Four Seasons in Book Covers

Here's my entry for the Bout of Books Four Seasons challenge. You can participate here!

I rummaged through my book shelves for the perfect entry and discovered that I don't read many books with such covers (except for winter books. I seem to have a decent number of those). But here's what I got:

Spring

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Because it's a blooming garden!

Summer

Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchy

Because it's Greece and by the sea!

Fall

The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith

Because it can rain a lot in the fall!

Winter

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Lots of snow and Lucy doesn't have a coat :( :( :(

Bout of Books Book Scavenger Hunt!

Here's my entry for the Scavenger Hunt challenge. You can participate here!

Let's look for:

1. A Book that begins with “B”  (for Bout of Books!)

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh 

2. A book your planning to read/currently reading for Bout of Books

Atonement by Ian McEwan - I'll be reading it as my next book for Bout of Books this week.

3. Blue Book(s)

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

4. Books from your favorite genre!

I have a hard time articulating what my favorite genre is; most people would call it "classics", but I find that term confusing and nondescript as a characteristic. But I'm lacking a better term for now, so let's stick to "classics" (more specifically, I'm super interested in 19th century fiction).

So I picked:

The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Shirley by Charlotte Brontë

5. A book on your TBR shelf, or your full TBR shelves

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. I'm planning to get to it right after Bout of Books 14.0 is over.

Fictional World Travel Challenge + Primrose!

Here's my entry for the Bout of Books Fictional World Travel Challenge. You can participate here!

Let's go from the bottom up:

- Dubliners by James Joyce (Ireland)

- The Right Attitude to Rain by Alexander McCall Smith (Scotland)

- The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Botswana)

- Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (the Caribbean)

- Chocolat by Joanne Harris (France)

- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Japan)

And you get a bonus picture of my kitty Primrose, since she was apparently feeling geographical today.

Bout of Books 14.0

My absolute favorite read-a-thon is already here! You bet I'm gonna get reading hard!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

 If you wish to participate, you can sign up right here!

My TBR:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Brontë

2. Atonement - Ian McEwan

3. Nine Stories - J.D. Salinger 

My goals:

- read a thousand pages

- update my progress every day

- have tons of fun

Daily updates:

Monday, August 17th

114 pages of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Brontë
Total: 114

Tuesday, August 18th

97 pages of "Love's Labour's Lost" by William Shakespeare + 46 pages of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" + 7 pages of "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville = 150
Books finished: "Love's Labour's Lost"
Total: 264

Wednesday, August 19th

50 pages of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"
Books finished: "Love's Labour's Lost"
Total: 314

Thursday, August 20th

100 pages of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"
Books finished: "Love's Labour's Lost"
Total: 414

Friday, August 21st

90 pages of "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall"+ 31 pages of "Atonement" by Ian McEwan= 121
Books finished: "Love's Labour's Lost", "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" (five stars by the way!)
Total: 535

Saturday, August 22nd

5 pages of "Atonement". Clearly not a day for reading.
Books finished: "Love's Labour's Lost", "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" 
Total: 540

Sunday, August 23rd

52 pages of "Atonement". 
Books finished: "Love's Labour's Lost", "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" 
Total: 592

Rain till the end of day

Rain splattering, sounds fluttering, floundering dreams
through rippling streams, hair unfurling, water current swirling,
leaves whirling, a gale of extremes.
Reeling head, charging ahead eddying thoughts and theories,
obsessive compulsive tropes, deranged hopes and flurries.

Unthink this image, unwrestle this scrimmage,
 unutter this promise, ominous torrents.
With my head unhinged, my stomach twinged, I flicked through the books to see
if there was a certain Mrs. or Mr. to prescribe some words for me.
A plan of development, a sure resettlement, perhaps to Locust Street.
Weather reports every minute or so.
Rain till the end of day.

Bout of Books bookish survey challenge!

Here are my answers to the bookish survey challenge, originally from here.

Questions:
1. How do you organize your shelves?
I don't... mostly. I have a loose organization scheme going on: one shelf is children's books, one is YA, one is poetry, one is Christian non-fiction, one is popular science. Other than that my fiction books are a mess.
2. What is one of your favorite books that’s not in one of your favorite genres?
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It is a memoir/ self-help, which is not a genre I eagerly reach for, but I adore this book!
3. What is the last 5 star book you read?
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (not fair, because it was a reread. Not counting Wuthering Heights, the last 5 star book would be Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. Bronte sisters, you're doing something right!)
4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon?
I'm excited to finish The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen, because it's just so much fun.
5. What book do you recommend the most?
The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell.

Bout of Books 13.0

You bet I'm participating! You can sign up here

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books text

Updates: 

Monday, May 11th

129 pages of "Envy" by Anna Godbersen
Total: 129 pages

Tuesday, May 12th

260 pages of "Envy" by Anna Godbersen
Total: 389 pages
Books finished: "Envy" (this series is such great fun, but honestly! the plot gets ridiculous towards the end)

Wednesday, May 13th

245 pages of "Splendor" by Anna Godbersen
Total: 634
Books finished: "Envy"

Thursday, May 14th

146 pages of "Splendor" + 10 pages of "Engleby" by Sebastian Faulks = 156
Total: 790
Books finished: "Envy", "Splendor"

Friday, May 15th

123 pages of "Engleby" by Sebastian Faulks
Total: 913
Books finished: "Envy", "Splendor"

Saturday, May 16th

72 pages of "Engleby"
Total: 985
Books finished: "Envy", "Splendor"

Sunday, May 17th

138 pages of "Engleby"
Total: 1,123
Books finished: "Envy", "Splendor", "Engleby"

Books finished: