ARC August: Update #5 and Total

ARC August is a meme hosted by Octavia of Read. Sleep. Repeat.  The goal is simple: read and review as many of your ARCs as you can!  I love this challenge; I usually feel overwhelmed by the number of books I need to review, and this is helping me put them in order.  (I love order.)

My goals, prioritized:

1. Read 10 15 ARCs
2. That will be published in August
3. Or September
4. And also coincide with tasks from the Nest Book Club's Summer Book Challenge

I finished or flounced six ARCs this week:

 Four books were/will be published in August & September.  Two qualify for the Summer Book Challenge.

Total number of books read for ARC August:

August Recap

ARC August worked well for me.  I usually only get through 18 books a month, but the extra time I spent on eGalleys pushed me up to 25 finished books.

What did you read last month?

Five stars

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell
The Girl You Left Behind, by Jojo Moyes
Love, Mouserella, by David Ezra Stein
The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg
War Brothers: The Graphic Novel, by Sharon E. McKay

Four Stars 
Aesop's Fables, by Aesop
The Crooked Maid, by Dan Vyleta
Peek-a-Boo Monsters, by Charles Reasoner
Promises Made Under Fire, by Charlie Cochrane
Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman
The Shadowy Horses, by Susanna Kearsley
The Silent Swan, by Lex Keating
Song for Papa Crow, by Marit Menzen
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum

Three Stars

The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Crush. Candy. Corpse., by Sylvia McNicholl
Doctor Who Series 1, by Tony Lee
Fire and Forget, by Colum McCann
Good As Gone, by Douglas Corleone
Hugs From Pearl, by Paul Schmid
If You Could Be Mine, by Sarah Farizan
Ten Tiny Breaths, by K.A. Tucker

Two Stars

Don't Get Too Comfortable, by David Rakoff
Gated, by Amy Christine Parker

One Star

Screwed, by Laurie Plissner

Did Not Finish
Eloise, by Judy Finnigan
Twigs, by Alison Ashley Formento

Fun Stats
Number of books attempted:  27
Number of books read:  25
Number of pages:  2,875
Number of kids' books:  4
Number of audiobooks:  8
Number of ARCs: 17
Number for summer book challenge:  17

Longest book:  The Silent Swan (422 pages)
Shortest book:  Promises Made Under Fire (52 pages)

Favorite book that's not Eleanor & Park:

July Recap

What a great month for books!  I love the fact that most of the books I read in July were rated four or more stars.  Let's hope that August brings the same results.

What did you read last month?

Five stars

The Heretic Queen, by Michelle Moran
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova

Four Stars

Autumn Fire, by Cameron D. James
Honeymoon in Paris, by Jojo Moyes

How to Lose Everything: A Mostly True Story, by Philipp Mattheis
The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty
Jumping the Scratch, by Sarah Weeks
Lie Still, by Julia Heaberlin
Out of Play, by Jolene Perry and Nyrae Dawn
A Really Awesome Mess, by Trish Cook & Brendan Halpin
The Spindlers, by Lauren Oliver
There are Reasons Noah Packed No Clothes, by Robert Jacoby
Viral Nation (Viral Nation #1), by Shaunta Grimes
Wine and War: The French, The Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure, by Don & Petie Kladstrup

Two Stars

If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't), by Betty White

One Star 
Everything I Need To Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book, by Diane E. Muldrow

Could Not Finish
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare

Fun Stats
Number of books attempted: 18
Number of books read:  17
Number of pages:  3,519
Number of audiobooks:  4
Number of NetGalleys:  9
Number for summer book challenge:  12

Longest book:  The Husband's Secret (416 pages)
Shortest book:  Honeymoon in Paris (75 pages)

Favorite book:

June Recap

I can't believe that June is over already!  I listened to two audiobooks that I absolutely LOVED, two that I really liked, and one that left me feeling unfulfilled.  There were more two-star books than I expected and half of my four-star ratings were non-fiction war stories.  Not the happiest of subjects, but definitely powerful.

What did you read last month?

Five stars

Looking for Alibrandi, by Melina Marchetta
Moloka'i, by Alan Brennert

Four Stars

Escape From Camp 14, by Blaine Harden

Feeling Sorry for Celia, by Jaclyn Moriarty

Ghost Time, by Courtney Eldridge

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, by Erik Larson

Surviving the Angel of Death, by Eva Mozes Kor

The Twisted Window, by Lois Lowry

 

Three Stars

Invisible, by Marni Bates
The Invitation, by Diane Hoh

 Outcast, by Adrienne Kress

Two Stars
The S-Word, by Chelsea Pitcher
Weather Witch, by Shannon Delany
Where'd You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria Semple
Your New Job Title is "Accomplice", by Scott Adams

Could Not Finish
The Awakening, by L.J. Smith
Louder Than Words, by Laurie Plissner

Fun Stats
Number of books attempted: 17
Number of books read:  15
Number of pages: 2,587
Number of audiobooks: 5
Number of NetGalleys: 9
Number for spring book challenge: 1 (finished!)

Longest book:  Ghost Time (416 pages)
Shortest book:  Your New Job Title is "Accomplice" (128 pages)

Favorite book:

May Recap

Nearly all of the books I read in May were four or more stars.  Interestingly, the only three-star reads were both NetGalleys.

Five stars

Children of the Dust, by Louise Lawrence

Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell

The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold

Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes

This is What Happy Looks Like, by Jennifer E. Smith

Four Stars
Every Day, by David Levithan
Plain Truth, by Jodi Picoult 
Six Earlier Days, by David Levithan
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan

Three Stars

Burning, by Elana K. Arnold

A Midsummer's Nightmare, by Kody Keplinger

Fun Stats
Number of books attempted:  11
Number of books read:  11 (12 if you count the second reading of Eleanor & Park)
Number of pages:  2,258
Number of audiobooks:  3
Number of NetGalleys:  1
Number for spring book challenge:  9 

Longest book:  This is What Happy Looks Like (416 pages)
Shortest book:  Six Earlier Days (47 pages)

Favorite book:

February Recap

Nearly all of the books I read in February were four or more stars.  Interestingly, the only three-star reads were both NetGalleys.

Five stars
Hate List, by Jennifer Brown
The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win, by Gene Kim

Four Stars
But I Love Him, by Amanda Grace
Chime, by Franny Billingsley
Dead to You, by Lisa McMann
The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch
Nefertiti, by Michelle Moran
Notes from Ghost Town, by Kate Ellison
Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
When Love Comes to Town, by Tom Lennon

Three Stars
Exposure: A Modern-Day Spin on Shakespeare's Macbeth (Twisted Lit #2), by Kim Askew
Geek Girl, by Holly Smale


Did Not Finish
The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje
Love, Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
What We Saw At Night, by Jacquelyn Mitchard


Fun Stats
Number of books attempted: 15
Number of books read: 12
Number of pages: 2,680
Number of audiobooks: 3
Number of NetGalleys: 5
Number for winter book challenge: 6

Longest book: Nefertiti (482 pages)
Shortest book: When Love Comes to Town (192 pages)

Favorite book: Chime