Wonderland

 Wonderland: A Coloring Book Inspired by Alice's Adventures by Amily Shen is an absolutely beautiful coloring book!  It is whimsical and beautifully detailed.
Not only is it a coloring book, but it is also a story - something that I really appreciate seeing during this giant surge of adult coloring books. The story adds the perfect touch of something "extra" to make this coloring book stand out. Now, I could show you every page (because I really want to!) but that would spoil all the fun! All I will say is that the pages are fun, detailed, well drawn, and vary in their scale and scope throughout the book. I was impressed with the uniqueness of the illustrations, as well as the story. I can't wait to color this book! I really think this is one of the better adult coloring books I have seen on the market so far!

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

FTC: I received this coloring book through the Blogging for Books program in exchange for a fair and honest review.

BoB16 Updates

Welcome to my Bout of Books 16 Update Home!

Here you'll find my daily stats, links to posts and challenges, and other info that pops up throughout the readathon.

I'll also likely post my thoughts on the day, and maybe some pictures too! (we all know I am snaphappy)





Day 1 - Monday 5/9
Pages read: 3
Book(s) read: The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner
Challenges completed: Intro challenge #insixwords (completed on instagram)

I didn't really read today... when I got home from work we immediately started working on expanding the chicken coop run. By time I got to sit down and read, it was bedtime and I was exhausted. Made it through 3 pages before falling asleep (to only be woken by the hardcover book hitting my face).

Day 2 - Tuesday 5/10
Pages read: 42
Book(s) read: The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner
Challenges completed: Shelfie challenge (completed on instagram)


Day 3 - Wednesday 5/11
Pages read: 39
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton
Challenges completed: Top 5 (completed on instagram)

I picked my top 5 psychology books (that I had on hand)

Day 4 - Thursday 5/12
Pages read: 35
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton
Challenges completed: nope!

Day 5 - Friday 5/13
Pages read: 0
Book(s) read: nope
Challenges completed: nope

I didn't read at all Friday... I had a busy day at work then came home and our new bed was delivered! Bear was helping a ftiend move, so I unloaded the bed and built the box spring... then had to take my baby girl to the vet. Bear and I then had a nice little date night at Los Tapatios, a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant!

Day 6 - Saturday 5/14
Pages read: 22
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton
Challenges completed: nope

Another busy day! Woke up early and loaded the Jeep with construction debris and did a dump run... then spent the day finishing the extra coop run. Afterwards, Maddie came over and we went to TRex Planet (awesomesauce!) & dinner. Super good day. Tons of TRex Planet pics on my insta... go check them out.

Day 7 - Sunday 5/15
Pages read: 58
Book(s) read: Rarity from the Hollow by Robert Eggleton and Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci
Challenges completed: free day- no challenge!

Had a relaxing Sunday.... did some things around the house, work for my PLC group and some grading. Got to read a little from a pleasure book and from a work book study book.


Bout of Books Recap:
Well, Bout of Books has come to a close. I didn't get nearly as much reading as I had hoped, but that is okay. It turned out to be a much busier week than I had originally anticipated. I finished a book I had started earlier this month (The Sound of Gravel) and really enjoyed it. I am 35% finished with Rarity from the Hollow (finding this more difficult to get through than I had expected) and I also read a bunch from my work bookstudy, Mindsets in the Classroom (a book I am thoroughly enjoying).

>>> Overall, I read 199 pages in 3 different books. I finished 3 challenges.

So, how did you all do with BoB16? Even with my lackluster reading performance, I am still glad to have participated!


write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

BoB16 is near!!

It's that time again! Time for the no-pressure Bout of Books readathon! I absolutely adore Bout of Books readathons because they are chill and give me a nice little reading boost.

The readathon starts tomorrow (Monday the 9th) and runs until Sunday the 15th. There are twitter parties, challenges, and fun ways to interact with other book lovers.

If you haven't signed up yet, head over to the Bout of Books homepage and get on that list!

Once again I am not setting goals. I've learned now that no goals is what works best for me. I tend to always have them in the back of my mind if I set them, so this time around I'm going no-goals again. I will complete daily updates though, just because I find it fun. As always, you will find me primarily on Instagram, so if you have IG lets hook up!

Happy Bout of Books 16!


write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

Quality of Silence

The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton is phenomenal. It is rare that I ever find a book (outside of Harry Potter) worthy of 5 stars, but this one fits the bill.

A little about the  book - The story follows Yasmin and her deaf daughter, Ruby, as they travel across Alaska in search of Matt, her husband (and Ruby's father). Matt is a wildlife photographer and was meant to meet his family at the airport to join up for the upcoming holiday. Unfortunately Matt doesn't show. The police are convinced he is dead. Yasmin is convinced he is alive. Who is correct? Yasmin is determined to prove she is right. The Quality of Silence follows her as she tries to uncover the truth.

I read this book in a day (during my readathon) and it was so wonderful. I was emotionally invested and completely interested from the get-go. I liked how thrilling the story was throughout, holding my attention during an all-day readathon (which as anyone knows, is difficult). Even with some plot points that seemed a bit obvious to me, I was still enthralled by the novel. Like I said, I don't give out 5 stars lightly.... there was just something about this story. I can't put my finger on it- but it did leave an impact on me.

Highly recommended book, that will make you want to binge watch reality TV about Alaska.

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

FTC I received this book via the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.