Books Read In February!

Hi again! Apparently making a collage out of 17 book covers is a lot harder than making one with 9! You'd think I would've realized that.....but I think this collage came out pretty good! It started out as putting them in order from top to bottom in the order that I read them, but that changed to "put it wherever I can find room" XD And I just realized that I never announced what my 2016 Reading Challenge was for this month......I should remember to do that from now on.....Anyway, this month's reading challenge was to read a book that I've been meaning to read. There are so many books that I could've chosen for this one, but I decided on Disney Lands by Ridley Pearson, which I got from my sister and brother-in-law for Christmas. :) For this month and last month I've put the reading challenge book in the middle of my collage, so I'll probably continue to do that for the rest of them! Anyways.....on to the books! Warning : this is going to be a long post!

Okay, so I liked the setup I used last month for this post, so I think I'll do it again for this one! Four of these books were library books, three were borrowed from friends, and the rest I own! I also had 11 five star books which I'm really surprised by! 

• Jan. 21st/Feb. 2nd - Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle - Book 1) by Diana Wynne Jones. This one was one of the library books that I read! :D The reason this book took me so long to read is because I was going back and forth between multiple books at once (as is usually the case) and I got distracted by another one for a little while....I actually think I switched over to Pride and Prejudice so I could finish it by the end of January... Anyway! This is the second time I've read this book, (I read it for bookclub a couple years ago) and I love it so much! I have a list on Goodreads of books that I want to own some day and this one was the first one to be put on it I'm pretty sure! In case you can't tell, I gave this one 5/5 stars. XD 

• 2nd/3rd - Castle in the Air (Howl's Moving Castle - Book 2) by Diana Wynne Jones. Another library book! So, one thing I'm not a huge fan of in this trilogy is the fact that each book centers around a different set of characters....Howl and Sophie (from the first book) make appearances in all three books, and play somewhat important parts in the second and third ones, but it doesn't give much information about their lives after the first book......and I love them so much and want more info!! However, on the other hand, having different main characters was also interesting....that being said, this book had it's slightly strange parts at first but was all in all really good.....which can be proven by the fact that I stayed up until 5:30 in the morning to finish this book.....XD These books have so much going on at the end that it pulls you in and you can't set it down....by the way, I gave this book 5/5 stars also...

• 3rd/4th - Masterminds (Masterminds - Book 1) by Gordon Korman. Another library book and another book by Gordon Korman that I loved! This is the reason he's one of my favorite authors! The second book is either already out, or comes out next month, and I can't wait till I can get it from the library! I don't know what was with me and finishing book in less than 24 hours towards the beginning of the month, but I loved it! This one got 5/5 stars too! 

• Jan. 26th/Feb. 7th - Class Dismissed by Allan Woodrow. This one I accidentally borrowed from my cousin Lainey.....XD She brought it with her one weekend while she was reading it and asked me to read to her over the weekend and then accidentally forgot it here when she left, and by then I was getting into the book so I decided to finish it before the next weekend that she came over! It was a really cute, light read and I gave it 4/5 stars. :) 

• 5th/10th - Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones. I found this one at a thrift store with my dad and grabbed it because of the author....I just realized that I read four book by the same author in a month.... Anyway, I had the hardest time getting into this one at first, though I blame part of that on babysitting and trying to read at the same time....once the babysitting was over I was able to read faster...but this book was also pretty strange which didn't help my ability to get into it any. I was pretty satisfied with the ending, and the main character Mig reminded me of Sadie from the Kane Chronicles. (Which I have been wanting to reread for weeks....I've been in a huge Rick Riordan book mood lately for some reason) This one got 4/5 stars also. 

• Jan. 20th/Feb. 11th - Little House on the Prairie (Little House - Book 2) by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I can't tell you how many times I've read this book... I started reading it again because I was in the mood for a familiar story that I hadn't read in a while and this one worked! This one will always get 5/5 stars from me! :D 

• 12th - Samantha and the Missing Pearls by Valerie Tripp. Okay, so I totally remember these little stories being way longer than they are....it only took me about 10-15 minutes to read this one...but it was a really cute story and I still really like the American Girl books! This book got 4/5 stars. 

• 12th/13th - Fall of the Amazing Zalindas (Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars - Book 1) by Tracy Mack. I was very surprised with how much I enjoyed this book! I plan on getting the next book from the library soon and it's actually made me possibly want to read the actual Sherlock Holmes mysteries... This one was another 5 star rating!

• 14th/16th - The Wicked Step-Twister (Church Choir Mysteries - Book 1) by Sandy Dengler. So, this one is part of a Guideposts mystery series. I haven't read very many books centered around Christianity (even though I should...), especially not a mystery, or one where all of the main characters are adults... I honestly can't even remember ever reading a book where the main character is an adult....most of the books I read consist of teenagers or younger starring as the main character. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get into this story! Some Christian books I've seen have a way of sounding a bit awkward to me in the way they bring up God, like it's in the most random times where it doesn't seem to fit but the author is just trying to throw it in there and make it a point. However this book didn't do that and I believe that they came about talking about God in a very casual and fitting way for the most part. That being said, this book got 4/5 stars and I plan on reading another one of these soon! 

• 16th - Meg's Story by Susan Beth Pfeffer. This is another book that I loved when I was younger and that felt way longer back then too! I finished this one in about twenty minutes or so...I believe it took me a couple of days at least to read it when I was younger. The story was just as good as I remembered though! This one got 4/5 stars!

• 17th - Addy's Wedding Quilt by Connie Rose Porter. This was another mini American Girl book that took me about 10-15 minutes just like the Samantha one. To be honest, I've never actually read any of the Addy books before even though I own them... My interest was never pulled to them like my favorite ones, but I plan on reading them now, so they're officially in my book jar! This one was pretty good for the first Addy book I've ever read, and it got 4/5 stars. 

• 17th - Mice of the Herringbone by Tim Davis. Yet another of my favorites from when I was younger! I loved it just as much as I did then and it got 5/5 stars. :) 

• 17th/19th - Maximum Ride Vol. 1 (Maximum Ride: The Manga - Book 1) by James Patterson. I borrowed this one from one of my best friends and this was finished in two days because I kept going back and forth between books....But it was really awesome seeing these characters in pictures! This one got 5/5 stars!

• 17th/21st - Farmer Boy (Little House - Book 3) by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I really enjoyed this book! It seems a bit random to me the way it's in the middle of the series, but it was still very good! My favorite part of the book was the last two chapters....XD This book has 5/5 stars too! 

• 23rd - Maximum Ride Vol. 2 (Maximum Ride: The Manga - Book 2) by James Patterson. The first one took me two days to actually finish, and yet I finished this one in a little over an hour and a half.....XD 5/5 stars!

• 21st/26th - Disney Lands (Kingdom Keepers: The Return - Book 1) by Ridley Pearson. Oh my gosh, I can't believe how much I missed these characters! I was so sad that I finished it as fast as I did, but I was also happy and super excited for the next book! (Which thankfully comes out at the end of March and I am determined to get it! I refuse to wait for my birthday!) Another 5 stars from me! 

And last but not least.....

• 23rd/28th - House of Many Ways (Howl's Moving Castle - Book 3) by Diana Wynne Jones. This book was so good!! I'm so sad that it's the last Howl's Moving Castle book though! I want more of all of the characters!!! This was the last 5 star rating from me this month! :D 

Oh my gosh this post was so long!!!! 0.0 Anyways... my Reading Challenge for March is to read a book that a librarian, friend, or family member recommended to me....for now the plan is to read Memory Maze by Gordon Korman, which was recommended to me by one of our librarians, but I borrowed Zodiac by Romina Russell from my friend Shelby a couple of weeks ago so I may change it to that instead....I guess we'll see! Bye until next weekend!!

~Allie~

Book/Book Blog Plans!

  Hello again! I know I haven't posted in a few weeks, but my grandma and cousin have been coming over on the weekends lately and I've been having a really hard time figuring out what to write a post about....which is the reason why I just spent about twenty minutes on a few different blogs finding ideas for posts for this one! And I found like 16 ideas that I liked and wrote down! So hopefully I'll have an easier time making posts! 

  I think this post may have a few different sections....it has a few different topics at least! First, I have a notebook that I'm gonna write my blog schedule and post ideas in! I really like this notebook, but I've never used it for anything until now. I love that it has my first initial on it.... XD So far I've only written on two pages, but it should come in handy! 

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So, my dad took me and my mom to the library on Thursday and I got six new books! Plus I got to talk to my favorite librarian and see my beautiful library! I mean seriously, look at their ceiling! They've been adding changes too, and I love some of the ideas like this book basket I found on one of the tables in the Young Adult section!

Anyway, on to the actual books! Technically I have seven books checked out, including one that isn't in this picture, and one that's still sitting on the shelf in the background...the ones that you can actually see are The Colossus Rises, Lost in Babylon, The Tomb of Shadows, and The Curse of the King (Seven Wonders - Books 1-4) by Peter Lerangis in the top row and Mystery on Museum Mile (Eddie Red Undercover - Book 1) by Marcia Wells along with 12 (The Last Thirteen - Book 2) by James Phelan on the bottom. :) Unfortunately, the first book in The Last Thirteen series has yet to come in so I can't read 12 until I get it.... The other two books are School's Out - Forever (Maximum Ride - Book 2) by James Patterson, which is on the shelf in front of the other books, and House of Many Ways (Howl's Moving Castle - Book 3) by Diana Wynne Jones, which isn't in this picture...

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Finally, I'm gonna go ahead and do a book update! So, I still haven't picked City of Bones back up....I'm still on page 60/485..... I'm still reading Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes, except now I'm on page 119/412 instead of 116....XD I'm also reading The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams for school and I'm on page 11/104 and House of Many Ways that I'm on page 206/416, 49% through! XD 

Well, that's it for now! I should be able to post tomorrow, but if not I definitely will next weekend! 

~Allie~

New Books!!!!

Hi!!! I have a sleeping toddler on the couch so I now have time to write a blog post! XD So, I have six new books!! Technically I got them yesterday, but I already posted once yesterday and I didn't really want to post twice in one day.....(Plus I may or may not have forgotten.....but we'll ignore that! XD) I went to the thrift store with my dad yesterday and of course I went straight to the book section and stayed there practically the whole time.... And I made another collage...XD

Okay, so top left is Moonrise by Erin Hunter! It's the second book in the Warriors : The New Prophecy series and even though I've read it before, I'm trying to collect all of the books if I can so I bought it! Even though it's paperback and the first one (that I also own) is in hardback....which usually drives me insane, but since I have some sets in paperback and some sets in hardback, it doesn't bother me too much... Anyway, top right is Aunt Maria by Diana Wynne Jones. Honestly, I almost didn't even read the back of this book to see what it was about when I saw who wrote it..... Diana Wynne Jones is the author of the Howl's Moving Castle trilogy (which I love and am planning on reading the last one soon) and I automatically wanted the book just because of the author...XD To my knowledge, (and Goodreads), this book isn't part of a series.... The middle left book is The Fall of the Amazing Zalindas by Tracy Mack. By the looks of this book, part of it got wet at some point, but it seemed fine other than that and it sounded good, plus it was only fifty cents (awesome, right?!), so I figured why not! This book is the first book in the Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars series. :) The book on the right in the middle is The Wish by Gail Carson Levine. This was another book that I got mostly based on the author...(she wrote Ella Enchanted!) and I figured that if I liked Ella Enchanted, I would try out this one! This one is a stand alone too I believe... Okay, bottom left is Holes by Louis Bachar. I've been wanting to read this one ever since I found out the movie was based on a book...I really like the movie and I would really like to find out what the book's like! Apparently this book is the first book in the Holes series.....or duo....or whatever you call a set of only two books.....(slightly ashamed that I don't know what that's called...) I thought it was only the one book....XD And last but not least is The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo! This is the movie novelization, but I'm really curious, and again, only fifty cents, so I got it! 

Well, that's it for today! Feel free to comment if you've read any of these books! I plan on doing a book update tomorrow! Plus, I really need to work on figuring out posts for my other blogs that I'm a part of..... 

~Allie~

Books Read in January!

Hi! I meant to post again this past weekend, but that never happened, so we're gonna post today! XD So, I read eight books last month! It probably would've been more if I hadn't kept switching books........On the bright side, I finished my first book in my 2016 reading challenge! And I saw on another blog that this person made a collage of the book covers instead of individual pictures and I really liked that idea, so I decided to make a collage of my own! I'm quite proud of it...XD

  I think I'm gonna try a new setup this time too.......So, here we go!

• Jan. 4th - Johnny B. Fast : The Super Spy (Johnny B. Fast - Book 1) by Tom Doganoglu. This book is an e-book that I got on my kindle a few years ago. This is either the second or third time I've read this book....I apparently never noticed the grammar errors when I first read it.... But they didn't ruin the book for me this time, and all in all I thought it was pretty good and gave it 4/5 stars. 
• Jan. 6th - The Storybook of Legends (Ever After High - Book 1) by Shannon Hale. This one was a library e-book and it was surprisingly good! I honestly wasn't expecting to be as entertained as I was by an Ever After High book, but I really liked it, and I gave it 4/5 stars. 
• Jan. 11th - The Menagerie (Menagerie - Book 1) by Tui T. Sutherland. Another library e-book! I really liked this book and plan on getting the next one from the e-book library soon! This one also got 4/5 stars. :) 
• Jan. 14th - Little House in the Big Woods (Little House - Book 1) by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This is the second or third time that I can remember reading this book..... I was addicted to these books when I was younger and my opinion definitely hasn't changed!! I loved this book (and am currently in the middle of the second one) and am very happy that I own the whole series! XD In case you can't already tell, I gave this one 5/5 stars! 
• Jan. 16th - Beyond the Deepwoods (Edgewood Chronicles - Book 1) by Paul Stewart. Okay, not much needs to be said about this one considering I wrote a review on it that pretty much covered everything......I'm really hoping I'll like the next book better! This one got 4/5 stars. 
• Jan. 18th - The Unfairest of Them All (Ever After High - Book 2) by Shannon Hale. Another library e-book! (Can you tell I love my e-book library? XD) Just as good as the first one and I hope to read the next one soon! I gave this one 4/5 stars too :) 
• Jan. 20th - Abandoned Puppy (Animal Emergency - Book 1) by Emily Costello. This was one of the books that I've had on my shelf for a looong time and finally got to reading... It was pretty good, but so far I think I prefer the Animal Ark series a bit more...This one got 4/5 stars. 

And finally....... My first 2016 Book Challenge book.....for "A book I should've read for school"...

• Jan. 31st - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen! I almost didn't finish it in time, but I was determined and I got it done! Oh my gosh I loved this book soooooo much!!!! I can't believe how much I enjoyed it! It's definitely on my favorites list now and I'm sure I'll be reading it again at some point....XD This one got 5/5 stars! 

Okay, that's it for this post! Hopefully I'll be able to post this weekend, but I'm babysitting until Monday starting tomorrow, so we'll see! 

~Allie~