Author: Kelly Zekas

February 2016 in Review

Posted February 28, 2016 in Life, Reading / 6 Comments

February 2016 in Review

Things that Happened in February

  • First of all, this is going to be a LONG post.
  • Lent started which means that Easter is on the way!
  • I wrote TWO discussion posts. I am thoroughly impressed with myself.
  • There has been nasty stuff floating around the school I work at. I have, thankfully, not caught anything terrible yet. I, however, have been feeling a little under-the-weather.
  • Speaking of weather, we have been having the weirdest winter ever! I live in Montana. We should have snow in February. Instead, all of the snow and ice has melted and we have been enjoying temperatures in the 50s and 60s! This isn’t exactly as good as it sounds since the ranchers really need the moisture from the snow in order to for the year to work out. It has been… odd.
  • I finally convinced my sister to sign up with Pottermore and be sorted. (She is a Hufflepuff, in case you were curious.)
  • I attended a Brew Fest with my family. It was… interesting. I cannot drink beer due to celiac and an alcohol allergy. It was thanks to that alcohol allergy that I started to go into anaphylaxis at the event. I was all, “I can’t breathe.” My dad was, “You’re fine.” I was all, “No! I really can’t breathe!” Then my dad and a family friend got me out of the crowd enough that I could recover.
  • I had an amazing Religious Ed class with my students. They were extremely interested in why there are Popes, how Popes are elected, and the Popemobile (which they didn’t believe was a real thing until I showed them pictures).
  • I’m slowly learning to let God take over since things have been… interesting lately.
  • On the note about God, I am in the process of applying for acceptance into a Masters in Theology program. (Yes, this is a different program than my other Masters work and the previous credits will mean zero. *sigh*)
  • My favorite book of the month (non-reread) was Raelia which left me completely broken and (almost) sobbing on the floor. AMAZING!
  • My favorite reread of the month was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I love this entire series, obviously, and could definitely use a time-turner.

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{Review} These Vicious Masks – Strange “Powers” in Victorian England

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

{Review} These Vicious Masks – Strange “Powers” in Victorian EnglandThese Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker, Kelly Zekas
Publisher: Swoon Reads (2016 - Feb 9)
eARC (352 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2015

Synopsis

Evelyn has no interest in marriage and even the dashing Mr. Kent can’t make her want to live up to society’s expectations. She’d much rather assist her beloved sister Rose in achieving her radical dream of becoming a doctor. But everything changes the night she meets Sebastian Braddock – not only is the reclusive gentleman both vexing and annoyingly attractive, he’s also quite possibly mad, and his interest in Rose is galling. So when Evelyn wakes up to discover that Rose has disappeared, she immediately suspects Sebastian.
But then she discovers that Sebastian’s strange tales of special powers are actually true, and that Rose’s kidnappers have worse in mind for her than simply ruining her reputation. Surrounded by secrets, lies, and unprecedented danger, Evelyn has no choice but to trust Sebastian, yet she can’t help but worry that Sebastian’s secrets are the most dangerous of all…

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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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).

2015 formats2015 covers2015 star ratings2015 debuts2015 source

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December 2015 in Review

Posted December 30, 2015 in Faith, Life, Reading / 4 Comments

It has been a crazy month and so I don’t have a whole lot for you other than the books I read and reviewed this month. My 2015 in Review post will be coming up tomorrow and this is a lot more interesting than this one. This post is, I know, rather pathetic but here it is anyway.

Things that Happened in December

  • Christmas!
  • I am (still) kitty-sitting for my sister’s two kitties while she and the rest of my family are visiting family in another state.
  • Somehow I managed to read only 5-star books this month; I’m not sure how that happened.

Books I Read in December

These Vicious MasksCity of SaintsLord of the WorldOne Ordinary Sunday
Crown of MidnightThe Sword of SummerIce Like Fire
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