Day one: August 6th
This entry is going to be a little different than most. Rather than writing this post all at once explaining how the project went after its over, I'm going to work on this entry throughout the week and let you guys get a better sense of how the week went and what I was feeling throughout this experience.
Today is August 6th which starts my journey to try and read the two books you've selected as my #MakeMeRead Reathon books. The winners of the polls I posted on Twitter were To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Simon vs. the Homosapiens. Both of these books have been sitting on my shelf for a while now but I just never found the time or that specific mood to dive into either book. Maybe it's because of the hype behind both of these books that I've been hesitant to read them; afraid that if I do the hype and excitement might not live up to the expectations. But whatever the case may be, this is the week that I'm going to cross both of these books off of my To Be Read pile!
The first book I decided to pick up for this challenge was To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I'm really excited about the Netflix adaptation that's coming out on the 15th of this month and the previews I keep seeing really make this look like it's going to be such a wonderful read and hit me in that feelsy, cutesy kind of way.
Unfortunately for day one of reading, I was unable to make it very far into the book due to being short staffed at work and unable to continue reading during my shift which I had originally planned to do. I'm not far enough into the book yet to really have an opinion one way or another but I'm still excited to see where this book is going to take me. As far as the story line goes I haven't been completely pulled into the story and I'm really not sure what to think of the relationship between the Song girls. They definitely seem close but at the same time I feel like there is so much more that isn't being said between them during this beginning part of the book. I'm hoping that while we begin seeing her relationship with the boys she loved before we will also see her relationships with her sisters evolve and get a better understanding of them.
Day two: August 7th
After being away from the book for hours now (probably getting close to 24 hours without reading) I'm still excited to pick it back up and begin reading again. My goal for the day is to at least read 5 chapters which for this book isn't much as the chapters tend to be really short but I only have a small window to read before I have to go to work so I'm not sure how much I'll actually be able to get done today.
Day three: August 8th
I'm actually really impressed with my progress yesterday. I managed to basically triple the amount of chapters I wanted to read which ended up being just over 60 pages. Not bad at all when one considers that it was a later start to the reading day and did most of my reading during my work shift. Even more impressive considering I couldn't even read before going to bed since I needed to get up early for work today. (Although I ended up sleeping through my alarm today so I didn't end up going to work as early as I was expecting).
For today I'm actually hoping to read about 100 pages. I would love to do more than that but between having to work today and then plans with my sister for tonight to celebrate her birthday before her kiddos get home next week and needing to get my car moved the timing might be a bit tight. But I"m going to try anyways and who knows maybe I'll even surprise myself and read more than 100 pages!
Day four: August 9th
Well I didn't quite reach my goal of reading 100 pages yesterday but I did manage to read about 70-80 pages which overall isn't too bad. I'm definitely enjoying the interactions between Lara Jean and Peter. Is it bad that I'm kinda hoping for this to be a thing and not just to make Josh think that she's over him?
My goal for today is to read at least 20 chapters. Considering the amount of pages I was able to read yesterday and the fact that I was able to read over 15 chapters a few days ago, I think that 20 is completely doable. The only thing planned for the day is to work in the morning so that should leave me with plenty of time to read.
Day five: August 10th
Alright guys, I'm going to be completely honest with you, I did not even read one word yesterday. Did I want to? Yes, without a doubt. So what kept me from reading. The short version: adulting. The full version. I decided to go shopping after work yesterday as we were in desperate need of pop in this house (both my bf and I are big pop drinkers and we were completely out). So after shopping and putting away all of the groceries I decided I would get in the bath and relax and brought my book along to do some reading. Sounds great so far but then my boyfriend called me as he was getting off of work to remind me that he was going to a friends house for D&D and wouldn't be home until later but he was hoping to drink while he was there and would need me to come and get him. I told him that it would be no problem and then I find out that his Grandma passed away earlier in the day so not only did he have a horrible day at work but that happened too.
Anyways, my goal for the day is just going to be to read ten chapters. I have to work the morning shift again today but it will be a longer shift which will leave me with less time to read. Also I really have no idea what the plans will be with everything that happened yesterday. The funeral will be on Sunday but depending on what my boyfriend decides to do tonight I may have a lot of time to read as I'll be home alone, or I will be spending most of my time with him and not have much time at all to read.
Day six: August 11th
I managed to make my goal last night! I'm super impressed with this considering that my boyfriend decided to stay home last night so we ended up watching a couple of different movies (Game Night and A Quiet Place) so I didn't have a lot of time to devote to reading. If I hadn't been so tired I probably would've tried to read beyond my goal but I will admit that it was a bit of a struggle to make it to the tenth chapter. I can definitely understand why this book has gotten the hype that it has though as it's a super cute story. I'm going to be completely honest but I really thought at the beginning of the book that this was just not going to be the book for me. But I knew that I wanted to get to the actual plot of the story with her letters getting out before I made my decision if I should continue or just put it down as did not finish. And I'm really glad that I decided to press on because I do really like it.
In looking ahead to decide what my goal should be for today, I realized that I actually have only just over 100 pages left in the book! Would I love to finish the book today? Absolutely! Will I set that as my goal for the day? Not even close! I think my goal for the day is going to be about 50 pages. My shift at work isn't until later tonight and is a relatively short shift however, there is a Pokemon Go community event happening today which will eat up about 3+ hours of my time so reading might be put on the back burner for most of the day.
Well I guess I could have set my goal to just finish the book as that's exactly what I did! Some how in the time between the Pokemon Go event and my shift I managed to finish the last chapter of To All the Boys I've Loved Before. The most disappointing part, I don't have the next book to read so now I have to wait before I get to read more about Lara Jean's life. On the bright side I don't have too long to wait until the Netflix movie comes out for me to watch and enjoy it all over again.
So what did I actually think of the book?
As I've already mentioned, I thought that the beginning of the book was a little too slow for my liking. Yes, it did it's job and set up the story nicely but I wish that it could have been condensed a little bit more. Once the letters were finally out, the story really picked up for me. I very much enjoyed the fake romance between Lara Jean and Peter even though I was sure one, if not both, would catch feelings for the other. I also like how Josh was still featured throughout the story and we got to see how his relationship with Lara Jean changed as time went on but also how it stayed the same. That part in particular felt so real to me. Relationships change and evolve over time and sometimes those changes can be really hard to deal with.
I do feel really bad for Peter in all of the expectations that are thrown on him and how he must be "the guy" as well as to be seen as being "owned" by Genevieve. As far as a healthy relationship goes, that definitely doesn't sound like one to me. But his relationship with Lara Jean was different and I absolutely loved the interactions we had between them.
The relationships between the three sisters was also fantastic. The dynamic between the three was really well done. First you have Margot who sort of became the mom, and then Lara Jean who steps into this role once Margot is gone for school, and last Kitty as the youngest child, the one they think they need to care for. However from what I see in Kitty throughout the book is that she can definitely handle her own and step up to the plate, especially if it will help her get something that she wants. But what I really loved was how things changed. Seriously, this was so spot on. You feel like there is noway things will ever change and then somehow they do. As you get older you begin to realize things about your older siblings that you never knew when you were younger and while you still love them, it changes things. The fact that Margot is sad that they seem to be doing so well without her was really the icing on the cake for me. I feel like if I was in her position too, I would also be sad that my position was so easily filled. Yeah, you are still happy that they are getting along fine but to go from always being needed to not being needed at all can be a really difficult transition, especially if it's within your own family.
My rating for this book would be a 3.75. I feel like a 3.5 wouldn't do it justice considering how much I loved this story but also the beginning was a little difficult to get through in terms of wanting to continue reading the story. I'm really glad that I pressed on because after that the story really picked up and made me fall in love with both Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky.
Comentarios