Miscellaneous is the tagline to store my random posts that don’t really belong elsewhere. It’s more for consistency sake so I can have an itty-bitty picture to follow suit with the post.

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 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

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Initial Thoughts:

Last week I gave myself the green light go-ahead to joining in on the Bout of Books read-a-thon. If you’re still considering joining, you still have time! If you’re still unsure whether you want to, consult my sales pitch in my initial post by clicking here and I’ll tell you might ought to.

This post is devoted to my on-going updates to track my progress during the read-a-thon going forward.

Read-a-thon Goals: 3 books and catching up on manga.

At first, I thought it was a brilliant idea to see through some trilogies from start to finish (i.e. Ness’ Chaos Walking, Lu’s Legend Trilogy, Dashner’s Maze Runner). But then I wondered if I would be bogged down by something in the novel that could stunt my reading. So I decided against it to read them on my own time and terms without the smash-face-into-book-to-beat-goals-that-is-a-read-a-thon.

One of my ongoing goals is to expand my library to encompass more of the other genres I’m usually void of. While I previously stated a 2:1 ratio of Sci-fi-to-Alternative was ideal… I’m swapping this ratio around for this read-a-thon. With “To All The Boys,” it was ultimately a choice between Han’s novel and Elizabeth Fama’s Plus One; as both were part my Goodread’s May Bookclub read-a-long. And since I have to finally read Proxy before Guardian gets released this month…Han’s novel meets the criteria while getting bonus points for being a read-a-long novel as well.

[You can select the image to be taken to its respective Goodreads site.]

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Books TBR

 To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Number of Pages: 288
Percentage completion: N/A

Reason for selection: I had inclinations to reading this but was trumped by the willpower of being more involved with a bookclub on Goodreads (Not to mention I was basically forced at bookpoint to read this but that’s a story for another day…) I don’t have the best track record with YA contemporary romance (which is a funny statement seeing as I watch so many shows on the MTV/CW Network–go figure?) but I guess a different perspective is okay once in a while. With the positive hype this has received, I’m hoping it will be okay. Here’s to hoping it will be okay. Hoping.

(Edit: Could not pick this up. See reason under the book The Lost)

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The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Number of Pages: 258
Percentage completion: Donezo.

Reason for selection: I actually received an uncorrected proof copy from the Goodreads first-reads giveaway and have been waiting to read this beauty for a while. Not only is this a book about books but it seems like it has the potential to pull a fast one on me and make me feel all the feels.

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Proxy
Author: Alex London
Number of Pages: 384
Percentage completion: Donezo.

Reason for selection: I’ve told myself numerous times that I’d read this today but decided on something else last minute. Well Joey, the declaration has been made and there’s no going back. Also, the sequel is coming out at the end of this month so reading them in succession is a win-win.

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The Lost
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Number of Pages: 351
Percentage completion: 31%

Reason for selection: Derp derp, just checking my e-mail when suddenly an ARC approval I forgot I ever submitted was realised. No problem. Proceed to check the date of publication…and it’s the end of May. Though it sounds tacky, I’d ideally like to post them up prior to the expected publication. Sorry To All The Boys… I did slightly want to read you (well, maybe).

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 Manga TBR

Kuroko no Basuke (Ch 229-onward)
>> because I cosplayed this.

Shokugeki no Soma (Ch 65-onward)
>> because food.

Shingeki no Kyojin (Ch 53-onward)
>> because. And I was supposed to cosplay this as well (but I decided not to attend Anime North this year)

Karneval (Ch 72-onward)
>> because mascots. And this was another cosplay goal.

I’ve pretty much given up on the big four until they’re complete. Then there is also series like D.Gray Man, Air Gear, Sword Art Online light novels which I have no idea where I left off at (and will have to read from the beginning…again), and a bunch of other ones that I haven’t touched in years.

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Updates Log:

Total Pages Read – Books:  751
Total Pages Read – Manga: ~485

Cumulative Pages Read: 1236

May 12 

– +70 pages — 70/258 of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.
– +90 Pages — Shokugeki no Soma (Ch 65-69– caught up).
= daily total: 160

May 13

– +102 pages — 172/258 of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
= daily total: 102

May 14

– +86 pages — 258/258 of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.
– +62 pages — 62/384 of Proxy
= daily total: 148

May 15

– +178 Pages — 240/384 of Proxy
= daily total: 178

May 16

– +170 Pages — Karneval (Ch 72-77– caught up)
– +75 Pages — 315/384 of Proxy
= daily total: 245

May 17

– +69 Pages — 384/384 of Proxy
– +46 Pages — 46/352 of The Lost 
= daily total: 115

(edit note: received a late arc approval and publication is like…the end of this month zzzz whyyyyy)

May 18

– +63 Pages — 109/352 of The Lost
– +225 Pages — Shingeki no Kyojin (Ch53-57– caught up)
= daily total: 288

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Afterthoughts:

I have failed.

Let it be known that I didn’t get to complete the three reads on top of the manga I outlined above. Turns out…I don’t have the willpower to reschedule time for much needed gaming, or television, or procrastination (via. the Internet) to solely  focus on reading. To the general reader-reviewer-blogger who inhale books like oxygen–completing one book might not seem like a feat to get excited about. But for some it is. And I am one of these individuals. X marks the spot for the number of books you might have read but the drive for literacy is the end-game, holistic goal. Of course…it’s nice to say that you’ve read a plethora of novels but if you’ve devoted any time to the cause, gained new experiences, provoked greater thought, or learned in any capacity…

…well, you’re as successful as anyone else– and you’ve your own success story to tell.

Cheers,
Joey