Update: Books I've Read {September & October}

I've come to really enjoy this round up series, as it gives me the chance to look back every couple of months and see how my reading tastes have fluctuated over the course of this year. I've been lucky to pick up some really great reads since the start of September, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of these books. This week marks the completion of my classics challenge and I'll be chatting more about that next week, but I'll add that I am super proud of myself for even finishing it. I honestly would be hard pressed to pick a favorite from these past two months, as I was pretty close to adding all of them to my best books of the year list, but The Ghost Bride, The Paper Magician, and Pride and Prejudice all really stood out to me. This list brings my grand total to 45 books for the year so far, and 75% finished with my yearlong goal. I'm going to be hard pressed to fit 15 books in the next two months, but I can't wait to see what my list looks like at the end of the year!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
4 Stars
Read my review here.

A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé
5 Stars

The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew #1) by Carolyn Keene
4 Stars

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
5 Stars
Read my review here.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
5 Stars

Curse of the Dream Witch by Allan Stratton
3 Stars

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
5 Stars
Read my review here.

Wonder by R. J. Palacio
5 Stars

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
4 Stars

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
5 Stars

Update: Books I've Read {July & August}

Every couple months I look back at the books I've read and reflect on the good, the bad, and the captivating. I've actually found that my reading pace has slowed this year, not surprisingly because I now spend quite a bit more time writing than I used to. Regardless of your reading speed, summer is the time to catch up on your to-read list and I've been making good on those currently coveting wish lists lately. In July and August, I read a total of nine books, bringing my 2014 total to 35 books so far. I'm happy that I got to check off another book for my classics challenge (one that I actually liked!), but my absolute favorites from these months were Euphoria and The Book of Life.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
5 Stars
{Number two of four for my classics challenge...definitely earned a spot on my "forever favorites" shelf!}

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
5 Stars
{Keep an eye out for a post on this finale to the All Souls Trilogy. One word: amazing.}

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
4 Stars
Read my review here.

Euphoria by Lily King
5 Stars
Read my review here.

Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
3 Stars
Read my review here.

A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch
4 Stars
Read my review here.

The Quick by Lauren Owen
4 Stars
Read my review here.

The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
5 Stars
{This was a re-read, but just as good the second time around!}

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
4 Stars
{P.S. If you read this as required reading in middle school and didn't love it, give it another shot. For me, re-reading it now gave me an entirely different perspective. It was poignant.}

Update: Books I've Read {March & April}

This monthly update feature is meant to give you a chance to peruse my (virtual) bookshelf and see what I've been reading each month. Below you'll find my reads from March and April of this year. My hope is that you may discover a new book for your to-read list! From these months, I'd most recommend Bossypants and Where'd You Go, Bernadette, both of which made me laugh!

Here's a little guideline for how I decide (out of 5) the number of stars to give a book:

5 stars: Amazing. Perfect. Enthralling. Highly recommend it!

4 stars: It isn't a masterpiece, but I sure liked it!

3 stars: I wouldn't re-read it, but still liked it.

2 stars: Not at the top of my list. Maybe skip this one.(...or don't! You never know what you may like).

1 star: It probably took considerable effort for me not to throw this at a wall. Who knows, maybe I did throw it at the wall. 

{on Goodreads}
3 Stars
(Not amazing, but good enough for me to buy the next in the series!)

Read My Review
5 Stars

{on Goodreads}
3 Stars
Note: Not for the faint of heart...this book was enthralling at times, but also really disturbing.

{on Goodreads}
5 Stars
(This was an audio version of the book, but I read the book a few years ago and loved both versions!)

{on Goodreads}
2 Stars