To say I am excited about participating in my first ever Bout of Books is putting it mildly. It admit that I set up my Declaration of Intent to Participate and this Goal Post wayy back in the first week of July might mark me down as feverishly giddy — yet I think if your going to do something in life that makes you happy, {ie: this blog!} you might as well become consumed by the things that spark a lifeblood into your regularly scheduled postings and have a wee bit of bang-on fun whilst you’re at it!”
Personal Goals and Motivations:
- Hours Dedicated to Reading (in total): 112
- Hours per day slated to Read: 16
- Starting Hour: 08:00
- Ending Hour: 00:00
- Books Projected to Read: 10
- Potential Blog Posts (in total): 20 {7 days to record my reading adventures; 1 declaration of intent to participate; 1 statement of goals and motivations; 10 books to opine and review; 1 day after recollection}
- Post my reactions to each book after I have concluded reading them, because more than anything I want to be wholly enthused about the stories, the characters, and the prose that each writer etches into their books — I want to challenge myself to read 10 books but not to the brink where I cannot fully appreciate them. I want to absorb them and allow their worlds to soak through to my mind’s eye.
- Participate in the Bout of Books community by dropping by fellow participants’ blogs, leaving encouraging commentary, and share in the joy of this intensive week of reading! As well as find challenges to enhance my experience with this wicked sweet group of readers!
- Blogs I scoped out to visit: Coffee Bean Bookshelf {ironically or not, Bree began drinking coffee with affection the same age as me (twenty-nine!) and by way of a French Press!}; Sarah Reads Too Much {of Back to the Classics read-a-along!}; Hopeful Happiness {she’s joining Bout of Books for the first time too!}; Bookish Comforts {two girls reading books together looks interesting! Oh, their into Austen & Eyre!}; I am Sam Tule {she had me with Harry Potter because despite our differences in age, I couldn’t agree more!}; My Readers Block {Iove the eclectic nature of her reading tendencies!}; Doing Dewey {Led me to Pen Pals for Book Bloggers & Austen in August!}; Afternoon Book Party {she’s a newbie, too!}; Books are Portable Magic {I like the aesthetics of her blog! Choice challenges featured! Like Get Steampunk’d 2013!}; A Blog of Books {cross-over challenges for Austen in August & Bout of Books – same as me!}; Lit Nerd {3-way tie: The Classics Club, Austen in August, & Bout of Books! Like her book choices too!}; Bookish Geek {This reader has gumpshun!}; The Tale Archives {A librarian from the Mid-West!}; A Cup of Coffee And a Book {found through Blog Nation! I love a good latte!}; Snuggling on the Sofa {oh, swoon isn’t that quite the picture for a reader? thankful to find another newbie!}; Little Lovely Books {hostess of the “New Bout of Books Blogs”!}; A Geek’s Bookshelf {scottish blogger whose also in the Classics Club!}; Estella’s Revenge {she’s in the Bout, Austen in August, & reads books that intrigue me!}, Paradise of Pages {she has such a cheerful blog!}; Sophicated Dorkiness {love the eclectic reading choices of a journalist!}; Potterhead Reviews {a little bit of everything!}; Book Pairing {wine + books = full-on bliss!}; Book, Food, & Other Things {reading Water; anxious to see their musings!}; Books & Blockbusters {Blogger dislikes WP!}; Read & Reviewed {ooh my dear stars! the cover art alone is creatively intriguing! as far as the books she’s reading!}; Leeswammes’ Blog {an aspiring writer, loves England, & lives in Holland!}; Under A Gray Sky {she has the most loveliest of weather! chooses the same books I want to read! a “Pink Carnation” fan!}; Ink Scratchers {i feel excited for “the Ghost Bride!”}; The Little Reader Library {I was curious about her take on Glaciers as it was slated to be read!}; The Book Lover’s Chronicles {?}; You Book Me All Night Long {?}; Smiling Shelves {newbie book blogger & first Bout’er!}; Curiosity Killed the Bookworm {lovely vlog! loved it!}; The Temporary Escape {lovely blogger from Slovenia!}; Mom’s Small Victories {love her premise of the blog! she rocks!}; It’s A Nerdy Thing {?}; A Bookaholic Blog {?}; Stacks & Shelves {?}; Everything to do with Books {?}; A Book Lover’s Ramblings {?}; Sharlene Says {she’s tackling War & Peace! Wicked!}; Book Nerds Book Blog {Nordic & Bi-lingual! Awesomesauce!}; Of Sunsets & Valleys {?}; Snowdrops Dreams of Books {she supports local libraries, just like me! rock it!}; Student Spyglass | Geeky Zoo Girl (reincarnated) {?}; Other Women’s Stories {anyone who appreciates Julia Child rocks!}; Paperback Daydreamer {re-joining up w/ the Bout; last was 2.0!}; Curled Up with a Good Book & a Cup of Tea {?}; I Blog for Books {?}; The Book Sphere {?}; The Book Barn {?}; Just Another Book Lovin’ Girl {?}; A Blighted One {a newbie!}; The Attic {?}; Undead Unicorn {?}; Christian Bookshelf Reviews {?}; The Writerly Reader {?}; GaGa Over Books {?}; The Geeky Blogger’s Book Blog {?}; Simply Dazee: Tea & a Book {eek! she’s reading me favourite: Cleo Coyle!}; My Seryniti {13! i’m not the only one shooting for the moon!}; Book Beats {?}; Stitch, Read, Cook {?}; The Oaken Bookcase {?}; Reading in Winter {she’s attempting 10 books, too!}; The Girl & Her Books {?}; The Cozy Armchair {gave me the inspiration to Support Banned Books!}; My Not So Real Life {?}; Love YA Books {?}; The Skeptical Reader {?}; Pearl the Book Girl {Ravenclaw evermore!}; Escape Through the Pages {?}; Let Me Dream, Let Me Stay {?}; The Writeables {?}; Miles from Ordinary {?}; In Libris Veritas {?}; Bemused Bookworm {?}; Jane’s Book Blog {?}; Beyond Strange New Worlds {?}; Teenage Years of a Teen {wicked sweet vlog intro!}; Always with a Book {?}; Little Bird Reads {?}; Booked on a Feeling {the Bout’er Cheerleader!!}; Pen in Her Hand {a writer of parapsychological suspense novels + a hearty reader!}; Vicky Thinks {Light Between Oceans + Locke Lamora!}; Heather Hearts Books {needs some cheerful notes!}; Quinn’s Booknook {she made it a sticky too! Life after Theft; The Girl in the Steel Corset; & Navigating Early!! I wanted to read those as well! Emma I’ll be adding to my Classics Club List!}; Pretty Pug {biochemist who loves to read! funky blog!}; Must Read Faster {?}; Bookworm in Barrie {a cheeky bookish badge in her sidebar that made me grin! she’s reading ARCs!}; Bookeater/Booklover {reading by surprise! seriously awesome Book Spine Poem! Tragic yet hopeful!}; Life: Merging {a blogger who knows how to draw your attention into her blog!}; Miss Reader’s Reading Adventures {a newbie to the Bout! disque dislikes me!}; The Polished Page-Turner {attempting 10 books same as me!}; Listful Booking {Time Machine & Saving Wishes!}; Read. Run. Study. {Potter! A Little Princess! Yes!}; Library of Mallory {PEI to Albert! Lovely part(s) of Canada! I like how she lists her interests and streamlines everything into her blog!}; Divergent Gryffinder {clever name of a blog!}; The Paige Turner {the Thorn Birds!}; Devouring Texts {Middlemarch + The Cuckcoo’s Calling!}; Of Nowhere Land {love the muted atmopshere of her book photo!}; Paper Riot {All Our Yesterdays seems intriguing!}; Losing Myself in a Good Book {Ooh, Jane Eyre AND Jekyll/Hyde!}; bookgoonie {Jane Eyre & the Eyre Affair! wicked!}; Books Speak Volumes {she picked “Songs of Willow Frost”, which I am keen to read myself!}; Auggie Talk {vintage vibe with lots of bookish interests}; Chels & a Book {spirited book blogger with a cool list for the Classics Club! I love Hill House because of the film of 1963}; Reading Extensively {The Sweetest Dark is intriguing! felt bad she has the flu!};… visiting a total of 108 bout’er blogs!! +note+ I dropped by ahead of time OR on Day One: leaving a comment on their sign-up pages &/or Goals Page! :) I did skip over those who are tweating OR tubing, as I knew I couldn’t drop a note; yet I did attempt to visit nearly every blog listed!! {UPDATE: weekend before the Bout, blogger starts to reject OpenID comments for Blogger blogs! Thus delaying my goal of leaving notes!! I mention which ones above!}{Disque dislikes me; I will have to read Book Pairing w/o leaving comments!}{Rockin’ out to the tunage of “KISS 108FM-Boston via IheartRadio! Perfect pulse-electric energy for leaving notes!} There are a total of: 515 readers in Bout 8.0!! I started out as #142 | moved up to: #141! Under Goals, I am #52!
- I am hoping participants of *8.0* will drop by my blog as well, and in that way, I can get to know the readers who are just as excited about this as I am! I decided to create a short list of blogs ahead of the start time in case the hours dissolve as quickly as I am thinking they will and I can simply refer back to this as a guide as ‘where to go next’!
- Challenges that whet my fancy: Book Bucket List, Pairathon, {unofficial/
Disque dislikes me!technical issues with my camera!} Book Spine Poetry, Book Road Trip, Bookish Wishes, and New Bout of Books Blogs.
- Dig into the ‘first’ book of slated to read cosies that have been on my shelf for more years than I care to recollect! In this way, I will be propelled forward to continue reading these lovely series through my local library as I only have the ‘firsts’ in my personal library! And, perhaps if I can accomplish this be twicefold inspired to read the ‘other firsts’ that are beckoning to me ever so eagerly!
- Pick up a few of the random books that I discovered whilst at a big box clearance sale that captivated my attention simply by the premise on the back!
- Read two books based on BBC mini-series in an effort to be one step closer to ILL’ing the said mini-series through my local library!
- Read at least 2 birthday books gifted to me by my parents!
Books to Absorb during Bout of Books 8.0:
- Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson
- Haunted {Book One: Ghost Harrison series} by Heather Graham
- Bluebird or the Invention of Happiness by Sheila Kohler
- The Secret Papers of Madame Olivetti by Annie Vanderbilt
- The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland
- Death by Darjeeling {Book One: Teashop mysteries} by Laura Childs
- Murder on Monday {Book One: Lois Meade mysteries} by Ann Purser
- Thyme of Death {Book One: China Bayles mysteries} by Susan Wittig Albert
- The Lady in the Attic {Book One: Annie’s Attic mysteries} by Tara Randel
- The Crimson Petal and the White by Michael Faber
{It is my fervent hope to know my onions about these books inasfar as to have the ability to blog about them whilst maintaining a grip on the read-a-thon as the hours tick off the clock! If I am successful the titles of the novels will serve as a link to the post about them! I am hoping that as the stories settle into my creative vortex, I can bring to life my reflections by which touched my heart at the very same moment I am meant to pick up the next book in line to carry on with Bout of Books 8.0!}
Each of these books were either purchased by myself or given to me as a gift by my family. I have been itching to delve into all of them at one point or another, and sadly, time continues to elapse without my fingers ever gracing the pages of these dearly beloved books that sit in anticipation for my eyes to see past their spines and covers! You’ll duly note that the bookends {choice 1 & 10} are adapted into mini-series by the BBC and this was not by coincidence as I heavily drink in BBC dramas as readily as the next person who is caught up in life in Great Britain! Life across the Pond is ever so engaging, do you not agree?
Seven days,
168 hours,
with the prospect of 10 itching to read books to be devoured and savoured!
Ooh, let the read-a-thon be underway!
{Updates as they Post}
- Thursday: 1 August 2013, Declaration of Intent to Participate! Rock on, dear hearts!
- Wednesday: 14 August 2013, Personal Goals & Motivations! Let the hours slide me to the moon!
- [days/weekends leading up to the Bout]: dropping notes on the blogs I listed above by which I will make my rounds during the Bout as well!
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Monday: Oh, Monday, sweet Monday: ready, set, READ! Larkrise to Candleford by Flora Thompson! Bookish Bucket List! Pairathon [I have planned what I am going to do!!] Larkrise to Candleford Paired!
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Tuesday: *UPDATED: Oh, Monday, sweet Monday!* | 4:29p posted: The Ghosts Have Arrived! |hooked up my link to Monday @ Bout of Books! #198!|shout-out to Lee Thompson Young |light a candle for tragic sorrow
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Thursday: Book Road Trip! I Spy My Bookshelves!|after 2a posted: Marching Forward with a Grin on my Face!
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Friday: posted: Murder Most Cosy – with a special shout-out to Squeesome Designs! Read to find out WHY! | Updated: Day Four, Day Three
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Saturday: Bookish Wishes! | [3a-4a: The Reading Hour | 5p-6p: The Reading Hour | <– a bit a break in Bout of Books, 8.0 programming! Stay tuned! | 10a-Noon: lesson on mystery writing | regular daily journal posting in the afternoon! In walks the Reader, Tride & True! | food poisoning + a severe migraine curbed my ability to continue
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Sunday: New Bout of Books Blogs! |a full day’s rest due to being consumed by a severe migraine! I opted out of the last day of the Bout, due to how horrid I felt! I sadly never could finish my rounds to the Bout’er blogs,…
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Monday: Oh my dear stars! It’s the day AFTER the Read-A-Thon! | The day after the read-a-thon, I was still dealing with recovering from a severe migraine, which is why I was holed up in a comfy chair, reading The Prayer Box and hoping my natural medicine would aide my discomfort and help me heal from one of the worst migraines ever!
- ???: The day I am able to finally flesh out the missing bits of my recollection journalling during the Bout itself, and am able to continue to make my rounds and comment on all the lovely Bout’er blogs that I discovered! Thunderstorms + a migraine wrecked my ability to accomplish this sooner than now.
{*NOTE: Regular blog posts un-related to the Bout are threaded underneath the Bout!! Be sure to check out what I am posting alongside the Bout! This will constantly change as the week progresses forward!}
{SOURCE: Bout of Books Badge created by Jorie in Canva to give readers & visitors who come to her blog a way to know of its existence and therefore increasing the mystery & lore surrounding it!! Seriously wicked bookish badges {entirely FREE!} provided by Squeesome Designs!}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2013.
