Nonfiction November Week 1: My Year in Nonfiction

Nonfiction November is here. Week one is being hosted by Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness. This week we are talking about my year in nonfiction. 

I am a huge fan of nonfiction and read it quite a bit. This year, so far, I have read:

What was your favorite nonfiction read of the year?

So far, I would have to say that I enjoyed Sons and Soldiers the most. Although it was a heartbreaking read, I found the stories so interesting. We read this one for History Book Club. 

Do you have a particular topic you’ve been attracted to more this year?

I am endeavoring to start a network marketing company so I have been reading about social media marketing quite a lot.

What nonfiction book have you recommended the most?

I don't recommend many books to people. 

What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?

I am hoping to be more aware of what nonfiction I am reading so that I will read a wider variety. As I mentioned above, I have been more interested in business books this year.

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Updates and Stuff

Closing survey:

1. What hour was the most daunting for you? 4am when I gave up because my eyes were blurring.
2. Tell us all the books you read. Only Godsgrave. Had a much bigger break than I thought I was going to have. Cohosted for a couple of hours and didn't read then either.
3. Which books would you recommend to other reathathoners? I wouldn't recommend reading a book that has made up words like Godgrave. Simple language would have made it go much faster :-)
4. What's a really rad thing we could do during the next readathon that would make you happy? I wouldn't change anything. I love the event so much!
5. How likely are you to participate in the readathon again? Would you be interested in volunteering to help organize and prep? Absolutely! And I always love helping!

Update #5:

It's almost 4am and my eyes are done for the night. I finished Godsgrave and I started Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. Such a fun time. So happy to forget about things for awhile.

Update #4:

Getting tired but I am still up reading. Godsgrave is so good!

Update #3:

Took longer than I thought. We went to dinner and grocery shopping too. Delicious dinner and now I am back to reading.

Update #2:

Taking a bit of break to watch the FSU game at a friend's house.

Mini Challenge: Escaping the Angst


#deweysescape Mini challenge to list the books that helped us escape the angst of our teenage years. Absolutely must mention Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by @judyblume She helped me through many an awkward year!



Update #1: 12:30pm est.

I don't even know what hour we are in. Have taken 2 small naps and am enjoying Godsgrave. Every readathon I am reminded of how slow I read. But as I always say on the main blog, any reading is good reading!



1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Tallahassee, Florida
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff
3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? cheese and crackers
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! Single mom of two who enjoys reading (obvi!), football, and makeup
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? I have been participating for quite a few years now, and each one turns out differently for me. Today's goal is to read as much as I want to for as long as I want to with no stress. My life has been so stressed lately that I am looking forward to the break from reality!

When your world is upended

I am paranoid about almost any bad weather so when we started hearing about a hurricane coming towards us, I got nervous fast. They were expecting it to come through as a 2. Imagine our surprise when it increased quickly to maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, just 2 mph short of a Category 5.

Luckily for us but terribly for others, it shifted just enough west that the eye didn't go over us. This place looks like a war zone. Mexico Beach is pretty much wiped out. Places in Georgia are wiped out. A tree fell through our house. 100% of our area was without power. As of now, we still don't have internet or power at our house. We're staying with friends who do.

A friend of ours started a GoFundMe for us. Friends and my parents have offered and given a place to stay, meals, help in whatever way they can. I have learned who my true friends are.

We are safe and ultimately that is what matters. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I just don't see it quite yet.

Saturday is the fall Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon. To tell you that I am excited for this event is an understatement. It will be an escape from my life. I will be on the main blog for a couple of hours. Come see me and say hello.

Top Ten Tuesday - Longest Books I Have Read

Top Ten Tuesday for this week is the longest books I have read. Check out everyone else's lists at That Artsy Reader Girl.

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin - 1,177 pages
A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin - 1,125 pages
A Feast for Crow by George R.R. Martin - 1,061 pages
Voyager (Outlander #3) by Diana Gabaldon - 870 pages
A Game of Thrones by George R. by R. Martin - 848 pages
Winter by Marissa Meyer - 827 pages
A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin - 784 pages
The Passage (The Passage #1) by Justin Cronin - 766 pages
Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman - 658 pages
Night Film by Mirisha Pessl - 640 pages

So apparently George R.R. Martin is my go to for long books?

September Books Read

I am rather surprised by the number of books I completed in September because we were so busy with school this month. I didn't realize that I had read so many! 9 books for a total of 2,800 pages.



The History Book Club pick for the month. Although it was a heartbreaking book to read, I loved the stories. I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars. Most of my fellow club members enjoyed it as well.



Goodness she was screwed up. Interesting story that brings together a wide variety of research. I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars.



This was the Fiction Book Club pick of the month. While I enjoyed the story itself...the characters grew on me....I didn't enjoy the writing style as much. If I had played a drinking game every time she told the reader that his hair was white, I would be....dead. Spoiler alert...his hair is white. I gave this one 3 out of 5 stars.



Y'all. I can't even with this book. I tried this one when it first came out and it didn't stick. I have no idea why because Kristoff can write! I do believe he's my new author crush. The book was a very strong 5 out 5 stars. I enjoyed the character arcs. The setting was unique and very well written. The ending left me wanting more without being annoyed that it ended. Can't wait to get to Godsgrave. So, so good!



Trying to get my skin care and makeup business off the ground and love learning tips and tricks for it. This book had some good information. This book has some cringe worthy information. It could have easily been a 25 page pamphlet instead of this little ebook. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.



Another one that I am not sure why it has taken me so long to read. I tried this one a while back but had a huge stack of ones that were screaming my name (I always do though, right?!) and didn't read but a page or two. I wanted to read it before the movie came out. When the movie bombed, it got pushed back down the stack. Really glad I picked it up. Had been a very long while since I read a dystopian. Gave this one 4 out of 5 stars.



I continue to read her older, self published books and continue to find them meh. There are some great quotes but for the most part, they are just ok. All of them need a good editing. Gave this one 3 out of 5 stars.



Becoming Bonnie was last month's History Book Club pick and this month's Light Book Club pick. I wasn't able to finish it for the History one but I did for Light. I had a lot of problems with the story and with the way the author wrote it but it was ok. 3 out of 5 stars.



Ended September with a bang. Reread Vicious so that I would be fresh for Vengeful and loved it just as much this time. Schwab is the master of writing! 5 out of 5 stars again obvi!

Top Ten Tuesday - Authors I Would Want to Meet

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is authors I would love to meet. I don't even have 10!

Leigh Bardugo. Without a doubt, Leigh is one of my all time favorite authors. I have loved all of her books and she is the sweetest! Every book is better than the last. Which is saying a lot since I couldn't believe that a first time author had the skills to write Shadow and Bone.

Katie McGarry. I don't read romance. It's one of the few genres that I can't take. McGarry writes YA romance. So why is she on here? Because her books are so much more that romance. So. Much. More. She always tackles a bigger issue that just two teenages falling in love. She tackles hard topics with realness and grace. That kind of romance book I can read. And oh my...she is the queen of swoon! The absolute queen.

Mira Grant. Author of the Newsflesh Trilogy which is bomb. Should have added that reread to my October schedule. Definitely one of my favorite trilogies ever. A zombie book that has heart. The characters are so well written that you feel as if they are real people. She has other books that I have read and love but the Newsflesh Trilogy is my favorite by far.

Jay Kristoff. I love the Illuminae Files that he cowrote with Amy Kauffman. They were perfection from start to finish and through every single book. I had the pleasure to read his Nevernight and y'all. He is simply a brilliant writer. He looks like a freaking rock star too. I can't wait to get my hands on Godsgrave. 

V.E./Victoria Schwab. Where even to begin? I just reread Vicious to refresh my memory for Vengeful (which I am reading now!) and I loved it every bit as much as I did before. There is something so amazing about her writing style. The way she crafts her characters. The way she paces the plot. I love that she writes about villians that might not actually be heroes. Heroes that might actually be villians. She makes you think about what makes them so. I love her writing but I love even more that she is open about her anxiety. I relate it that so much and it makes me feel better that if someone like her can be anxious, then maybe I am not so weird to feel anxious myself.

Adam Silvera. Sigh. I would want to meet him just to ask him one simple question. What did my heart ever do to you, Adam? He takes it from my chest and stomps on it with every book he writes. I can't even look at the cover of They Both Die at the End without tearing up. Stop slowing bleeding my heart, Adam. Ok? Let's have a book about two happy boys who fall in love and stay in love and STAY HAPPY. And alive. Is that really too much to ask? Going to the corner to reread They Both Die at the End and cry my eyes out again...

October List of Possibilities

My October List of Possibilities is very ambitious but I think that I can get to most of them.

I just finished rereading Vicious. It was just amazing this time through. Am starting Vengeful today. Schwab is a master writer!

I received November Road from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Since it is supposed to be released on the 9th of this month, I will be reading this one soon. 

Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares are both readalongs with Little Book Owl. Technically I should have finished reading Strange the Dreamer already but I decided to read both of them this month instead. That's if I get my hold in. 

These are the book club picks for the month. The Midnight Watch is for the Fiction Book Club. One Summer is for the History Book Club. Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore is for Light Book Club.  

Buddy read with Elliot. Perfect for October!

I have no idea why I have not read Two Dark Reigns already. 

 I read these so long ago that I am curious what I would think of them now. When I saw that Netflix was going to have all the movies on this month, I thought that it would be a good time to reread/rewatch all of them. A friend of mine has never read them and is joining me for a buddy read. Hopefully if I hate them now (as I afraid I might), reading with her will keep me going. I hope. Maybe.