BookTube-A-Thon Wrap Up

Hey guys!  During the last week of July, Alexandra and I both decided to tackle the BookTube-A-Thon!  This is a readathon that I’ve participated in for a few years now, and after dragging Alexandra with me I thought we’d talk about our prospective experiences.

The BookTube-A-Thon is hosted once a year by Ariel Bissett, and took place on July 24-July 30.  It’s the largest readathon on Youtube and overall a really fun way to read more during the summer and explore your TBRs and bookshelves.  So without further ado, let’s get started!

So the Biannual Bibliothon took place during the same time, and I tried to be ambitious and complete both readathons. I even had a pool of books to choose from to give my week some variety. But between my summer classes and the two readathons and a bunch of other events I had that week I basically did not complete any of the Biannual Bibliothon challenges :(

when you just wanna read but math is no fun
and e v e r y t h i n g distracts you

And because of said classes, at the end my BookTube-A-Thon basically turned into a 24-Hour readathon.  Thankfully, most of my books overlapped challenges but for the sake of seeing everything clearly I matched only 1 or 2 books to a challenge. I think I was definitely successful this time than my previous attempts, but...well you’ll see why.

1. book with a person on the cover:
- The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
2. hyped book

- One-Punch Man Vol. 1
3. finish a book in one day

- Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1) by Bryan Lee O’Malley
4. finish a book completely outdoors

- Lost at Sea by Bryan Lee O’Malley
5. read a book about a very different character from you

- William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back (William Shakespeare’s Star Wars #5) by Ian Doescher
- Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2) by Bryan Lee O’Malley
6. read a book you bought because of the cover

- 48% of Starflight by Melissa Landers (It was pretty much half so I consider that a win. But now I'm glad I'm taking a little longer because it's really good!)
7. read seven books

- N/A

Yeah I know a bunch of them were graphic novels, and actually both Scott Pilgrims and Perks were rereads.  I was trying to complete the book-to-movie adaptation challenge for the Biannual Bibliothon, and wanted to redeem my 12-year-old self and watch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. But that didn't happen.

However Perks somehow ends up fitting that one hard challenge every year for the summer readathons, so it’s become almost a tradition to read it every year.  And honestly, I kinda like it. It’s an incredibly touching, moving, and I love rereading it and learning even more little lessons than I had the previous time.

Challenges completed: 5.5/7

While Izzy was calm and collected throughout the
week, this was probably me in the background
panicking about what to read.

So I had been contemplating participating for a while and hadn’t initially planned on doing it, but I last minute changed my mind and decided to participate in BookTubeAThon with Izzy (which is why I didn’t post anything here about it).

Anyway, it happened and I didn’t do terribly? Normally I’m not so good with these things but I did alright all things considered, especially because I was away (and had to rely mostly on ebooks which usually take me forever to read and are usually not my priority TBR) and I didn’t have much time to read during the week. ANYWAY ENOUGH RAMBLING. Let’s go see which challenges I completed, shall we?

1. book with a person on the cover:
- A Reaper of Stone by Mark Gelineau and Joe King
- The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

2. hyped book: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

3. finish a book in one day
- A Reaper of Stone by Mark Gelineau and Joe King
- Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

4. finish a book completely outdoors: N/A

5. read a book about a very different character from you: Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

6. read a book you bought because of the cover: A Reaper of Stone by Mark Gelineau and Joe King

7. read seven books: N/A

Okay, so truth be told, I only read 3 books (as you could probably tell). To be honest, it was more like 2 because A Reaper of Stone was the length of a novella. Don't look at me like that. I tried my best. Okay, fine. I could have tried harder and I am disappointed in myself too. Especially because I didn't even try to squeeze a few more novellas or graphic novels or anything in last minute (and I totally could have because I was back home for the final three days of the readathon...) But hey, I still completed more than half of the challenges!

Challenges completed: 5/7

July Wrap-Up

Hi guys! I can't believe summer's almost over. Fortunately though, I've read some AMAZING books in the past month, and have plans to read many more in the next few weeks.

BOOKS READ:
- When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon - 4 stars
- Warcross by Marie Lu - 3.5/4 stars
- Monstress, Volume 2: The Blood by Marjorie Liu - rating pending
- Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley - 4.5 stars
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer - 4 stars
- A Reaper of Stone by Mark Gelineau and Joe King - 3 stars
- The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson - 3.5 stars

CURRENTLY READING:
- Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
- Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick

UP NEXT:
- A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
- Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

May + June Wrap-Up

Hi guys! Soooo I haven't written a wrap-up since December, but I'll just recap the past two months because I didn't really keep track of all the things going on during the past six months (I can't believe we're halfway through 2017 already...)

Books Read in May
- Windwitch by Susan Dennard - 5/5
- Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff - 4/5

Books Read in June
- Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody - 3/5
- Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed - 4.5/5
- Monstress, Volume 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu 3.5/5
- The Universe of Us by Lang Leav - (rating pending)
- Dear Martin by Nic Stone - 5/5

Book Haul
- Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh (ARC)
- Umberland by Wendy Spinale
- Blacksouls by Nicole Castroman
- BookCon haul
- Made You Up by Francesca Zappia
- Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart (ARC)
- The Fashion Committee by Susan Juby (ARC)
- When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Blog Things - Literary Legionnaire turned TWO in June! Thanks to everyone who has supported me the past few years (and sorry for not having a fancy blog post/giveaway or anything this year. Will hopefully do something for next year!) <3

August Wrap-Up + September TBR

I can't believe summer is coming to a close... It went by so fast :/ Anyway, here's what happened in August.

Books Read:
- Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst
- Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Currently Reading:
- Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
- Spells and Sorcery by S. Usher Evans

Haul:
- BookItCon haul
- Nevernight by Jay Kristoff
- Phantom Limbs by Paula Garner (thanks for trading with me, Nori!)
- Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Reviewed:
- Kids of Appetite by David Arnold (4.5 stars)
- Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (3/3.5 stars)
- Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (4.5 stars)

Other Posts:
- Claudia reviewed The Geography of You & Me by Jennifer E. Smith (DNF)
- Hogwarts House Identity Crisis
- BookItCon Recap + Haul

Challenges:
- Since I wasn't able to do a lot of reading this month (if you couldn't tell), I'm definitely not going to be writing wrap-up posts for the ReadThemAllThon or ARC August... although I did manage to read Of Fire and Stars for ARC August (review probably not going to go up until October though). And I got my Cascade Badge for the ReadThemAllThon! Although I didn't end up crying (and it wasn't my original choice for the badge), I expected to cry while reading Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo, so it still counts, right? RIGHT? (I'm desperate)

September TBR

It's going to be an extremely busy month for me, so I doubt I'll be able to read all of these, but if I can manage it, I'm hoping to read the following:

1. finish the books I'm currently reading (2)
3. The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
4. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
5. Bright Smoke, Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

How was your August? What are your reading plans this month?

July Wrap-Up

Hi guys! Can you believe that today is the last day of July? Because  I can't. I really can't. At all. Summer is flying by so fast and it's freaking me out just a tiny bit. Anyway, here's what happened this past month!

Haul
- This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (purchased)
- Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven (ARC I selected as a B-Fest/First in Line prize)
- A World Without You by Beth Revis (purchased)
- Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen (purchased as a blind date book)

Read - about half the books I read last month were pretty mediocre, so I am so happy that I enjoyed all of the books I finished this month!
- The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace
- Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith
- Everland by Wendy Spinale
- Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

Reviewed
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (5 stars)
- A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (4/4.5 stars)
- Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith (4.5 stars)
- Everland by Wendy Spinale (5 stars)

Other Things I Posted
- TBR discussion
- real world representation in YA
- A World Without You Event Recap

Exciting Happenings on the Blog
- Claudia joined Literary Legionnaire! Check out the coblogger announcement and her introduction here
- New blog header! I came up with the idea and worked on a super rough sketch, and then Claudia transformed my idea into a beautiful new header design *heart eyes*
- I reached 100 Bloglovin' followers! Even though I try not to focus on the numbers, I am so thankful to you all for helping me reach this wonderful milestone!

Around the Blogosphere
- Jess @ Princessica of Books discussed the struggle between quality vs. quantity when it comes to reading
- Alex @ Fiery Reads discussed rating books based on their technicalities versus the enjoyment factor
- Claudia @ PenMarkings pondered whether YA characters should be seen as role models
- Claudia @ PenMarkings also explained why she wants more love interests in books
- Aentee @ Read At Midnight is hosting the Indigo League #ReadThemAllThon reading challenge

June Wrap-Up

Hey guys! June went by so fast, didn't it? I can't believe we're already a third of the way through summer... On the bright side though, a lot of bookish things happened this month!

HAUL

Books I Bought

1. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

2. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor

3. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

4. Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
5. Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Books I Won

B-Fest

1. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (ARC)

2. Kids of Appetite by David Arnold (ARC)

Giveaways

1. The Telling by Alexandra Sirowy (ARC) - thank you so much, Alexandra Sirowy!
2. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (eBook) - thank you again, Tamara!

BOOKS I READ

1. Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin

2. For the Record by Charlotte Huang

3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

4. Kids of Appetite by David Arnold (ARC)
5. The Siren by Kiera Cass
6. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

THE BLOG

Books I Reviewed

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (3.5 stars)

For the Record by Charlotte Huang (2.5 stars)

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (4.5 stars)

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (4 stars)

The Neverland Wars (DNF)
The Siren (2.5 stars)

Discussions I Posted

Wherein I Attempt to Explain the Significance of Secondary Characters

The Complexity of Rating Contemporaries

Guests Who Posted

Shelly shared some book recommendations in her YA LGBT+ Books Start Guide

Other Blogging/Bookish Events

 I thanked some friends and shared some lessons and favorites from the year in celebration of my one-year blogoversary! Thank you to all who have supported me so far <3

I started a bookish instagram (aka a bookstagram)! It's still a work in progress, but I'm enjoying the different outlet for expressing my love of books and exploring a different type of photography.



I was resorted into a Hogwarts house on Pottermore because I forgot my previous account's info, and now I'm having an identity crisis again. So this might get ramble-y, but before I took the Sorting Hat quiz on Pottermore a few months ago, I always considered myself a Ravenclaw. That's what every other quiz I'd ever taken said, that's what I classified myself as to begin with, and I'm pretty sure I randomly stumbled across the Pottermore one online somewhere too and that said I was a Ravenclaw...? Anyway, I took the new official quiz a few months ago after they revamped the site, and it said I was a Slytherin. I was kind of shocked, but I grew to accept and love that I was a Slytherin. Flash forward to Tuesday when I created a new account, and I got sorted into Gryffindor. And then I took the Ilvermorny (North American equivalent of Hogwarts) Sorting quiz and I got Pukwudgie...  WHO EVEN AM I?!?!? 

April + May Wrap-Up

Since I was on a reading/blogging hiatus for the past few weeks, not much happened, but here's a quick recap of the few things that did go on in April and May!

What I Read:
1. The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh (4.5 stars)
2. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner (4.5 stars)
3. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (3.5 stars)
4. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (5 stars)

Keep an eye out for my reviews of TGFE and DOSAB within the next few weeks!

What I'm Currently Reading:
1. The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse
2. Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst

What I Posted:
DISCUSSIONS | In Which I Start to Ramble about the Complexity of Rating Systems | Why It's Okay to Give High Ratings | Is There a Perfect Time to Rate a Book?

I also posted a discussion about review style on Nori's blog, ReadWriteLove28. If you're interested, you can check out that post here :)

REVIEWS | The Rose & the Dagger | A Darker Shade of Magic

GUEST POSTS | Jess from Princessica of Books | Maha from Younicorn Reads |  J.A. George, author of GIFTED

EVENTS | Fantastic Reads Event Recap

March Wrap-Up

What I Read:
- The Crown and the Arrow (The Wrath and the Dawn #0.5) by Renée Ahdieh
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye
- A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
- The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
- Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
- A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
- The Island by S. Usher Evans
- Never Stop Falling by Ashley Drew
- The Moth and the Flame (The Wrath and the Dawn #0.25) by Renée Ahdieh

ARCs/Review Copies:
- The Neverland Wars by Audrey Greathouse
- The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh - much thanks to Cat for sending it to me <3

What I'm Currently Reading:

- Truthwitch by Susan Dennard - I finally picked this one back up again! I was enjoying it before, but the hype was seriously getting to me and other people's opinions were distorting my enjoyment of the book. I'm so glad I held off on finishing it because now I'm in the mood again!

- A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab - I absolutely adored A Darker Shade of Magic and I am loving A Gathering of Shadows so far! I liked Lila before, but she has become absolutely EPIC since I last encountered her in A Darker Shade of Magic. So far, Kell's story isn't as interesting though, and I absolutely ADORED Kell in the last book. I'm hoping things pick up with him soon.

- Nowhere But Here by Katie McGarry - I've only read the first chapter so far, so I'm not really sure what I think of it yet, but based on what I have read, I'm not loving it as much as I loved the Pushing the Limits books.

- The Rose and the Dagger - I've only read the prologue because school just started back up and I'm already drowning in work (or so it seems), but I really hope I'll find the time to read it soon because I absolutely adore Renée Ahdieh's writing and I loved The Wrath and the Dawn so so so much.

What I Posted: Gena/Finn (ARC review) | The Star-Touched Queen (ARC review) | The Crown's Game (ARC review) | Sword and Verse (DNF review) | Rebel of the Sands (review) | The Orphan Queen (review)

February Wrap-Up

February went by so fast. Granted, it's the shortest month of the year, but still! We're already 1/6 of the way through 2016. It's crazy! Anyway, I did not read a ton this month, but I got way too many books to count (I used some holiday gift cards, but I still feel a tiny bit guilty).

BOOKS I BOUGHT THIS MONTH:

1. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman
2. Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin
3. The Siren by Kiera Cass
4. The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry
5. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
6. The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
7. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

GIFTED/WON THIS MONTH:

1. Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson (received from a friend)
2. Places No One Knows by Brenna Yavanoff (received from a friend)
3. The Way Back to You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott (received from a friend)
4. How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather (received from a friend)
5. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (won in a giveaway)
6. The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye (won in a giveaway)

BOOKS I READ THIS MONTH:

1. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman (check out my review here!)
2. Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson (review going up tomorrow!)
3. The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (review going up next week!)

CURRENTLY READING:

1. Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan - I might DNF this one though... I haven't decided yet.
2. The Island by S. Usher Evans
3. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
4. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

DISCUSSION POST(S) THIS MONTH:

1. "Are Epilogues Necessary?" and the "Cookie-Cutter Epilogue"

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE THIS MONTH:

1. Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books, Cee @ The Novel Hermit, Hazel @ Stay Bookish, and Mel @ The Daily Prophecy hosted the 2016 Love-A-Thon
2. Kit Cat @ Let the Pages Reign talked about why an author is 50% of the book
3. Aila @ One Way or An Author shared 5 popular character descriptions in YA literature
4. Alex @ Fiery Reads discussed whether you can love a book but hate the ending
5. Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales shared insecurities of book bloggers

December Wrap-Up

I hope you all had a lovely holiday and have a happy New Year! Between the holidays and a lot of gift cards, I got a lot of books this past month that I'm super excited to show you all. Unfortunately I did not do as much reading as I hoped this month, but that's okay.

DECEMBER HAUL

Bought (pre-holiday haul)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 1 by Arina Tanemura

Gifted
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab
- The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
- Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
- Zodiac by Romina Russell
- The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 2 by Arina Tanemura
- preorder of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
- preorder of Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Bought (post-holiday haul)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 3 by Arina Tanemura
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 4 by Arina Tanemura
- Endure by Sara B. Larson

DECEMBER READING

Read:
- The Rose Society by Marie Lu (review coming soon!)
- The Amazing Book is Not on Fire by Dan Howell and Phil Lester (such a fun read! No review, but I highly recommend it if you love Danisnotonfire and AmazingPhil on YouTube!!)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 1 by Arina Tanemura
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 2 by Arina Tanemura
- Outspoken by Lora Richardson (review here!)
- Endure by Sara B. Larson (devoured it in one day, review to come!)
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 3 by Arina Tanemura
- Sakura Hime, Vol. 4 by Arina Tanemura

Currently Reading:
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (for school)
- The Color of Water by James McBride (also for school but really enjoying it so far)
- Vicious by V.E. Schwab (THIS BOOK IS PHENOMENAL)

~Alexandra

September Wrap-Up

September went by in a flash! I am so excited for autumn (it's my favorite season!) but I can't believe it's already October. Where has the time gone?! I was hoping to read a lot more this month, but I've still been adjusting to my schedule due to all my school work, so I guess completing three books isn't half bad.

Books I Read:

West with the Night was definitely an interesting and beautifully written memoir, but it wasn't my favorite.

I finally reread Throne of Glass and read Crown of Midnight! Although I really enjoyed Throne of Glass, I thought Crown of Midnight was such a fantastic sequel! In fact, I loved it even more than book one.

Books I Bought:

I am so excited for these books! Hopefully I'll get around to reading them soon!

Challenges:

I signed up for the September is for Sequels challenge and decided not to do a wrap-up post because I only ended up reading one sequel this month... I apparently am very bad at completing challenges. Oh well.

Blog:

• If you haven't noticed, I got a new blog design! I am so in love with the design created by my lovely blogging friend Claudia (of PenMarkings). Thank you again, Claudia!!! <33

• I have blogged a decent amount this month, but nowhere near the amount I was hoping to. I guess I just need to plan more posts in advance and keep a stricter schedule

• I did my first ever collaborative post! The lovely Kaina (of These Flying Pages) and I created a list of our favorite swoony quotes from books. Thanks for working with me, Kaina! I had a ton of fun! (If you missed it and want to check it out, see here.)

• Reviews: Throne of Glass || Crown of Midnight

Life:

School has consumed my soul. (Okay, I'm joking, but I have been super busy!) Fortunately I really like most of my classes, so it hasn't been too bad, but the workload has definitely started to pick up in the past week.

I think that's all for this month! How was your September?

~Alexandra

Beat the Heat Readathon Wrap-Up

The Beat the Heat Readathon was officially over Sunday at 11:59 PM, but I never got around to writing the wrap-up, so here it is... Better late than never, right?

My goals (for the readathon) were as follows:
- read 7-9 books total
- read at least one classic
- participate in a few mini-challenges

Okay, this is kind of sad (at least in my opinion), but I did not complete any of my goals for the readathon... Hehe. I only finished three books, and got fifty pages into a fourth, and did not read any classics (although I did read two books from genres I do not normally read). In addition, I attempted some mini-challenges, but did not fully participate in any of them.

The books I read:

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

West with the Night by Beryl Markham

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

I'd like to just give a quick shout-out and thank Jessi @Novel Heartbeat and Reanna @Phantasmic Reads for hosting this readathon. Although I did not reach my goals, I still had a lot of fun :)

That's all for this readathon! If you participated, how'd you do?

~ Alexandra

August Wrap-Up + Summer Numbers

I can't believe summer is over!!! I know technically speaking, it isn't fall until the 20th or 21st or something, but as soon as late August/early September hits, it's pretty much back to school or work for us all. The past three months have gone by in a blur, and I thought I'd share my August wrap-up, and then do some quick calculations.

Books I Read in August:

Looking For Alaska by John Green | The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover (review) | A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (review)

Started in August/Currently Reading:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Air Awakens by Elise Kova
West with the Night by Beryl Markham
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

August Discussions:

On Adaptions and Reboots
On Reading in Order (Whether It is a Series or Not...
Physical Books vs. eBooks - Pros and Cons
Why I Love the Idea of Duologies

Other August Excitement:

My Blogging Life:

• I finally shared more about myself. If you missed it, I shared ten things about me.
• I was nominated for the Blogger Recognition Award!! In case you missed it and want to learn how my blog was started, find out some of my tips for new bloggers, and who I nominated here.
• I joined Twitter to keep up with author/bookish news, blogging news, etc. I mostly post random things that don't make sense, but I also have blog updates, random commentary as I read, and more. Username: @lit_legionnaire. I don't bite, so feel free to reach out to me :)
• I signed up for three challenges: BookTubeAThon (wrap-up here), Beat the Heat Readathon (week 1 update here), and the 2015 Discussion Challenge (for more info and my goals, see here).

Some News in the Blogosphere:

• Let's start with the bad news, shall we? It breaks my heart, but there was a book blog plagiarist on the loose. I saw this news on Twitter and it seems like things are starting to be resolved, but it honestly hurts to know that some of my friends who work so hard on their blogs have had to go through this. They put so much effort into their blogs, so it is truly unfair that this person is doing something so horrible and tries to take credit for something he/she did not write.

• On a happier note, Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books got co-bloggers!!! I have been a huge fan of Rachel's blog for a while, but her new co-bloggers Mishma and Julia Anne are absolutely lovely people and bloggers too! They write fantastic reviews and discussion posts, so you should definitely check them out if you aren't doing so already! (See the welcome post for Mishma and Julia Anne here.)

• Mishma and Jillian @ Chasing Faerytales wrapped up their blogging event "Learnt It The Hard Way" (or LITHW, for short). It is a really informative series of posts about tips and tricks for bloggers new and old, and I learned a lot from it! Check out Mishma's lovely wrap-up post here.

• The Summer Blogger Promo Tour, hosted by Amber and Jessica @ The Book Bratz, came to a close. More info here if you missed it, and see their wrap-up post here.

AND NOW IT'S TIME FOR A QUICK SUMMER RECAP...

HERE ARE THE NUMBERS:

Books I read this summer (including graphic novels): 10 books
Pages I read this summer (including books I set aside/have not finished): 3429 pages

How was your summer?

~Alexandra

BookTubeaThon Wrap-Up

Well, BookTubeaThon is officially over, and I only managed to read 2 books within the past week.  I am a bit disappointed, but it's all good!! I was rather busy during the week, and I did manage to complete 3 out of 7 challenges, so I am rather pleased with that outcome, at least. (That's almost half the challenges done! Yay!) Here are the books I read:

Challenge 6 - a book that you really want to read:

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Challenge 1 - read a book with blue on the cover

Challenge 5 - finish a book without letting go of it

So that wraps up BookTubeaThon 2015… I am planning on participating on more readathons in the future, and reading even more great books!

~Alexandra

July Wrap-Up

July went by in a flash!  I had a fantastically busy month filled with great friends and many adventures.  I had a ton of fun, but that also meant I had very little time to read.  I set high goals for my reading this month, and fell short (but that's okay!)  Here's a recap of what happened this month:

Books I Read

I absolutely ADORED Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff; the plot was action-packed and the writing style was unique and fun to read.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a quick and enjoyable read.

Book Haul

I have only heard great things about Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, both from the online community as well as from friends and family.  I am super excited to pick this one up, and hopefully it will live up to all the hype!  I enjoyed reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, and I am currently reading The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan.

Blog

Since I was so busy, I unfortunately did not have a lot of substantial posts this month.

• I wrote reviews for Illuminae and The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• I wrote a post about why I don't usually like to read romance novels
• I started some participating in more memes, such as Fictitious Fridays and Teaser Tuesdays.
• I did the Summer Reader Book Tag and the Chocolate Book Tag, which were both a lot of fun
• It's been a whirlwind of different backgrounds, fonts, and colors, but I think I've finally found the right Literary Legionnaire blog design

That's all for now!
~Alexandra

June Wrap-Up

Books I Read This Month:

I did not read as many books as I thought I would this month, however I absolutely adored An Ember in the Ashes and A Court of Thorns and Roses!  I had time to read one book in May (Bloodlines), but otherwise I had absolutely no time to read these past few months, so it was amazing being able to read such splendid novels in June.  Both of these books are probably in my top 10 favorite books.  (You can see my review for An Ember in the Ashes here and my review for A Court of Thorns and Roses here.)

June Book Haul:

Purchased

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead is the sequel to Bloodlines, and considering how much I enjoyed Bloodlines last month, I just had to pick up a copy of the sequel.  I haven't had time to read this one yet, but I am hoping it will be just as enjoyable as the first book.  Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas was a book I stumbled upon while browsing my local Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago, and the plot sounded intriguing, so I thought I'd like to give it a try.

Borrowing

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes is a book I've been wanting to read since way before it was even released, yet I never got around to reading it.  I am so glad my friend is letting me borrow it.

Other Bookish Things:

• I cleared out and reorganized my bookshelves.  I had to reorganize my shelves twice in order to get them the way I wanted to, but it happened!  They used to be organized in the strangest way, but now I have them sorted by genre and I absolutely love it.  It's so much easier to find everything!
• I unhauled a total of 64 books within the past two months.  64 BOOKS!!  You can 50 of the books I unhauled here, and (if you were curious) the others are I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter (I absolutely loved the series, but I had an extra copy so I gave it to my friend who has never read them), Fairest by Gail Carson Levine, and all twelve books from the MG series, Avalon: Web of Magic.
• I decided to reread a book for the first time.  See my initial thoughts here, and stay tuned for my final thoughts on rereading books, which will hopefully be up soon (depending on how long it takes me to reread Throne of Glass).
• I started a book blog!  I know it's only been 20 days since I started this blog, but it already seems like such a long time ago.  I always wanted to start a blog, but I was always afraid to.  I am so glad I pushed away my fear (and ignored some of my friends' comments about not having what it takes to do it) and started one anyway.  It has been such a fun experience so far, but I also finally understand how much hard work must be put into it.

That's a wrap!

~Alexandra

IMPORTANT NOTICE: I will not have access to my blog (nor the internet) from July 8th until July 21st.  I have some blog posts scheduled, so the blog will not be dormant, however I will be unable to personally be active during those two weeks.  Thank you.