Chicken Read-Along

I'm participating in Lys' Chicken Challenge this month and I'm so excited for it! I can't do every challenge because I don't have the time (sad face) but I'm going to do the best I can. Besides this post I'll also be participating in the Book Scavenger Hunt (so excited!), the Tag, and perhaps the Guest Post. If I have time to do more I totally will.

For my TBR for this challenge I'm setting very low expectations for myself. I haven't been able to read very much lately because school has gotten in the way, so I'm only planning on reading one book for the challenge. I don't think it completes any of the challenges per say but it's got a spooky concept so I think it will fit in nicely.

Goodreads Link

This book is about zombies and necromancers and it's got a steampunk flair so I'm rather excited to read it! I haven't read a Susan Dennard book yet, though I've seen mixed reviews. Here's to hoping I enjoy it!

July TBR & Do You Wanna Buddy Read??

I have several books picked out that I want to read next month, but you know what's better than reading a book alone? Reading it with someone else!  So here are the books I certainly need to get to next month and if you're interested in reading along with me, let me know in the comments and we can figure out when to read.

The Assassin's Blade

This will be a reread for me, and marks the beginning of my annual Throne of Glass reread.  Once I finish And I Darken I will be launching into this one and I'm rather excited.

The Chamber of Secrets

Another reread to continue on with my Harry Potter reread.  My original goal was to finish rereading all of these before the release of Cursed Child, but I don't think that will happen.  Oh well, I'm not too worried since I'm enjoying taking my time reliving this world.

Throne of Glass

Another reread!  Have you noticed a trend?  This will be my fifth time reading this book and every time I read it it's a completely new experience.  I've never had a better benchmark for how my reading has changed and how I've matured.  I look forward to doing this every year and I can't wait to do it again.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue 

Not a reread!  And maybe my only one.  My only one for sure, at least.  I'm looking forward to continuing on with this series since I've fallen completely in love with it.

Other books I might get to next month (but I'm not holding out for it atm)

Elantris

Caraval (an ARC)

The Raven King

Ruin and Rising

February TBR

We're officially a month into 2016!  Wow, that's really crazy to think about.  I haven't had such a hard time writing 2016 instead of 2015 as I thought I would, but I am having trouble getting over the fact that 2006 was SIX YEARS AGO!  I mean, that feels like two years ago, honestly.

Anyway, this month I'm super excited for the books I'll be reading.  One of them is particularly exciting and will absolutely break my heart and put me into a book hangover, I expect nothing less.

1. Six of Crows

So, originally, I was going to finish the Grisha trilogy before reading this one, but you know what? I know that you don't have to read them in that order and I just don't want to put this one off anymore because I every day I wake up and stroke it for a few seconds.  So, yeah, I'm super ready to read this one, and I'll be starting it ASAP.

2. Passenger

I wasn't a huge fan of the Darkest Minds, but I've heard really great things about this one, and also, time travel (my favorite genre).  So, yeah, this is going to be an awesome read and I'm super ecstatic to get to it!

3. Morning Star

This is the book that will leave me absolutely heartbroken and torn to pieces and with such a book hangover that I'm a little afraid to start it, actually.  I thoroughly expect to have to skip classes to get over this one.  We'll see how hard it hits me.  I've already read the free preview which was the first five chapters (I think) and I was a puddle of feelz after page one.

4. Tell the Wind and Fire

I received an ARC of this one from Netgalley and I'm rather excited to read it, since it's one of my most anticipated of the new year!

5. Winter

I'm going to finish this series guys and I don't think I'm ready!  I've heard great things about this conclusion (and I've managed to avoid spoilers!) and I cannot wait to finally take the plunge.

6. Words of Radiance

I've been "currently reading" this one on Goodreads for several months and I really need to finish this.  I love what I've read of it, but the size has just daunted me.  I need to sit down and just finish it at this point.

So what are you guys planning to read this month?  Let me know in the comments!

Book Goals and Resolutions for the New Year

So, last year I read a crazy amount of books!  I had a goodreads goal of 89 books, which I totally blew past, ending up with nearly 130 books read!  About a third of those are graphic novels and manga, but that's still a pretty incredible amount of novels I managed to get through.  Since I seem to have a great year of reading followed by a poor year of reading (two years ago I struggled to get anything read and the year before that blew all expectations out of the water), I'm only raising my goal slightly this year to be a total of 96 books read.  You're probably wondering why I don't just shoot for a hundred, but I actually came to the number 96 through real math (look school was good for something!).  I read about five books a month, so five times twelve is sixty, plus the approximate three graphic novels/manga I read a month (assuming I keep up that pace), which is thirty-six.  Add those two together and 96 is the answer.  I'm hoping I can actually get past that number, but I don't want to be too optimistic in case it's a hard year.

One of my major goals, beyond reading 96 books, is to read more of the books I already have and stop buying new ones when I won't get to them right away.  My shelves are all but full at this point, and maybe a quarter of them are unread.  So, my plan is to read five books I already own before buying any new ones (with some exceptions, like preorders).  This probably won't be too difficult, since the books I own are all books I want to read in the first place.  Mostly, I just need to kick bad habits to the curb.

I'm also participating in some reading challenges this year!

For the debut author challenge I plan to read about twelve debut novels.  I'm not a hundred percent sure what all of them will be, but I will for sure be getting to The Crown's Game, which is my only for sure plan at the moment.

I'm also participating in the 2016 Finishing Series Reading Challenge where the goal is to finish as many series that you've already started, or to get caught up on them in the least.  My goal is to reach level four of the challenge, which is reading 7 or more series'.  Again, I'm not 100% sure what all these series' will be, but I'm intent on finishing Kane Chronicles, The Chemical Gardens Trilogy, The Lunar Chronicles, and The Mara Dyer Series in the very least.

The final challenge I'm participating in is similar to the Finishing Series reading challenge, except this one is series' finales that are being published this year.  I plan to aim for level two of this challenge, which is 5-10 series' finales.  I have no idea what any of these books are going to be, honestly, but I'm intent on reaching the goal.

At the end of each month, when I do my wrap up, I'll include what books count for what challenge, if any.  You can also find them easily under the 2016 tab.

So, those are my goals for reading this year.  I'm excited to begin the New Year with these in mind and I think it'll help keep me motivated to finish things I've started.  Are you participating in any challenges this year?  Let me know in the comments!