According to my little gadget on goodreads, I’ve gone from being behind to being one book ahead of my goals for this year’s reading challenge. This isn’t because I’ve necessarily read a lot more in May than I did in April, but I did finish up a couple of books this month that I’ve been working on for several months now, and that feels so good! I’ve updated my book list for the month and I have several new books that I’ve added to my “to be read” pile.

Those include Love & War by the Eldredge’s—a book that I must admit I’m a bit leery of reading and reviewing, but figure it is worth a shot, Rascal—which I have not read since I was young, and a book called Growing Up Amish, which sounded intriguing and I’m hoping is good. Add that to the two I’m still finishing up (Jack & Jill as well as One Thousand Gifts), and I think I’ll be busy for a good while yet. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even actually read my 24 books before Christmas rolls around.

However, I’m not going to hold my breath. These next few weeks may hold more unknown adventures for Scott and I and I’m not counting on a lot of peaceful reading times, just in case. If you think of it, pray for us and the decisions we have ahead.

The one thing I am not happy about this month is my bible reading. While I’ve been reading this year, but it has been one of those times where I’ve had to stop and go back and read again a lot, and that is okay. I’d like to make more progress, but I’d rather stick to getting substance than just turning pages. Still, my goal this month is to really spend extra time reading my bible. I know it’ll be good for me.

So that’s the scoop for me. How did you all do in May? Even if you didn’t read a book, I hope your days have been filled with good things, and I’d like to hear about what is happening in your life.

As usual, feel free to link up with our linky here and report on your readings and your life in May. “See” ya’ll in June for our next checkpoint!

Someone told me once that late is better than never, but being late is one thing that I really, really don’t like, especially not ten whole days late. But April ended and May 1 came and it went, and every day I meant to write about the Reading Challenge, and somehow it never quite happened. Until today, anyways, where I am crawling out of the woodwork at last to make a confession.

Last month, I read three books and this month my updated book list is telling a very sad story: unless you count the half dozen or so times I read this little book to Shayla in the past few weeks, I didn’t finish a single book in April. Not a single one!

On that same book list, you will see that I added one book to March that I’d forgotten about, and you’ll see all the books that I’m part way through. I put them under May to remind myself not to start anything new until I finish those! As it is there’s one missing from the list. I started reading Jack & Jill in the car one day on a mobile device that I no longer own. I need to find it and read it on my computer, I guess.

I’m afraid May isn’t looking so much better as far as time and reading goes, but I’ve decided to finish at least one book this month, and push for two. Of course, with all of those half or more read, I may be able to play catch up and finish more, but I’m not counting on it at this rate.

Hopefully the rest of you have fared better than I as far as reading goes this Month, and I’m looking forward to reading your updates about it.

And just a note about the link up: I’ve decided to just use the same one instead of creating a new one each month, since not everyone has time or actually does link up each month. So if you would, add the month to your title (example: Chantel – May) to keep it easy to navigate and see what is new.

But, this next month be sure to take time to enjoy springtime, even if you don’t read as many books. It only comes once a year, after all!

I’ve been a member of goodreads for a while now—probably since early 2008, and have logged in half a dozen times here and there, and never really felt overly impressed .

It seemed like just another thing to keep track of, another thing to do in this already over connected generation. I even sort of “voted against it” when it came up on YLCF, but I’m glad that my vote didn’t hold sway, because I think I’m going to have to change my mind about this one!

This past week, since ylcf has launched its own goodreads group, I’ve been browsing around a little more actively than I have for years and have been making all kinds of discoveries and enjoying the fact that some of the things I didn’t like about goodreads have been changed along the way.  It is a good thing that “changing her mind is a woman’s prerogative”, right?

There was one new discovery, though, that got me particularly excited:  it is a Reading Challenge tracker, complete with the book list and a reading meter! I’m pretty sure it’ll be a perfect way to keep an eye on how I’m doing this year and how far I have to go. I do admit to being mostly thrilled with the reading meter, but that’s beside the point. There’s also the reading stats. Mine is definitely not accurate, but it also thrills the techy part of my heart.

Some of you have already made the discovery, but if you haven’t, do stop by goodreads and check it out! And be sure to join the YLCF group, too, because Jeannie has a lot of good things planned and I’m sure you don’t want to miss out! I know I don’t.

If I thought February went by quickly, March seemed to speed by twice as quickly! And… I didn’t read very many books, nor did I finish the books I thought that I would! I’ve already said a couple times that March really ended up being a month of a lot more silence than I anticipated. I guess that goes to show that there really is something to that quote about the best laid plans of men and mice… or however that goes!

Really, though, I needed a little silence to clear my mind and bring back the enjoyment in both reading and writing, and I definitely enjoyed reading all about the books that everyone else is reading during the March of Books over on YLCF!

But all that aside, you can see by my updated book list that while I didn’t read very many books, I did read two good books.

While the World Watched , which I reviewed earlier this month, gave me a lot to think about, and I really enjoyed finishing up a book I started before I got married—yet another L.M  Allcott book about a “modern” Cinderella. Once again, I was very impressed with the moral of the story, that true love is worth waiting for, and that it only gets better with time.

I did read a couple other, smaller books, and I am still slowly working my way through One Thousand Gifts, and a short story compilation called Every Day Heroes, as well as reading through my bible.

I hesitate to make any predictions for April. With spring in the air, and a little rumble of potential changes echoing in my ears, I’m not counting on finishing bundles of books this month. My goal is to finish what I’ve started and perhaps begin the next book on my list which happens to be a book that is made up of quotes from other books. What actually happens remains to be seen!

So how was March for you? We’ve had at least one new person jump in to join us during this reading challenge, and I’m excited that so many people are reading together with the common goal of reading well! (If you are new and catching up, this link will show you all the posts so far about this reading challenge!)

As always, you can link your update to this post using our link tool below, or leave a comment or both! Looking forward to hearing from each of you and seeing how your March has been.

Well, the bugs are still being buggy, but thanks to Gretchen and to windows live writer, I think we are successfully ignoring bugs until further solutions become available.

February was quite the month in these parts for being so short. It started out rather cold and icy, and went out with a (literal) bang on a day with the highest temperatures so far (73 F, and it felt amazing) and a crazy storm complete with tornado watches, and with flowers blooming and grass turning green. The warm weather and the flowers blooming are almost too good to feel true for us North Western peoples, so we’re just waiting for snow or something more realistic to keep us in perspective here.

February had a lot of other adventures of sort that have kept my mind well occupied, and yet somehow I still managed to read quite a bit more than I expected. I think January, with all of those books that I started, got me on a roll, because I pretty much finished them all! I even managed to start two new ones before the month ended. You can see my updated reading list with what I finished and the two I started which will hopefully be finished this month. I also read a couple adorable children’s books, but they were so tiny, and really collected for my niece and nephews that I didn’t put them on the list.

I am definitely on track for reaching my personal reading goal, but even though I well out read my one-book-a-month goal this time, I’m not going to hold my breath that I’ll beat my record. It’s too early in the year to know what other exciting things could take place in my life and prevent that from happening. Still, I am feeling hopeful that I’ll make the goal and if I keep over reading, I may just have to raise the goal and set my sights a little higher this year after all.

I must admit that I had pretty good incentive when it came to reading in February. And I am still feeling pretty excited about the March of Books and all the great things happening this month on ylcf.org. It is going to be a good month, and to tie in with the happenings over there, I’ve been working on some fun things to add a little zest to March over here as well! I’ve not had as much time to plan and prepare for March as I’d hoped, but I’m especially excited for a giveaway of some of my new favorites coming up later this month.

All of the books I read in February were great, but I was especially encouraged by the beautiful trust and acceptance of God’s will — even when it didn’t make sense, as portrayed by the Von Trapp Family, and if you read ylcf, you will already know that I enjoyed An Old Fashioned girl, a lot as well.

Bible reading is also coming along. I said I was planning to taking it slow, and I really am. But it is good, and I am finding a lot of peace in just absorbing the familiar words, even if it means that I’ll still probably be finishing up Exodus sometime in March. Sometimes reading slow, even when you don’t have to, gives you a chance to make connections and draw lessons that could otherwise be missed. And sometimes I think I just need the slow times to retreat to when everything else seems to be moving so fast and almost out of control around me.

Scott and I are also reading a favorite book on the life of Christ together each week. How I long to know Him more and more in every aspect of my life as I read about the way that He lived His.

So my goals for March include finishing Exodus, and getting into Leviticus, finishing One Thousand Gifts and While the World Watched and I also have a beautiful book of quotes from Tozer’s library that looks fascinating that I’d love to read this month. This means that there’ll probably be a few more than the usual once a month book review being shared here this month and that means I had better get reading and writing.

So, it is your turn! How did February go for you? What was your favorite of the book or books that you read? As always, you can link your update to this post using our link tool (looks like a froggy face this time!), or leave a comment or both, and here’s to a lot of happy reading in March!

It is pretty much impossible for me to decide which of the various events that are hosted on ylcf.org each year would be my favorite, and I get pretty excited about all of them in turn.

This month I’m counting down the days (with excitement and with the hope that time will be kind to me this year!) until the beginning of March, because that means the start of the second annual March of Books, and this means that there’ll be lots and lots of amazing book reviews and posts about books being shared.

And I really can hardly wait!

I got a sneak peek at some of the things planned for the month, and I can tell you it is going to be very good.

Last year I was in the middle of moving, and I really don’t know how I managed to write the reviews, and really didn’t get to enjoy it as much as I could have. I hope this year I won’t be moving, and I hope that you all are reading and preparing to “march” with us in the March of books, coming up very soon on ylcf.org

We’ll be doing a lot of book-ish things here, too, and I’m really excited because I’m hoping that we’ll finally be able to host our first real giveaway in relation to books here on Life, Laughter & Little Things. Stay tuned and keep reading!

P.S Elizabeth is holding a denim skirt party over on her blog. It’s been fun, and I’m hoping to be able to write something more about denim here on my blog in the next week or two, but you should definitely head over there and see some of the cute outfits that she and other friends have put together featuring denim and its place in style today.

So it’s February 1st, and we’re already one month down on 2011 and our reading challenge.  It’s been exciting to see our little group growing: 16 and counting! I’m looking forward to being encouraged together as we try to read well this year.

January was another crazy month for me, but I was determined to make time for reading, and I’m happy to report that this first month of making time was a success!

I didn’t quite finish the book I had planned to read for January (Voices of the Faithful, Vol 1 with Beth Moore), but I got close and I’m still technically on track for my personal reading goal of  at least 12 books in 2011.

So yes, to explain, I guess it’s time to admit that I’m one of those people who reads three or more books at once. I try really hard not to do it, but it happens sometimes. As it turns out, I read 2/3rds of  the book I reviewed last month, Life Without Limits, this month and 2/3rds of Voices of the Faithful, and a 1/4th of a biography by the real Maria Von Trapp that I picked up at the library. I’m not really counting the little book I read about God’s love, but I read that too.

All together, I reckon that adds up to a whole book, right?

I’m still reading Genesis in my Bible. I’m taking it slow and soaking it all in- especially the beautiful lessons in faith that Enoch and Noah and Abraham gave us. Oh how I long to trust like they trusted, to believe like they believed!

If you want to keep an eye on what I’m reading, (at least those books I don’t end up reviewing here on my blog) I’ve put the beginning of my reading list up so I can keep it updated each month as I read.

For the most part, I hope to not make it a continual practice to read too many books at once, but that’s what January has been like for me.

February is a short month, so my goal is to finish up at least Voices of The Faithful, and my library book. And to take a picture of my reading stack. Just because it is pretty to look at and filling up with wonderful books that are even better on the inside.

So now it is your turn! If you’ve written about reading, or about your progress in January and want to share, please do! You can add a link to the Linky below or leave a comment.

If you would like to jump in and join us in the reading challenge, it isn’t too late! You can read all the related posts here, and leave me a comment letting me know you want to join.

Happy reading in February, everyone!

January

Life Without Limits – Nick Vujicic

February

Voices of the Faithful – Beth Moore
The Story of the Trapp Family Singers- Maria Augusta Von Trapp
An Old Fashioned Girl – Louisa May Alcott

March

While The World Watched – Carolyn Maull McKinstry
A Modern Cinderella – Louisa May Alcott

April

60 Minutes to a Better Budget (?)

May
From the Library of A. W. Tozer: Selections From Writers Who Influenced His Spiritual Journey – James Stuart Bell
God’s Promises for the American Patriot – Deluxe Edition

June

One Thousand Gifts – Ann Voskamp
Great Heroes Remembered – Joe Wheeler
Jack & Jill – Louisa May Allcott

It seems like every year since I first hosted the Reading Challenge, all my good intentions and wonderfully planned reading lists and ideas would come to nothing as I packed up my belongings and books yet again for another move. Sometimes it would be months before I got a chance to unpack my books and reading plans would fall through once again.
I’m not quite ready to say that this year, there’ll be no boxes and no failure of meeting my reading goals for this Reading Challenge 2011, because life is full of unexpected surprises, and I’m pretty sure that 2011 isn’t going to be so different. (Though I admit, I’m ready to skip on moving for a few years!)

But, I am very ready to start reading again. Since 2005 and the big Alaska move until this autumn, more or less, I can almost count the books I’ve actually completed on my fingers. For someone who use to read near constantly, this is rather pathetic.

The thing is, my life has changed drastically between 2004 and today. I have my own little home to keep up, and my own husband to love and to make happy and I absolutely cannot think of anything happier that I could be doing with my life right now. But I am also working, and somehow I don’t spend most of my free time reading anymore.

Thus, in an attempt to both push myself a little, and to be realistic, I’ve set my personal reading goal at 12 books this year.

That’s one book a month, and won’t include my Bible reading or the two books Scott and I are planning to read together for our evening worship this year

If I manage more than that, wonderful! And if I don’t make it to 12, but did my best, well… so be it. But this is my goal, and hopefully writing about it here each month will keep me motivated to take those extra little minutes to keep reading.

I will also be reading my bible again this year. I have not decided yet if I am going to follow a plan and finish it in one year, or if I am going to pace myself a little slower, but I’m leaning towards reading it in a year, because it has been two years since I did that and I miss reading consistently through the books each month.

And really, even if you only plan on 3 books (like another bloggy friend is aiming for, with two little people I think I’d be doing good to get one done!) this isn’t just about who reads the most books in a year, as reading what we can and challenging ourselves to do a little more than we think we can do.

So…now it is your turn! If you’ve written about your goals for this year, and want to share a link, you can use the Mr. Linky below, or just jot them into a comment.
If you are wanting to join us this year, you can take a peek at the official starting post for the season and leave me a comment and let me know! You can also grab the banner and feel free to pass the word along. Everyone is welcome.