Semester Reading List Final Update/Summer Reading List

Hey everyone!
So, it's been a while since I've last posted my reading endeavors, so I'm going to take some time to update you all what I've been reading since I've last posted a reading list update back in March. In January, I've posted about what I wanted to read this semester. Now that it's over, I can safely say that I'm satisfied with how I fulfilled my reading goals and am now am interested in creating a summer reading list for the summer. (Since that's when I do the bulk of my reading anyways)
Throughout the semester, I have read 15 books. They were:

1. "It's Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
2. "Distance Between Us" by Kasie West
3. "Better Than Before" by Gretchen Rubin
4. "What I Thought Was True" by Huntley Fitzpatrick
5. "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare
6. "City of Ashes" by Cassandra Clare
7. "Crown of Midnight" by Sarah J. Maas
8. "Every Day" by David Leviathan
9. "The Geography of You and Me" by Jennifer Smith
10. "Girl Online" by Zoe Sugg
11. "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
12. "Wedding Night" by Sophie Kinsella
13. "The Fill-In Boyfriend" by Kasie West 
14. "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simison
15. "All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

This summer, I aspire to read:

• "Me After You" by JoJo Meyes
• "P.S. I Love You" by Cecila Ahern  
• "Rocks" by Joe Perry 
• Books 3-6 of the City of Bones series
• The rest of the Throne of Glass series 
• The new Emily Giffin novel (expected to be released in June!) 
• "Shopaholic to the Rescue" by Sophie Kinsella

What are you planning to read this summer? Let me know in the comments below!

Book Review: "Better Than Before" by Gretchen Rubin

Disclaimer: I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin

There are so many self help books out there, it can make your head spin. All of have the same goal-to help you become happy and make your life a thousand times better. "Better Than Before" by Gretchen Rubin is no exception. 
This isn't Rubin's first exploration of the study of happiness/habits, as she's the author of "The Happiness Project" and the "Happiness Journal." "Better Than Before" is like her similar works, however, it goes into the study of habits. 
Rubin goes into the four tendencies-rebel, upholders, questioners and obligors. These "tendencies" were the motivation behind your habits. I am an upholder, which means I'm self-directed, have little trouble meeting deadlines and am reliable. 
This book gives you a lot to examine, about yourself and the habits that you have. Ever since I read this book, I've been more critical of my spending habits, and asking myself why I'm buying things. This is a thousand times better than me just buying them for the sake of "treating myself." (The book even had a whole chapter on that very subject)
 It made me reflect on what I can do/change in my life to make it better. For example, one thing that I changed was putting things, whether they were responsibilities or not, on my schedule and in my planner. That way, I knew to make time for them. 
This book was extremely insightful, and pretty fun to read. I've been struggling with maintaining my sanity while juggling school, three jobs and life in general. This book taught me the root of some of my habits, and shed some light on what I have to change. I highly recommend it, because Rubin brings an extreme amount of insight that I would have never gotten otherwise. Furthermore, if you're a college student whose struggling to create positive habits or just a person trying to get a few good habits under their belt, consider giving "Better Than Before" a read.

16 Great Books That I Read This Year

This year, I surpassed my Goodreads reading challenge goals by almost 45 percent. I blame the reason due to my two literature classes, which helped me reach this goal. However, I still had time to read some amazing books through out the year, especially through out the summer. Here's some of the books that I enjoyed--some were published this year, while others weren't.

1. "Throne of Glass" by Sarah Maas
2. "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway 
3. "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Gailbreth
4. "The One and Only" by Emily Giffin 
5. "Love Rosie" by Cecelia Ahorn 
6. "Saint Anything" by Sarah Dessen
7. "All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes" by Betsy St. Amant 
8. "Boy Meets Boy" by David Levithan
9. "The Truth About Alice" by Jennifer Mathieu 
10. "Me Before You" by JoJo Meyes 
11. "Landline" by Rainbow Rowell
12. "I Am Ozzy" by Ozzy Osbourne
13. "P.S. I Still Love You" by Jenny Han 
14. "Finding Audrey" by Sophie Kinsella
15. The Fame Game series by Lauren Conrad 
16. "To All of the Boys I've Loved Before" by Jenny Han

Semester Reading List

Over the summer, I have surpassed my reading goals. So, this semester I decided to create another list of books I wanted to read. However, because of the fact that I'm taking two literature courses over this semester, I'm going to not have as much time as I did in the summer to read books. (However one of the courses is really interesting--young adult literature!) But, I'm going to need to do a little reading for fun every once in a while, so hopefully I'll be able to tackle these books. 

1. The Lo-Down by Lo Bowsworth 
2. Made in Reality by Stephanie Pratt 
3. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
4. The Rosie Project by Graemie Simison
5. Me Before You by JoJo Moyes 
6. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

If I can read at least a few of these books, I'll be really happy. However, between all of the other responsibilities I'll have, I'm sure that reading will be the last thing I can think of doing. However, I'll keep you posted, and like what I did this summer, I'll be sure to post about my progress. 

Books Of The Year-2014

*This is through November 22, 2014: These are books that I've read and enjoyed and may not be published in 2014

For those of you who don't know, I am a major bookworm. Since I work at a library, I have access to a ton of books, perhaps first dibs on many. I've read over 40 books this year, and I wanted to take the time to give you the books that I really loved, so maybe you'll love it too!
 
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Just One Day, Just One Year, and Just One Night by Gayle Forman
I've read 'If I Stay' and 'Where She Went' this past year, however I found that these two were even more amazing to read in themselves. They tell the story of a couple that meets in London, goes to Paris, and then loses each other for an entire year. "Just One Day" was told in the point of view of good girl Allyson, "Just One Year" was told by Willehm, and the e-book novella "Just One Night" was told in third person point of view. I loved these books even more than "If I Stay" because it's less depressing and it's a beautiful love story. 
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
This book was such a great one to read. It's about Samantha Reed whose been watching the Garrett family next door for all of her life. However, she then makes the trip to the other side of the fence, and quickly falls for Jase Garret. This book is heartbreaking, yet beautifully written. I reccomend it, especially now that it isn't summer. 
Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers; Book of Love by Lynn Weingarten
This surprisingly took me only two days to read for both books. This is about Lucy, who is helplessly in puppy love with her boyfriend Alex. He breaks up with her on the first day back to school. She then encounters 'The Sisterhood' who break hearts for fun and become more powerful. This book is so great because it combines magic with a love story. I loved reading this and I am sure that you will too!
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
How romantic-this is about a girl whose engaged to someone who may or may not be right for her. However, she picks up the cell phone of someone's secretary, only to fall for the person himself. I loved this book because it has all of the class hallmarks to a chick lit story. However, it's such an interesting concept. I hope that it becomes a movie someday.

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Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
 This is about college girl Cath and her sister Wren who are going off to college. Cath is obsessed with a Harry Potterlike series and writes fanfiction about it. It tells the story about her as she navigates her life without her sister, and without her fanfiction. I loved this book because I can relate to Cath-I honestly spend more time with books and writing as you can tell. Rowell, writes a lot of interesting books from 'Eleanor and Park' and a book that I have yet to read called 'Landline'. Great books!
What have you been reading? Let me know so I can check it out!

Books I HAVE To Read This Summer

Reading lots of books in a summer is something that is just a given. Something about having all of this extra free time makes it so much easier to crack open a book. Here's some of my must-reads this summer:




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Game of Thrones Series- The fact that my library had the first one made me really happy because I really want to read the series that everyone seems to be reading, and watching on TV. I'm currently on the first one, and I like what I see so far. I'm probably going to get the new few soon, because they are really good.


Pretty Little Liars-I read the first two last fall, and I literally couldn't put them down. I'm probably going to have to order books three and four to hold me down because once I start reading Pretty Little Liars, I literally can not stop. I've also recently gotten into the TV show too, and so far so good.

The One and Only- Emily Giffin is one of my favorite authors ever, so naturally when a new book of hers comes out, I get very excited to read it.

Looking for Alaska- This is the last John Green book that I have yet to read, so naturally this is going to be on my list.

What's on your summer reading list? Comment below, because I love talking about books!
 

New Year's Resolution 2014

Okay, yes I am about ten days late in saying this. But, in my defense it took me a while to figure out what I wanted my resolution to be. So, now that I finally figured it out, (my Eureka moment, for all of you John Green fans) I can share it with you.

My resolution is to read at least a book a week. The grand total of books read per week by the end of the year would be 52. As an English major, there's a lot of books out there that I haven't read yet. My goal this year is to slowly chip away at them. Yes, I know that the semester can get hectic, and I may not have the time to read this. However, I do plan on reading each and every night before I go to bed. That way, I will at least have some time to read them. Plus, I am mostly planning on reading books for fun, not for school. I will be excited for that because, it will be something I am interested in, not something that I am being forced to read. I know for once that I actually can stick to this goal, so I am so excited.

So far, my goal has been a success. I've read two books so far. Last week, I've read an Abundance of Katherines by John Green. That book was awesome. This week I read Shopaholic Takes Manhattan. Next week, I am reading the next book in the Shopaholic series. 

I can't wait to complete this goal, because I am such a huge fan of reading. By being able to read more I can also grow as a writer. Plus, there's nothing wrong with reading more books, right?

What's your resolution? Do you think you'll be able to stick to it? Talk to me. Comment below!