Book Nerds Across America

So...if you are cradle Catholic like me, you have heard about the Lenten Loophole. Basically, this means that you are still doing what you're supposed to be doing, but maybe in an out-of-the-box kind of way that will benefit you. There's no shame. We've all done it.

Well, that's what happened to me and this challenge. The reality is, I didn't get to either one of these two pictured books  :( I am a little sad about it, because I really do want to read both. Unfortunately, my time constraints and immediate TBR did not allow it.

However, my goal was to read outside my comfort zone, and more specifically non-YA. I did complete one book and start another one that falls within those parameters. Remember Ready Player One? Straight up Science Fiction, my friends. And same with my current April read, which I started during Lent: Morning Star by Pierce Brown.

So did I read The Flight of the Silvers and Reveries of a Solitary Walker? No.
Did I read outside my genre, by completing and starting two Science Fiction books? Yes.

Lenten Challenge successful.
(And that is how the Lenten Loophole works.)

Oh it's that time of year again!!

I have to say this is one of my fave challenges we do. Last year I read 40 books, but sadly, I'll not be able to do the same this 2016!

However, I thought I would do a 'theme' Lent Challenge. I currently have 12 paranormal books listed on my Kindle as 'unread'.

There it is...I will read all 12 paranormal books and get you all snappy/funny/serious reviews (whatever the book brings!!)

Happy Ash Wednesday!!!

I explain these at the bottom of the post... :)

You may or may not know that we have been blogging for more than 5 years! And we're still here! We just love it so much.

In 2012, the Book Nerds decided to do different challenges for Lent. We had a lot of fun with it! Here was mine: Read a Stand Alone book. I picked that because trilogies and series were all over the place (they still are!) and I wanted to enjoy a single book with a single story that ended there. As you can see, I hit the jackpot with my choice of The Fault in Our Stars. This was the first John Green book I read, and the rest is history! I encourage you to click on 2012 on the sidebar at the right hand side of the page, and then click into March to see what Jacque, Mary, and Teri did.

We had so much fun with the Lenten challenges that we decided to do them again for 2016! Lent this year starts on February 10th and goes until the end of March. (If you are interested in the religious explanation behind Lent, you can read that here.) This year, for my Book Nerd Lenten Challenge, I am going to...

****Drum roll****

This Challenge was brought forth by Jacque. It's no secret that the Book Nerds all love our series books, and there are plenty out there for us to choose from! But sometimes it just seems like every time I want to add a book to my TBR, I really have to plan to add 3 books, because I am actually starting a new trilogy. There is something to be said for reading a book and know that the you have completed the story. No frustrating cliffhangers with yearlong waits for conclusion. Just a few hundred pages and you know everything you're going to know.

For this Challenge, I read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I had read a chapter or two before Lent, but had to set it aside. Now, I had a perfect excuse to come back to it. I wanted to read this book because so many people on my Twitter timeline read it right when it came out and gave it amazing reviews. I heard stories of many tears shed, and for this girl who has likely read and certainly loved almost every single Lurlene McDaniel book, I knew it would be right up my alley. It was. The book contained so many elements that made me love it: it broke my heart until I shed literal tears. I fell in love with the cute and quirky lead guy. The two main characters were clever word nerds. I couldn't make myself go to bed, even though it was way pst my bedtime, because I had to finish it. I admired the writing so much, I now want to go read every single thing John Green has ever written. Most importantly, it made me think about why I believe the way I do. Even though I read the majority of the book in a day, it will stay with me forever. ~Flo~