2018 Bookish Goals

Hello Everyone!

Today’s post is all about my bookish goals for 2018. I don’t have many goals, but the ones I did set are ones that I think I can achieve over the course of the year. Here are my goals:

1. Read 52 Books 

I set it my Goodreads goal for 52 books because even though I want to read everything in sight, I also want to slow down and enjoy what I read! Last year I read a lot, but I honestly can’t remember what half of them were about.

2. Complete the Around in 52 Books 2018 Challenge.

I attempted to do this challenge last year, and even though I was only a couple books short of completing it, this year I want to make more of an effort to complete all 52 challenges. If you would like to see what the challenges are for this year, check out my blog post all about it!

3. Complete the Beat the Backlist Challenge. 

If you would like to find out more about the Beat the Backlist challenge, check out my blog post from a couple of days ago where I talk more about it. I am going to attempt to read 20 books that were published before 2018 throughout the year, I might be able to read more, but right now I feel like this is the most attainable goal.

4. Read my Bible every day. 

One of my goals last year was to read through the Bible in a year, however I completely slacked off on this for most of 2017. However, this year I am determined to stick to a plan and do it for the whole year!

5. Write a review for every book I read (long or short). 

The only exception to this rule is going to be Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows because I haven’t done a review for the rest of the series. But every other book is going to get a review this year, it just might take a while for it to go live on the blog.

6. Post consistently on my blog. 

The second half of 2017 was somewhat disastrous posting wise because I didn’t really have much of a schedule and I would take several weeks off at time. However, this year I am planning on posting three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), with a few extra posts on a Saturday. There will also be certain times (like the first two weeks of January) where I will be posting five days a week just to keep up with all the content I want to post this year!

7. Post consistently on Instagram. 

Over the past several months my Instagram account has primarily been a Bookstagram account (apart from several personal posts) and I am looking forward to uploading more Bookstagram photos. My plan is to try and upload a photo every day (at least for this month), and to just be consistent with it.

8. Try to gain 100 followers for my blog. 

9. Try a genre I wouldn’t normally read. 

For this goal I am thinking of trying out either Thriller or Horror, but nothing to scary. I am thinking of picking up either The Shining or Carrie by Stephen King in order to complete this goal.

10. Try different kinds of content on my blog. 

I am still working on what exactly this is going to be, but I am looking forward to sharing some of the ideas I have with all of you soon.

And those are my goals for 2018! What are some of your bookish goals for the year?

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

P.S. If you haven’t done so already, don’t forget to click the blue “Follow” button. You can also follow me on my other social media profiles: Twitter (@Jlc0904Janelle), Instagram (@jazzyjan101), GoodReads, and The Meanderings of a Bookworm Facebook page! 🙂

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The Name Change

Hello everyone!

It has been about a week since I moved from Blogger to WordPress, and The Scribbler became Meanderings of a Bookworm.

The reason for the change is that I felt like it was time to give my blog a makeover and I was finding it difficult to use Blogger in more innovative ways to improve my blog. I had heard in the past that WordPress was better than Blogger, however I wanted to do my own thing and refused to accept it. But since I felt that a change was needed on my blog I decided to check it out and see whether or not I wanted to use it as the new home of my blog.

After spending a few hours of playing around with WordPress, I discovered that it was easier to use and make changes than on Blogger. I also decided that if I changed to WordPress then maybe it was time to change the name as well; for a while I have been wanting to change for a while.

I also felt like a change was necessary since I started The Scribbler back when I had just finished my senior of high school and two years later I decided to turn it into a book blog. However, now that I have graduated from college and I am a little bit older I also wanted my blog to reflect the changes I have been going through.

For those of you who read The Scribbler, welcome to Meanderings of a Bookworm and I hope you enjoy the content of this blog as much as you enjoyed the old blog! To my new readers, welcome! I hope you enjoy my ramblings about books and anything book related! 🙂

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

P.S. Don’t forget to follow the blog and like the Facebook page. You can also follow me on Twitter (@Jlc0904Janelle) and Instagram (@jazzyjan101).

Book Review: Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean

Hello Everyone!

Today’s review is on Eat the Sky, Drink the Ocean edited by Kirsty Murray, Payal DHar, and Anita Roy.

About the Book: 

Be transported into dystopian cities and other-worldly societies. Be amazed and beguiled by a nursery story with a reverse twist, a futuristic take on TV cooking shows, a playscript with tentacles – and more, much more. Plunge in and enjoy!

A collection of sci-fi and fantasy writing, including six graphic stories, showcasing twenty stellar writers and artists from India and Australia: Isobelle Carmody, Penni Russon, Justine Larbalestier, Margo Lanagan, Lily Mae Martin, Kuzhali Manickavel, Prabha Mallya, Annie Zaidi, Kate Constable, Vandana Singh, Mandy Ord, Priya Kuriyan, Manjula Padmanabhan, Samhita Arni, Alyssa Brugman, Nicki Greenberg and Amruta Patil

My Thoughts: 

Book Review: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library

Hello Everyone!

Today’s review is on Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein.

About the Book: 

Kyle Keeley is the class clown, popular with most kids, (if not the teachers), and an ardent fan of all games: board games, word games, and particularly video games. His hero, Luigi Lemoncello, the most notorious and creative gamemaker in the world, just so happens to be the genius behind the building of the new town library.

Lucky Kyle wins a coveted spot to be one of the first 12 kids in the library for an overnight of fun, food, and lots and lots of games. But when morning comes, the doors remain locked. Kyle and the other winners must solve every clue and every secret puzzle to find the hidden escape route. And the stakes are very high.

In this cross between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and A Night in the Museum, Agatha Award winner Chris Grabenstein uses rib-tickling humor to create the perfect tale for his quirky characters. Old fans and new readers will become enthralled with the crafty twists and turns of this ultimate library experience.

AR Level: 4.5 ; AR points: 7.0

My Thoughts:  

 

Day 1: A Book Series That Should Have Ended

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to Day 1 of the 30 Days of Books series. Today’s topic is a book series that should have ended. Before I get started I just want to give a disclaimer that even though I didn’t like this particular series, it doesn’t mean that you are not allowed to enjoy it, this is just my personal opinion.

The series that I believe that should have ended probably after the first book is the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard.

I loved Red Queen it was a great book and I just loved the whole concept of the novel and I was super excited for the second book, Glass Sword, that I ordered it as soon as I finished Red Queen. However, it was such a let down and I had a hard time getting through it because I feel like not much happened. I went into a reading slump when I read it, and I just started hating the characters. I thought about picking up King’s Cage (Book 3) but I’ve had several friends tell me not to bother because it was also a let down.

Even though I am curious as to how the series is going to end, I also don’t know if I want to waste my time on something I will probably end up not enjoy when there are so many other books I want to read.

I believe that maybe Red Queen should have been a standalone or maybe just a duology instead of a quartet because it seems that each book after the first one was not great and even though I am curious to see how it all wraps up, I don’t want to the time to do so.

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

P.S. Click here and here if you are interested in reading my reviews on Red Queen and Glass Sword

May Wrap-Up

1. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

3/5 Stars.

2. Sleepovers by Jacqueline Wilson 

5/5 Stars.

3.  The Royal Rabbits of London by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore

4/5 Stars.

4. Junonia by Kevin Henkes 

5. Catching a Story Fish by Janice N. Harrington 

6. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo 

7. Somewhere Among by 

8. The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket 

9.  The End by Lemony Snicket

10.  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate 

11. 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith 

12. The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill 

13. Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi

14. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate 

15. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

16. Timeless: Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic by Armand Baltazar 

17. The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton 

18. Fat Girl on the Plane by Kelly DeVos 

19. From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

20. Redemption by Karen Kingsbury

21. Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

22. Murder Past Due by Miranda James 

23. Future Perfect by Jen Larsen 

 

30 Day Book Challenge

Hello Everyone!

So this might seem a little crazy, especially since I’ve only been posting once a week for the last couple of months, but while looking for a book tag themed around summer I came across this challenge in several places and I decided that it would be fun to do it.

Taken from: https://beckysblogs.wordpress.com/2013/07/31/the-30-day-book-challenge/

DAY 1. – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just end already.
DAY 2. – Favorite side character.
DAY 3. – The longest book you’ve read.
DAY 4. – Book turned into a movie and completely desecrated.
DAY 5. –  Your “comfort” book.
DAY 6. – Book you’ve read the most number of times.
DAY 7. – A guilty pleasure book.
DAY 8. – Most underrated book.
DAY 9. – Most overrated book.
DAY 10. – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving.
DAY 11. – Favorite classic book.
DAY 12. – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t.
DAY 13. – A book that disappointed you.
DAY 14. –  Book that made you cry.
DAY 15. – A character who you can relate to the most.
DAY 16. – Most thought-provoking book.
DAY 17. – Author I wish people would read more.
DAY 18. – A book you wish you could live in.
DAY 19. – A favourite author.
DAY 20. – Favorite childhood book.
DAY 21. – Book you tell people you’ve read, but haven’t (or haven’t actually finished).
DAY 22. – Least favourite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise.
DAY 23. – Best book you’ve read in the last 12 months.
DAY 24. – Book you’re most embarrassed to say you like/liked.
DAY 25. – The most surprising plot twist or ending.
DAY 26. – Book that makes you laugh out loud.
DAY 27. – Book that has been on your “to read” list the longest.
DAY 28. – Favorite quote from a book.
DAY 29. – A book you hated.
DAY 30. – Book you couldn’t put down

June TBR

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to another installment of my monthly TBR. This month I decided to do something a little bit different in picking out the books I want to  by letting GoodReads pick my TBR. I got this idea from BookTuber Riley Marie who did this for her May TBR – click here to watch her video – I thought this was  a cool idea  and decided that I wanted to try it for my June TBR.  I chose the books for my TBR  by going to my “Want-to-read” shelf and changed the settings to random:

 

Once I did this I hit the refresh button after I saw the first item each time. And here is the list that I got:

Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross

The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay

The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson 

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller 

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard 

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

Library Haul #16

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to another library haul. I went crazy this month (because I never ever do that *snort*) and got a lot of books. Most of them are middle-grade books because my main focus for May was to read more middle-grade novels so that I can have some more recommendations to give when a kid or parent asks me if there are any books I can recommend. Here are the books that I checked out this month:

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious by Shannon and Dean Hale 

The Field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black 

The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

Catching a Storyfish by Janice N. Harrington 

Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon by Leila Howland 

To Stay Alive by Skila Brown 

The Wizards of Once by Cassandra Cowell 

Junoina by Kevin Henkes 

The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket 

The End by Lemony Snicket 

Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull 

The Royal Rabbits of London by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore

Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu 

Story Thieves by James Riley 

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner 

The Wonderling by Mira Bartok 

Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic by Armand Baltazar 

The Continent by Kiera Drake 

Wicked Lovely by Marissa Marr 

Forest World by Margarita Engle 

May B by Caroline Starr Rose

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien 

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Koning 

The Witches by Roald Dahl 

The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne

Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

Mini-Reviews #1

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my first installment of mini-reviews. I decided to start this series because there are some books I have read that I have some thoughts on but not necessarily enough to write a full length review on them, so I decided why not write one paragraph for them and then each post in this series will contain at least five books with my brief thoughts on them. Without further ado, here are the first five mini-reviews.

1. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennett by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick 

I liked this supplement to The Lizzie Bennett Diaries web series. But it was also pretty repetitive of the web series and didn’t really add anything that isn’t already mentioned in the series. The only “new” thing it added was how and why Lizzie started her vlogs. I gave it 3/5 Stars.

2. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

This was a quick read. I liked the interactive stuff like text messages and Tumblr posts that were included. However, it was just okay and I don’t get what all the hype is about in regards to this book. 3/5 Stars.

3. To All the Boys I Loved Before by Jenny Han 

It was a cute concept and it ended up being kind of different plot wise than what I had expected. It was kind of predictable and even though I think I know how the rest of the series will progress, I am still interested  in reading it. Also, a lot people have said that they’ve found Lara Jean to be kind of juvenile, but I disagree with them…I think she is a typical 16 year old. 3.5/5 Stars.

4. The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord 

It took me forever to get through The Names They Gave Us because I was in a major reading slump. It was also a hard book to read because I myself am a Pastor’s Kid and I am very close to my mom and I can’t imagine going through what Lucy goes through with her mom being re-diagnosed with cancer. I felt like a lot of Lucy’s reactions and struggles were pretty accurate, however there were some of the things that she seemed okay with that seemed unnatural because I know I personally would have been in more shock if I were to be confronted with certain issues. 3/5 Stars.

5. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

This was a very candid audio book to listen to. However there were a few things that I didn’t like that she did and she tended to be vulgar at times. But it was still an entertaining, and somewhat enlightening read. I liked how she didn’t shy away from what really happens behind the glitz of glamor of Hollywood, especially classic Hollywood. I also enjoyed listening to The Princess Diarist a few weeks after listening to Wishful Drinking. 3.75/5 Stars.

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

 

April Wrap-Up

Hello Everyone!

Welcome to my April Wrap-up! Here are all the books I managed to read last month:

1. Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe 

5/5 Stars.

2. The Mayflower Bride by Kimberley Woodhouse 

3.5/5 Stars.

3. The Ultimate Priority by John MacArthur 

4/5 Stars

4. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

3/5 Stars.

5. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

5/5 Stars.

6. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L’Engle 

3/5 Stars.

7. The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan 

4/5 Stars.

8. Big, Mushy Lump by Sarah Anderson 

5/5 Stars.

9. Herding Cats by Sarah Anderson 

5/5 Stars.

10. If They Come For Us by Fatimah Asghar

3/5 Stars

11. Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Anderson

5/5 Stars.

12. Camp Austen by Ted Scheinman

4/5 Stars

13. Rene

gades by Marissa Meyer 

3.5/5 Stars

14. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas 

4/5 Stars.

15. The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

3/5 Stars.

16. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

4/5 Stars.

17. The Field Guide by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

3/5 Stars

Did Not Finish:

A Swiftly, Tilting Planet by Madeleine L’Engle 

I honestly thought I would love this book, but it was just too weird and it was hard to follow what was actually happening at times. There were certain elements of the stories that needed to be explained a bit more. I don’t know if I will finish any of the other books in the series, but I might pick up An Acceptable Time when I have had some time to forget about this book.

Who Killed Piet Barol? by Richard Mason

The only reason I didn’t finish it was that it was due back at the library and I had no renewals left. I might pick this book up again in the future, especially since it is set in early 1900’s South Africa.

I still can’t believe I managed to read 17 books in April because it was a busy month overall. I hope May will also be a good reading month as well.

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.

 

 

 

 

Middle-grade May TBR

Hello Everyone!

Lately I’ve been working in the Children’s area a lot at work and as a result I’ve been discovering a ton of Middle-grade books that I want to read, which means that my TBR pile has increased. I decided that for the month of May I am going to focus on reading these middle-grade reads. I am calling it Middle-grade May and I would love it if any of you wanted to join me. Here are some of the books I plan on reading this month:

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen  

101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith 

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious by Dean and Shannon Hale 

The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket 

The End by Lemony Snicket 

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan 

Timeless: Diego and the Rangers of the Vastlantic by Armand Baltazar 

The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer 

Sleepovers by Jacqueline Wilson 

The Wonderling by Mira Bartok 

The Royal Rabbits of London by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore

Junoina by Kevin Henkes

The field Guide by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black 

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale 

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner 

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beaty 

 

I know this is a lot and I probably won’t get a chance to get to all of these, but I am excited to discover some “new” favorite middle-grade reads in the next month!

Happy Reading,

Janelle L. C.