Author: Veronica Roth

Item: Divergent
Rating: 4
Author: Amanda Marie

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

May 2015 in Review

Posted May 31, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 4 Comments

Things that Happened in May

The last full week of school has been completed! Really, this is a party worthy event.
We celebrated the Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday. That is three great Sundays in a row.
You can tell that summer is fast approaching. The sun beats me up at 5am and it is still bright when I try to fall asleep after 9pm. It is crazy to think that just a few months ago (like December) it was dark when I was walking to work at 7:30am and dark when I was walking home at 4:30pm.
The school talent show was this past Tuesday. The teachers decided to do our own thing this year. We all got a variety of instruments and played Yellow Submarine. I will give you just one word for it: HILARIOUS!

Books I Read in May

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Tagged as Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge, Birthday Month Reading Challenge, Catholic, Catholic Book, Color Coded Challenge, Finishing the Series Challenge, Monthly Wrap-Up, Mythology Reading Challenge, Polish, Read 2015, Rereading Challenge, School, What's In a Name Reading Challenge, You Read How Many Books Challenge

Review: Divergent – Living With A Choice

Posted May 11, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books (2011)
eBook (487 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2015

Synopsis

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Find the book: Goodreads

Tagged as 4 star, Catholic, Catholic Connections, Read 2015, You Read How Many Books Challenge

April 2015 in Review

Posted April 30, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 2 Comments

This year is flying by. I can hardly believe that April is over already!

Things that Happened in April

My birthday!! I even got books for my birthday which greatly surprised me. Thanks so much, little sister!
Easter! I was able to attend one of my most favorite Masses of the entire Church year, the Easter Vigil! (Who doesn’t like candles and a three hour Mass?)
Field trips with the school kids! The bus rides are a bit longer than the ones where I grew up but we are in the-middle-of-nowhere, Montana.
Yesterday evening one of the sixth grade teachers passed away. It will be a terribly rough day today with the students. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated.