2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge!

I have decided to join the 2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge. It isn't really because my TBR pile is completely worrying. It is just has some potential to get that way. I seem to be buying more than I am reading - because, let's face it, it is a lot faster to walk through a bookshop picking up reads than it is to sit and read them. I usually am not worried about the state of my TBR pile. I like it to be fairly big because that is where I choose my next read from. But I am noticing that some books are staying on the 'pile' while others move off it much faster. I would like to get to those harder to move books and start clearing them out.

I am not quite sure which level I will be aiming for. It is somewhere between '31-40 Sweet Summer Fling', or '41-50 Could This Be Love?' We'll see how the year goes. So far it is promising late nights working and days filled with greying-hair level stress. All the more reason to bury my nose in a book right!

This is my mostly-complete TBR pile. Why only mostly-complete, you ask? Well, I have only put the first books of series on it where I usually own more than one, and there are some books that I have missed adding (generally because I am so stoked to get my new treasures home and put them in their places on my bookshelves that I forget to put them in Goodreads and then got stuck trying to sort through the whole thing).

So what to start with? I am cheating a bit here and selecting one that isn't on the procrastination side of the TBR pile, The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith a.k.a. J.K. Rowling. It isn't really cheating though. It is on the pile! And besides, it is nearing the end of my holiday and I plan on enjoying it!

Exposure by Kathy Reichs and Brandon Reichs

Give me the next book now - please! What an ending!!!!

I haven't heard anyone discuss these books before. What a loss that is. Maybe they don't get the attention because, for once, this is a YA series that is not all about romance. It is about science and that is awesome. The main premise is a bit stretched (think something along the lines of Spiderman), but the rest is awesome science. I was even interested in the mini lesson on phosphates. I think this is even more important because there is still that silly stupid rumour out there that boys are better than girls at science and maths. Like gender really determines things like that. To quote Tory, "Blergh".

Exposure, the 4th book in the Virals series, picks up shortly after Code. I was glad that it gave a quick recap of the previous book because I must admit I was a bit foggy on the finer details. It has been a while. But in no time, everything fell into place and I was off again, into the world of the Virals.

So what is happening in Charleston this time? Twins are missing. A ransom is released. The Virals are on the trail. But the pack is damaged from the events of the previous book. And something else is damaged too. Can they trust their powers?

I absolutely adore Tory Brennan, Tempe Brennan's (a.k.a Bones) grand niece. She is the only girl in the group, the leader of the group, and not only super smart but physically normal too. (By that I mean she hasn't been stuck in the unfit super-nerd category.) She makes a great role model for teen girls (so long as you don't look at her record of breaking and entering, stealing evidence, sneaking out at night or ditching school - although, at least in her defence for the last one, she gets super marks). As a teacher, I would love to push these books onto the kids. Unfortunately pushing books rarely works on anyone, teenagers being the least likely candidates on that list. But I live in hope. One day... Maybe I can try and grab some interest with Hi's sense of humour. Actually, the sense of humour, although the story itself is serous, is bloody brilliant. Love Tory's similes. "Being a Viral is like golfing in a thunder storm."

I can't wait to see what is going to happen in the final book, Terminal. It is expected out, according to Goodreads, on the 15th of March of this year. Yay! Two months exactly to go - unless you live where I do. It is more likely 6 months. Not so yay.

The Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Is it really cheating to review the last three books in one post? I think not. It is going to be rather repetitive saying "Well, there isn't much to say on a book quite far into a series," three times. So I am only going to say it once.

Well, there isn't much to say on a book far into a series. It will spoil what has come before. Besides, reading the books before these will be more likely to get you to read the books than anything I can say or do here.

Overall, I really like the educational value of these books. Riordan had so much info about Greek and Roman mythology. It was fun, easy learning - the best type of learning. Riordan has a great sense of humour and definitely knows how to keep the action going. Exactly what works with young teens.

I did find that the books would get repetitive at times, where Riordan would have a character saying or thinking the same thing s/he had said or thought a dozen times already. Maybe I am being harsh, but I tend to find myself rolling my eyes in irritation when that happens. Maybe it is done for slower readers who don't fly through the entire series of 2743 pages in a week and a day.

Oh, and in case you happened to read my post on The Lost Hero, I did end up liking Piper. She turned out to have a pretty strong character after all. Go girl power!

I gave each book in the series 4 stars. If I was in my early teens, it would have been 5 stars. At my age though, teen romance is ... well ... annoying, lol.

Bout of Book 12 Wrap Up

I made it! I finished everything I wanted to! Sweet!

So the total wrap up for the readathon is:

Day 7 Books read: 1
Total Books read: 5
Total Books completed: 5
Total Pages read: 2502

I really enjoyed this week of reading. I probably would have enjoyed The Heroes of Olympus a little more if I had had a break between the books. By the end I was just wanting to get to the end and not as engrossed in the story. But that could have had something to do with the time too. (It was getting late.)

I am glad to have got them off my TBR pile though. That is quite a huge clearance, even if I do say so myself.

Now the question is: what to read next?

Bout of Books Day 6

Quick, quick, quick! Day 7 is 14 hours in and I HAVE to finish The Blood of Olympus!

This is a total update. I got so engrossed in reading that I didn't make note of where I stopped at night. My bad.
Books read: 5 Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz and The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.
Books completed: 4
Pages read: 2316
Challenges: You know, I had every intention...

I am really enjoying this readathon. I have made some huge progress! I have managed to chop 4.5 books from my TBR pile, put another series on my 'recommend to my classes' mental list, missioned through Hades, fought giants and had a dangerous trip through Holmes's London. All in all, an exciting week!

Aren't these Heroes of Olympus covers gorgeous!

Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz

Never in my life have I ever got the plot of a story so wrong.

How on earth does one review a book without saying anything about the book? That is the problem that faces me now. You see, this was a great read. But, to really enjoy it, it is best going into it completely blind. So I am not going to say anything about the story. At all. So what else is there to talk about?

The cover is beautiful. It doesn't show in the picture. Firstly, it has that slightly oiled leather feel to it. Then there is the water, the bubbles rising clearly from the Reichenbach Falls. The font is gorgeous and lifted in a light-catching silver. It looks great on my shelf, gleaming at me, telling me that it is the first book that has ever so completely beaten me.

So how do you know whether you will enjoy this or not? If you enjoy the original Sherlock Holmes stories, if you enjoy deductively solving crimes, if you enjoy old British stories, then this could be the book for you. If you don't, well, then possibly it isn't.

I gave this a 4.5 star rating on Goodreads. It might be bumped up to a 5 star rating, but I am still processing parts.

There had better be another book.

Bout of Books Day 5

Whoops! I have been to busy reading (and enjoying the last few days of my holiday) to update! So here goes!

Books read: 5 Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz and The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.
Books completed: 3
Pages read: 1912
Challenges: I didn't do them. I was too busy reading and loving it. (They looked awesome. Had I checked them, I would have done them! Nooooo!)

This readathon has really got me to get through the Heroes of Olympus series. I wanted to read it, mostly because I feel it is not right to recommend books to the kids I teach if I haven't actually read them myself (it helps me to nail it and get them reading). But I am actually enjoying them. They are fast, action packed and fun.