Happy New Year's Eve!!

It is the last day of 2011! I only have 7 hours left of 2011 and this year has flown by! One of my goals this year was to read 111 books but I only got 19 books read this year and I'm not regretting it at all. I've been so busy with working full time and going to school full time that I barely get in anytime to read a book. I haven't decided how many books I'll read for 2012. I was thinking either 50 books (a book a week) or 144 books (12 books a month). I may go towards 50 books since it'll be a lot easier for me! I put off reading any books for the last week since I'm in Florida and I'm visiting family here. Since I'm going back home tomorrow (13ish hours drive) so I'll be able to read and finish a book tomorrow (and possibly post a review when I get home)!

Olly-olly-oxen-free

This book was absolutely amazing! I started reading this about 9 last night and didn't finish it until about 12 or 1 this morning. That's how good it was! That's why this book is A Must Read! There are not a lot of books that will take me almost 4 hours to read from start to finish. This book was truly a life changing book. It made me see things from a different view. 

Basically the book is about a girl, Hannah Baker who had committed suicide but before doing that, she made tapes. Tapes with 13 reasons why she killed herself. It started in her freshmen year all the way up to the day she died. There was seven tapes, each side with one story (a reason). Which means there was 13 different people that these tapes had to go to so they can learn why they were responsible for her death. This is from both Hannah and Clay's point of view. As Clay was listening to the tapes, he went around their small town. Following along with the stories that Hannah was telling. At each place he discovered new secrets about Hannah and about everybody else that was on those tapes. What Clay had discovered changed his life (and in a way changed mine).

** Some Links **
Listen to the Tapes
13 Reasons Why website

The Nine Lives of Chloe King

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

So I finished The Nine Lives of Chloe King by Liz Braswell last night!! It took me awhile to read it all. One of the reasons was that I was a bit busy with work but also because this book was hard to get into it. There were times when I would get bored and end up putting the book aside and do something else.

The book is about a girl who just turned 16 and she had fallen off a tower and survived it! That's when she started getting all of these "superpowers" like claws, being able to see in the dark and jumping from roof to roof. However with those abilities came a death wish, someone is out to get her but who? Because she had nine lives she was considered to be the "chosen one" and not many people were happy with that including the pride leader of the Mai, Sergei who has taken her in to protect her from a "cult" called the Tenth Blade. While in hiding she learns a little bit about her history and the history of the Mai. 

After finding a friend in an alley bleeding to death, thanks to the Tenth Blade members, she decided it's time to take control and end this "feud" between the Mai and the Tenth Blade that's been going on for almost 5,000 years! With the help of her two best friends, Amy & Paul, her mom, Kim (a member of the Mai), and Alyec, who is also a member of the Mai as well as one of her "boyfriends"and Brain who is the son of the leader of the Tenth Blade & Chloe's other boyfriend, Chloe tries to put a stop of the fights between the two groups. Like it says on the back of the book, Chloe has nine lives, but will nine be enough? Go read the book and find out!!

One of the things that I didn't like about the book was that it was really hard to get into it. I had a hard time focusing on the book. There were times when I would have to force myself to finish reading a chapter. I don't know if it was maybe how the book was written or if it was just something else. The book was really good, but it wasn't a cannot put the book down good. 

My favorite part of the book was how she had to choose between Brain, a human and she cannot kiss him or she'll kill him and Alyec who is a Mai and they were considered the It Couple in the Mai. I also loved how she was trying to balance the two lives (Mai and Human) together with the hopes that they can be able to interact with each other without killing or fighting. I would have to say the only time I was not able to put the book down would be the last few chapters. Those chapters was when it really got good and I had to finish it!

Do you listen to music while reading? What kind of music do you listen to while reading?

I always have music playing when I'm reading, either off my computer or I'll put on my headphones on. I always have either classical music or songs that are slow. Those fast paced songs tends to distract me and I lost focus of what I'm reading.Most of the time, I end up tuning out the music whenever I"m into a really good book and whenever I'm done reading or take a break I'll remember that I had music playing. The one song that I love listening to while reading (and I don't know why) is A Little Past Little Rock by Lee Ann Womack.

Do you listen to music while you're reading? Why or why not? What type of music do you listen to? Any songs that you always have playing while reading?