tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6995647627255944102024-03-13T09:22:59.864-07:00Book Bunny's BurrowBook Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-699564762725594410.post-49074893472904230612020-10-08T11:58:00.011-07:002020-10-08T12:18:54.658-07:00Book Review: Hawthorn Woods by Patrick Canning<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55148538-hawthorn-woods" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Hawthorn Woods" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1598580868l/55148538._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55148538-hawthorn-woods">Hawthorn Woods</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17913001.Patrick_Canning">Patrick Canning</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3570921175">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
<i>Disclaimer: I received a free copy from a publisher in exchange for an honest review!</i><br
/><b>MILD SPOILERS!<i></i></b><br /><br /><b>Synopsis</b>: Summer, 1989. Reeling from a catastrophic divorce she just can’t seem to leave behind, Francine Haddix flees San Francisco for a two-week stay at her sister’s house in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois. The quaint neighborhood of shady trees and friendly neighbors seems like the perfect place to sort through her pain and finally move on with her life—but the tranquility doesn’t last long.<br /><br />Beginning with a complete stranger throwing a drink in her face at her own welcome party, Francine soon discovers the supposedly idyllic suburb is hiding a disturbing number of mysteries. Why is the handsome-ish guy next door lying about who he is? What’s hidden in the back of the teenage troublemaker’s shed? Who wrote a threatening message in blood? Which of the smiling neighbors has a secret they’d kill to keep?<br /><br />Seeking to reclaim a natural passion for sleuthing numbed by her divorce, Francine rewrites her prescription from one of relaxation to one of investigation. If she can detect the lies, follow the clues, and remember how to trust herself, she might get to the bottom of what’s so very wrong in Hawthorn Woods. She might even be able to believe the future can be good again—assuming she lives long enough to be in it.<br /><br /><b>MY REVIEW</b><br /><br />So the reason why I became interested in Hawthorn Woods is that it's being compared to Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and Stranger Things tv show both which I absolutely loved. While the book gave some Big Little Lies vibes I didn't quite catch the Stranger Things mood. Maybe it's because I didn't live in the 80's so I didn't get most of the references. But then again, I almost never catch any Easter eggs from books or tv series anyway.<br /><br />The story was a bit slow to start and I had trouble getting interested in the beginning but when it truly got going around page 120 I was hooked. I read most of the book in one night because I couldn't put it down and got seriously sleep deprived because of that. I didn't see most of the plot twists coming and that was a pleasure. Some things totally surprised me and had to feverishly keep reading which is always a nice experience. Still I feel that the mystery element could've been done a bit better and smoother and in a way that would have hooked the reader sooner rather than later.<br /><br />The characters were really interesting especially our main gal Francine Haddix. She was well rounded up and I feel I got a good picture of what she was like. I wish the same could be said of other characters but most of them were just briefly mentioned or just some details were revealed and I think the reader would have benefited if there would've been more about everyone from all of the neighbors to the suspects and suspicious characters. That would have allowed more guessing about whodunnit because now there really was just two suspects.<br /><br />I really enjoyed seeing Francine's relationship with her nephew. I would have liked more about her ex-husband but I feel the length of the book got in a way of that. If the book would have been a bit longer maybe we would have gotten to know more. It would have been interesting to see more of her previous marriage explored because that too was one of the reasons I was interested in the book. Also I feel that Francine's relationship with Roland Gerber, one of the suspects, would have felt more realistic if the reader could have seen more of it developing. Now it felt kinda rushed and the trust Francine showed to him by talking openly about her divorce seemed a bit weird and sudden. Also the love interest of the book was a bit obvious- here's one single dude so he must be the romantic interest. I liked that he was quirky but, again, the length of the book didn't really allow that relationship to be fully explored either.<br /><br />The questionnaire at the beginning of each chapter was a nice addition and I enjoyed how it got incorporated to the story in the end. Also I liked the cover well enough. It wasn't ugly but it also wasn't something I would have picked up on my own from a library or a bookstore. I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but..<br /><br />All in all the story was nicely wrapped up in the end and after the slow start the story got really fast-paced towards the end!<br /><br />3 bunnies
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x Book BunnyBook Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-699564762725594410.post-15195784508099771032018-04-28T01:44:00.000-07:002018-04-29T07:02:10.109-07:00Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon UpdatesI'm so pumped for the readathon to start already! The starting time for me is 28th of April at 15:00 so it's still three more hours to go. I'm gonna prepare my snacks and be ready to read precisely at 15:00!<br />
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The Opening Meme is here!<br />
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<b>1. What fine part of the world are you reading from today?</b><br />
I'm reading from southern Finland!<br />
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<b>2. Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?</b><br />
Probably Obsidio because the series has been so amazing! But on the other hand I'm really looking forward to reading some manga as well.<br />
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<b>3. Which snack are you most looking forward to?</b><br />
I'm waiting for my fiancé to make something with cauliflower later :)<br />
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<b>4. Tell us a little something about yourself!</b><br />
My name is Book Bunny and I have two bunnies and a small dog.<br />
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<b>5. If you participated in the last readathon, what's one thing you'll do different today? </b><br />
I have been participating in so many readathons I can't even count the anymore. Also I have perfected the art of readathoning so I don't think I'll do anything differently :) Goals are the best!<br />
<br />
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I quite like the idea that the challenges are doable during the whole time the readathon runs so I think I'll start with those and after that start the reading. Let the challenges commense!<br />
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<h2>
How I heard about Dewey's -challenge</h2>
I haven't actually read that many short stories so I'll answer the question about Dewey's and how I heard about it.<br />
I have been blogging since 2013-ish and I think that around that time I also stumbled upon someone's entry declaring that they are going to participate in a 24 hour readathon. At that time I was new in blogosphere so I had no idea what that was about but I quickly found out. I was absolutely amazed that events like that were happening and so happy that I was able to participate because they were held online and were international and anyone could join. I joined my first ever readathon and that was it. Now I participate to every single Dewey's readathon and make sure my calendar is emply on those days (it's a two day event for me). I wouldn't miss these for the world!<br />
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<h2>
Updates</h2>
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21.45 </div>
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I have finished Gemina and Adulthood is a Myth and started Happy Happy Clover vol 1 and Sex Criminals vol 1. Also I ate cauliflower-broccoli thingy my fiancé made (it was really delicious) and my friend came over to read with me. So far so good but now I'm taking a break and playing some Overwatch!<br />
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22.50<br />
Done Overwatching and I feel a headache coming so I think I'll head to bed and read a little and then go to sleep.</div>
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<br />
11.30<br />
Good morning! I just woke up and now I'm ready to read again!<br />
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<h2>
Summary</h2>
I read 3 books<br />
- Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff<br />
- Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen<br />
- Sex Criminals vol 1 by Matt Fraction<br />
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.. and a total of 507 pages<br />
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x Book Bunny</div>
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<br />Book Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-699564762725594410.post-29971323180341982022018-04-27T09:17:00.000-07:002018-04-27T09:17:03.284-07:00Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon TBR and Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EIpCX13u_co/WuNIX2hmSSI/AAAAAAAAQro/uzc0FmubXhwoPuBcspAIpCUjmN67-KjWgCLcBGAs/s1600/31378769_10216915581750127_971206252971425792_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="780" data-original-width="780" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EIpCX13u_co/WuNIX2hmSSI/AAAAAAAAQro/uzc0FmubXhwoPuBcspAIpCUjmN67-KjWgCLcBGAs/s640/31378769_10216915581750127_971206252971425792_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Okay, so here's my TBR- pile for the readathon. If you haven't heard of Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon be sure to check it out <a href="http://www.24hourreadathon.com/">here</a>.<br />
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<h2>
<u>Books I attempt to read</u></h2>
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- The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking<br />
- Pokemon Adventures vol 3<br />
- Pokemon Adventures vol 4<br />
- Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen<br />
- Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman<br />
- Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman<br />
- Sex Criminals vol 1. by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky<br />
- Happy Happy Clover vol 1<br />
- Happy Happy Clover vol 2<br />
<br />
I have already started Gemina so I'll be finishing it and I want to start Obsidio after that but not necessarily finish it. I want to read it slowly and not devour it on one sitting though I'm aware that it can happen too..<br />
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Also we went to the local library AFTER I took the photo above so there are a couple of manga's I'm adding to the list. I don't want to take that photo again 'cuz I'm lazy and it took some arranging!<br />
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I think I'm gonna keep my goals super simple and just try to have fun and take no pressure of actually reading every book I listed (though it's gonna be one of the goals). You never know what happens..<br />
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<h2>
<u>Goals</u></h2>
<div>
- Complete the books I listed</div>
<div>
- Participate in challenges</div>
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- Read with a friend</div>
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- Sleep</div>
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- Eat lots of (healthy) snacks</div>
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- Have fun!</div>
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<br /></div>
I'm adding sleeping to the goals because this time I know I don't want to fuck with my sleeping schedule. It takes way too much effort to try and fix it!<br />
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I hope everyone has an amazing readathon!<br />
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x Book Bunny<br />
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<br />Book Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-699564762725594410.post-53388219689375996662018-04-26T07:55:00.002-07:002018-04-26T07:55:49.831-07:00Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon (28th of April 2018)It's here again! I know I usually make these kind of posts way earlier than this but what can you do :) I'm participating though I'm not sure if I'll be able to read the whole 24 hours but I at least want to try.<br />
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There's a bunch of manga and graphic novels I really want to read including some Pokemon Adventures but I'll be making my TBR and goals post a bit later. Once I have decided all the rest I want to read. Plus I have no idea if I'll be able to finish the book I'm currently reading or if I need to include it too.. You know what I'm saying!<br />
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I hope everyone will be able to participate!<br />
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x Book BunnyBook Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-699564762725594410.post-34744525733033355362017-10-21T04:57:00.000-07:002017-10-22T03:04:58.059-07:00Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Progess and Challenges<b><u>15:00</u></b> -<br />
I decided not to count pages every hour but instead count them at the very end to save some time (and let's face it I'm lazy)<br />
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<i><u>1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?</u></i><br />
I'm reading from Finland and the starting time here is 15:00 on Saturday.<br />
<br />
<i><u>2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?</u></i><br />
The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama<br />
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<i><u>3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?</u></i><br />
I like all of my snacks so can't really choose :D<br />
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<i><u>4) Tell us a little something about yourself!</u></i><br />
I'm Book Bunny and I have two bunnies and a dog :)<br />
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<i><u>5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll
do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most
looking forward to?</u></i><br />
I have participated so many times I don't even remember! I woun't do anything differently except now I'm participating with my friend! <br />
<br />
<b><u>16:00</u></b> -<br />
I spent the first hour studying so I didn't have any fun :D <br />
<br />
<b><u>17:00</u></b> -<br />
I started the Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama and some random person. Very interesting but so far kinda disappointing that there are more thoughts and examples from the random person (Howard C. Cutler) than from Dalai Lama :(<br />
<br />
<b><u>18:00</u></b> -<br />
Started The Boy in Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne and it's so captivating that I need to continue it right away. bye <br />
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<b><u>19:00</u></b> -<br />
Didn't have any time to read because had to take care of some errands.<br />
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<b><u>20:00</u></b> -<br />
I took my dog out for a walk and then continued reading. I'm now almost at page 100 in Striped Pyjamas. So far feeling good!<br />
<br />
<u>Ten Years in Ten Books -challenge:</u><br />
2007 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (obviously)<br />
2008 - The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman<br />
2009 - One Day by David Nicholls<br />
2010 - Room by Emma Donoghue<br />
2011 - Ready Player One by Ernest Cline<br />
2012 - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn<br />
2013 - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion<br />
2014 - Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty<br />
2015 - Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff<br />
2016 - Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff<br />
2017 - Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor<br />
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<b><u>21:00</u></b> -<br />
I ate some excellent food my bf made and continued with The Boy in Striped Pyjamas.<br />
<br />
Bookish Crossword Puzzle -challenge:<br />
1. Quidditch<br />
2. Mr. Darcy<br />
3. Twilight<br />
4. Narnia<br />
5. Fangirl<br />
6. Percy Jackson<br />
7. Hamlet<br />
8. Mordor<br />
9. The Hunger Games<br />
10. Wonderland<br />
11. Charles Dickens<br />
12. Shadowhunter<br />
13. Alagaesia<br />
14. Sherlock Holmes<br />
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<b><u>22:00</u></b> -<br />
Continued to read Striped Pyjamas and then did some studying.<br />
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<b><u>23:00 </u></b>-<br />
Continued to study and read some more of Striped Pyjamas. It's so sad can't handle it.<br />
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<b><u>00:00</u></b> -<br />
I finished Striped Pyjamas and started Zom-B by Darren Shan.<br />
<br />
<b><u>01:00</u></b> -<br />
I'm 70 pages in Zom-B. It's one in the morning and I'm thinking on staying up 'till three or four maybe and then catching a little sleep. I need to sleep because I have an exam on Monday so I can't really be sleep deprived then :D<br />
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<b><u>02:00</u></b> -<br />
Still going strong and not tired at all! I'm now on page 130 on Zom-B.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mid-Event Survey</strong><span style="background-color: white;">:</span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><u><i>1. What are you reading right now?</i></u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I'm reading Zom-B by Darren Shan and The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><i><u>2. How many books have you read so far?</u></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have finished one book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><i><u>3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?</u></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I really want to finish Zom-B and then start The Catcher in the Rye!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><i><u>4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?</u></i></span></span><br />
Yes I have had a few but most of them were planned. I just did the chores I needed to and then went back onto reading.<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit;" /><span style="background-color: white;"><i><u>5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?</u></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">Well, I actually thought I would have read more by now but I guess I just miscalculated. It's not a big deal to me. The most important thing is to have fun and I am!</span></span><br />
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<b><u>03:00</u></b> -<br />
Now I'm starting to yawn a lot so I think I'll retire for the night, sleep a couple of hours and then continue reading :) My plan is to wake up at nine in the morning but let's see if that actually happens!<br />
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<b><u>04:00</u></b> -<br />
I slept<br />
<br />
<b><u>05:00</u></b> -<br />
and slept<br />
<br />
<b><u>06:00</u></b> -<br />
and slept..<br />
<br />
<b><u>07:00</u></b> -<br />
and slept<br />
<br />
<b><u>08:00</u></b> -<br />
and slept<br />
<br />
<b><u>09:00</u></b> -<br />
considered waking up but then didn't<br />
<br />
<b><u>10:00</u></b> -<br />
Then I slept some more<br />
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<b><u>11:00</u></b> -<br />
and more<br />
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<b><u>12:00</u></b> -<br />
and then I woke up!<br />
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<b><u>13:00</u></b> -<br />
I'm going to quit early because I somehow don't feel like reading right now and don't want myself ending up in a reading slump! But it has been fun!<br />
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<b><u>14:00</u></b> -<br />
-<br />
<br />
<b><u>15:00</u></b> -<br />
Pages read: 504<br />
Hours listened: 1h 40min<br />
Books finished: 2<br />
Challenges completed: 3/6<br />
Hours awake: 14<br />
Hours asleep: 8<br />
Thoughts: I know I quit early but I had so much fun and I managed to read 2 whole books and I'm really pleased with myself :) Definitely going to participate to the next one too!Book Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-699564762725594410.post-91478602664415441482017-10-20T12:36:00.001-07:002017-10-20T12:36:57.430-07:00Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon TBR and GoalsOkay, so I decided the books for my TBR-pile according to what challenges I haven't yet completed towards my popsugar reading challenge (which runs for a whole year). Here are the books in no particular order:<div>
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<div>
- The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan<br />- The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne<br />- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger<br />- Zom-b by Darren Shan<br />- The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama<br />- Battle Royale by Koushun Takami</div>
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The plan is to read all of the books above except Battle Royale which I'm just going to continue if I have the time.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I also have some goals for myself to keep myself motivated. Here they are:</div>
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- Complete all 5 of the books above<br />- Participate to challenges<br />- Spend 3 hours studying<br />- Update progress hourly<br />- Read at least 15 hours<br />- Have fun!</div>
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<br /></div>
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So that's it! Pretty simple and I'm positive I can complete all of those books if I just stay awake long enough :)</div>
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- Book Bunny</div>
Book Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-699564762725594410.post-66482288133252020392017-10-17T09:46:00.003-07:002017-10-17T09:46:58.730-07:00Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon 10Dewey's 24 hour readathon is here again and of course I want to participate! The readathon is held on Saturday October 21st and because of timezones mine will actually start at 15:00 on Saturday. If you want more info about the readathon you can find everything in <a href="http://www.24hourreadathon.com/">here</a>.<br />
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I used to have my blog on my own website but after not using that regularly at all I decided to transfer my blog back where everything started: blogger!<br />
<br />
But about the readathon. I'm planning on setting some challenges to myself to keep myself motivated during the readathon so I'll be posting those soon. Also my TBR will probably be up a day before the readathon actually starts. Right now I have absolutely no idea what I'll be reading :)<br />
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I hope you get to participate as well. I'll be posting hourly updates like I used to do in my old blog and I'll also be participating to most of the challenges in here.<br />
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See you soon!<br />
Book BunnyBook Bunnyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17724167269418238726noreply@blogger.com0