TBR Pile Monthly Read Along & 2014 Challenge

I felt so bad for not sticking with my goal of reading 50 books this year that I have been getting back into read the book review blogs I haven't read since August and saw this challenge. I love it because I have this book sitting on my shelf and I have yet to read it. I have some studying to do for my new job (I didn't pass my guide test and it made me look bad in front of my boss), but once I have that done I plan on doing some more fun reading.

So here's the link: http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/2013/01/tbr-pile-monthly-read-longs-divergent.html . So feel free to sign up for it too if you are into that kind of thing.

So once again I am going to do the TBR pile challenge so here's the rules for it:

Welcome to 2012 TBR PILE Reading Challenge!!!

6 BLOGGERS, 12 MINI-CHALLENGES, 24 BOOKS TO WIN!!! 

We all have those books. We buy them, win them, they're gifted to us.. Then we put them up on a bookshelf and there they stay, collecting dust, waiting for the time when we'll finally decide to pick them up..

Join us on a quest to dust off your TBR Pile and read all the books you've been telling yourself you'll read next time you'll get a chance.. This is your chance! And we've got PRIZES!!! :D

Challenge Guidelines:

1. This challenge will run from Jan 1, 2013 - Dec 31, 2013.
2. Anyone can enter! You don't have to be a blogger, as long as you review the book you've read! (On your blog, Amazon or Goodreads/Shelfari!)
3. Any genre, length or format of book counts, as long as it is a book that's been sitting on your shelf for some time now. Only books released in 2012 and earlier! NO  2013 ARCs and 2013 fresh-off-the-press releases allowed!
4. You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap-up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you.
5. When you sign up in the linky, put the direct link to your post about joining the 2013 TBR PILE Reading Challenge. (If you don't have a blog, post about it on Facebook or Tweet!)
6. You can move up levels, but no moving down.
7. Sign-ups will be open until Dec 15, 2013, so feel free to join at any time throughout the year.
8. On the 20th of each month one of the hosts will post a wrap-up. Every wrap-up will have it's unique theme, a mini-challenge, a giveaway and place for you to link up your reviews from this month. For each review you link up, you will get one entry in a drawing of one book of choice from Book Depository.It's open to INTERNATIONALS. The giveaway will be open until the next wrap up post goes up! (i.e. the entire month)
9. If you miss a wrap-up post + giveaway, you can link up your reviews next month. Do not, however, try to link up one review twice - we will be checking ;) 
10. December is a wrap-up for the whole year. All the book reviews you linked up January-November + the ones you'll link up in December will be entered into a HUGE giveaway - a box of books. 
11. You don't have to follow all the hosts to join the challenge, but you do have to follow all of us to be entered in giveaways!

Levels:
(how many books you're planning to read for this challenge in 2013)

1-10 - A Firm Handshake
11-20 - A Friendly Hug
21-30 - A Sweet Kiss
31-40 - Love At First Sight
41-50 - Married With Children

Schedule:

January 20th: Evie @Bookish (www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com)

February 20th: Rachel @Fiktshun (http://www.fiktshun.com)

March 20th: Justin @Justin's Book Blog (http://www.justinsbookblog.com/)

April 20th: Tiffany @Escaping.. One Book At A Time (http://escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com/)

May 20th: Bonnie @Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca/)

June 20th: Justin @Justin's Book Blog (http://www.justinsbookblog.com/)

July 20th: Emily @Doodle's Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com/)

August 20th: Tiffany @Escaping One Book At A Time (http://escapingonebookatatime.blogspot.com/)

September 20th: Rachel @Fiktshun (http://www.fiktshun.com)

October 20th: Emily @Doodle's Book Blog (doodlesbookblog.blogspot.com/)

November 20th: Bonnie @Words At Home (www.wordsathome.ca/)

December 20th: This one will be posted on all the blogs. There will also be a huge BOX OF BOOKS giveawayand this time you can link up ALL YOUR TBR Pile REVIEWS you wrote for the entire month!

2012

Well I missed my yearly goal and just disappeared. I got very busy with a new job and no time for reading. I'm hoping to change that but I have one last history class to take and who knows when reading for fun will happen.

NaNoWriMo 2012

So this blog will for the time being, unless I finish more books become home to my novel I am writing for NaNoWriMo. If you are unfamiliar with it, it's where people around the world during the month of November write a 50,000+ novel. This year I plan on doing it and finishing it too. I've done it now two other times and have yet to finish. My first year I really loved my book idea and that's where this blog get's it's name. I will work on it and finish it one of these days.

Last, year's was an interesting idea as well, but I lost focus and had no goal for it. Plus the idea I has was from years ago and I forgot most of what I had planned for it. So this year my idea was more recent and I've done some actual planning for it. I have a few hours until I can start and I wish that I could. I have been wanting to write this idea for awhile. I think it's a bit different. It's on the zombie apocalypse and I think it's different compared to what is out there. From what I have seen or read, which isn't much. I haven't been letting my whole idea out because I just want to hold onto that until it's finished. I do need an idea for the title. Zombie fighter is the current possible one, but I'm not digging it.  Possibly I will come up with something while I'm writing. If you want to add me as a writing buddy here's my profile link http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/fallenmurphy.

Also, the local group has this novel booklet and I'll share it with you. Took me some time to print it out right, but you all might find it interesting as well. BOOKLET

Run Like a Mother

So I have been pretty busy with school, taking care of my son and my job is starting to pick up so finding time to read is getting hard, but I try to squeeze in reading when I can. I have been trying to get into running and I found this book. I actually found their podcast first and then finally bought their books. I have their training book too, but right now I'm reading a pretty cool history book I'd like to finish first.

Rather than a synopsis since this is a non-fiction sports book I'll just tell you what the book is about and who it's for. This book is for mothers who either want to start running or new mothers who were runners and trying to figure out how to bring running back into their crazy mother lives. This book could also be for new runners who aren't mothers, but want some easy tips that might be beneficial to them as well.

Review: I did enjoy this book. It's one of those books that you wish to read before you did something. I found out a few things I did and later wish I didn't. There's a lot of tips not just from the two authors, but other moms who run as well. They cover a lot of different topics that deal with running. My one big complaint is that while I learned that I have a lot of building of milage before I can do the large races I feel like there was a few times were I felt like I knew nothing about what they were talking about. Mostly some of the running milage stuff like 2x400 or something along those lines. While they do make you feel like anyone can become a runner there are still times I felt a little unsure.

I'm sure once I get more into running and learn as I go things will make sense to me. I still think it's a great book and will probably go back to it for new information that I missed the first time through.

Rating:

Spider Bones

Finally another book finished. Even though school has started I have found a little time for reading. I started this book months ago and just lost interest in it. Once I did pick it back up I was ready to finish it.

Synopsis: Dr. Brennan gets caught up in a mystery with several bodies are misidentified years later and she has to clear it up, even with little help from the surviving families.

Not only does Dr. Brennan have to deal with this case, but a case of shark attacks and Detective Ryan, his daughter and Brennan's daughter all in the vacation home they're staying at in Hawaii.

Review: Even though I lost interest in the book after a while I did enjoy it. I think I was just not in the mood for a mystery novel at the time and needed something else. So it wasn't because the book wasn't good that I put it down.

I found the story about the way the US Government identified the soldiers from wars like Vietnam very interesting and I had no idea how it was done. There was some history thrown into this story, which I like since I am a history geek.

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. It was a nice read and as I expected the Ryan/Temperance relationship is still not going anywhere, but I assume in either the next few books we'll figure out what's going to happen between them.



My Rating:

How to Survive the End of the World as We Known It

Yes, don't ignore this post if you think preppers are crazy hippies who are into conspiracy theories. It's a growing movement and lots of people are getting into it. This was the first book I read on the topic and while there is a lot to learn and more things I need to do in order to prepare I learned something that I should have already known after all my years of being in Girl Scouts, always prepare for the worst.

Synopsis: This book really doesn't have one. It basically is a guide on what you need to do so you are ready in any emergancy. Not just for zombies, or the end of the world, but in case a huge natural disaster comes into your area or even you loose your job and you need something to help keep you going while you are looking for a new job, being prepared for the worst could be the difference in saving your life.

Now I won't give away all the details, but just a few key elements of the book that I think are important to know and might help you figure out if you need to read this book or not. First of all Rawels points out the importance of having a retreat. This means a house or some kind of place you can go to when things get bad. It should be away from major cities and you can get their in one tank of gas. He says it's best to make this retreat your permanent home rather than a summer home, but obviously not everyone can just buy a new home int he middle of nowhere.

Another thing that stood  out to me is that you need to mentally prepare and have a plan. You need to be ready and understand that while things may be different, if you prepare for it, then you will be better off.

And lastly, that I am no where prepare for any kind of emergency.


Review: I enjoyed this book. I learned a lot and nothing was really familiar to me. With that said there were some things I just could not understand or grasp. It was technical stuff mostly like building certain things or how to change a car to propane power or something. Way over my head, but other than that it's a really good book. I recommend it to anyone who wants to see what you should be doing for being prepared for any kind of emergency.

Rating:

Any because I know you will have this song stuck in your head due to the title here is the song by R.E.M

Why no reading

Still no time for reading. I should be reading some of my civil war books for my upcoming history class but I'm dealing with switching majors... Again and just too busy to just sit and read a book. My best friend did just hand me a bunch of true crime books to read but no time