January/February TBR Wrap-Up

I know I just posted my sign up, but the link-up for January and February for the 2016 TBR Pile Challenge is up, so I'm going back-to-back here.

I did really good in January, reading 5 books from my TBR pile, and taking three off the TBR shelf!

TBR Shelf Reads

Title: Winter
Author: Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #4
Published: November 10, 2015
Purchased: November 27, 2015
Read: January 13, 2016
Rating: 5 stars
Quick Review: I was so excited to finish this series, but so sad to see it go! It was a fabulous ending that did not disappoint!

Title: Happily Ever After
Author: Kiera Cass
Series: The Selection #0.4, 0.5, 2.5, and 2.6
Published: October 13, 2015
Purchased: November 27, 2015
Read: January 17, 2015
Rating: 4 stars
Quick Review: This was so fun to reading while waiting for The Crown! I had read all but The Favorite (plus the bonus scenes) and loved getting a refresher on the other stories. Honestly, I don't love The Guard but the rest are fabulous! Plus the extra epilogue-so cute.

Title: The Sword of Summer
Author: Rick Riordan
Series: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
Published: October 6, 2015
Purchased: October 7, 2015
Read: February 2, 2016
Rating: 3-1/2 stars
Quick Review: I enjoyed this a lot, but it just wasn't Percy Jackson and I might be a little biased because of that. It really was a good story and I loved the characters (plus a cameo by Annabeth!) but I just didn't love it as much as either Percy Jackson series. I'm way more excited for The Trials of Apollo to come out in May!

Library Audiobooks

Title:Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Author: Mindly Kaling
Published: November 1, 2011
Read: January 12, 2016
Rating: 4 stars
Quick Review: First, I was skeptical about audiobooks in general. I had only ever listed to books I had already read as background noise so I wasn't sure if they would keep my attention. Mindy Kaling was a great place to start! She is hilarious and I found myself laughing out loud more than I imagined. It was also great that she narrates the book herself. I can't wait to listen to her second book (which has been at the library waiting for me and I just haven't gotten there yet!).

Title: Bossypants
Author: Tina Fey
Published: April 5, 2011
Read: January 27, 2015
Rating: 3 stars
Quick Review: I can already hear the gasps at my 3 star rating, but hear me out. It was good. No denying that, but for me, it just wasn't the best ever. If she writes another will I listen? Sure. Will I be standing in line at midnight to buy it? Definitely not.

And that's it for my January/February TBR reads.

Are you participating in Bookish Lifestyle's challenge? Or just trying to get through your TBR pile on your own? I'd love to hear what you're up to!

Until next time,
Claire

2016 TBR Pile Challenge

One of my goals every year for the past few years has been to read 52 books. I haven't hit it yet, but I like the challenge even if I don't make it. However, a lot of the books that I do read tend to be new purchases or new releases, which means the books that I have sitting on my shelves or have wanted to read for years don't get touched.

That is why I am taking part in Bookish Lifestyle's 2016 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, It runs from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 and all you have to do is read books that were published in 2015 or earlier (no 2016's or ARCs). Any format, any genre!

The breakdown for this challenge is:

1-10 A Firm Handshake

11-20 A Friendly Hug

21-30 First Kiss

31-40 Sweet Summer Fling

41-50 Could This Be Love?

50+ Married with Children

I've been hitting around 40 books a year so this will put me at around half from my TBR pile. I really want to get my TBR shelf down-I'm almost out of room!

Until next time,
Claire

March TBR

February was an abysmal month for reading. I won’t even bother with a wrap-up post because I read one book, ONE. I feel ashamed. I read seven in January. SEVEN! Now, two of those I had started in December, and two were audio books, but that still leaves three whole books finished in one month. Compared to one. But, March has begun and it’s time to get back on track!

These are the books I’m hoping to read this month:

What books are you looking forward to reading next? Already read some of these? I'd love to hear from you!

Until next time,
Claire

Welcome!

Welcome to Reading in Moccasins!

Here are a few things about me to get you started:

My name is Claire and I’m turning 26 in a few days. I have an insane cat named Lily who likes to wake me up at 5:30 in the morning so she can eat. Thankfully, I need to wake up at that time during the week to get to work, but on the weekends, it is less appreciated. I have a full time job as editing concrete placement exams. It’s as strange as it sounds but is a pretty great job. And a great way to use my BA in Creative Writing *shrugs*.

I’m an avid reader and pick up everything from classics to middle grade; contemporary, historical, fantasy, you name it. I also watch an unhealthy amount of tv shows but have been trying to pair it down to only the ones I absolutely love. I'm always trying to find balance between keeping up with my shows and reading from my ever growing TBR pile.

I enjoy baking and cooking—mostly recipes I find on pinterest, so get ready to see some of those around here. I've been trying to make a new recipe at least twice a month, and have been fairly successful. I love experimenting with new ideas around the kitchen.

Three times a week (usually), I do yoga, and am always working harder to get to the gym for cardio and weightlifting at least two other days. I hope to put together some of my routines here to not only share what I do with you, but also to keep up my motivation. Surprisingly, searching pinterest for workouts helps sometimes!

As I mentioned before, I'm an editor of sorts and have been at my job for about four months (but have been editing technical documents for a few years). With this new job, I still work in a business casual environment, but I do some travelling that also requires a bit more business professional look. Add this to just wanting to be comfortable and put together, I've been trying to scale up my wardrobe and feel like trendy twenty-something (but still be comfortable!), which is a little out of my comfort zone. I hope that I can share my new style with you and get some feedback on how I'm doing!

Well, that's it for now. I hope you enjoyed this little “getting to know me” intro and will stick around once I get some actual posts up!

Until next time,
Claire