Rainbow Read-A-Thon

I’m really excited to be co-hosting this readathon! It takes place from August 25th-31st. There will be blog challenges, Instagram challenges, and sprints. You can find out more about it on the Goodreads page and the Twitter. This is my post for the blog challenges.

Book Challenge 1 – Book Tag

1. Which book are you most excited to read as part of the readathon? Thirteen Rising by Romina Russell, Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody, or A Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana
2. Which color was the most difficult for you to find a book for? Orange
3. What’s your favorite color on books and why? Purple because it’s my favorite color in general.
4. Which fictional world would you go to if you had the choice? The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, of course.
5. Which book cover do you like the most out of the books you’re reading for the readathon? Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody and Thirteen Rising by Romina Russell
6. Who is your favorite fictional character? Hermione Granger or Luna Lovegood
7. What is your favorite place to read during the summer? Definitely the beach
8. Do you think characters should always have a specified sexuality? No
9. What book made you cry the most? A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
10. What is your favorite LGBT+ book? Even though magic is the main focus of Daugher of the Burning City by Amanda Foody, it was still very LGBT+ friendly and it is one of my favorite books.
11. What book have you read this year about a character of a different nationality than you? The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Want by Cindy Pon

 

 

Book Challenge 2 – Getting to Know the Blogger

“This challenge is all about introducing yourself to everyone else who’s participating or even people who have recently followed you and don’t know you too well yet! You have plenty of freedom with this one – you could include your Harry Potter house, your Divergent faction, or whatever else you think would be informative and helpful to readers.”

Hey guys, I’m Kelly! I’m 20 years old and I’m from the USA. I’m in college, studying computer science and math. Reading is my passion. I’ll read pretty much anything, but I especially love YA. I’m also total Potterhead. The series is my favorite and J.K. Rowling is my role model. I’m a proud Ravenclaw. If I wasn’t, I think Slytherin would be the next best fit for me. As for Divergent, I like the Erudite faction in theory, although I disliked most of the Erudite characters in the books. Also, I recently took a Hunger Games quiz on BuzzFeed and it said I should be in District 7. If I went to Camp Half-Blood, I would be in Athena’s cabin. If you have any more questions about me, feel free to contact me or comment on this post! 🙂

 

 

Blog Challenge 3 – Reading Habits

“On Day 3, write about your reading habits. This includes things like where you like to read, whether or not you listen to music while you read, your favorite genres and more.”

1. Where do you like to read? In my bed or on the beach
2. Do you listen to music while you’re read? Not usually, but I have Friends on in the background while I do pretty much anything.
3. What is your favorite genre? I love YA fantasy, although I’ll give any book a chance.
4. What time of day do you like to read? Anytime of the day!
5. Hardcover or paperback? Hardcovers are good for collecting but I prefer to read paperbacks.
6. Physical book or e-book? Physical, by far. I love the feeling and smell of books.
7. Locally-owned book shop or big-name chain store? I will go to any book store. I’ve really enjoyed a few locally-owned book shops that I’ve come across on vacation. The only book stores near me are big-name chain stores. I absolutely love Barnes & Noble. I spend a lot of time there.
8. Bookmark or dog-ear? Bookmark! I NEVER dog-ear, it drives me crazy when people do that!
9. How do you organize your books? Currently by genre and author, but I want to reorganize them by color.
10. Keep, throw away, or sell? Keep! I’m really attached to all of my books and I have an extremely hard time getting rid of them.
11. Do you keep the dust jacket? Do you read with it on? I take the dust jackets off when I read but keep them and put them back on when I’m done with the book. I carry my books around in my backpack a lot and I hate when the dust jackets get messed up in my bag.
12. Short story or novel? Novel
13. Do you stop reading when you’re tired or when you reach the end of a chapter? Sometimes I stop reading when I’m tired, but I usually try to reach the end of the chapter.
14. Buy or borrow? Buy
15. New or used? New
16. Favorite book/series? Harry Potter
17. Favorite author? J.K. Rowling

 

 

Blog Challenge 4 – Cliches in Books

“This challenge is all about cliches in books! Feel free to write whatever you want on the subject, but here are some ideas to get you started – What do you think of cliches in books? Do you completely disapprove or are there some you secretly love? Are there any you’ve noticed yourself?”

Of course some cliches in books are annoying, but I think people are a bit over-sensitive about them. When thinking about what to write for this challenge, I was wondering what other people considered to be the main cliches in YA fiction, so I looked it up. I thought some of the ones listed were a little unfair. For example, several articles complained about average girl protagonists. Yes, most main female characters fail to see their beauty and potential, but this makes the characters relatable. Most of the girls I know in real life are self-conscious. Who wants to read about a girl who knows she’s perfect? Personally, I appreciate main characters who acknowledge that they’re flawed. However, there are some cliches that get on my nerves, most of them involving romance. One example is the brooding bad boy. It just seems that authors try so hard to make their love interests different that they all end up being the same. Overall, though, I’d say that cliches bother me less than most people. Although I do admit that some of these elements are over-used, I usually see why authors continue to use them.

 

 

Blog Challenge 5 – Fantasy

“Day 5’s topic is fantasy! Even if you don’t read the genre much yourself, there’s plenty to talk about, like why you do or don’t read it much, what books you have read and any you’d recommend to others.”

I love fantasy! Although I do read a mix of genres, this is definitely one of my favorites. One of the main reasons I love fantasy books is because they tend to incorporate such amazing world-building, which, in my opinion, is one of the most important elements of any story I read. Fantasy novels almost always vary a great deal in plot, character, and setting. There is so much room for creativity when writing fantasy, and I love to see what direction the author chooses to take. One day, I’d love to write a fantasy novel of my own.

Of course, I’ve read all of the main fantasy series, as well as some that are less well-known. My absolute favorite series of all time is Harry Potter. Currently, I’m waiting for Thirteen Rising by Romina Russell, the fourth and final book of the Zodiac series, to arrive as today is it’s release date. I just finished reading the third book, Black Moon, two days ago. Before that, I finished Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody. Both this book and the Zodiac series were phenomenal! Both authors have impeccable world-building skills, their characters are so unique and diverse, and their plots are filled with exciting twists. I would highly recommend them both. Some fantasy books that I plan to read in the near future are The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana and The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell. I’ll post book reviews to let you know what I think as soon as I’m done! 🙂

 

Blog Challenge 6 – Diverse Books This Year

“For this challenge, we’d like you to write about diverse books this year, that you’ve either already read or are looking forward to reading! This can include diversity in any way you can think of, such as race, mental illness, disability and sexuality of characters.”

Most of the books I read include diverse characters and promote acceptance of others despite differences. Therefore, even though some of the books I’ve read this year are not focused primarily on these topics, they incorporate ideas such as tolerance and acceptance. For example, the Zodiac series by Romina Russell and Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody both have characters of a variety of races and sexualities. Two other diverse books I’ve read so far this year are The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Want by Cindy Pon. The Hate U Give is primarily about the social injustice that black people face on a daily basis. Want takes place in a futuristic version of Taiwan. Diverse books that I plan to read soon include The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee and The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli, just to name a few. I’m always looking for a variety of books to read, so if you have any suggestions please leave them in the comments! 🙂

 

 

Blog Challenge 7 – September TBR

“Since the challenges end of the last day of August, we thought it would be fitting for the last challenge to be a September TBR, so share your upcoming reads and your thoughts on them with us!”

There are several books I hope to read in September, although school will be starting again so I know it will be difficult. Here are some that come to mind:

The Reading Quest

These are some of thebooks from my TBR for The Reading Quest that I didn’t get to finish yet. The Quest ends on September 10th, so I plan to read at least these three by that date so that I can complete the Mage path. If I have extra time, I’ll try to get to the rest of the books listed here.

1. Thirteen Rising by Romina Russell – This is my current read. It was released two days ago (on August 29th). I’m planning to finish it within the next day or two.
2. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen – I started this book a few days ago but put it to the side when Thirteen Rising was released, but I plan to pick this book back up and finish it second.
3. The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana – This will be my final read for the Mage path of the Quest.

September Releases

These are some of the books that are coming out this month that I’m excited for. I’ve already pre-ordered Warcross and hope to pick up some of the others when they are released.

1. Warcross by Marie Lu – Like I said, I pre-ordered this book and I’m super excited for it. I’m going to try to read it as soon as I receive it.
2. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera – I’ve never read anything by this author but I want to start with this one since I’ve heard such great things about him and this book.
3. Invictus by Ryan Graudin – This book sounds really interesting! I definitely want to pick this one up.

If I have extra time after I finish these 6 books, I will read some summer releases I didn’t get to yet and some books that I’ve owned for a while.

 

Rainbow Read-A-Thon Conclusion

I had a really great time participating in this readathon, especially with doing these blog challenges. This was the first readathon I co-hosted and I’d love to co-host another one in the near future. Thanks for reading! 🙂