Tag: To Be Read

Tags

Let’s Talk | The Prediction Book Tag

bookishluna8 Comments

Let's Talk

Hello and welcome to a tag I should have done months ago, I am so sorry Whitney, but better late than never. At least I am hoping. I was so happy when Whitney tagged me back in March, this is such fun tag and I am glad I am able to be apart of it. Now on to the rules and prediction prompts!

Rules

  • ping back to the creator of the tag, @bookprincessreviews
  • tag the person who tagged you
  • find an answer to match each prompt
  • have fun!

Each Prompt is a Prediction for My

Next Read

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

As I said in my post, To Be Read | August 2020, I planned on reading this book in August. I did come across some excerpts I read when I was in school and they were all annotated. I didn’t read the annotations, but I am curious of how my annotating will vary this time as opposed to last time when I am done reading.

Next 5-Star Read

After the Quake by Haruki Mauakami

After the Quake

I am not quite sure this counts as cheating, but I am about 50% done with this book already and I am really enjoying it. As long as nothing unforeseen happens, I am probably going to be giving his book 5 stars. It is a great collections of short stories with a unifying thread. It is whimsical, magical, and thought provoking.

Next 1-Star Read

Color Therapy Plain Simple: The Only Book You’ll Ever Need by Nina Ashby

Color Therapy Plain Simple: The Only Book You'll Ever Need

I am going to be honest with this one. I don’t really think it is going to be a 1 star read, but I think it is going to be the lowest rated out of my current TBR. The reason being it has a 2.4 rating on goodreads… that is the lowest one I have. I do have hope though that maybe I will like it better than others.

Next Love Interest

Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and  Melissa de la Cruz

Jo & Laurie

This is the only book on my owned TBR that has a hint of romance to it. It is a historical fiction/retelling/continuation of sorts of he lives of Jo and Laurie from Little Women. Which, if you did not know is my all time favorite book and series. Yes, there are more Little Women books!

Next Book You’ll Be Buying

Confessions on the 7:45: A Novel by Lisa Unger

Confessions on the 7:45: A Novel

I think the next book I will be buying will actually be a pre-order of this book. It does not come out until October 6th, 2020. I went to a digital author book talk and the author recommended quite a few books, many I read, but this one stood out to me!

Next Book That Will Leave you With a Book Hangover

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon 

A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander, #6)

While I do enjoy this series I always have a book hangover of sorts when I finish ones of its tomes. I tend to read two per year because that is all I can handle. I am planning on reading this one at the end of August or in September. I still cannot believe I have made it to book 6 of this series.

I Tag

Erica

Ash

Celina

Jessica

What book do you think will your next 5 star read be?

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Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | August 2020

bookishluna4 Comments

Bullet Journal

Hello and welcome to my bullet journal post. This month I am really in love with my spread. I think it is because I really made this month simple and removed a lot of fluff. I feel like this is going to lead to me having a really focused month! I also really feel like this months “theme” if you can call it that is warm and cozy, which is something I really crave right now. Even though it is the middle of the summer I have been crocheting a lot and it has reminded me about cuddling up with the blanket I am almost done with, a coffee and a good book. Anyway, on to my spreads for the month!

Items Used

  • Sharpie Pen size fine
  • Tombow Brush Pen color #992
  • Royalty Free Stock Photo Site: Pixabay
  • A5 Garden Slither Neapolitan Dot Grid Notebook from Olive and Archer
  • Amenti Oracle by Jennifer Sodini

Inspired By

My Bullet Journal Spreads

The above image shows my dashboard for the month. On the left hand side I decided to use a flowing script to write the name of the month and year and then highlighted it with my color of the month, Tombow #992, which is a warm light tan color. It almost looks faded, which I really like. On the right hand side I printed out a picture of a Scottish castle that was a similar tan color. The angle focuses on a rounded tower, it gives me fairytale vibes. As soon as I saw it I knew I needed to use it this month.

The next two pages are practical spreads, the first one on the left is my budget planner of sorts. I wanted a place where I could note my income, my account totals at the start and end of the month, a checklist to keep track of the bills I paid and then my current amount owed on my loans. I really wanted the headings to pop in this spread since there will be a lot of information as the month progresses I decided to put a line above and below each title as well as highlighted using the color of the month. On the right side I put my TBR and Goal spread I have used the last few months. Both are vertical lists each taking up half of the page as if folded lengthwise. At this point I have not decided which books are on my TBR or what goals I have for myself, but they will be added soon! I also decided to decorate the headings the same as the previous page to tie everything together.

The next two spreads will also fill out more as the month passes. On the lefthand side I have my monthly oracle card. This month I picked I Relate in Peace, the image that does along with this saying is an interesting one. It is a blue circle with blue hands reaching towards quite a few symbols such as a snake and an eye. I will be honest I am unsure of the other symbols at this time and will be looking into the guide book so I can figure out what they are. On the right hand side I added my Books Read spread where I doodled a few lines to represent shelves. I will be adding picture of the book covers I have read as the month progresses.

My weekly spread is the same as it has been for the past few months. On the left hand side I leave blank apart from a very small august calendar. I leave this area open to write what I am grateful for that happened that week. On the right, I have my rectangles where I write my appointments, to do lists, and notes for each day. I have them in a 3 by 2 grid, I really like how compact and organized this layout is. I never used to like combining the weekend into one list, but I am starting to really like it. I wanted to tie these pages into the read of the month so I highlighted the day/number by using the color of the month.

Well, that is my bullet journal for the month, I hope you like what I did! I am really loving the vibe that is given by the picture of the castle and the faded brown color. I feel that it is warm, welcoming, and cozy.

What is your favorite color? If you use a bullet journal, what is your theme? 

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To Be Read

To Be Read | August 2020

bookishluna7 Comments

To Be Read

Hello and welcome to my TBR for August. My TBR is a bit larger than it normally is due to the fact I am taking part in a few challenges this month. One of the major ones is hitting 0 books on my owned TBR by October 6th, 2020. At the time of typing this I am on track to meet this goal, so I am excited about that. But, to keep this up I had to keep my reading pace high, but also enjoyable. To meet this goal and others I added all of these books onto my pile for August. I am really confident in reading these books and maybe even a few others, who knows? 

Book Stack Photo

The Books

The Secret River by Kate Grenville, I am reading this as part of my reading a book from every continent. This takes place in Australia being used to send convicts away from Europe as well as discussing those settlers forcibly taking land from local indigenous inhabitants . It is a historical fiction, but I think it will discuss a really important events that not only took place in one part of the world, but all over. From the reviews I am confident in the author giving such a topic the attention is deserves. 

After the Quake by Haruki Mauakami, I picked this up recently on my first visit to my local bookstore. It was the first time. I was able to actually go brows the shop in MONTHS so you will see a few more books on this list from that day. But, that being said I really was intrigued by the description of this book and I look forward to reading it. 

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Himself, I am ashamed to say that I never read this and I am rectifying that this month. I will say, I did read the first few pages at the end of July, but I did not want to rush through this mans words. 

You Were Born For This by Chani Nicholas, I picked this book up as a group read and I kinda forgot about that..oops. But, I am still intrigued so I still pan on reading this. 

The Hunger by Alma Katsu, I picked this book up because I was recommended it from mytbr.co. It sounded really interesting so I have to say first impressions with this service are pretty spot on. Will report when I have read all three books they recommened me. 

American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson, I was really in the mood for some non-fiction last month and I came across this on my stroll around the bookstore so I picked it up. I am interesting in learning about the history of Forensics in the USA.

Fever Dream by Samantha Schweblin, This is another book I picked up for my reading a book from each continent. This books takes place in Argentina. I will be honest, I don’t know much about this book. I saw that it took place in Argentina and that it had the phrase “nightmare come to life” in the description. 

Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman, I have been slowly reading more and more books by this author and I have enjoyed most of them. I read the description of this novel while walking around my local bookstore and I had to pick it up. I mean how can I turn down a book that is described that can “transform a mundane world into a place of terrible wonders”. 

G’Morning, G’Night! By Lin-Manuel Miranda, I will flat out admit I bought this because I watched Hamilton on Disney+ in July and I wanted to checkout what else he was capable of. I have a feeling I am going to be slowly reading this throughout the month, but we shall see. It seems like a really uplifting book, which I feel like can only help. 

What are you planning to reading this month?

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To Be Read

TBR | The Reading Rush July 20th – July 26th

bookishluna4 Comments

To Be Read

Hello and welcome to my TBR post for The Reading Rush. This readathon has been one I have taken part in for the past few years and I am excited to do it again. This round is running from July 20th-July 26th. If you want more information you can visit their website here: https://thereadingrush.com/. In this post I am going to go over the challenges and the books I plan on reading to meet them. Now on to the books!

The Challenges

1 – Read a book with a cover that matches the color of your birth stone.

2 – Read a book that starts with the word “The”.

3 – Read a book that inspired by a movie you’ve already seen.

4 – Read the first book you touch.

5 – Read a book completely outside of your house. Challenge Update Post for Safety

6 – Read a book in a genre that you’ve always wanted to read more of.

7 – Read a book that takes place on a different continent than where you live.

My TBR

Books as follows; Firestarter Stephen King, Don’t Touch my Hair by Emma Dabiri, The Night Country by Melissa Albert and Celtic Mythology byPhilip Freeman.

1, 5, 7 – Celtic Mythology by Philip Freeman

2 & 4 – The Night Country by Melissa Albert

3 – Fire Starter by Stephen King

6 – Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri

As you can see I am not going for 7 books in 7 days. I am doubling up and tripling up on some of these challenges so I can be strategic. I will however try to read these four books and then if I still have time somehow I plan on reading other books that will also meet the challenges I grouped together. I am really excited to read these books and to have two non-fiction reads for a readathon. I have very much been enjoying non-fiction lately, I even started off July by reading two non-fictions back to back. Anyway, here is my TBR!

Are you participating in the reading rush this year?

What book are you most excited to read?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Read 5, Buy 1 | June 2020

bookishluna4 Comments

Read 5, Buy 1

Hello and welcome to my Read 5, Buy 1 post, If I am being honest with myself I should be calling this a book haul because wow, did I totally ignore this in June. I am not sure why, but I really had the buying itch in June. I figured since I have done so well and my TBR was under 20 at the time, why not have some fun. So, here is my break down of the books I read since the last check in, but also the books I bought this past month.

The Breakdown

  • Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
  • The Magician’s Land by Lev Grossman
  • Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
  • I’m Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi
  • The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
    • Bought Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
  • Quichotte by Salman Rushdie
  • A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
  • Untamed by Glennon Doyle
  • Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
  • Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz
    • Bought Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz
  • Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Books Added To My TBR

I added, Home Before Dark by Riley Sager, The Incarnations by Susan Barker, Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz, The Changeling by Victor LaValle, Before the Coffee Gets Coldby Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, The Hungerby Alma Katsu, Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri, and LGBTQ Stats: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer People by the Numbers by Bennett Singer and David Deschamps to my TBR.

As you can see, I bought quite a few extra books this month. I am thinking it might have to do with that fact that I was not really in the reading mood in May and maybe it was because I didn’t really want to read any of the books I owned. I am a total mood reader. Regardless of the reason, I added an extra 7 books. Oops! Good thing I have been in a reading mood!
Over all, my TBR is now sitting at a total of 26 books, so my owned TBRhe  stayed about the same, but thankfully it decided to not go up with all the buying I did.

What does your TBR look like?

What books did you recently haul from the library or bookstore?

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Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | July 2020

bookishluna12 Comments

Bullet Journal

Hello and welcome to my July bullet journal post. This month I changed a few things, but mainly kept things the same. But, I really enjoy the vibe I created for the month by adding a few pictures from a stock photo site and marker colors. I have really started to enjoy photographs in my spreads to set a mood as of late instead of doodles. Anyway, here is what I put together for July!

Items Used

Archer & Olive A5 Garden Sliter Dot Grid notebook

Tombow Dual Brush Pens 312

Tombow Dual Brush Pens 946

Sakura Pigma Micron Pens 01 and 05

On the left I placed my monthly calendar, I really loved highlighting the color green and orange in the picture of the cafe on the right hand page. I feel like it really pulled these two pages together. I picked the cafe because it looked so calming and relaxing with the color scheme of the various shades of green and pop of orange and tan. I also added The Reading Rush to my bujo because I am planning on taking part this year. I am so excited about the challenges this year, they are so fun in my opinion.

The next two pages house four different things. On the left I have my TBR for the month of July listed and a space to write my monthly goals. I also added a mini calendar for reference for the page on the right. On the right I have a vertical calendar were I will mark the days I read and on the right I am going to be adding my blog posts. I carried over the orange and green color by highlighting the titles and lines on the page.

These next two pages are a bit more plain. On the left I picked my oracle card for the month and I left the area around it blank so I have room to reelect upon it. This months card says “I Line in Truth”. On the accompanying page I added a picture of a brown doorway with a ton of plants because it goes well with the oracle card and the cafe picture I previously mentioned. Due to the fact that orange and brown are used a lot I decided to just add highlights with the green marker.

Now, this page on the left is my Books Read that I started using last month. In this spread I doodled a few bookshelves where I will then glue in the covers of the books I finish reading. I will share a picture of it competed below. On the right I added a picture of a window in a greenhouse while it is raining. It matches the green and orange theme perfectly and it is relaxing and a place I would love to read. I love plants and I would love to have a green house at some times in the future and I would love to sit inside during a rain storm and read.

Here is a picture from my bullet journal from last month (June 2020). On the left is a completed Books Read spread where I pasted pictures of the book covers. I really loved this so much more than the lists I was doing in the future. I ended up reading I’m Judging You, The Glass Hotel, Quichotte, Untamed, Prodigal Son, Full Dark No Stars, Twelfth Night, Anansi Boys, and A Darker Shade of Magic at the time of taking this picture.

Here is a picture f my weekly spread I started using last month and it worked so well. On the left I kept is mostly blank so I can add all the good things that happened that week, the only thing I added was a mini calendar and I highlighted the current week the spread is for. On the right I have six boxes each week day has its own and the weekend shares one. I decided to highlight the day of the week and date with the green I have used throughout this month.

What theme are you using this month?

What do you have planned for June?

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To Be Read

To Be Read | July 2020

bookishluna9 Comments

To Be Read

Hello and welcome to my monthly TBR, where I name some books and chances are I wiill end up reading others ones because I am a total mood reader. Anyway, there are two that I must read for a few challenges, but the other three that are listed here I really want to read. But, as I said I am a mood reader, so let’s see what happens. Here are the books I plan on reading!

The Books

The Tempest by William Shakespeare, this play is my July pick for my 2020 Shakespeare Challenge. I really have no idea what it is about, so I don’t have an opinion on how I am going to feel or a prediction.

March by Geraldine Brooks, I picked this up on vacation in December and lately I have really wanted to read it. I have high hopes because it is Little Women inspired, it is meant to be following the father of that story during the Civil War. Plus, I feel like it will remind me of my vacation and I really miss traveling at this point, even day trips.

The Five by Halle Rubenhold, this was a gift from Reg for my birthday and I am really excited to learn about Jack the Rippers victims because I honestly have no idea who they were, but I know a lot about the crime.

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas, this was picked for me to read for my Someone Picks My Books series on my blog. I have read books by this author in the past, but I have not read her last one or two. So, we shall see how this one fairs!

What are you planning to reading this month?

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To Be Read

My Owned TBR | June 2020

bookishluna12 Comments

Owned TBRHello and welcome to my little post about my owned TBR. Last June I shared a post called My Owned TBR | June 2019, I figured it would be fun to look back and see how my list has changed over the last year. I am also going to be doing something a little new, so please let me know if you like it!

2019 Owned TBR

Here is my Owned TBR from last year. At this point in time I only had 44 books on my my shelf that needed to be read. Looking back at this list I can see that I read or unhauled every single one of these books and that kind of blows my mind.

My Current Owned TBR

  • Celtic Mythology by Philip Freeman – A wonderful gift from Ariel!
  • The Night Country by Melissa Albert – Wow, I have quite a few series I want to finish for someone who doesn’t favor series anymore
  • The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – Wow, I have quite a few series I want to finish for someone who doesn’t favor series anymore
  • House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas – suggested reading
  • A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon – Wow, I have quite a few series I want to finish for someone who doesn’t favor series anymore

I hope you liked this type of writing and comment on my book stacks. I figured I have Procreate, I might as well use it now and again for my blog. Anyway, that is my owned TBR list. I have a total of 33 books, less than I had this time last year I feel like that is a win for two reasons. The first being my TBR is going down and second I want to get my TBR to around 5 by the end of the year. I decided to give To Be Read Time by Read it Forward to see how long it would actually take me to get my TBR to 0. According to this and if I keep up my reading pace of finishing a book every 3-4 days I will finish my TBR by October of this year. I am tempted to give this a shot so I might be posting more about owned TBR list.

What books are on your TBR?

Are any of these books on your TBR?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Read 5, Buy 1 | May 2020 | Book Haul

bookishluna4 Comments

Read 5, Buy 1

Hello and welcome to my May Read 5, Buy 1 challenge recap and haul. Earlier this month was my birthday and I did a seprate haul, which you can read here: Haul | Birthday 2020 . I am not counting these books towards by challenge because, well I didn’t buy them. Pretty amazing people were kind enough to buy them for me. But, that does not mean I didn’t buy anything for myself. I can never go a month without adding to my TBR myself! Now, on to the breakdown.

The Breakdown

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire

The Magicians Land by Lev Grossman

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

  • The Book of Longing by Sue Monk Kidd

 

 

Extra Books

After I posted my birthday haul I actually got another book as a present and I was very pleasantly surprised. It was The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold thanks to Reg!  I have been interested in this story for as long as it has been out it seems like. Thank you!

So, did break my Read 5, Buy 1, but only by one book. I ended up picking up A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon. The reason being is that with this series I always buy the next book in the series when I start reading one. So, I just ordered it without really thinking about it oops.

 Overall, I think I did pretty darn good! I only bought one extra book this month for myself and my owned TBR is down to 26 books, which is a great amount and it heading downwards still.

What does your TBR look like?

What books did you recently haul from the library or bookstore?

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Bullet Journal Jottings, Writing & More

Bullet Journal | June 2020

bookishluna6 Comments

Bullet Journal

Hello and welcome to another look into my bullet journal. The past month has been fun breaking in my new one. The pages are starting to fill in nicely and it isn’t looking so pristine anymore. This month, like last month, I wanted to try a new weekly layout and a few new spreads I felt like they layouts I had worked well in theory and in some cases, but some of them were just not as practical. So, without further delay, here is what I did for the month of June! Wow, June already.

Items Used

Archer & Olive A5 Garden Sliter Dot Grid notebook

SAKURA Pigma Micron Pen Set  01

Kraft paper

Unknown orange – label rubbed off.

Here is my dashboard page, this month I decided to to a more horizontal layout to my calendar. Last month I tried a vertical layout and while it looked cool, but it wasn’t really practical for what I needed it to do. So, I changed it up to this. I also am using art that is from Plant Based Bride, who I have been following for some time. Her stuff is just amazing. I decided to print it on kraft colored printer paper this month to warm up my bujo a bit.

Th8is month I decided to take about my pages a day spread, I did like no reading in May, well a lot less than I have been so far this year. I just didn’t like how it looked without being so filled in. I kept my TBR list about the same and then added monthly goals. On the right side I added a social media planner of sorts just to keep track of it a bit better. In May I forgot to write a few posts on time and they were a bit late and I was not too please with myself. I also decided to try this reading tracker and just mark the days I read, almost like a habit tracker.

This month I decided to take a book out of Books with Chloe reading journal and track my reading for the monthly by printing out little pictures of book covers and gluing them in my bujo. I doodled a few shelves for them and hopefully there will be a few here. I also put another piece of art from the same author above. I really loved the feel of these pieces it gives me a roman feel.

On the right is another piece from Plant Based Bride, I wanted to keep this spread pretty blank. On the right is going to be a picture of this months oracle card for my to reflect upon. I did not pick it yet so I left it blank. I am just going to scan it and print it out and then doodle my thoughts around it as them come throughout the month.

Now, here is the weekly layout I am giving a try this month. This spread is taken from Shayda Campbell. I really liked how this weekly spread focused on a reflecting on ones week. In her adaptation she put a place for a good memory, miles or km run I think, and really structured the reflection more than I personally wanted to. So, I took her idea and just left it open for myself to just do as I pleased. I also noticed at this point in time I don’t need a box for each day of the weekend and I can just join them together.

Also, this month I decided I wanted to take part in a low key readathon and I really saw a ton of great ones, huge thanks to those who let me know over on twitter! I ended up picking the FeelGoodathon. I liked that you could either follow reading prompts or self care prompts for this readathon and the fact it is two weeks. If you want more information you can check out their twitter here: @feelgoodathon. I decided since it was a readathon I wanted to track my pages a bit at this point or maybe just the books read each day. I figured I would put both here and not pressure myself to write both if I didn’t feel like it, which I feel like goes well with this readathon.

What theme are you using this month?

What do you have planned for June?

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