Author: Ally Carter

Item: See How They Run
Rating: 4
Author: Amanda Marie

August 2016 in Review

Posted September 5, 2016 in Life, Reading / 4 Comments

Things that Happened in August

I arrived home after World Youth Day! It was an amazing experience but it is always good to come home.
After arriving home, I read five books in four days. I hadn’t read any novels in the three weeks I was gone and I must have been making up for lost time.
The weather here is kind of crazy. It is really smoky with all the forest fires around. Some days I won’t even open the windows because the smoke is hanging so thick in the air.
School started for my students last week. It is good to be back, even if it is completely crazy (as the beginning of every school year is).
My grad classes started a week ago. I am a bit overwhelmed right not and it is strange to think of myself as a student again. It has been quite a few years.

My Favorite Book of August

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Tagged as Catholic, School, World Youth Day

A Narrator with PTSD & the Need for Answers – See How They Run {Review}

Posted August 8, 2016 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

See How They Run by Ally Carter
Series: Embassy Row #2
Publisher: Scholastic (2015)
Paperback (336 pages)
Rating:
Also by this author: All Fall Down
Also in this series: All Fall Down
Reading Challenges: Read 2016

Synopsis

Inside every secret, there's a world of trouble. Get ready for the second book in this new series of global proportions--from master of intrigue, New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.
Grace's past has come back to hunt her . . . and if she doesn't stop it, Grace isn't the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world stand like dominoes, and one wrong move can make them all fall down.
The twists get twistier and the turns get even more shocking in the second thrilling installment of Embassy Row.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

Tagged as 4 star, Read 2016

May 2016 in Review

Posted June 1, 2016 in Life, Reading / 8 Comments

Things that Happened in May

We have had one of the craziest Mays ever. It was over 70*F one day, and the next is was snowing so bad that we almost lost power and cars got stuck on the road. Yep, this is simply life in Montana.
My little sister graduated from her undergrad program (BA in Psychology, if anyone is interested).
My little sister also happened to move home with me… with her cats (whom I am allergic to a lot more than my cat).
My family and I drove to visit our family in Wisconsin. We got home late yesterday. I had forgotten about this trip which means that my monthly wrap-up was not scheduled ahead of time.
The school year ended. This really is bittersweet. I love my job and I enjoy working with the students. However, summer is much appreciated.
My favorite book of the month was The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh.

My Favorite Tweets of May

You know what made my day? Listening to most of my students seriously trying to convince me #CincoDeMayo is really Day of the Dead. #teacher

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 6, 2016

❄️🌨❄️🌨❄️ Welcome to spring in Montana! ❄️ It’s only been snowing for 24 hours! ❄️#lifeinMT #SnowInSpring #MaySnow 😕 pic.twitter.com/iUEGXRXvNU

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 10, 2016

When driving long distance, a book book AND an audiobook are necessary.📚
One for daylight & one for dark.
The struggle is real!#amreading

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 27, 2016

Three wide on a two lane highway? Forgive me, but something about that doesn’t sound right. #traveling

— Amanda Marie (@catholicamanda) May 27, 2016

Books I Read in May

Tagged as Monthly Wrap-Up, School

2015 in Review (& End of Year and Statistics Surveys)

Posted December 31, 2015 in Life, Reading / 10 Comments

Big Things That Happened in 2015

I mentioned the school talent show in which the teachers sang Yellow Submarine.
I worked at a Catholic summer camp for the summer and had a blast. I wrote about it and shared some pictures.
I survived over a week of blinding smoke due to forest fires. It was insane. I talked about that here.
I had my very first ever Blogversary which was exciting.

Analysis of Books I Read in 2015

This was the very first year that I ever kept track of the books that I read. My stats have amazed me.

I read 141 books.
Almost all of the books I read this year were 4 or 5 stars. I must be pretty good at choosing books I know I’ll enjoy.
Over two-thirds of the books I read this year were from the library or books I own.
Over half of the books I read this year were hard copied (Paperback or Hardcover) while over a quarter were ebooks. Audiobooks made up the rest.
About a quarter of the books I read this year were debuts.

I made some pretty nifty looking pie charts in Excel (you can just pretend they are totally awesome).

Tagged as Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, Birthday Month Reading Challenge, Catholic Book, Color Coded Challenge, Fairytale Retelling Challenge, Finishing the Series Challenge, Mythology Reading Challenge, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis, Read 2015, Rereading Challenge, What's In a Name Reading Challenge, You Read How Many Books Challenge

June and July 2015 in Review

Posted August 10, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 4 Comments

It has been a crazy month and a half! I will share some of my summer camp experience here but most will wait until it’s own post with pictures!

Things that Happened in June & July

As you may recall from a previous post, I spent the summer working at a great Catholic summer camp. I really want to talk a lot about that but I promise I will post more with pictures later.
I survived 6 weeks without much cell phone service or internet. It was really great for me.
I also read things that I wanted to read rather than what I needed to read based on review copies and such.

Books I Read in June

Tagged as Consecrated Virginity, Fairy Tales, Monthly Wrap-Up, Pope Francis, Saints, School, Summer, Vocation