I don't know about you, but so far this year has flown by!  I had a rough start on the Spring Reading Challenge trying to cure a reading slump.  But overall I made it through.  Here is my final path highlighted in blue ... 3 audiobooks, 2 physical books, and one e-book ... a good mix I think.  Most of the books were romance, which is my go-to read when I'm a bit stuck.  Overall, I liked this format and will probably use it again.

So, March was rough, but by April my slump was broken, and in May I managed to read a total of 15 books, which is my highest monthly total so far this year.  Here are some stats:

RE-READS

• 13 were new reads
• 2 were re-reads

READING METHOD

• 3 audiobooks
• 8 digital books
• 4 physical books

GENRE

• 8 general romance
• 3 paranormal romance
• 2 historical romance
• 1 contemporary rom.
• 1 paranormal (graphic novel)

Can you believe summer is almost here?  It's definitely time for a new reading challenge, and I am so proud of myself for being early on the setup of this one!!

Similar to the Winter Challenge, I have made the Summer Reading Challenge a "BINGO" style board with 25 different prompts.  Read books to satisfy the prompts while trying to complete 5 in a row, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.  Because this challenge is 3 months long, try to go for 2 or more lines.  Some may even try to fill the entire board!  I have attached the PDF below if you want to print a copy to keep track of your progress.  For the Winter Challenge, I completed 14 of 25 spaces but only one line ... so my goal for this one is to read more books and get at least 2 lines!  I'm feeling pretty confident!!

What are you looking forward to reading this summer?  Come by the shop and chat, and of course check of that center square!  :)

Happy Reading,
​Cat  >^..^<

Hello fellow book nerds!
It is the beginning of May and I felt a Spring Reading Challenge update was due.  I have managed to read 4 books so far for my challenge and have the last 2 ready to read this month.  I actually read 18 total books for the March and April and could probably have this Challenge complete, but my first prompts were a bit tricky for me.  I know I own the bookstore and could have found multiple books in my stock with flowers or rain on the covers ... but I am really trying to read strictly from my TBR (to-be-read) stack of books, which really seems to be growing instead but that is a problem for another day.  

To work through the challenge, start at the top and choose one of the two prompts (read a book with either flowers or rain on the cover).  Once you finish that first book, then follow the arrows to your next choice(s).  If there is more than one arrow you are going to choose only one to follow.

For example, if I read a book with flowers on the cover then I would choose either an audiobook or a physical book next.  If I choose the audiobook, then I only have one choice and would have to read a book with more than 300 pages.  Each row represents one book and when you have completed all 6 you should have a path outlined by the arrows from top to bottom.

It was totally NOT my intention to post the Winter Reading Challenge 3 weeks late!  But better late than never?  Right?  Maybe?

Cat's Corner Winter Reading Challenge is a BINGO style board, which gives you 25 different prompts to fill in as you read.  The goal is to try to create at least 2 "BINGO" lines, either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally.  For those who are a bit more speedy with your reading, try to fill the entire card!

This challenge goes from December 1 to February 29, so any books started in December can count toward your BINGO lines.  I did not plan out my books ahead of time ... when I finish a book, I just find a place for it to go on my board.

Lastly, I am not here to check up on you!  This is all about having fun while you try to tackle that ever growing "To Be Read" stack of books!!
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I have a mix of audiobooks, e-books (kindle), and traditional books that I am "reading" for this challenge.   Please feel free to do it your way!

I admit that my first 4 finishes are very "paranormal" heavy, but I do have other books in mind to fill in some of the other boxes that are not paranormal in nature.  I do want to mention, if you read on a kindle and you like spicy romances with vampires, werewolves, etc., then you might want to try Kym Grosso's Immortals of New Orleans series.  The first book in the series (Kade's Dark Embrace) is a free buy as of this post so there is no risk to try.  I am re-reading the first 11 books because the 12th one will be out in April .... but I am only using Logan's book (#4) on this challenge.

I managed to finish my challenge sort of by accident.  I had a choice of a couple books from my "to be read (TBR)" list, but I was unsure whether they took place in autumn ... which was my last prompt.  I read "My Roommate is a Vampire" by Jenna Levine hoping that it would be a quick, easy read, and just maybe there would be some proof of autumn within.  Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long ... there are some email and text conversations between characters throughout the book, but right at the beginning of chapter 2 Frederick wrote a To-Do list dated October 15th!  YAY!!!

The book itself was okay, sort of cute, a bit corny, but a fun quick read.  Sometimes I just like something light, and I read a couple of those in this challenge.  Now I think I'm on to something darker!

To fulfil my "Trees on the Cover" prompt, I read "The House on Tradd Street" by Karen White.  This book was recommended by a customer and when it came into the shop I put it into my TBR pile.  I'm pretty sure I mentioned that I was somewhat obsessed right now with paranormal romance, but most of the books I have been reading in this genre have been quite ... I don't know ... "heavy" may be a good word here.  This book was a good change.  It still has the paranormal parts (Melanie can see ghosts) but it was a lot lighter that my normal reads and I got through it pretty quick.  I also appreciate the happy ending with still giving more books to continue the main characters development.  Thanks for the recommendations ... I wasn't disappointed!

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For my second "U" book (title or author name beginning with U) I chose to re-read "Unlaced" by Kristina Cook.  This book was a free kindle download (and as of this post it is still free), and not just KU but totally free!!!  This is a historical romance with a good story, strong female main character, and is pretty clean for a romance book.  If you do like historical romance without a lot of smut then I do recommend this one.  There are 3 other books in this series that follow some of the other characters as well.

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When I decided to give the prompt "read a book under 150 pages", I immediately went to the children's book room to pick something out.  While I had seen all the movies, I had never read a book by Roald Dahl and I just thought this is the perfect opportunity!  I chose "James and the Giant Peach" for this challenge.  This was a really easy read and I love how he brings out the personality of each character through his writing.  I'm definitely going to read some more Dahl books as they come into the store!

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Over the last week, I also finished J.R. Ward's "Lover Eternal" for the "read a book with monsters" theme.  This book is the second in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, which thanks to a couple of regular customers in the shop I have now become totally addicted!  If you are a fan of the vampire/paranormal romance genre and have never read J.R. Ward, I do suggest you give them a try.  However, I would start with book one ("Dark Lover").  The books can be read out of order but the characters do cross over in important ways, so starting at the beginning will get you an introduction to most of the Brotherhood and you will be less likely to be lost in later books.
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