Bout of Books 23: Sign Up

Hi. Remember me? I blog here intermittently. I took a bit of time off from the page recently, but I think it was for a pretty good reason...

I might be a little biased, but I'm calling this a pretty darned legit (and cute) excuse.

With the now 2 month old and his 17 month old brother here at the house, my days have been pretty full and busy. We also had their stepbrother (some of you may remember Darian...who is now 16!!) here for three weeks. So, all in all it's been a whirlwind of a couple of months.

Today though, I'm jumping back in with good reason. It's time to announce my participation in Bout of Books 23...which started today! It's one of my favorite read-a-thons and I can't let it pass me by. I have to join in to some degree or I would be terribly disappointed in myself.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

What I'll Be Reading:

I used to plan this section so carefully. But...I've learned that I can't force myself into a book. If it feels like a good choice at the time, I'll grab it; otherwise, I tend to push myself right into a reading slump. So the plan is to create a nice TBR pile and then choose out whatever books suit my fancy in the moment.

Currently Reading: 

I'm a good ways through this one already, but it's proving a nice and steady read. It shouldn't take me long to wrap it up and jump in on something new.

TBR Pile:

I'm creating this list based on a couple of things. Some are the books currently sitting in a stack on the shelf near our bed. Some are books from my Great American Read Challenge and other challenges. And a couple are there because they are ones that I have recently been really wanting to read. It's a smorgasbord.

 

Yep. It's a big ol' pile. And while I'm not sure which books will actually get read, I can tell you which one I'll be starting next...

I've been looking forward to Us Against You ever since I finished Beartown and found out that there was a sequel. I have really loved everything of Backman's that I've read so far. I am giddy to get this one going.

Goals / Progress:

I've busted out and updated the Goal Tracker for use once again. I'll be keeping track of my progress using my spreadsheets and then presenting the progress via the tracker.

Updates:

Since my time is a bit scarce these days, there won't be a ton of updates. I'll likely do one mid-week and another for wrap up. Other than that, I'll be posting little mini updates on my Instagram feed.

I'll be updating the tracker as I go as well as keeping a list of what I'm reading and what I've finished. You know...the basics.


Now...what about you? Are you going to join? You should! Not only is this one of the best read-a-thons for using your own pace, the Twitter chats are fantastic. Fair warning though...they may result in a more burgeoning TBR...the other participants sometimes have fantastic literary taste. Head on over to the Bout of Books website and sign up. You won't regret it!