Manga by Cassandra Clare  5/5
Clockwork Princess Manga by Cassandra Clare  5/5
Doctor Who: The Hounds of Artemis by James Goss  4/5 
Doctor Who: The Gemini Contagion by Jason Arnopp  3/5

October 2016 Wrap Up

Jen

October seemed to be a pretty mixed month for me. I read some pretty average books but there were some fantastic books as well. I also made some good progress on my currently reading series. I didn't end up sticking too closely to my TBR and the themed books that I wanted to read in October, but I'm okay with that!

The Tin Woodman of Oz (Oz #12) by L. Frank Baum → 3/5

Sex Criminals Volume One: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky → 4/5

Sex Criminals Volume Two: Two Worlds, One Cop by Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky → 3/5

Sex Criminals Volume Three: Three The Hard Way by Matt Fraction & Chip Zdarsky → 3/5

Prince Caspian (Chronicles of Narnia #4) by C.S. Lewis → 3.5/5

Finale (Hush, Hush #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick → 2/5

Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne of Green Gables #4) by L.M. Montgomery → 3/5

Frayed by Kara Terzis → 4/5

Trick by Natalia Jaster → 4.5/5

The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan → 4.75/5

No Virgin by Anne Cassidy → 3/5

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (#1) by Ransom Riggs → 2.5/5

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s #2) by Ransom Riggs → 3/5

Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff → 5/5

Gemina in particular deserves a special mention because I have been eagerly anticipating reading that book since I first read Illuminae almost a year ago and it was definitely my favourite book for the month! 

Mel
I definitely didn't end up sticking to my goal of as many Goosebumps books as possible. I only read one and it wasn't even part of the Goosebumpsalong! Oh well. I did have a big slump, so audiobooks helped there, but I did manage to squeeze in a few books at the last minute.

Welcome To Dead House by RL Stine → 3/5
Doctor Who: The Runaway Train by Oli Smith → 3/5
Doctor Who: The Ring of Steel by Stephen Cole → 3/5
Doctor Who: The Jade Pyramid by Martin Day → 4/5
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff → 5/5
Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven → 4/5
The Tales of Beedle the Bard by JK Rowling → 4/5

October 2016 TBR

Jen

Mel had the idea of having a themed month for October. It’s not strict, but I liked the idea of reading some spooky/creepy/paranormal/thriller books during this month, so I have decided to split up my TBR into two parts. The first part being the themed books.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Finale (Hush, Hush #4) by Becca Fitzpatrick

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (#1) by Ransom Riggs

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

If I manage to finish those, or I just feel like something different, the second part of my TBR consists of the many series that I am STILL trying to complete.

The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan

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

The Tin Woodman of Oz (Oz #12) by L. Frank Baum

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

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

Mel
This month I'll be participating in Richard Denney's (Books & Bullshit on YouTube) Goosebumpsalong! The way it works is Richard had chosen 3 Goosebumps books to read throughout October, which equates to a book per week between the dates he's chosen (Oct 3 - Oct 21), then watching the corresponding Goosebumps episodes. So the three books he chose were:

The Headless Ghost
The Haunted Mask
The Ghost Next Door

In addition to these 3 books, I'll be reading as many of the original Goosebumps books as possible! I'll hopefully be reading one book per day, but more if I can manage it/I'm in the mood for more.

Of course, I might wish to take a break from these, so I might throw in the possibility of other books, I just don't have any set for the month. I will try to keep within the theme for the month though!

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!