Bout of Books Read-a-Thon 7.0

I am going to be participating in my first Bout of Books read-a-thon starting this Monday. I know, read-a-thons can be quite intimidating, but for those of you that don't know what Bout of Books is, here is a little bit about it:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog.

Starting on Monday, I'm going to be posting about the books I'm reading (yes, text AND video) and I will update you on all things read-a-thon!

Happy reading :)

#fridayreads | A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.

Publisher: Random House
Release Date: 1996
Format: Paperback (and eBook)
Series: A Song Of Ice & Fire
Source: Bought

From Goodreads:

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must ... and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark's family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne.

I started this series a number of times before I actually decided to continue on with it. Now, I'm about 110 pages in and it is FANTASTIC so far. So amazing!

Waiting On Wednesday | Starstruck by Lauren Conrad (Fame Game Series #2)

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine, spotlighting upcoming new releases!

Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: May 14th, 2013

From Goodreads:
Are the stars of The Fame Game ready for their close-ups?

Madison Parker has discovered that not all publicity is good publicity. After turning herself in for stealing some bling, the reality star is stuck doing community service while her Fame Game castmates soak up all the screen time. Not that newcomer Kate Hayes needs more attention—ever since her breakout song became an overnight sensation she's suddenly acting like she's Katy Perry. Aspiring actress Carmen Curtis is finally making a name for herself, but she's finding it harder than ever to get out from behind her famous mother's shadow. And in Hollywood, leading men are a dime a dozen, but a good man is hard to find. So when two of the girls have their eye on the same guy, that can mean only one thing: on-camera drama.

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

The Book Depository

Okay... So, this book was released last year, BUT I'm not really looking forward to any true new releases, and the paperback of this novel is being released next week, so I'm happy about that. Plus, I read the first novel and I haven't read this one yet, so yeah. Anticipation! ... and breaking the rules.

Top Ten Tuesday | When You Need Something Light and Fun

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish blog! Go read their blog, it's awesome!

The weather here in Michigan is getting warmer - really warm, in fact, our menopausal mitten state shot up to 85 degrees rather quickly. And with warmer weather comes the inevitability of reading slumps. But don't fret! There are certain genres and books that I love to turn to that help me get back into my reading, that typically I read during the summer, to get me by.

1. Dead Until Dark (or any of the Sookie Stackhouse novels) by Charlaine Harris - Just think - Louisiana, vampires, sex, murder. After I watched the first season of "True Blood" on HBO, I knew that I just had to read these books. All of the humor of the show is in the books and then some. 

2. Anything by Jackie Collins - The reason why Jackie Collins is such a success is because she's able to create fantasy romantic hollywood-based worlds that none of us could ever think (or ever want) to live in. The first novel I read by her was Chances and all of her novels are filled with action, romance, and humor. 

3. The Beach House by Jane Green - If you haven't noticed already, I love chick lit, and Jane Green is one of the genre's pioneers. She has many great novels, but this is my favorite.

4. The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner - Don't classify Jennifer Weiner's novels as "chick-lit". She is much more than that - although, there isn't anything wrong with chick-lit. Her books are funny and have so much soul to them. The Next Best Thing is my favorite book of hers because I related the most to it. But all of her novels are brilliant.

5. Paper Towns by John Green - Now, you might not think that John Green books are "light and fun", but in my opinion, Paper Towns is the book that has the most physical humor and the book that doesn't take itself too seriously. Really. It's amazing. JG isn't just all about TFIOS.

6. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - You bet I'm calling this light reading. This classic is only 140ish pages, and the writing is brilliant. If you already read it, this definitely could use a re-read, especially with the film coming out.. SO SOON!

7. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - Now, I really dislike YA contemporaries... unless its John Green. But I really liked this book. Really. Like really.

8. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger - If you can get past the point of traditional "summer reading", Salinger's classic is the perfect short read.

9. Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger - ... I take that back. THIS Salinger classic is the perfect short read :)

10. Austenland by Shannon Hale - If you find yourself watching re-runs of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and crying on a summer afternoon, just read Austenland and thank me later.

So those are my picks! I know they aren't typical summer fun books, but I love these. What are yours?