Readathon

Merry and Bright 2021 Readathon // Reading Log

- Bunny Leave a comment

Hi Friends,
I decided to do a reading vlog of sorts on the Merry and Bright readathon. Keep in mind that this is my first attempt at a reading vlog, so hopefully you guys in enjoy it. Also, I did a post on my TBR for the readathon that you can read as well.

Day 1: 12/09/2021
Today is the first day of the readathon! I cheated a little bit and started my book last night, but I only got to 12%. The book that I am starting out with is ‘These Violent Delights’ by Chloe Gong. This book is for the prompt ‘The Grinch: Enemies-to-lovers.’ And, I have gotten to 41%, which isn’t bad, if I do say so myself. I was hoping to get to 50% today, but unfortunately, that didn’t happen. My mom, my sister and I had to take my Uncle Christmas shopping. We went to some antique stores, and this cute little coffee and fudge shop. I don’t love antiquing, but honestly I can always find something to buy. Shopaholic problems.

Day 2: 12/10/2021
My sister drove into the city for the day to spend some time with the family. We got together and had a girls shopping day. I spent a little too much, but it was fun. We went to two different Targets, then Victoria’s Secret, Hobby Lobby and of course Starbucks. We had lunch at Red Robin, and Jack-In-The-Box for dinner. I also maybe got a book at Target, but it was 20% off. Early Christmas gift to myself. I did get some super cute things from Victoria’s Secret, since they were having a great sale. I had to get a gift there anyways, so I decided to treat myself to some items as well.

The day was draining, but fun. Still, it didn’t leave much time for reading. I am still at 41% of ‘These Violent Delights,’ but luckily I did manage to finish a book. I read ‘The Nutcracker,’ which was for the prompt ‘Last Christmas: Purchased Last Year & Never Read?’ It was a fast read, and I am happy to be able to check it off my TBR.

Day 3: 12/12/2021
I had a pretty relaxing day, so I didn’t get much reading done. I was more focused on writing blog content, since I have the ‘12 Days of Bookmas’ coming up. Still, I did get in a small amount of reading, and got to 61% of ‘These Violent Delights.’ I am enjoying the story a lot more than I anticipated, which is exciting. Other than that, I watched some Christmas movies, worked out, and napped. Don’t judge me.

Day 4: 12/13/2021
I was working a ton on my blog this day, since it was the start of Bookmas. I read only a small bit more of ‘These Violent Delights’, getting to 67%. So, I don’t have much of an update. Also, I had some personal things going on, which made reading not my top priority.

Day 5: 12/14/2021
I finally finished ‘These Violent Delights’! I’m very excited to post my review on it, because I have a lot of thoughts. I will say that it made it on to my top books of the year list. In addition to reading, I worked out and did more blog stuff, which you can probably tell is my normal routine.

Day 6: 12/15/2021
I was going to read another book today, which I could have finished in about an hour. However, I didn’t do any reading since I went out fairly early in the day. I did see some amazing Christmas lights, and will be posting pictures on my Instagram account (@bunnysbookishlife).

In total, I read two books. I was hoping to finish at least 3 books, but that wasn’t the case. Nonetheless, I am still happy that I participated in the readathon. If you took part in the ‘Merry and Bright’ readathon let me know how you did in the comments. As always, like, share, and follow the blog.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Merry and Bright 2021 Readathon // To Be Read

- Bunny Leave a comment

Hi Friends,
I decided, last minute, to take part in the ‘Merry and Bright’ readathon, hosted by booktubers Zoe, Chandler, and Spencer. There are only six reading prompts, and it is all together a chill readathon. I have picked a different book for each prompt, so hopefully I can get to them all.

Readathon Dates: December 9th – 15th

Winter Wonderland: White On The Cover?

‘If I Stay’ meets ‘Your Name’ in Dustin Thao’s ‘You’ve Reached Sam’, a heartfelt novel about love and loss and what it means to say goodbye.

I have been dying to pick up this book. What can I say, I am a sucker for a good heartbreaking YA contemporary. This one has a sci-fi element twist that reminds me of the movie ‘The Lake House’.

Hot Cocoa: Cozy Vibes?

In this clever reimagining of Charles Dickens’s life, he and fiancée Kate Hogarth must solve the murder of an old miser, just before Christmas.

When I heard about this book, I knew that it was right up my alley. You should know by now that I am a huge ‘A Christmas Carol’ fan, so a mystery retelling sounds amazing. For some reason, this book gives me those cozy London feels.

Elf on the Shelf: Already Owned?

A heartwarming, page-turning adventure about one child’s love for his most treasured thing, and how far he will go to find it. A tale for the whole family to fall in love with, from one of the world’s greatest storytellers.

I got this book for my wedding anniversary and couldn’t be more excited for it. Being a lover of Christmas and pigs, a Christmas pig related story is sure to be a 5 star read. I hope the book doesn’t let me down.

Last Christmas: Purchased Last Year & Never Read?

The tale of Nutcracker, written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816, has fascinated and inspired artists, composers, and audiences for almost two hundred years. It has retained its freshness because it appeals to the sense of wonder we all share.

I was gifted two different copies of ‘The Nutcracker’, so it seemed like it was about time to read it. I have actually never read the book, or even seen the stage production.

The Grinch: Enemies-to-Lovers or Unreliable Narrator?

Perfect for fans of ‘The Last Magician’ and ‘Serpent & Dove’, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

I have been wanting to read this book for a while, since it has become a favorite among the book community. So, I knew I had to find away to add it to my TBR. I can’t wait to jump into this ‘Romeo and Juliette’ fantasy retelling, and hopefully I will enjoy it as much as some of the others.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Dual Perspective?

Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich’s ‘If This Gets Out’ is an absolute showstopper! Equal parts edgy and adorable, this bright, joyful book has everything I look for in a queer YA romance.” —Phil Stamper, bestselling author of ‘The Gravity of Us’

This was on my TBR for the month, and is a much anticipated release (for me, at least).

Those are the books that I will be reading for the ‘Merry and Bright’ readathon. In total, it is only 6 days long, so hopefully I can complete this TBR. Let me know if you will be participating as well, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more content.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

To Be Read // July 2021

- Bunny 2 Comments

Hi Friends,
In July, I wanted to participate in a readathon. But I didn’t think I would be doing two in one month, but I’m not mad about it. First up, I will be doing the Summerween, which takes place from July 2 – July 8. I have been wanting to read my horror/thriller books, making this readathon the perfect choice. I have picked out one book that fills all the promotes, but I do have another book that I can read if I did up having the time.

Challenges:
1) Bake or make a drink with your spooky read

2) Read a book in the dark

3) Read a paranormal book

4) Read a horror book

5) Read a book with black or orange on the cover (or both)

I was going to pick Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, since it’s a paranormal horror story. But the audiobook won’t be available at my library until four weeks. Instead, I found a graphic novel that easily fulfills all the promotes. Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, and Miquel Muerto is a horror and paranormal story about missing children, monsters and a monster hunter. I heard that it is compared to Netflix’s Stranger Things, which I haven’t seen, but I know it is popular. I don’t know if the this book has enough Halloween colors on the cover, but the authors names are in orange, so I’m counting it.

The second readathon I will be doing is the Buddy Readathon. Joining this readathon was a very last-minute decision. I have been wanting to meet others in the book community, and this seemed like the perfect way to do so. If you’re interested in participating in the Buddy Readathon, please watch the announcement video. For the readathon, I was paired with Jazz! We got together and decided that we would try to get a bingo, and read one of the group books. Below are the prompts and books we will be reading.

Published Before 2016: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Group Read: Legendborn (Legendborn, #1) by Tracy Deonn

One Word Title: Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer

I already have a lot of required reading for the month, yet I’m adding more books to my July tbr. I am a big supporter of Christmas in July, so I have to try and fit in a Christmas read.

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
This book follows two teens that send each other on a holiday adventure across New York. I have tried to read this YA Christmas story twice. I can never seem to get pass the first chapter. But I am on my reading game this year, so I believe I can finally cross this one of my tbr. Also this winter, I want to watch the Netflix series adaptation of the book.

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
I have been wanting to reread this book for a while, and July seems like the perfect month for it. This is a YA Christmas Carol retelling that is pretty imaginative. I don’t remember my thoughts on the book the first time I read it, but Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” so I know this one had to have been a favorite.

On average, I have been reading 4 to five books per month. I will be prioritizing my readathon reads, but I am hoping to get to all the books on my tbr. I am over-estimating how much time I’ll have to read in July, still, a girl can dream. Let me know what is on your July tbr in the comments below. Please the support the blog by sharing and liking this post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

A Little Bit Personal

- Bunny Leave a comment

Hello Book Lovers,
This isn’t going to be your typical post on this blog. Instead of talking about all things bookish, which I love. I wanted to have an open and honest decision about my mental health and how I have been feeling lately. If you are just stumbling across this blog, Hi I’m Bunny, and this is my little corner of the internet. I talk about all things bookish and more on this blog that I have come to love. I am a former Booktuber turned book blogger, and couldn’t be more happy.

Lately, I haven’t felt like myself, and I know that a lot of factors have contributed to that feelings. I have never mentioned this on the blog, but I suffer with depression, OCD, anxiety, ADD, Bipolar and women health concerns. Yep, I am a beautiful mess. I have dealt with a lot of self-hate lately and feeling of hopelessness. I am someone who is consistently thinking, and most of the time never feels satisfied in what they are doing regardless if it makes me happy.

In the past 2 years, I gained about 40 pounds, tried multiple medications, looked into therapy and been having lot of physical health issues. On top of everything, my husband health has also be steadily declining. Now, I am not writing this post to get sympathy or throw a pity party for myself. I am simply here to tell other that might be having a shit year, or years, and dealing with mental and/or physical issues, or just life in general that you are not alone.

I feel like having anxiety is the cool new trend, but let me tell you it isn’t fun to be consistently anxiousness. I want you guys to know that this blog no matter how small has helped me a lot, and I love all your support. Also, I have a growing community on Twitter and Instagram that I am very proud of.

I would like to mention that I had planned to do the mini PopCulture Readathon (Degrassi: TNG themed), but I want to take the next two weeks to focus on myself and recollect. I am throwing my tbr out the window and just mood reading for the rest of the month. I would love some post request down below, since I am thinking of doing 5 post a week in June to celebrate my birthday month. Also, should we start a monthly book club here on the blog? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you all for viewing this blog and sharing this post. I would sincerely love to know how you are doing and what you are reading.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Taylor Swift Album Book Tag

- Bunny 2 Comments

Hello bookish friends,
In honor, of the Tis the Damn Readathon I thought I would do a fun Taylor Swift inspired book tag. This is my first book tag on the blog and of 2021, so I am ready to get into the questions. I wasn’t tagged by anyone, but I still wanted to take part in doing this tag. This tag was created by the lovely Maria @ A Daughter of Parchment and Paper. I used Maria’s graphics because they are amazing.

At the start of 2021, I read one of my new favorite YA Christmas romances, 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston. Now this book did have some flaws, but it was such a cute young adult contemporary that made me fall in love with Ashley Elston’s writing. The book follows a high-school girl who gets her heartbroken by her longtime boyfriend. Thus her over the top and caring family decided to take it upon themselves to help mend her broken heart leading them to set her up on 10 very interesting blind dates. Honestly, the love story was very predictable yet I enjoyed it and the Christmas season setting.

I don’t think I have ever read a novella before. There are some that I would like to get too, but sadly I have to skip this question. Sorry.

This one is easy since I talked about it in my “Book Blogging Newbie Tag” post. I discovered my love for reading with the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares. I know these books seems cheesy and I will admit looking back at them they don’t have the greatest plot. However, the series captivated me in such a way that made me want to keep reading forever. If you haven’t read the books, they follow four best friends that, over the course of the summer, share a pair of jeans that fit each of their differently shaped bodies perfectly. I would give the series 3.5 stars, but I completely recommend the first book which is my personal favorite.

This is a classic that I don’t find a lot of people, including my husband, enjoy. I happened to really like The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Yes, there wasn’t much of a plot to it and Holden Caulfield was a tad whiny at times, still it was an eye-opening read to me. My lovely husband contributes this to the fact that I was a good girl growing up without much raw life experience, but I just think I get Holden on another level.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is my pick for this question. I don’t know if most people would consider this a heart-stopping story, but it is for me. I read this book in about two days and it is a tough, yet important read. It deals with the after math of being raped, losing yourself and finding your voice. Honestly, stories like this are some of the hardest to get through still I found it an incredible read.

This book is a lot like Speak, but taken to the extreme. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott is a story I will never forget and still gives me chills. The plot surrounds a girl called Alice who was abducted by a man name Ray at the age of ten. The story is told by Alice’s present self, now fifteen, and has lived a nightmare for the past five years. I will probably never read this story again, since it makes the pit of my stomach hurt just thinking about it. It is a very powerful read that has stuck with me for years.

I had to think about this one for a minute, but after doing some digging I chose Starr from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. The book is about police brutality of POC (People of Color) and much more. The main character Starr lives in a poor black popularity neighborhood, yet attends prestigious predominantly white school. Starr tries hard to separate her school and home life, but after witnessing the shooting and killing of a friend at the hands of the police she must speak out for what is right. Starr is use to shrugging off her friends ignorant, racist comments, yet we see her standing up for herself and not taking the hate in silence anymore. I loved seeing Starr come into her own and let go of the toxicity she had been ignoring for so long.

So….I don’t think I have answer for this question. Don’t hate me, but after going through the books I have read I cannot think of any morally grey characters. Oops! I don’t read a lot of fantasy, which might be why. I have instead decided to talk about a book series I’m interested in that I have heard has a morally grey character. The series is The Folk of the Air by Holly Black! I have the first book in the series The Cruel Prince on audiobook, but haven’t been in the mood to give it a chance. I know that this is a fantasy series about fairies, and you either love it or hate it. I have only attempted a Holly Black book once, which was a DNF, so I am nervous to pick this one up. Should I give this series a try?

Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan! I don’t remember this book much, but I have a lot of nostalgia for it. This is one of my mom’s favorite classic children’s books. I remember going to the book fair in elementary school and using my reading points to get this book for my mom. It is such a cute story about a widowed man that sends for a mail-ordered-bride to help care for his two children, Caleb and Anna. Thus Sarah, described as plain and tall, answers his call. This is an adorable story of love and family that will warm your heart.

Duh! A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens need I say more. I will probably mention this story multiple times on the blog since it is my all time favorite book. I love the writing in this beloved and classic story. Sure some parts are a bit slow, but there are many amazing passages from this story that I love rereading. My all time favorite being “It is required of every man,” the Ghost returned, “that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world — oh, woe is me! — and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!”

I am going with The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, which might seem weird since I haven’t read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan but hear me out. I have heard only good thing about these two companion series. They are both middle grade books and Greek mythology aspect to them. Percy Jackson is the main series, followed by the Heroes of Olympus books. However, I heard that the series don’t directly connect so they can be read as stand alones. I want to read these books very badly and embarrassed I still haven’t started either of these series.

Woo! Those were all the questions and I had a blast answering them. I am supposed to tag any book loving Taylor Swift fan, although I am still fairly new to the book blogging community so I am going to do the general tagging everyone thing. In the comments, leave your answers or let me know if you did this tag on your blog as well. Don’t forget to visit Maria’s blog and like this post. You can follow the blog to get notified when I post and I would love your support.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

March TBR Feat. Tis The Damn Readathon

- Bunny Leave a comment

Hello bookish friends,
I am very excited to be doing my March tbr (To Be Read)! I have been in a bit of a reading slump and my mental health has been a bit all over the place, but I am hoping this month will kick my reading into gear. I decided it would be fun to join in on a Readathon this month, because I think they are a lot fun and I have yet to do one this year. If you are unaware of what a Readathon is please visit my Glossary. There were many readathons to choose from, but I knew that the one I participated in had to be a month long. Thus I chose the “Tis The Damn” readathon, which is a Taylor Swift inspired readathon.

For the readathon, there are 3 prompts for each of Taylor’s nine albums. Two of the prompts are book related with one being a fun random prompt. This is a very chill readathon with the ability to use one book for multiple prompts. I will be trying to complete one promote from each album and use a different book for each prompts.

Taylor Swift: Our Song – Read a book about music: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Fearless: Fifteen – Read a book that is YA in genre: The Elite by Kiera Cass

Speak Now: If This Was a Movie – Read a book that has a movie adaptation: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Red: Red – Read a book with red on the cover: Tunnel of Bones (Cassidy Blake #2) by Victoria Schwab

1989: 1989 – Read a book with a number in the title: The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee

Reputation: Look What You Made Me Do – Read a book that’s recommended to you: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

Lover: Lover – Read a five star prediction: 10 Truths and a Dare by Ashley Elston

Folklore: Folklore – Read a book based on mythology, folk tales, or a retelling: The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

Evermore: No Body No Crime – Read a mystery or thriller book: Influence by Lilia Buckingham and Sara Shepard

Attempting to read nine books in a month will be a challenge, still I am committed to trying. I am looking forward to all the books on this list and I think this will be a good month of reading. Let me know what your reading in March and if you are doing the “Tis The Damn” readathon as well. Please like and share this post, and follow the blog via email to get notified whenever I post.

Until The Next Chaper,
Bunny