2013 Sarah Dessen Read/Reread Challenge

After years reading The Baby-Sitters Club and thrillers by Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine, came Sarah Dessen. You may remember (from my many previous mentions) that I started reading Sarah Dessen way back in 1996 when her first book came out and I was in my first year of high school. Her books introduced me to what we now call YA and solidified my forever-fan status of contemporary.

So, I'm super excited to tell you about the Sarah Dessen Read/Reread Challenge being hosted by I Eat Words throughout 2013. From February to November, there's a different Dessen novel to read & chat about each month, including The Moon and More in June when it gets released!

February - Just Listen

March - This Lullaby

April - Dreamland

May - The Truth About Forever

June - The Moon and More

July - That Summer

August - Along for the Ride

September - Someone Like You

October - Keeping the Moon

November - What Happened to Goodbye

(But where's Lock and Key?! Maybe I'll read that one in December all by myself.)

Edited to add: December - Lock and Key
(Leaving Lock and Key out was an oversight, so it's been added for December now!)

If you haven't read all of them or want to reread (like me), join in during whatever months apply. Head over to I Eat Words to sign up in the comments. (It's casual, so no pressure, even if you join in.) And I'll post about the book of the month here as we go! (Follow the blog or tweets to be alerted with each post.)

Happy reading!

Books Read in 2012

I set a goal to read 75 books in 2012, and ended up hitting 120! And that's without counting any reading I did for school (which was EXTENSIVE).

Get ready to scroll! All 120 book covers are followed by a list of every title and a link to find it on Goodreads.

Names & links to all 120 books:

1. Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver
2. Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klaus
3. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
4. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
6. The Boy Project by Kami Kinard
7. Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver
8. The Boyfriend List (Ruby Oliver #1) by E. Lockhart
9. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
10. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
11. Bumped (Bumped #1) by Megan McCafferty
12. Small Town Sinners by Melissa C. Walker
13. Ten Things We Did by Sarah Mlynowski
14. Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay
15. The List by Siobhan Vivian
16. Hana (Delirium #1.5) by Lauren Oliver
17. Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick (Perry & Gobi #1) by Joe Schreiber
18. Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill
19. Thumped (Bumped #2) by Megan McCafferty
20. The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder
21. Bloom (Seeds of Love #1) by Julie Anne Lindsey
22. Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross
23. At the Party (#1-4) by Lauren Barnholdt
24. Rules of Negotiation by Inara Scott
25. Flirting in Italian (Flirting in Italian #1) by Lauren Henderson
26. His Secret Temptation by Cat Schield
27. Exclusively Yours (Kowalski Family #1) by Shannon Stacey
28. Undeniably Yours (Kowalski Family #2) by Shannon Stacey
29. Yours to Keep (Kowalski Family #3) by Shannon Stacey
30. Talk Me Down (Tumble Creek #1) by Victoria Dahl
31. Start Me Up (Tumble Creek #2) by Victoria Dahl
32. Lead Me On (Tumble Creek #3) by Victoria Dahl
33. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody
34. New Girl by Paige Harbison
35. I'd Tell You I Love You... (Gallagher Girls #1) by Ally Carter
36. The Way We Fall (Fallen World #1) by Megan Crewe
37. Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic
38. Candy Store by Bella Andre
39. Always a Bridesmaid by Cindi Myers
40. The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols
41. The Look of Love (The Sullivans #1) by Bella Andre
42. From This Moment On (The Sullivans #2) by Bella Andre
43. Can't Help Falling In Love (The Sullivans #3) by Bella Andre
44. I Only Have Eyes for You (The Sullivans #4) by Bella Andre
45. If You Were Mine (The Sullivans #5) by Bella Andre
46. I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent #1) by Barry Lyga
47. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
48. Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson
49. Fathomless (Fairytale Retellings #3) by Jackson Pearce
50. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
51. Easy by Tammara Webber
52. Burn for Burn (Burn for Burn #1) by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian
53. Between the Lines (Between the Lines #1) by Tammara Webber
54. Where You Are (Between the Lines #2) by Tammara Webber
55. Good For You (Between the Lines #3) by Tammara Webber
56. Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie
57. Crossed (Matched #2) by Ally Condie
58. Accidentally Yours by Susan Mallery
59. Heist Society (Heist Society #1) by Ally Carter
60. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
61. Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins
62. Too Good to Be True by Kristan Higgins
63. Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins
64. All I Ever Wanted by Kristan Higgins
65. My One and Only by Kristan Higgins
66. Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins
67. Slow Summer Kisses by Shannon Stacey
68. Chasing Perfect (Fool's Gold #1) by Susan Mallery
69. Let Me Be The One (The Sullivans #6) by Bella Andre
70. The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins
71. All He Ever Needed (Kowalski Family #4) by Shannon Stacey
72. Baby, I'm Yours (Southern Roads #0.5) by Stephanie Bond
73. Baby, Drive South (Southern Roads #1) by Stephanie Bond
74. Baby, Come Home (Souther Roads #2) by Stephanie Bond
75. Somebody To Love by Kristan Higgins
76. Baby, Don't Go (Southern Roads #3) by Stephanie Bond
77. Almost Perfect (Fool's Gold #2) by Susan Mallery
78. Finding Perfect (Fool's Gold #3) by Susan Mallery
79. Only Yours (Fool's Gold #3) by Susan Mallery
80. Bitsy's Bait & BBQ by Pamela Morsi
81. Only His (Fool's Gold #6) by Susan Mallery
82. Sweet Talk (Bakery Sisters #1) by Susan Mallery
83. Only Us (Fool's Gold #6.1) by Susan Mallery
84. Only Mine (Fool's Gold #4) by Susan Mallery
85. Almost Summer (Fool's Gold #6.2) by Susan Mallery
86. Summer Days (Fool's Gold #7) by Susan Mallery
87. Summer Nights (Fool's Gold #8) by Susan Mallery
88. All Summer Long (Fool's Gold #9) by Susan Mallery
89. Sweet Spot (Bakery Sisters #2) by Susan Mallery
90. The Boss's Fake Fiance by Inara Scott
91. This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
92. One in a Million by Susan Mallery & Tanya Michaels
93. Love Blossoms (Seeds of Love #2) by Julie Anne Lindsey
94. Catching Jordan (Hundred Oaks #1) by Miranda Kenneally
95. All He Ever Desired (Kowalski Family #5) by Shannon Stacey
96. Reached (Matched #3) by Ally Condie
97. Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth
98. Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
99. Free Four (Divergent #1.1) by Veronica Roth
100. The Billionaire's Christmas Baby by Victoria James
101. Wild Heat (Hot Shots: Men of Fire #1) by Bella Andre
102. Sweet Trouble (Bakery Sisters #3) by Susan Mallery
103. Baby, It's Cold Outside by Heidi Rice
104. Come a Little Bit Closer (The Sullivans #7) by Bella Andre
105. Simply Irresistible (Lucky Harbor #1) by Jill Shalvis
106. The Sweetest Thing (Lucky Harbor #2) by Jill Shalvis
107. Small Town Christmas (Lucky Harbor #2.5) by Jill Shalvis
108. Head Over Heels (Lucky Harbor #3) by Jill Shalvis
109. Lucky In Love (Lucky Harbor #4) by Jill Shalvis
110. At Last (Lucky Harbor #5) by Jill Shalvis
111. Forever and a Day (Lucky Harbor #6) by Jill Shalvis
112. Under the Mistletoe (Lucky Harbor #6.5) by Jill Shalvis
113. All I Want For Christmas by Ros Clarke
114. Holiday Sparks by Shannon Stacey
115. One Perfect Night by Rachael Johns
116. Seduction and Snacks by Tara Sivec
117. Jilted In January by Clarice Wynter
118. Snowed Over by Angie Stanton
119. The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook
120. Monica Never Shuts Up by A.S. King

What does this mean? Well... I read lots of books! And I far surpassed my 2012 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 75 books. (Yay!)

Feel free to comment, tweet, or email if you're wondering about a book you see here. (Links are in the sidebar.)

I'm off to set my goal for 2013!

#NYEReadathon Update #3

Hello! I'm back for update #3 on the #NYEReadathon.

This is my last one until tomorrow... A girl's gotta do some celebrating with her husband & beagle at some point, too. (If by celebrating, you mean watching Anderson Cooper & Kathy Griffin be adorable/awkward BFFS on CNN, and sharing snacks.)

I just finished reading The Education of Hailey Kendrick. (Totally loved it.) For my last book of the night, I'm going to read Monica Never Shuts Up. (I'm a big A.S. King fan and am interested in seeing what the short stories are like in comparison to the full novels.)

I'll be back tomorrow to do some 2012 recapping and kick of 2013. And thanks to The Picky Girl for hosting tonight's #NYEReadathon!

Happy new year!

#NYEReadathon Update #2

Hello, lovelies. I'm still reading along with my fellow #NYEReadathon-ers. Since my last post here, I've tweeted my progress...

I picked a book:

Going with The Education of Hailey Kendrick. No clue if I'll like it, don't see any friend reviews anywhere. We'll seeeeeee.#NYEReadathon
— Sarah B. (@StoryboundGirl) December 31, 2012

And then less than an hour later realized I loved it:

I made a good choice for my 3rd book of the day! On p50 of The Education of Hailey Kendrick by @eileenwriter & I'm HOOKED. #NYEReadathon
— Sarah B. (@StoryboundGirl) December 31, 2012

And then this happened:

Shit just got real at the boarding school, y'all. #NYEReadathon
— Sarah B. (@StoryboundGirl) December 31, 2012

Because... that's the truth!

Then I took a break for a burrito from Freebirds, and now I'm back!

As for the update/questions over on The Picky Girl...

1. Have you napped yet? Or are you still going strong?
There is no way I could stop reading to nap.

2. Do you have a favorite book of 2012? If so, what is it?
I can't possibly pick a favorite book of 2012 without spending way too much precious reading time thinking about it and changing my mind a zillion times. But I will say I loved The Fault In Our Stars, Pandemonium, My Life Next Door, and The Way We Fall a whole lot. If you haven't read all of those, you should really remedy that immediately!

3. Any reading goals for 2013?
This year's reading goal was 75 books (on top of whatever massive amounts of reading I had to do on PoliSci for school), but I somehow managed over 110 books! I'm not sure if I should assume that's possible again and go for 125 or aim for 100, which is still a lot of books for a person who reads tons of pages for school nine months of the year. I'll post an update when I decide.

4. Is anyone listening to any audiobooks?
No audiobooks... I don't have any right now and they'd only slow me down!

5. What book are you most excited about in 2013?
I'm excited about MANY books, but in the short term... I'm going crazy waiting for Lauren Oliver's conclusion to the Delirium series, Requiem, to be out in March. There are SO MANY THINGS I would do to get my hands on an ARC.

I'm off to check out other updates. I'll be at @StoryboundGirl, as always.

#NYEReadathon Update #1

Hi, #NYEReadathon-ers! How's the reading going?

I stayed up after midnight reading Jilted in January by Clarice Wynter (a romance!), then read Snowed Over by Angie Stanton (a new adult!) this morning with some grocery shopping squeezed in the middle.

I've pulled out some books to consider reading today, so now I've just got to decide what to go with next... Hmm. So many choices.

And to answer a few of The Picky Girl's questions to go along with the readathon...

I'm a comfy reader! I'm in cropped sweatpants, a v-neck tee, and wrapped in a blanket, wedged in the corner of my sofa.

As for drinks & snacks, I got a Peppermint Mocha earlier (that's gone now -- boo!)... and next I think I'll go with some of my Christmas chocolates (filled with caramel, just like I requested!). Later I'm having a burrito from Freebirds (and it's going to be AWESOME). Way later, I'm going with chips & guacamole & probably more chocolate (because DUH).

I don't know what I'll be reading when the year closes... maybe nothing, since I'll probably spend a bit of time with the husband around midnight so we can makeout or whatevs. (Also, I can't resist Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin, who are the most adorably awkward best friend NYE presenters on TV.)

I'll keep updating on Twitter (@StoryboundGirl) & be back to post a reading update here later, too! Tweet me, comment, or link over on The Picky Girl so I can find you and see what you're up to, as well.

Happy reading!

The readathon is coming!

Going out for NYE is not my thing, so when I heard about The Picky Girl's NYE Readathon, I knew it was for me. You can join in tomorrow by using #nyereadathon on your tweets and photos, and linking up any blog posts you make throughout your reading. 

I'm spending today thinking up a list of books I want to read so I'm ready to start tomorrow, and will be around all day, reading and tweeting! (See: @StoryboundGirl)

Let me know if you're joining in and I'll watch out for your updates, too. 

READING CHALLENGE: YA Historical Fiction

Uh oh! I've joined another challenge! This one's been going on all year and I couldn't resist, even six months late.

YA Bliss is hosting and I don't read nearly enough YA historical fiction (meaning: none so far!), so I'm in!

There are three challenge levels.
Level 1: 5 YA HF books in 2011
Level 2: 10 YA HF books in 2011
Level 3: 15 YA HF books in 2011

I'm officially going for Level 1 (since I'm so late to the game), but have a few extra books on my list in case I breeze through the first five.

My list:

1. Fever 1973 by Laurie Halse Anderson
2. The Luxe (Luxe #1) by Anna Godbersen
3. Rumors (Luxe #2) by Anna Godbersen
4. Envy (Luxe #3) by Anna Godbersen
5. Splendor (Luxe #4) by Anna Godbersen

Yes, it's just a tiny bit Anna Godbersen heavy, but... oh well! I've been meaning to read The Luxe for ages! (And if I get beyond these first five, I'm moving on to her Bright Young Things series next!)

Let me know if you know of any fantastic YA historicals. There aren't nearly enough on my to-read list!

Sign up for the challenge over on YA Bliss right here.