Summer Reading Challenge

I am a reader, of course.
Always have been.
I was the kid who loved going to the public library every Saturday with my mom and finding the perfect books for myself.
I was the kid whose love for the library only deepened my love for also owning my own books.
I was the kid who fell asleep--with the lights still blazing in my room--while reading into the wee hours of summer days.
I am still that kid--just older. ;)

My point is...I would read regardless, but I really enjoy a good reading challenge--especially during the summer months.  This year I am participating in the YA Buccaneers Summer Reading Challenge.

One of the things I love about this challenge is that it leaves plenty of room to read what you want to read while pushing you just enough to make it interesting.  It can be as interactive or as personal as you want it to be---by tweeting your progress, for example.  Not gonna lie--I also love that they included a Rory Gilmore book square--SO.MUCH.FUN!

Here's where I am so far:

I've read a few more books this summer--but they didn't fit on the board!  This isn't a discourager for me at all (as I've mentioned before--I am a reader!) in reading what I want to read---if you participate in a challenge, don't let something like that be a discourager to YOU in your reading choices--read what you WANT to read, folks.  

Also, I must add that I reread (via audiobook) The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (and I'll probably listen to that one many, many more times as I attempt this whole KonMari-ing of my home thing) and my revisiting of an old love--Fahrenheit 451---was made new again by listening to Tim Robbins narrate the audiobook--FAN-FLIPPIN-TASTIC, y'all!

So, if by chance you are stuck in a reading rut and just need a nudge out of the doldrums--try a reading challenge this summer.  You just may find, as I have, that it is reinvigorating to your love of the written word. 

What I'm reading now

What a wonderful summer it has been so far for reading!  The soaring temperatures make most everything feel dreadful, so what better way to beat the heat than to sit in my comfy chair in the AC under the fan with a lovely glass of sweet iced tea and a delightful book.

The girls enjoy reading time, too...and we've already made our way to the public library to sign Natalie (my 8 year old) up for the summer reading program and get our first bagful of books.

Here's what I've been reading so far:

Jennifer Donnelly's book, while not a new release, was new to me.  I fell in love with the characters--they are so real, so easy to relate to, even with the historical setting.  Of course, the whole based-on-a-real-life-murder-mystery element is right up my alley.  I have to admit that at first I was a bit confused by the quick change in timeline, but once I got into the groove I couldn't put the book down.  In fact, the story haunts me.

Oh, but I loved this book!  First of all, the time period is one of my favorites---set right before the second World War in Europe with royalty.  Luscious!  This book is second in the Montmaray Journals, with the first being A Brief History of Montmaray. I was swept into their world and wasn't quite ready to give it up when the book was over, so I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.  This book is filled with intrigue and great tidbits of real history which are melded perfectly together.  Oh, but I would love for this to become a perfectly done mini-series from HBO (they seem to do them quite well) and I would DVR it and watch it again and again as I tend to do with the Jane Austen movies.