My Cruisin' thru the Cozies Challenge So Far

Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 20 cozy books of your choice (total of 40 books)
These are the level one books:
- One from culinary (anything dealing with food: restaurants, baked goods, etc.) 1. [book:Death of a Bacon Heiress|25852688] Jan. 29
2. [book:The Chocolate Falcon Fraud|24611817] Feb. 8
- One from animal related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.)
- One from craft related (any kind of hobbies - knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
1. [book:Close Knit Killer|15851126] Feb.8
[book:Deadly Greetings|675805] Feb 3.
- One from paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.)
- One from British cozy mysteries (example: Belinda Lawrence series)
- One career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.)
- One holiday based (set during any holiday - Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, etc.)
- One travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.) 1.  [book:Death on Tour|9503233] Feb. 3
2. [book:Top O' the Mournin'|758762] Feb. 5
- One historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present)
- One is your choice! (freebie!)
1. [book:A Body at Book Club|21895060] Feb. 5
2. [book:A Body in the Backyard|16235070] Feb. 5

1.[book:A Body at Bunco|25270598] Feb 6.
2. [book:State of the Onion|2261571] Feb. 9
3.
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5.

Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Challenge

I've done this challenge for the last several years, but this year they added categories to read, rather than just setting a goal to read so many cozy mysteries.  I hesitated about joining because of the categories, but decided to after all.  My goal is level 4-Sleuth Extra.

Welcome to the seventh annual Cruisin' thru the Cozies Reading Challenge! I'm changing things up a bit this year. Sometimes we get hooked on one type of genre or sub-genre and don't venture out of our comfort zone. Maybe some only read culinary cozies, maybe some only animals or crafts.

To find out exactly what a cozy mystery is, check out Cozy-Mystery.com. This site is dedicated to cozy mysteries and does a great job of defining them as well as giving a list of cozy mysteries. This challenge is NOT restricted to what is on their list, it's just to be used as a guideline in case you need some hints on what to read.

Whatever you might like, I thought it might be fun to read a bit of everything. So here is this year's cozy mystery reading challenge:

Level one (Snoop) - Read one book in each of these cozy sub-genres (total of 10 books)

- One from culinary (anything dealing with food: restaurants, baked goods, etc.)
- One from animal related (cats, dogs, birds, etc.)
- One from craft related (any kind of hobbies - knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, etc.)
- One from paranormal (witches, vampires, etc.)
- One from British cozy mysteries (example: Belinda Lawrence series)
- One career-based cozy mystery (housekeeping, wedding planner, etc.)
- One holiday based (set during any holiday - Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines, etc.)
- One travel mystery (character could be on a cruise, touring another area, etc.)
- One historical mystery (any mystery not set in the present)
- One is your choice! (freebie!)

Level two (Investigator) - Read all the books in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 20)
Level three (Super Sleuth) - Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 10 cozy books of your choice (total of 30 books)
Level four (Sleuth Extraordinaire) - Read two books from each sub-genre in level one plus an additional 20 cozy books of your choice (total of 40 books)
From the Goodreads Group:Challenge Info

Here are the rules...

1. The challenge runs from January 1, 2017 and ends December 31, 2017.

2. You don't have to choose your books in advance. If you do, you can change your list at any time during the year. Books can overlap with other challenges.

3. Books can be in any format - paper, audio, ebooks...it all counts!

4. You don't have to post a review, but I'm sure others would love to know about the books you are reading and may even want to add it to their reading lists.

I'm adding one more rule...

5. If you can't find or don't want to read a certain sub-genre, you can switch it out for another one of your choice. However, this can only be done one time.

I'm also hosting this on my blog and you can join there, if you want. Here's the link http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com

Goodreads

I am so happy right now. Goodreads has finally added the rereading feature. I reread books often, and have been waiting for this for years. I never knew when I had originally read a book, or how many times I had read it. I wish it was on the app, though, because that is where I usually update my books. Still, that isn't a problem. I can always go to the site on my phone when I have a reread.

A Winter's Respite Readathon Results

The readathon is now over, so here are my final stats.
16th- 3 books, 827 pages
17th-1 book, 296 pages

18th- 3 books, 746 pages

19th- 2 books, 732 pages
20th-1 book, 424 pages
21st- 4 books, 1183 pages
22nd- 2 books, 750 pages
23rd- 0 books, 0 pages
24th-4 books, 1094 pages

25th-1 book, 248 pages

26th-2 books, 413 pages

27th- 1 book, 287 pages

28th- 2 books, 514 pages

29th- 1 book, 215 pages

I wound up reading 27 books, and 7,727 pages total. I think my readability slump is finally over. I also finished my connections challenge, so now I can get back to picking books at random rather than linking them.

24in48 Results

I only managed to read 4 hours and 45 minutes during the 24in48 readathon. I did get six books read, however, and I enjoyed all but one. I can't wait until the next one.

My 24in48 Start

I just got home so I will be starting the 24in48 readathon now. My first book will be Love Me Forever by Johanna Lindsey. I won't even get close to the 48 hours, but I'll read what I can.

24in48 This Weekend

I have to work this weekend, but I'm still hoping to read 24 hours.  I'm 7-3 both days, so that should leave me plenty of time.  I'm still working on a connections challenge on Goodreads, and I hope to get close to finishing that.  This is my second time starting it, because for some reason when I put books together to read in a row, I lose interest, and want to read something else.  I'm hoping to complete it this time. There have been a few books I've forced myself to finish due to this challenge. At least it got them off my shelves.

Good start so far

I read three books Monday since I was off.

A dark and brooding gentleman
Echoes in the Dark
The dark duke
I worked yesterday, and only read The Australian Heiress.

So far, I've read 4 books, and 1123 pages.  I'm about to start Joe's Girl.  

Readathon

Today starts A Winter's Respite Readathon, which lasts until the 29th. I probably won't update every day, but I will try to at least every two or three.
My goal is to read at least a book a day, and more on my days off. I'm hoping to finish most of the  connections challenge I am doing on Goodreads. Each book has to link to the previous one, by title, author, or publication date.
I am starting with A Dark and Brooding Gentleman by Margaret McPhee, which linked to Margaret Mayo.

24 in 48 Readathon

From the site: We are 22 days from the start of the next 24in48 readathon! With the holidays, I postponed this sign-up post but I just can’t wait anymore. Mark your calendars for January 21 and 22, 2017, ready your book stacks, and prep your reading nests (yes, you do need that extra blanket).

If you’re new to 24in48, this is the basic gist: beginning at 12:01am on Saturday morning and running through 11:59pm on Sunday night, participants read for 24 hours out of that 48 hour period. You can split that up however you’d like: 20 hours on Saturday, four hours on Sunday; 12 hours each day; six four-hour sessions with four hour breaks in between, whatever you’d like.

And that’s it. The format never changes but it’s always an adventure.

I just signed up for this readathon. Depending on my work schedule, I may not be able to read 24 hours, but I will do my best.  I'm hoping these readathons help me get back into reading as much as I used to.  i have thousands of books on my physical and kindle shelves, and I really need to get them down.  

A Winter's Respite Readathon

From the Seasons of Reading website:
This is the official sign up for A Winter's Respite Readathon. Dates are January 16 - 29, starting at 12:00 am Monday the 16th, and ending at 11:59 pm on Sunday the 29th. Times are central standard time so adjust your times accordingly. Yes, the readathon is now two weeks long! I, for one, am pretty excited about that!

Of course, like most readathons, the books read must be novels or novellas, adult or young adult are fine, and you can read children's books too (as long as you do read some novels too). Note: Non-Fiction is also okay! You DO NOT have to participate the entire two weeks. Join in when you can, start in the middle, end early...whatever works best for your schedule. As with all of my readathons, it will be a time for relaxed reading during which we can personally challenge ourselves and whittle away our ever looming TBR piles/shelves/libraries. 

This sounds like fun, and since there aren't any reading requirements for this readathon, I will join in. I'm in the Eastern time zone, so it will start at 1 am here.

Final Bout of Books Update

Monday- 1 book, Christmas with the Single Dad by Louisa Heaton 255 pages
Tuesday- 1 book, The Rancher and the Baby by Marie Ferrarella 216 pages
Wednesday- 1 book, Twins for Christmas by Amanda Renee 217 pages
Thursday-1 book An Aspen Creek Christmas 216 pages
Friday-  2 books Reunited at Christmas 217 pages and The Makeover Prescription 232 pages
Saturday- 3 books The Millionaire and the M.D. by Teresa Southwick 218 pages, Reckless by Amanda Quick 371 pages, and A Wedding to Die For by Leann Sweeney 268 pages
Sunday- 1 book APuzzle in a Pear Tree 384 pages
Total- 10 books, 2594 pages

I did pretty well this week.  I made my goal, and then some.   I also followed several new blogs, and joined bloglovin'. I'll be looking forward to the next Bout of Books readathon.

Update for Saturday

I managed to read three books yesterday since I was off work.  I read The Millionaire and the M.D. by Teresa Southwick, Reckless by Amanda Quick, and A Wedding to Die For by Leann Sweeney.  I really enjoyed the first two, but the third one was just an okay read.

Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I just joined Bloglovin', and claimed my blog. I'm hoping to find more book related blogs to follow.

Friday BoutofBooks Update

I can't believe this readathon is over tomorrow. I haven't done too badly, and I did read my goal of a book a day, even though they were short reads. Today, I'm reading The Millionaire and the M.D., and I'm hoping to read at least one more.  Tomorrow, I work until three, so maybe I can fit in a final book or two.  This readathon has really helped me read more. I started a full time job a few months ago, and haven't been reading much. Hopefully, I'll get back into reading this year, now that I'm more used to working so many hours. So far, I'm three books ahead on my Goodreads goal. I only made it 400 this year, but I'm hoping to do more.  We'll see, but I'm not going to push myself  this year.  I made another goal to relax, and only read books I'm enjoying this year.

Bout of Books update

I did manage to read one book yesterday, An Aspen Creek Christmas.  Today I am reading Reunited at Christmas and The Makeover Prescription. Everything I've read this week were books I bought myself for Christmas/my birthday. I'm off tomorrow, so hopefully I can fit in two or three more books.

Update

I haven't been online in a few days, but I'm still reading for the Bout-of-Books readathon. My goal was a book a day, and so far I've done that. I still haven't read anything today, but there's still time.

Monday- 1 book, Christmas with the Single Dad by Louisa Heaton

Tuesday- 1 book, The Rancher and the Baby by Marie Ferrarella

Wednesday- 1 book, Twins for Christmas by Amanda Renee

Thursday- nothing yet, but I will update at least one book tomorrow, hopefully

Happy New Year!

I always look forward to the new year.  I love setting new reading goals. This year, I lowered my Goodreads goal to 400.  I started a full time job a few months ago, and that has seriously impacted my reading.  I read fairly fast, but some days I haven't even picked up a book. I barely finished last years goal, so that's why I cut 2017's in half.  I'm hoping to read more, but I'm just going to relax, and enjoy whatever books I do read.

I did read a short romance today, Mistletoe Daddy by Deb Kastner. It was a cute inspirational romance, and I laughed out loud several times.  I think that is a good start to 2017.