Hi all!
Welcome to Winter! Today I will be sharing my wrap-up for The Bookemon Readathon, which ran for the entire month of May. You can check out my TBR here. I managed to complete all the books on my original list plus one extra! This readathon was so much fun. A huge thank you to Tome Infinity for hosting it. I’m not going to explain how it all worked (check my TBR link above for more information) but I will provide all of my stats, the challenges I completed and what I thought of the books I read. Without further ado, let’s get into my thoughts!
THE BOOKS – TEAM MYSTIC
FYI: You can complete challenges more than once (as you’ll see below) and you can partake in challenges from teams that aren’t your own (however, you only earn half the CP).
Grass Challenge = 100 CP granted every single time a book made me laugh out loud.
Poison Challenge = 500 CP granted every time a book was outside of my comfort zone.
1.) BLUE TEAM CHALLENGE (WORTH 10 CP) – READ A BOOK FEATURING THE COLOUR BLUE, EITHER IN TITLE OR COVER IMAGE.
We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
STATS:
Total Pages: 52 CP (Combat Points)
Blue Team Challenge: 10 CP
No Grass/Poison CP
REVIEW:
This is the written version of a TED talk given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It’s funny, emotional, thoughtful and intelligent. It gently encourages everybody to become feminists and speak out against any injustices towards women. I believe everybody should either read or listen to the talk on YouTube. I’ve linked it here.
I gave this essay 5/5 stars.
2.) BLUE TEAM CHALLENGE (WORTH 10 CP) – READ A BOOK FEATURING THE COLOUR BLUE, EITHER IN TITLE OR COVER IMAGE.
One Of Us Is Next by Karen McManus
STATS:
Total Pages: 372 CP (Combat Points)
Blue Team Challenge: 10 CP
No Grass/Poison CP
REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this sequel! It was easy to read, intriguing, fun and mysterious. My only two issues were that I wanted more of the ‘Truth or Dare’ game and that I figured out who was behind everything quite early on. Usually Karen McManus is good at shocking me with her twists but this one wasn’t a surprise. That ending was very satisfying though!
The Diviners by Libba Bray
STATS:
Total Pages: 578 CP (Combat Points)
Mystic Group Book Challenge: 500 CP
Grass Challenge: 300 CP (this means I laughed out loud 3 times whilst reading this book).
REVIEW:
Wow this book was so worth the wait! I loved every second of it! The language, the costumes, the history, the setting and most of all the horror. I was actually spooked at times! There are three books left in the series which I’ll be jumping on ASAP! It also made me laugh out loud multiple times which is rare for me. Evie is a spunky protagonist with plenty of moxie!
I gave this 5/5 stars.
4.) BLANCHE’S MISSION CHALLENGE (WORTH 250 CP) – READ A BOOK THAT IS SET IN ANOTHER WORLD, NON-EARTH RELATED.
Archibald Lox and the Bridge Between Worlds by Darren Shan
Total Pages: 184 CP (Combat Points)
Blanche’s Mission Challenge: 250 CP
No Grass/Poison CP
REVIEW:
This was a lot of fun! It was a simple setting but with complex rules. It reminded me a lot of Kernel Fleck’s wandering in The Demonata. I definitely want to finish this trilogy and see where it goes!
I gave this 4/5 stars.
5.) ARTICUNO CHALLENGE (WORTH 1,000 CP) – READ A BOOK BY A MIDDLE EASTERN AUTHOR OR ABOUT MIDDLE EASTERN CULTURE/MYTHOLOGY
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
STATS:
Total Pages: 345 CP (Combat Points)
Articuno Challenge: 1,000 CP
No Grass/Poison CP
REVIEW:
Ahhh I missed a good classic dystopian! Yes the language was super flowery and the metaphors were endless but I still liked it. I enjoyed the story, it was easy to read and I want to know what happens next. Also Warner was super captivating damn!
I gave this 4/5 stars.
6.) LOGICAL CHALLENGE (WORTH 50 CP) – FOLLOW YOUR HEAD AND READ A BOOK YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD GET TO.
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
STATS:
Total Pages: 662 CP (Combat Points)
Logical Team Challenge: 50 CP
Poison Challenge: 500 CP (this means I felt out of my comfort zone reading this book).
REVIEW:
This book was unlike anything I’ve ever read before – every page I turned I didn’t know what would show up next. It felt like I was inside the Labyrinth. House of Leaves tells multiple stories that all connect with one another and create an extremely unsettling atmosphere. It was super dense but very captivating. I wouldn’t say this book was scary but it was disturbing on multiple levels. It was such a unique reading experience and one I could revisit many times over each time gaining something new…
I gave this 4.5/5 stars.
7.) GYM TRAINING CHALLENGE (WORTH 100 CP) – READ A BOOK FROM THE LIBRARY OR YOUR OWN COLLECTION.
In Another Life by C.C. Hunter.
STATS:
Total Pages: 336 CP (Combat Points)
Gym Training Challenge: 100 CP
Poison Challenge: 500 CP (this means I felt out of my comfort zone reading this book).
REVIEW:
In my original TBR, I put down that I wanted to read ‘The Lucky Ones’ by Liz Lawson for this challenge, but unfortunately the book was no longer able to be delivered to me, so I picked this one up from the library instead.
This book was a bit of a roller coaster for me. On one hand it was very intriguing and easy to read. I was so wrapped up in the mystery surrounding the adoption and had to find out the answers. On the other hand there was so much slut shaming, emphasis on being ‘hot’, the protagonist’s breasts were constantly mentioned and the mother was frequently tearing down the father in front of the child which was so wrong. Lots of problematic stuff but still an interesting read.
I gave this 3/5 stars.
ADDITIONAL BOOK – TEAM VALOR
8.) RED TEAM CHALLENGE (WORTH 5 CP) – READ A BOOK FEATURING THE COLOUR RED, EITHER IN TITLE OR COVER IMAGE.
Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison.
STATS:
Total Pages: 285 CP (Combat Points)
Red Team Challenge: 5 CP
No Grass/Poison
REVIEW:
I agreed with 97% of this book and it’s certainly a book a lot of people should read. There was one part that was a bit irresponsible so I docked a star. Other than that a a solid read!
I gave this 4/5 stars.
As I am not in Team Valor, I only received half the amount of CP for completing this challenge.
OVERALL STATS:
In the month of May, I read a total of 2,814 pages and earned a whopping 6,039 CP for Team Mystic! I’m super proud of these results!
Thank you so much for reading, if you took part let me know how you went. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? I would definitely partake in this readathon again.
Peace & Love xoxo