2021 Reading Challenge discussion

Hey guys! Hard to believe February is halfway over. Its time for a mid-month check in. How is everyone doing with their book count? Any good reads so far this month?

I've finished 10 books so far, and my favorite was The Project by Courtney Summers. It was a book about a cult and how CRAZY hard it is to get out of cults and how quickly people can become brainwashed. And on that note, one of the books I'm reading now is called The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith by Matthew Bowman. It is a nonfiction that tells the history behind the Mormon faith. As a Bible believing Christian, it's blowing my mind how people put so much faith in Joseph Smith and his interpretation of what "God told him", how he was the chosen one to tell others that all the other religions were wrong, and how it turned into a whole new religion. I am fascinated in learning what others believe, and I think it helps me when it comes time to defend my faith against false teachings.

I would love to see myself close this month with 15 books, but I have a feeling I'll get more than that.

I have a few books on hold from the library that I'm pretty excited about too!

This month so far, I’ve read 4 books. My goal is to finish at minimum 8, but possibly 9.

I read “Star Wars:High Republic: Into the Dark”, which was a fun, decent read.

“Legends of Shannara: Measure of the Magic”, which I was really let down by since I’ve loved every other Terry Brooks book.

“Star Trek:The Fall: The Crimson Shadow” which is now one of my all time favorite Star Trek novels.

“Malice” by John Gywnne. It was a good opening to the series, and had a great climax, but it did have some pacing issues.

The first half of this month has been slow. I've been crawling slowly through 3 books: Fellowship of the Ring, The Five, and The Sum of All Fears.

To take a break from those I've jumped into some easier reading with the Ember series. The City of Ember was a fun little jaunt that hooked me quickly.

Still (slightly) ahead of my reading goal for the year; hoping I can build my buffer back up by the end of the month.

This has been one of my slowest reading months ever! I have read only one book this month, a fun YA book called American Royals by Katherine McGee. It’s been a busy month and that’s been all my brain can handle. 🤦‍♀️ Also currently reading Mother to Son by Jasmine Holmes, The Switch by Beth O’Leary, Enjoy by Trulia Newbell, Fierce Marriage by Ryan and Selena Frederick.

I've read 4 books this month, so far, which puts me 3 books ahead of schedule. The first one was a short read, a collection of poems called Waiting for the Past by Les Murray. I know this counts, but it almost feels like cheating since it was so short.

I’ve also read The Maze Runner by James Dashner, Artemis by Andy Weir and I just finished The Night Season by Chelsea Cain. It is a toss up whether Artemis or The Night Season was my favorite read so far. Both books were so good and so well written and both authors are favorites of mine in their respective genres.

With just over a week left, I hope to get at least 1, if not 2, more books read which will keep me ahead of pace for my goal this year.