#TheReadingQuest Wrap Up

The lovely Aentee @ Read at Midnight organised this challenge and the amazing CW @ Read, Think, Ponder created the stunning artwork. Once again thank you for all the fun!

I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I shouldn’t push off writing the wrap up post any further. I’ll definitely participate in the next round if this challenge comes back and Aentee already made that promise so I can’t wait! I hope I’ll keep up better next time, but all in all I’m quite happy that I even got to nearly complete my challenge.

I managed to level up once and I gained a couple of health points. I had a lot of fun running down the Mage’s quest’s board. I read great books and had a lot of fun discussing them with some of my friends. I also got to add a lot of new books to my tbr when I saw other participants reading them. See the irony? Collecting new books to read throughout a challenge although it should help you make your tbr list smaller… Oh well. Life as a bookworm, right?

I read a total of 2016 pages and sadly I didn’t manage to read titles by any marginalized authors. I intend to look out better for this part next time around!

If you’re interested here’s my Sign Up Post from back in August. Like many others I tend to ignore my tbr’s though and changed two books ‘cause I’m a mood reader. Oh and there you’ll also find all the info on how you could collect points and level up.

What Did I Read?

A book set in a different world

This was my favourite read! Not only of this challenge, but of the entire last half year. The book gripped me so hard and didn’t let me go until the last page, and not even then did it leave me be. A month later and I still couldn’t start the next book in the series because ACOMAF was so good! Here’s my full and very lengthy review. Might I convince anyone to do a buddy read with me forA Court of Wings and Ruin? Pages: 624/624 Marginalised Author: No

A book based on mythology

	I’m a huge Rick Riordan fan so it’s no surprise that I included one of his books for this challenge. What better book to read for a mythology theme than one based in Percy Jackson’s world? Pages: 359/359 Marginalised Author: No

Expansion: Read a companion novel or short story

	I’m kind of ashamed to say this, but this book has been standing on my shelves for ages and I’ve never come around to reading it… (by the way, do you also hear a distant Septa Unella shout repeatedly “Shame”?) Pages: 109/109 Marginalised Author: No

The first book of a series

Oh this one. I LOVED this one! It took me ages to finally start the Throne of Glass series and I was wrapped up in it from page one! This is seriously so good, I couldn’t let go of the book. And now I’m silently judging myself for not ordering the entire series at once. As soon as I’ve found a new job and get my first paycheck I’m going to order the rest of the books and read them asap! Oh and by the way: Chaol and Celaena all the way! (and please don’t plop my bubbles if anything should happen to this ship! I’m going to find out on my own time..) Pages: 404/404 Marginalised Author: No

A book with a one word title

	This is the first audiobook I’ve listened to in ages! I think the last one I’ve heard must have been a Harry Potter one years and years back. So I was quite happy listening to this one and it’s been a while since I’ve read a dystopia. Pages: 326/326 Marginalised Author: No

Multiplayer: Buddy read a book

I sincerely apologize to Cornelia for letting her down on this one! We made a plan to read this together and I didn’t manage to keep up because of my vacation in the first place, and second because this book annoyed me so much I couldn’t bear reading it for too long. I’m still not finished! Though I’m taking it with me everywhere I go to read it on the bus or train. Pages: 144/440 Marginalised Author: No

Grind: A book with 500+ pages

	I didn’t get far with the first book in the Final Empire series either. I didn’t get into it right aways and started reading other books instead, so I’m still trying to pick this back up again.. Pages: 50/721 Marginalised Author: No

In total I read 2016 pages and finished 5 books. I also managed to collect 11 points using the social media interaction bonus points. In the next few weeks I’m going to post the remaining reviews and I can’t wait to discuss the books in full detail with you! I’d love to hear what you read for this challenge and what your thoughts are on the books so feel free to link me up to your Wrap Up posts!

#TheReadingQuest Sign Up

I love reading challenges. I can’t get enough of them. Though a lot of times I do not finish them. This time I intend to participate until the very end and actually keep up with all my reviews and reading updates.

The lovely Aentee @ Read at Midnight organised this challenge and the amazing CW @ Read, Think, Ponder created the stunning artwork.

This reading challenge starts on August 13th and ends on September 10th. It’s perfect because the first week I’ll be on vacation and have a lot of time to read some books at the beach (in Korfu, Greece *.*) and when I come back I’ve got nothing planned so far which equals even more time for reading.

This is my character ID card. At the end of the challenge I'll hopefully have a lot better stats than now. 

These are the four characters you may choose from. I’m going to pick Mage. The stats everyone starts with are: Level 1, EXP: 10, HP: 10.

+EXP: each finished book +10.
+EXP: each finished graphic novel / manga +5
Book by marginalised author: +20.
Finish quest: +50.
Every additional quest: +30.

+Level: every 50 EXP.

+HP: every 10 pages +1.
+HP: every 20 pages +1 (graphic novels / manga)
Tweeting #TheReadingQuest +1. Max +20.
Photos #TheReadingQuest +1. Max +20.

Isn’t this quest board amazing? Here is my temporary reading list. This might change throughout the challenge.

A book with a one word title

	I can’t even say how many years this book has been hidden in my bookshelves. I loved the TV series Bones and I started Kathy Reich’s series about Temperance Brennan a few years back, but never got all too far. Maybe this book will appeal more to me.

A book that contains magic

	I don’t know which book I’m going to read for this part yet. But I’ve got a couple of books to choose from. I guess this will depend totally on my mood.

A book based on mythology

	I’m really excited about this one because I absolutely love Rick Riordan and can’t wait to continue with Percy Jackson’s adventures. This time featuring Apollo.

A book set in a different world

	I read A Court Of Thorns and Roses last year and didn’t enjoy it all too much, but I’m willing to give the series another chance. I hope I like the sequel better.

The first book of a series

	This book has been waiting patiently on my bookshelf for over two years now. It’s high time I finally start reading it. And it would finally be my first book by Rick Riordan that isn’t based on Percy Jackson.

So yeah. This is the end of my sign up! I’m really excited about this and can’t wait for the challenge to start. If you’d like to participate too then sign up here.

Are you going to participate or have you already joined this challenge? What books are you going to read and do you have any other recommendations for me? I’d love to hear about it so tell me in the comments!

By the way: I'm looking for somebody to do the Multiplayer (Buddy Read) challenge here. Is anybody interested? Let me know! :)

Kicking off 2017

Happy New Year! I hope you all enjoyed New Year’s Eve and started with the right foot into the new year. I had a blast on the 31st. A couple of friends and I went to eat dinner in my favourite restaurant in Zurich and then we went to a club to celebrate the new year. It was fun, but I’m still so tired (yes I know it’s been two days already, but all I can do is lie around in bed the whole day).

2017 Reading Challenges

New year, new me, right? Nopes. This year I decided not to get too excited about the new year because I realised it doesn’t really change that much. Except in the bookish world. So I decided the only goals I want to set are in my reading habits.

All of the reading challenges I’m going to try to participate in this year will be updated with every book as always on the official 2017 Reading Challenges page. The official challenges I signed up for are:

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 30 Books
2017 Dystopia Reading Challenge: 6 Books
Flights of Fantasy 2017: 10 Books
2017 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge: 26 Books

This year, I've set some extra goals for myself, too.

Re-read 5 books
Read 3 Science Fiction books set in space
Read 1 Auotbiography
Read 5 Books from my TBR Pile (see TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2016)
Read 10 New Comics (Trade Paperback)

Lovely Letters

To kick off 2017 (and to enjoy my semester holiday) I decided to join the Lovely Letters program by Claudia (MySoulCalledLife) for the second time. Back in September (I think?) I joined for the first time and I really enjoyed it. So I hope to get to know another awesome person this time around. If you’d like to find out more about this, or even sign up (wink wink), go to Claudia’s Sign Up Post. Lovely Letters is a Snail Mail pen pal program and it’s really fun to participate in.

Plans in January

I’m going on my first vacation in the new year on Friday. We’re going to Rome (my best friend, the same one who went on the month long vacation with me last summer). I’ve never really been to Italy and I can’t wait to see that beautiful city that has been on my bucket list for years now. Also I can’t wait to eat tons of pizza and pasta. :P

Currently Reading

And finally I want to tell you about the book I’m currently reading. I picked up Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff yesterday and I’ve been really fighting against putting it down because it’s so incredibly good. I read Illuminae last year and couldn’t await the sequels’ release and now that I’ve finally got it, it’s kind of surreal. The story is just as adventurous and fascinating, also a little terrifying, as the first book in the series, and it’s been ages since I’ve read 400 pages in one day. Continuing this pace I’ll hopefully finish it tomorrow and I’m really happy about Gemina being my first read in 2017.

I'd like to know

What did you do on New Years' Eve? Did you get to celebrate with your friends or family? Have you had a good start in 2017? What are your reading goals for 2017 and what Reading Challenges are you participating in? Also, have you read Gemina and what are your thoughts on it? (No spoilers please, I haven't quite finished it yet.)

I'm Back & Pokemon Indigo League

Hey there! I'm alive! If you've noticed my absence in the blogging community the past three months then I’d like to apologize from the bottom of my heart. I was on a blogging hiatus because I didn’t feel happy about blogging anymore. June/July were two very stressful months for me with work, dance training and organising my life and everything which didn’t leave me with any spare time to write new blog posts. And then I went interrailing for a whole month, which I’ll gladly tell you all about, but more about this in the next few days.

Today I’d like to sign up for a Read-A-Thon created by Aentee @ Read at Midnight. I’m a little late to the party, but I still hope to get the most out of this because it looks like a lot of fun and I’m a huge Pokemon fan so I just couldn’t resist! (If you click on the picture it will lead you to the official sign up post)

So the Read-A-Thon officially runs between Sunday 14th August to Sunday 4th September, which leaves me just a little more than one week to participate so my expectations aren’t that high. Let’s check out my trainer card.

	Trainer Card Trainer: Yasmine Blog: swissbookworm.blogspot.ch Starter: Mareep CP: 10 Type: Electric Evolution: 3 Stage

BADGES AND BOOKS

Again: I don’t have the highest expectations as I’ve only got one week to read all of these lovely books.
...

‣ Pewter City: Boulder Badge - The First Book In A Series: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen #1)

‣ Cerulean City: Cascade Badge - A Book That Might Make You Cry: TBA

‣ Vermillion City: Thunder Badge - A Book With Thunderous Hype: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling

‣ Celadon City: Rainbow Badge - A Book That Focuses on Diversity: TBA

‣ Fuschia City: Soul Badge - A Book With A Great Romance: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

‣ Saffron City: Marsh Badge - A Book With Fantasy/Supenatural Elements: TBA

‣ Cinnabar City: Flame Badge - A Book With A Red Cover: Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

‣ Viridian City: Earth Badge - A Book With Post-Apocalyptic Setting: The Kill Order by James Dashner

...
So this is my list at the moment, but things might change. I don't want to waste too much time on this that I could be spending reading, so I'll just leave it here. Also, I'll count all the points in the end to make sure I don't have too high expectations of myself.

I'd like to know

Are you currently participating in this (or any other) Read-A-Thon? Tell me about the books on your tbr pile or your progress! Also, have you been obsessing over Pokemon Go as much as I have? Let me know in the comments! Oh and if there's anything els you wanna talk about, go ahead just let me know! I've been gone for a while and I wouldn't mind catching up on stuff I've missed.

Reading Challenges: Quarterly Update I

As March is coming to an end so is the first quarter of 2016. It has been quite an eventful few months and my reading progress is preceding better than I would ever have expected so soon already. This year I've joined a lot of challenges which even confuses me sometimes (I actually mixed up two challenges in my head and thought I was making real progress with one although it was the other). Let's have a look at all my on-going challenges. This post is here to help me keep an exact overview on where I stand and to look back to at the end of the year.

Goodreads Reading Challenge 2016

Progress: 16/30 (53%)

5 ★ Reviews

  

4.5 ★ Reviews

 

4 ★ Reviews

   

   

  

3.5 ★ and below

 

As this reading challenge contains all the books I read and not only a specific genre I won't repeat posting the cover pictures when I mention the books below. Also: If you are interested in reading a specific review just click on the image of the book you like and a new tab will open.

2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge

Progress: 4/10 (40%)

1. Homecoming (The 100 #3) by Kass Morgan

2. Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu

3. Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu

4. Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu

Addicted to YA

Progress: 1/3 (30%)

1. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

2016 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Progress: 2/10 (20%)

1. Verloren (Hidden) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

2. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

Flights of Fantasy

Progress: 5/10 (50%)

1. Verloren (Hidden) by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

2. The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare

3. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

4. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

4. Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods by Rick Riordan

The next quarterly update will be posted in June. See you then!

I'd like to know

Have you set yourself any reading goals this year or are you participating in any challenges (maybe even the same ones I am)? How's your first quarter been? Are you happy with your progress? Do you have any books to recommend for me to read for my challenges? I'm a little short of dystopian novels so don't hesitate and tell me about your favourite books.

2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge

Hey there :)

Yesterday I stumbled upon a great reading challenge that I just had to participate in right away. Maybe you've heard of it? It's called the 2016 Dystopia Reading Challenge and was created by Cornerfolds. I decided to participate in this challenge because dystopia is one of my favourite genres and I still have a lot of books on my TBR pile and this will make it even more fun to read them. 

The Challenge guidelines are as follow:

• This challenge will run from January 1, 2016 - December 31, 2016.
• You can join at anytime before October 15, 2016.
• Books must be read and reviewed in 2016.
• Audiobooks, re-reads, short stories, and crossovers are fine.
• You don't have to be a book blogger to participate! You can track your progress on Goodreads, Shelfari, Booklikes, etc.
• Sign up on the designated Linky below with your post, shelf, etc. and leave a comment letting us know what your personal goal is. 
• Link up your reviews each month via the provided Linky!

The goal I set myself is to get the Rebel Badge which means I have to review and read 6-10 dystopia books in 2016. I've already read one dystopian book this year which makes me one book closer to that goal. The book is Homecoming by Kass Morgan and you can find my review as part of trilogy tuesday here. If you guys would like to join me and all the other participants in this challenge, or if you already are signed up, let me know! It would be great to have some bloggers to keep up with. 

Every book that I'll review for this challenge will be marked with the appropriate label so that you can easily find it. To have an exact overview on how many books and which ones I've read just have a look at my 2016 Reading Challenges page.  

Let me know of your thoughts about this challenge in the comment section below and good luck!