The short O.W.L.s Extra Credit read-a-thon is over. You can find out more about it here. It changed my reading list and influenced everything that I read this week. 

Before I found out about the read-a-thon, but after it started, I read Iron and Magic - the first in a spin off series by Ilona Andrews. I also received the last book in the Kate Daniel's series, also by Ilona Andrews, from the library. I binged that for a book on the top of my TBR. Both were in Kindle, but I managed to read them between activities and short periods of down time. Ending the Kate Daniels series was not very sad with the new spin off series already started. I am looking forward to the fresh perspective. I am glad that they did not decide to hold on to the series any longer. Nothing is as horrible as the twenty-ninth book of a series that has the same plot rehashed over and over. 

I tried to read Ignite for the fire categories. Nope. In the first chapter I found three plot holes. She says she plans to go to Stanford, but wants to be a culinary chief. Then she has been practicing cooking at a boarding school - maybe if they had classes, I guess. But she went off to boarding school at 13 and is now a 16 year old Senior. Since this is set in America something is off here. Especially since she just turned 16 at the very end of her Junior year - she dated a guy for a month after turning 16 and then school ended. A big DNF for me. 

Thankfully, I had the OwlCrate version of Grace and Fury waiting to be read. The Owlcrate version has fire on the cover. It was, overall, a good book. I really want to read the next book though. 

​On audio I finished Crazy Rich Asians. This book sucks, my review explains why in much more eloquent terms. How has this gotten so big? It is the one book that I think the movie will actually be better. It took everything that I had to finish. Ugh! I picked this for book with a light cover - it worked close enough.

The last book I read was Space Opera, for a book that tickles you the right way. I sure chose right. It is written in Douglas Adams fashion, with a lot of the similar tropes. It is the original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, not the catch all follow up books. While the book was not unique, it is uncommon. It was a great humor science fiction book. 

This last week has been a lot of piecemeal reading. I picked up a book when I had some time, read a chapter, and then moved on. I put on an audio book when I was able to and got done what else I needed to get done. 

I am amazed, at times, how much I find myself reading. Yet the list of books I want to read is always longer. 

I finally finished The Psychology of Time Travel from the list before last. I also finished Mirage, although I was almost finished with this book last week. I also finished listening to Senlin Ascends. All of these I finished on Friday. 

I moved on to my next five books, that I will officially be posting this week. I am listening to Crazy Rich Asians. I think I will have an unpopular opinion of this book, I just am not sure if it is because of the audio book or both the narration and the story. I swear half the book is about shopping and name brands and the other half is about money. I think I would even take a romance over this. 

I also started Iron and Magic, by Illona Andrews, on Kindle. This is the first in a new series that spins off from Kate Daniels. To top it off I received the last book in the Kate Daniels series from the library today. It is not on my next five list, but I may be jumping ahead to it. 

It is nice being able to listen to audio books on stressful and busy work times. I also find myself so tired when I get home that I tend to sit down and read for thirty minutes before getting up to take care of the kids. 

I think it also helps that I not only have the next five books planned that I want to read, I also have the next five after planned out. What is the opposite of a reading slump?

I do not make monthly TBR lists because I am so bad about staying with a selection of books for an entire month. By the end of the month my eyes have wandered another way and I am on a whole new set of books.

There are just so many different books to read.

This is why I make a TBR five books at a time. It is due for me to publish my next list. Especially considering that I have already read three of the five books on it.

Yet, I still have not finished one of the books from the last TBR list. It is not that The Psychology of Time is a bad book. In fact I am quite enjoying reading it. I just got sidetracked by The Poppy Wars (I said last week that I would) and then I had to read the last two novella's in the Binti series - they were due back to the library. Then I was listening to another audio book (work has been a lot of staring at data on screens, audiobooks keep me sane - mostly). So, I finished Circe also and started listening to Senlin Ascends. 

In total I finished four books last week and am in the middle of three. I think I forgot to mention that I could not help picking up my paper copy of Mirage - from last month's OwlCrate. I still need to post the unboxing. Guess I just gave away the book. 

​The funny part is that I feel like I haven't read much at all.