Book to Movie Challenge 2

Hosted at: http://doingdeweydecimal.com/2013/12/06/book-to-movie-challenge-the-sequel/

Goal- Movie Devotee - read 6 books and watch their movies

1. The Fault in Our Stars
2. If I Stay

2014 Prequel and Sequel Challenge

Host: http://novelheartbeat.com/2013/11/2014-prequel-sequel-challenge-sign-ups/

Goal: 25-50 points: Amateur

Books read:
1. The Prince - Kiera Cass (1 point, need to review)
2. The Guard - Kiera Cass (1 point, need to review)
3. The Elite - Kiera Cass (2 points, need to review)
4. Double Crossed - Ally Carter (1 point, need to review)
5. Never Have I Ever - Sara Shepard (2 points, need to review)
6. Diamonds and Deceit - Leila Rasheed (2 points, need to review)
7. When Did You See Her Last? - Lemony Snicket (2 points, need to review)
8. Gentleman of Her Dreams - Jen Turano (1 point, need to review)
9. Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins (2 points, need to review)
10. The Transfer - Veronica Roth (1 point, need to review)
11. The Son - Veronica Roth (1 point, need to review)
12. The Initiate - Veronica Roth (1 point, need to review)
13. The Traitor - Veronica Roth (1 point, need to review)
14. Isla and the Happily Ever After - Stephanie Perkins (10 points for finishing a series, need to review)
15. Where She Went - Gayle Forman (2 points, need to review)

Total points after reviewing: 30

Challenge Addicts 2014 Goals

 My goal is to finish

On the Roof: 6-10 Challenges

Join at  http://readingchallengeaddict.blogspot.com/p/challenge-addicts-2014.html

2014 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Hosted at: http://www.thebookvixen.com/2013/09/2014-outdo-yourself-reading-challenge.html

Goal: Out of breath – Read 6–10 more books

2013 Audio Book Challenge

Host: http://teresasreadingcorner.com/2013-audio-book-challenge/

Goal: Flirting-Listen to 6 Audio Books

1. As You Like It - William Shakespeare
2. Red Riding Hood - Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

Nonfiction Reading Challenge 2014

Hosted by: The Introverted Reader

Goal: Master - 16-20 books

1. Furrow - Josemaria Escriva
2. The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction - James A. Milward
3. Life Along the Silk Road - Susan Whitfield
4. When God Writes Your Love Story - Eric and Leslie Ludy
5. The Silk Roads: a Brief History with Documents - Xinru Liu
6. Reading Lolita in Tehran - Azar Nafisi
7. Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux - Therese de Lisieux

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2014

Hosted on: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2013/11/2014-mount-tbr-challenge.html

Goal: Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s

1. A Change of Fortune - Jen Turano
2. Story of a Soul - Therese de Lisieux

2014 Fairy Tales Retold Reading Challenge

Hosted by:  Debz Bookshelf
Goal: Lady in Waiting - 7 - 9 books

1. Red Riding Hood - Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

What Countries Have I Visited 2014 Challenge

Hosted by Writing Christian Novels

Level: Vacationer - 10 Countries

1. Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands (Last Days of Summer, Steve Kluger)
2. London, England (Diamonds and Deceit, Leila Rasheed)
3. Paris, France (Marie Antoinette: Princess of Versailles, Kathryn Lasky)
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands (The Fault in Our Stars, John Green)

2014 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Goal: Medieval - 15 books

1. Last Days of Summer - Steve Kluger
2. Marie Antoinette (Royal Diaries) - Kathryn Lasky
3. Diamonds and Deceit - Leila Rasheed
4. Soldier's Secret - Sheila Solomon Klass

I'm only letting YA historical fiction and adult historical fiction count - not Christian historical fiction though since I have a separate challenge for that ;-)

Join at http://historicaltapestry.blogspot.com/2013/12/2014-historical-fiction-reading.html

2014 Ebook Reading Challenge

Level: CD – 10 ebooks

1. A Passion Most Pure - Julie Lessman

2. Double Crossed - Ally Carter

3. Asking for Trouble - Sandra Byrd

4. Gentleman of Her Dreams - Jen Turano

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Finishing the Series Reading Challenge 2014

Goal: Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

Series to Complete:

1. Harry Potter
2. The Adventures of Tin Tin
3. The Chronicles of Narnia
4. Artemis Fowl
5. Anne of Green Gables
6. Grand Tour Series
7. Students Across the Seven Seas
8. Abram's Daughters
9. The Mortal Instruments
10. The Infernal Devices

I will do my best to finish all of these, but if I do at least 3 I will have completed my challenge ;-)

Stationery of the Week at Penpal of the Week Blog #2

You will probably regularly see these posts on my blog. I love this stationery of the week feature on Julie's Pen Pal of the Week blog! What a good excuse to buy more stationery because this particular design will only be available for a week. ;-) I really like this Marie Antoinette design because I'm a history lover. I especially love the 18th century. <3

Buy it here:
http://penpaloftheweek.com/2013/12/16/stationery-of-the-week-7/

Stationery of the Week at Penpal of the Week Blog

One of my favorite blogs for pen pal ads and stationery/snail mail topics, Penpal of the Week, just started an amazing feature called Stationery of the Week! Each week Julie, the genius who made the blog, ;-) posts a new stationery design each week that is for sale! You have one week to buy the stationery pad before it gets replaced with a new one next week. I think it's a great way to have an excellent variety of stationery. I've especially been loving the feature because lately it corresponds with the seasons! Last week was Santa Claus stationery and now up to Sunday Dec. 1st, is a snowmen design! I decided to get it to have some winter stationery to use for my pen pals in December and January. :-) Click on the link for info for this design:

http://penpaloftheweek.com/2013/11/25/stationery-of-the-week-4/

End of the Year 2013 Read-a-thon

I haven't posted in here in a while because of school, but I'm looking forward to focusing on reading challenges once more during my winter vacation. :-) It's going to be a great end of the year for my reading goals if I don't spend too much time online. ;-)

So my goal for this challenge is to read 3 books:

1.City of Bones - Cassandra Clare
2. Bittersweet - Sarah Ockler
3. Last Days of Summer - Steve Kluger

I'm going to try to read these books, but I might switch it for other books, depending on my mood. :-)

EDIT: I changed my goal to 3 books to make it more manageable. I've been busy sending out Christmas cards and going on errands so that has made me read less. :-( But I will really work on finishing this read-a-thon well. :-)

If you're like me, you probably have a lot of books that you've been planning to read! Why not join this read-a-thon and enjoy the books you've been meaning to read for a while? :-)

Sign up at http://networkedblogs.com/RvvoZ

RESULTS! : I did not do as well as I wanted to. It's been a busy time, but I did manage to finish most of City of Bones before the end of the challenge. Hopefully with my next read-a-thon it will be much better. :-)

Fall into Reading Read-a-Thon 2013

I'm happy about a new read-a-thon to join, this time for fall! School has started last week, and I already have a bunch of homework, but I don't want to neglect my reading hobby. <3

My goals:

Finish reading 3 books!

1. Prodigy - Marie Lu

2. Belle Epoque - Elizabeth Ross

3. The Healer's Apprentice - Melanie Dickerson

Link to sign up: http://bibliophilesisters.wordpress.com/fall-into-reading-read-a-thon/

UPDATE 11/27/13:

I didn't do well in this challenge at all! I think it's because that was the week when school started, and the homework load got crazy from the start! XD But I eventually read Prodigy and the Healer's Apprentice (both good ones). I haven't read Belle Epoque yet.

Labor Day Shopping

Last weekend I did some labor day shopping for stationery supplies at Michael's and Barnes & Noble. I'd like to share with you what I got. :-)

I love the Paris theme of these note cards and stationery! The stationery on the top is nice for list making or quick reminders, but it's so pretty that I'm planning to use it for writing to my pen pals. :-) Everything here was 50 cents each!

 I got crafting tape (washi tape) on sale for about $1.50. I've been wanting some new colorful tapes because most of the ones I have are black and white designs. The set came with another black one, though. XD The stationery on top came in a pack together for 80 cents. I love the vintage look of it. :-) The green floral note card pack was 80 cents and the red note cards were 50 cents. Sorry about the glare - it says "Sail Towards Your Dreams." :-)

I got this planner and note cards from Barnes & Noble. Thankfully I had a gift card and coupon because B&N is on the expensive side, although they do have some lovely stuff. :-) I love the planner - the inside is colorful with inspirational quotes and enough space to write in homework assignments. I got it for a fresh start for the fall quarter. :-) The note cards are made of recycled wood-free paper from India. The design with the flowers is really pretty. :-)

I hope your labor day weekend was great, too! <3

Incoming, Outoing, Stationery Swap, Stationery Order July/August

Been really into stationery lately! (Well, more than usual!) ;-) My kind friend, Cecilia from Germany, swapped some Kawaii stationery with me! I love everything, especially the Rilakumma one, Chip & Dale design, and the homemade envelope she made!

 

Julie from La Papierre ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaPapierre ) had a special offer on her blog: 8 free surprises along with my order! So... I couldn't resist ;-) I got two lovely letter sets and they came with these bonus goodies! I especially like the air mail labels - I can always use some of those. :-D

Here's some of my recent outgoing mail. Two postcards for Postcrossing, a letter for Yoshi from Austria, and a few note cards for a note card exchange that I'm participating in :-)

I recently had an unhappy mail box, but my friend Sherri, from North Carolina sent me a letter! It was a beautiful sight to see after days of no mail! :-)

Since then, I've gotten more mail! A lovely postcard of a castle from Clare in England, a note card from Sherri in Georgia who is part of the note card exchange with me :-) a letter from my dear friend Rhia is Canada, and a letter from my lovely friend Patty in Texas!

Sit Down and Write 4

I'm not much of a writer, but I have so many stories and story ideas floating around in my head - they're so vivid, almost like a movie, that I absolutely have to write it down and bring my characters' stories to life on paper. I feel like my characters exist on their own and I didn't create them... I discovered them. :-) I don't normally show my stories to others, they're part of a persona project of mine, but I will tell you this: my stories revolve around a powerful family who is beautiful, intellectual, sophisticated, but cursed. That's all I'm going to say. :-)

During this challenge I'm going to devote at least 500 words a day for my story writing. I'm mainly a letter writer but I suppose this blog is appropriate for this kind of challenge, too, especially because the host of this challenge also hosts reading challenges. :-)

I'll chart my progress daily (or frequently!)!

Week 1

Monday: I wrote 1068 words! Really surpassed my goal for today! It was just too much to write once I was in the middle of it. :-) The Write or Die online app is really useful!

Tuesday: Today I wrote 663 words, and the 20 minutes went by quickly. I feel like the scene played out well in my mind, although the dialogue is a bit on the cheesy side. I just want to get it all out and then edit it eventually when I'm all finished

Wednesday: I wrote 587 words. I kinda didn't want to stop, but I have to because I want to go to bed soon. I have a headache and haven't been getting enough sleep lately. But the story stopped at a really awkward but interesting part. :-) 

Thursday: I wrote 656 words. I don't recall what I wrote on this day, but I know it went well. Editing this project will be interesting in the end!

Friday: Internet was down so I didn't get to use the Write or Die online app, but I did write 655 words using Microsoft Word. Successful! Further establishing the background of one of the characters' family.

Saturday: All went well. I wrote 640 words before midnight. XD I really like the transition of the characters talking about what they wanted to do with their lives, then moving on to a character's dream sequences, and then the character waking up in the middle of the night. I can hardly believe that I have one more day of the challenge tomorrow! Time went by fast :-)

EDIT: Oh my... I didn't realize that this is a 2 week challenge. XD I was all ready to end tomorrow! Bwa ha! Now my story will be even more nearing completion by the end of the 2nd week! I wonder if it will be halfway done?

Sunday: I honestly didn't feel like writing today, but I did it anyway and I'm glad. :-) I wrote 589 words and left it at that.

Week 2

Monday: Wrote 648 words. Not bad considering it's a lazy Labor Day holiday for me. I'm interested in seeing which direction the story will take next.

Tuesday: 594 words this time around. I'm dead tired and almost completely forgot about writing today. I should put it into my planner so it's one less thing to worry about. :-)

Wednesday: 578 words for today. The story is flowing smoothly enough.

Thursday: 590 words today! Finished around 11:11 p.m. (don't remember what I wished for, ha ha!)

Friday: Had a fever the previous night, so today I rested a lot and completely forgot about writing. :-(

Saturday: Wasn't exactly in the mood to write today either, especially after getting sick. I was really tired

Sunday: I didn't get to write today either.

RESULTS: I did great until I fizzled out at the end after getting sick. XD But overall I think I was pretty successful. :-) I wrote a lot more than I thought I would!

Throwing Letters Away

Today I spent 2 - 3 hours throwing away old pen pal letters. For many years I resisted doing this, because I believe that hand-written letters are precious and much more special than e-mails and text messages. My mother kept telling me for years that I should throw away my letters. And finally I see the wisdom in doing so. I've been keeping letters from many pen pals who no longer write to me, even pen pals from my childhood who I had forgotten about until I sorted through their letters today. I kept letters from pen pals who wrote short replies, including one page replies written on memo sheet-sized paper. I kept letters from a girl who manipulated me and made me feel like dirt even though I considered her a best friend. Now I see that throwing away these letters gives me a sense of closure. I am moving on with my life and getting to know new pen pals. More letters come to my mail box each week. I have too much junk and I don't have room to store all my letters, as cool as that would be. Of course I am still keeping some old letters, especially the really special, thoughtful letters that were written to me. But now I see it's a good idea to get rid of letters from pen pals who no longer write to me, pen pals who are toxic people, and pen pals who write very short letters. I must admit I had to throw away some letters from a good pen pal of mine, but only because I had way too many from her, all written on notebook paper. I've been writing to her for years :-) Her words are in my heart, though, and I'm still keeping her latest letters.

What about you? How do you feel about throwing old letters? Do you think all letters should be saved, or is it okay to throw some away?

Bout of Books 8.0!!!

 

I'm excited for Bout of Books 8.0! I'm going to do much better than the previous ones! Bring it on! :-)

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 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th 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 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Time Devoted to Reading

I will be reading at least an hour a day!

My Goals

• I will finish 3 books, reading 100 pages per day!
  

Books to Read

• Uglies - Scott Westerfeld
• Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
• Princess of Glass - Jessica Day George
  

Updates

Monday
Number of pages I've read today: 122
Total number of pages I've read: 122
Books: Princess of Glass

Tuesday
Number of pages I've read today: 100
Total number of pages I've read: 222
Books: Princess of Glass

Wednesday
Number of pages I've read today: 137
Total number of pages I've read: 359
Books: Princess of Glass, Shiver

Thursday
Number of pages I've read today: 101
Total number of pages I've read: 460
Books: Shiver

Friday
Number of pages I've read today: 103
Total number of pages I've read: 563
Books: Shiver

Saturday
Number of pages I've read today: 107
Total number of pages I've read: 670
Books:Shiver, Uglies

Sunday
Number of pages I've read today: 102
Total number of pages I've read: 772
Books: Uglies

Overall, I did really well! I finally accomplished my goal of reading 100 pages per day, something that I didn't do for my previous Bout of Books read-a-thons. :-) Too bad I couldn't finish Uglies before the end of the challenge, but I did get to read a little over 1/4 of it. :-)

High Summer Read-a-Thon Results

As promised, here's my results for the High Summer Read-a-Thon. I ALMOST reached my goals!

I finished reading The Gathering Storm, The Confession, and read most of Grave Mercy. I think I had about 150 pages to go. SO CLOSE!!! XD I should have picked a shorter book ;-)

I hope to do much better in the next challenge. The next one I'll do is Bout of Books :-) I'll post my sign in blog post soon!

High Summer Read-a-thon Starting Line

I'm excited to join this challenge and FINALLY accomplish my goals. XD Join in at http://seasonsreading.blogspot.com/2013/07/high-summer-read-thonstarting-line.html

GOAL:

To finish three books by the end of the week, and they are

1. The Gathering Storm - Robin Bridges

2. The Confession - Beverly Lewis

3. Grave Mercy - Robin Lafevers

I won't be able to announce my results until about 2 weeks later, because I will hardly be online during that time. Please be patient and let's hope all goes well ;-)

High Summer Read-a-Thon

I'm joining the High Summer Read-a-Thon :-) I'm not so sure if I will read 3 particular books, or if I'll just randomly read 3 books as they come. But my goal is to read 3 books and do a better job than with the last read-a-thon. :-)

Incoming Mail from Australia and Canada June/July

I just got two lovely letters in the mail from one of my dear friends in Australia! I really appreciated her kind words as well as the cute stickers from Daiso and the St. Therese prayer card.

The next picture is a goodie package that I got perhaps last month from my very kind pen pal in Canada - she's really sweet and thoughtful! I love the hair bow, the socks, and the cool journal! I appreciated everything! There are even tea bags of different kinds :-)

Results: Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon July 1st - July 7th

 

Here's my results for the Summer Lovin' read-a-thon (http://www.readathoncentral.com/)! I didn't get to read 3 books, but I did finish Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and that book is 700 something pages, so I think that is an accomplishment in itself. :-) I'm not used to reading such big books. Now I'm taking a breather before starting on the Order of the Phoenix, so I've been reading manga and whatever book catches my fancy for now. I also got to read a couple of pages of Ring of Secrets - enjoying that one! Next time I'll pick some books that aren't so long. ;-)

Summer Lovin' Read-a-thon July 1st - July 7th

 I heard about this read-a-thon from Melanie's blog! She's got such a great book blog! Check it out: http://christianbookshelfreviews.blogspot.com/

My goal for this challenge is to complete three of the following books:
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
2. Ring of Secrets - Roseanna White
3. Allegiance - Kayla Cluver
4. Legend - Marie Lu
5. The Shunning - Beverly Lewis

Join the read-a-thon at  http://www.readathoncentral.com/sign-ups/

Welcome! :-)

Welcome to my blog! This is my spot to post up anything about my reading and letter writing hobbies, two interests that are a big part of my life.

I've been reading since I was 3 years old (according to my dad, heh heh!). That love for reading has continued on. :-) I read almost any genre, but especially young adult, classics, and Christian historical fiction. I eagerly participate in my libraries' summer reading programs as well as various reading challenges hosted online. Look out for reading challenge updates, book reviews, and books I've acquired from the bookstore or library. :-)

Pen palling began when I was 10 or 11. I started writing to my cousin from England and a pen pal from the Philippines. I've lost touch with both of them, unfortunately, but now I've got a new group of pen pals that is steadily growing. :-) I also enjoy swapping with pen pals, things like stationery, stickers, postcards, and little gifts. Look out for for my incoming/outgoing mail, swaps, letter writing challenges, and stationery I've bought. :-)

Enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments <3