JANUARY 2020: Let's Talk Progress!

[destiny ♡]

Once the reading challenge starts, you can come over here and share the first book you're reading! Maybe you'll find someone else reading the exact same one?

Have you finished a book? Tell us as well! Maybe even add some of your thoughts about the book. Did you enjoy it? Or didn't you?

What's going to be your next read?

Every small progress you make, you can share here! Even if you just want to talk about a huge event that just occurred and you need to shout about it for a bit.

[Ilsen]

My TBR is way too big but I will be sharing here:

1. 738 Days by Stacey Kade

Other Reads:
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Gods
Butterfly Yellow by Thannha Lai
Dracula by Bram Stoker

[Vicki Willis]

I finished one, albeit a short one from 2014!
Whistleblower A 3 star, whoa is me, damsel in distress romance with some mystery/thriller thrown in.
Tess Gerrittsen from long ago, not her usual suspense thriller she writes now.

[Kelly]

I'm around a quarter way through my first read The Defiant Heir, which I'm loving even more than book one.

I also picked out my 2nd book which will be A Conjuring of Light- so these are my two biggest books of this month!!

[Dana]

I finished Very Good Lives but it was because I wanted to read it really bad so it's not part of January Jam Jar.

I just created the list and took out the first note. I will read The Last Wish and I can't wait!!!!

[Aymee]

Dana wrote: "I finished Very Good Lives but it was because I wanted to read it really bad so it's not part ..."

The Last Wish was so good! Currently working on Sword of Destiny in my free time!

[Dana]

Aymee wrote: "Dana wrote: "I finished Very Good Lives but it was because I wanted to read it really bad so i..."

Happy reading!! Can't wait to read this as well and then watch the tv show. I've only watched the third episode at a friend's house and that's how I decided to prioritize this so I bought the first book.

I have no regrets!

[NAT.orious reads ☾]

⫸ The Last Wish - done: surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable.


⫸ The Thorn Princess - done: valuable in that it taught me how to approach fairytale tellings.

⫸ The Road - done: an utter joke romance and plot wise. at least i'm 1 book closer to finishing the series.

⫸ The Art of Wayfinding: Discover Your Inner Guide On & Off the Mat - done: although not what I was hoping for, I can still appreciate it for what it might offer to other readers.

⫸ The Thorn Princess - done: better than the prequel, that's for sure.

⫸ The Hunt - done: full of potential, I hope the sequel to this slightly disappointing first book in a promising series turns out better.

⫸ The Wolf and the Sparrow The Thorn Princess - done: although it quenched my thirst for gay love, the overall plot lacked thrill and anticipation.

⫸ Configured - done: neither a hunger games nor a divergent, this was still pleasant and entertaining.

⫸ Ten Thousand Skies Above You - done: better than the prequel, just as it should be with a series.

⫸ Immersed - done: also better than the prequel, but still not mind-blowing.

⫸ Through the Ever Night - done: definitely picked up towards the end, but it was sadly one of those filler-sequels.

⫸ The Raven and the Dove - done: although i say bad things about YA all the time, I technically love this genre. that novel, however was the definition of disappointing.

⫸ Veil of MidnightImmersed - done: it was smutty and that's all I really wanted [smirk].

[Krystal]

This is my list:

The Bedlam Stacks
The Scarred Woman
Oasis
Jar of Hearts
The Weekend
Angel Mage
Supernova
Moral Compass
Deeplight

I've started Oasis first and so far it's really good! The suspense is right up there and I'm looking forward to some bizarre occurrences.

[Aymee]

Dana wrote: "Aymee wrote: "Dana wrote: "I finished Very Good Lives but it was because I wanted to read it r..."

Enjoy! I have two episodes left and a lot of them deal with the stories in the first book.

[Dana]

Aymee wrote: "Dana wrote: "Aymee wrote: "Dana wrote: "I finished Very Good Lives but it was because I wanted..."

Thank you for letting me know!
So I'm safe to watch the first season without getting spoiled in the next books.

[Elizabeth]

Have you finished a book? yes
finished books are :
Burma: The Forgotten War 4 star
The Fortress2 stars
The God Game 2 star
Pirate Latitudes 4
Mermaid Inn4.5
New York to Dallas5 stars
An Inconvenient Duke 5
Honor Among Thieves4.5
The Six4.5
Catacombs3
In Search of Truth4.5
The Wives 5
Cilka's Journey 3


What's going to be your next read?
Calling on Quinn
999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz
Glow Book I, Potency
Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War

finished


reading:

[Aymee]

Dana wrote: "Aymee wrote: "Dana wrote: "Aymee wrote: "Dana wrote: "I finished Very Good Lives but it was be..."

For the most part, yes. Episode 6 or so is from the second book, but both of the first ones are collections of short stories, so not sure how spoiled you will be, if that makes any sense.

[Krystal]

Finished and it was a great read! Had so many twists and turns I never really knew what was going on XD

My full review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Arden]

I've just been doing my own thing since the year began, but the first book I will be picking up for this challenge is The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. I'm also starting Beneath the Sugar Sky by Seanan McGuire, I need an audiobook going at the same time.

[Fefe]

Finished the main three readings for my English class:

- The Lottery - this was a reread, I picked up some of the red flags/clues to the main twist and I felt more of the dread surrounding the ending this time around. 4/5
- Cat Person - a short story published in the New Yorker that went viral because people thought it was real. I didn't think it was that much surprising to go viral, but I thought it depicted how awkward, cringe and scary dating can be. 3/5
- The Testaments - I am shocked that this book won the Booker Prize because this didn't feel like a Booker Prize book. The first 70 pages were so good and fast-paced, but as the story went on it become a generic YA dystopian book. One of the POV was so annoying and the climax got resolved too quickly for such a complicated society. The atmosphere and ambiguous writing disappeared in this installment and it didn't feel like Margaret Atwood wrote this book. This made me go back and raise my rating for the first book. My first disappointment of the year. 1.75/5

My goal now is to finish The Seafarer's Kiss, which I have been reading for 2 weeks, before my next reading for my class, The Carrying: Poems

[Susy]

January 2020 TBR
Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold → FINISHED
The Eternity Code (from my 2019 TBR) → starting now
The Opal Deception (from my 2019 TBR)
Watership Down → moved to November
The Bear and the Nightingale → FINISHED
Kinderen helpen bij verlies → postponed

[kylie]

I just finished Dry yesterday. I actually started it last year and for some reason I put it down and never picked it up again until this month. I thought it was soooo good. I found myself tearing up a couple times towards the end ( but that could just be me since I'm an emotional person).
ANYWAY, great start to my year I think.
I just started Rest in the Mourning and I'm excited because I feel like I'm going to be able to relate to a lot of the poems.

Jan.29
I may have strayed away from my tbr list. I have some books on my Kindle that have been easier to read than beinging an actual book. I'm currently read The Girl In Between and Captivate.

[Krystal]

I finished two more:

Moral Compass
and
Supernova

Supernova is my first 5-star for the year - such a great conclusion to the Renegades trilogy!

[Ashly]

I'm still on my first pick . On page 199/408. So far I'm liking it but there is nothing exciting going on.

My next read will be

[A Robin Reads]

I haven't read any of the books I planned for this. Hopefully can finish up some current reads this weekend, so I can start Monday with A dance with dragons

[Kelly]

After a slump and hardly any reading this month, I finally finished The Defiant Heir today and loved it. Around halfway through Bid my Soul Farewell too, so lots of reading has happened today. :) Hopefully this means my slump is over now!

[Brandy]

This month I'm reading:

The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan - This is my book club's pick for the month. It's #2 in a series, though also stands alone. It's a typical who-dun-it mystery novel. I'm about 60% through - it's fine, though not a can't-put-down suspense read.
>READ (3/5)

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - My January Jam Jar pick. I got this book for Christmas. I'm about half way through and really enjoying it. I'm from Kentucky and appreciate the references to my home state. Some parts are quite troubling, but it's a well-written story so far.
>READ (5/5)

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sara Pekkanen - This year I wanted to give audio books a try, and this is my very first. I picked it because I liked the authors' previous book, The Wife Between Us, but also this was the first audio book I could get on Libby :) I'm enjoying listening to it - you get two perspectives from two different characters, and the manipulation happening between the two is intriguing and unsettling.
>READ (3/5)

The Alice Network - A borrowed book that has been on my TBR for quite a while. I've just started it and may not finish before the end of the month.

[Fefe]

Finished two more books:

The Seafarer's Kiss - the beginning was good with setting up the mermaid atmosphere, but everything else felt so rushed. If this book had the average page-length of a YA novel or just a few more pages, the characters, romance and climax would be developed better. Romance cute but rushed, and there was a scene involving violence between the couple that I felt problematic. I also think this story tried to be too much in few pages - Little Mermaid retelling, Ursula origin story. 2.75/5

The Carrying: Poems - As someone who doesn't like poetry, I enjoyed this collection. Not any poem mindblowing that made me fall in love with poetry, but I understood the messages and meanings because of the simplicity and non-flowery writing. 3/5

[Krystal]

READ:
Oasis (Review Here)
Supernova (Review Here)
Moral Compass (Review Here)

JUST FINISHED:
Jar of Hearts (Review Here)

CURRENTLY READING:
Our Dark Secret

STILL TO GO:
The Bedlam Stacks
The Scarred Woman
The Weekend
Angel Mage
Deeplight

[Susy]

January 2020 TBR
Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold → FINISHED
The Eternity Code (from my 2019 TBR) → FINISHED
The Opal Deception → reading now
Watership Down → moved to November
The Bear and the Nightingale → FINISHED
Kinderen helpen bij verlies → postponed

Finished : loved being back with Artemis, Holly and Butler

Now reading : a bit similar to #2 but enjoying it nonetheless

Hoping to finish this one today and then continue with

[Inge (Inge1990)]

i have finished brida, time to finish some more books

[Susy]

January 2020 TBR
Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold → FINISHED
The Eternity Code (from my 2019 TBR) → FINISHED
The Opal Deception → FINISHED
Watership Down → moved to November
The Bear and the Nightingale → FINISHED
Kinderen helpen bij verlies → postponed
The Lost Colony → FINISHED

Probably no more books from my TBR this month...

[Icy-Cobwebs-Crossing-SpaceTime]

Read: ARC. Short Horror Stories Vol 8 (Scare Street) ARC
Feast of Fear: Supernatural Horror with Scary Ghosts & Haunted Houses ARC
The Tenant. ARC. Divergence.
The Purity of Vengeance ARC. Divergence
The God Game.ARC. LGBT
Storm Island. ARC.
Shadow Puppet ARC. LGBT.
The God Game ARC. YA.
Lion's Head Revisited

Charlie Harmer and The Lady In Red. Author's ARC.Pace
A Beginning at the EndARC. NG.
Short Horror Stories Vol. 9: Scary Ghosts, Monsters, Demons, and Hauntings. ARC
The Shadows of Summer
The Tao of the Viper ARC
The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane ARC
The Secret of White Stone Gate ARC
Pace
Midwinter Folk
And Throw Away the Skins
The Tantrum Monster
The Girl Without Skin
Cold Fear
Pray For Rain
Breach of Duty
Evil Librarian--Reread
Curse of the Evil Librarian
Cold Storage
Nightshade's Requiem
The Third to Die
Cast in Wisdom
The Gloaming
The Other People
The Dark Continent
Glissando
Fault Lines
IMPLOSION: The search is on for six million dollars hidden in a Las Vegas hotel destined for destruction!
Penguin Misses Mom. Virtual Mount TBR.
Sam The Speedy Sloth
The Absolution: A Thriller
Nolan's Ark
My Hair-Raising and Heartwarming Adventures as a Pet Sitter: A Life of Fun, Fur, and Faith
The Unwilling
Twelve Nights at Rotter House

[Krystal]

READ:
Oasis (Review Here)
Supernova (Review Here)
Moral Compass (Review Here)
Jar of Hearts (Review Here)

JUST FINISHED:
Our Dark Secret (Review Here)

CURRENTLY READING:
Deeplight

STILL TO GO:
The Scarred Woman
The Weekend

[T.]

Well, the books I was still finishing from December took longer than I anticipated, so I am only just now reading the first of my Jam Jar picks: The Witchwood Crown. I don't expect I'll see much progress on the rest of my January list. Fortunately, many of them fit nicely into Fantastic February!

[Krystal]

READ:
Oasis (Review Here)
Supernova (Review Here)
Moral Compass (Review Here)
Jar of Hearts (Review Here)
Our Dark Secret (Review Here)

JUST FINISHED:
Deeplight (Review Here)

CURRENTLY READING:
Catching Teller Crow

STILL TO GO:
The Scarred Woman
The Weekend

[Krystal]

Just gonna post my final result, since it's unlikely to change in the next two days. Def gonna try and get as much of my last one read as possible!

READ:
Oasis (Review Here)
Supernova (Review Here)
Moral Compass (Review Here)
Jar of Hearts (Review Here)
Our Dark Secret (Review Here)
Deeplight (Review Here)

JUST FINISHED:
Catching Teller Crow (Review Here)
The Weekend (Review Here)

CURRENTLY READING:
The Scarred Woman

[Ashly]

I am on page 102 of Prince Charming, my second book. I might not finish be able to finish by the end of this month.

[A Robin Reads]

I read only one book for this group in January. It's called Double down by Jeff Kinney, the 11th book in the Diary of a wimpy kid series. I gave it 3 stars, because the series is getting a bit old.

[Dana]

I have read 3 books this month, none of them from the Jar =)).

But at least I read something, so I won in my heart anyway :)).