Hello, lovelies. Today, I am sharing my Reading Rush TBR. I hope you enjoy.

//What Is The Reading Rush

Next week, July 20-26th, is the Reading Rush [Originally called Booktube-athon]. It’s basically a week long read-a-thon where you read books to fulfill seven prompts. Literally tens of thousands of people participate every year. You don’t necessarily have to finish seven books in a week, but I’m going to try to. I’ve never participated in it until now, but quarantine is probably the perfect time to do this. Hopefully, it’ll get me back into reading every day.

• The Reading Rush Website

//Reading Rush Challenges

Here are the seven challenges:

• Read a book with a cover that matches the color of your birth stone
  • • • • I was born in November, so my birthstones are Topaz (blue) and Citrine (Orange/Yellow). I decided to go with Citrine.
• Read a book that starts with the word “The”
• Read a book that inspired a movie you’ve already seen
• Read the first book you touch
  • • • • I closed my eyes, spun around, and pointed at a book on my shelf.
• Read a book outside your house
• Read a book in a genre you’ve always wanted to read more of
  • • • • I read a lot of different genres, so I decided to only exclude the ones I read the most for this (YA, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Contemporary). Anything else is on the table.
• Read a book that takes place on a different continent
• **Bonus – Finish 7 Books

I actually managed to find one book that fulfilled all seven challenges, so even if I fail at finishing seven books, I’ll still have completed the Reading Rush.

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//Books//

1.//The Adventures of Tin-Tin: Prisoners of the Sun by Hergé

GoodReads Synopsis

After The Seven Crystal Balls set the eerie stage, Tintin and his friends continue their adventures in Peru. There Tintin rescues an orange-seller named Zorrino from being bullied, and the young man becomes their guide in their quest to find the Temple of the Sun. But they find more than they bargained for and end up in a hot spot. The perils of this engaging two-part adventure are especially harrowing in their combination of the supernatural and the real, although the resolution is a little too deus ex machina. Calculus and the Thompsons provide their usual comic relief

Why I Picked This Book

I picked this book because it fulfilled all seven of the challenges. I bought two bind-ups of the comics over a year ago because I grew up watching the Tintin cartoons with my dad. He bought all of them in a black zip-up CD case from a seller on eBay. Since I loved them so much as a kid, I wanted buy some of the graphic novels. Tintin originally came out as comic strips in newspapers that are now bound up as graphic novels. One of the volumes I have is yellow, which matches the color of my birthstone, and includes three graphic novels inside. I picked the one that takes place in Peru, which crosses off “read a book that takes place on another continent.”

Since it’s a graphic novel, I can read the whole thing in one sitting on my balcony. I started getting into graphic novels in 2018 but haven’t read that many. It’s also in the action/adventure genre, which isn’t something I read often. It’ll likely be the first book I read for the Reading Rush, so I can say that it’s the first book I’ve touched from that pile. It also starts with the word “The.”

Page Count: 64 pages

Challenge(s) It Fulfills:

• • Read a book with a cover that matches the color of your birth stone – Yellow
  • Read a book that starts with the word “The”
  • Read a book that inspired a movie you’ve already seen – Tintin Cartoons/Tintin Movie (2011)
  • Read the first book you touch –This will be the first book I touch  from the pile that week
  • Read a book outside your house – I can read it on the balcony
  • Read a book in a genre you’ve always wanted to read more of– Graphic Novel/Action/Adventure
  • Read a book that takes place on a different continent – South America

2.//Organize Yourself! by Ronni Eisenberg w/ Kate Kelly

GoodReads Synopsis

The proven way to get organized once and for all. This is the highly anticipated new edition of a very successful organizing book that has sold over half a million copies to date, now updated with the latest on e-mail, PDAs, and other contemporary organizing topics and tools. Organize Yourself! provides readers with essential rules for better time, money, space, and paper management. It also addresses major events, from preparing for a move to planning a party or vacation. It reveals a professional organizer’s proven techniques for streamlining daily life and provides fast, effective relief for common clutter and help with overcoming procrastination and every other organizational ailment.

Why I Picked This Book

This is the book where I spun around and pointed at a book with my eyes closed. I probably wouldn’t have picked this book, otherwise. I honestly almost tried again to choose a different book. Organize Yourself is nonfiction, a genre I don’t read a lot of. My dad gave it to me a few years ago. It’s not ridiculously long and it’s written in bulleted lists, which will make it a quicker read. It’s all about managing and organizing all the aspects of your life: your calendar, travel planning, investments, medical payments, personal property, financial records, moving, closets, job search, budgeting, pregnancy, etc. just to name a few.

I don’t know if I’ll read it all together of it I’ll divide it up by days. There are seven sections, which works out perfectly.

• • • Part 1: Getting Control of Your Time
    • Part 2: Paperwork
    • Part 3: Financial Records
    • Part 4: Household Matters
    • Part 5: Main Events
    • Part 6: Personal Agenda
    • Part 7: Children

Even though most of the things this book talks about don’t apply to me ri, I’m excited about reading it. I do enjoy these types of self-help books because they give actionable steps.

Page Count: 258 pages

Challenge(s) It Fulfills:

• • Read the first book you touch
  • Read a book in a genre you’ve always wanted to read more of – Non-fiction

3.//The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson

GoodReads Synopsis

This classic tale is a fantastical fable of two dear friends – one of whom goes astray and is literally lost to the north woods, while the other undertakes an epic journey to rescue him. This charming, strange, and wonderful story is a timeless allegory about growing up and the challenges of staying true to one’s self, and it served as the wintry inspiration for the blockbuster hit Frozen. 

Why I Picked This Book

I mainly picked this because it’s short and it’s part of my “finish all the unread books on my shelf” goal. I could potentially read this entire book outside my house if I don’t do that with Tintin, and it inspired a movie I’ve already seen (Frozen). I’m going to try to get this out of the way early so that I can put more focus on my longer books.

Page Count: 58 pages

Challenge(s) It Fulfills:

• • Read a book that starts with the word “The”
  • Read a book that inspired a movie you’ve already seen – Frozen
  • Read a book outside of your house (Maybe)
  • Read a book in a genre you’ve always wanted to read more of – Classic/Short Story

4.//The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

GoodReads Synopsis

Paulo Coelho’s enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles in his path. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

Why I Picked This Book

Because I want to. I’ve been itching to reread this book for the past few months because I love how it makes me feel. The reason I hadn’t is that one of my friends borrowed it and I left it in the garage for a few weeks for obvious reasons. I would’ve read it immediately, but I knew it was perfect for the Reading Rush since it’s relatively short. I’ve held out until now.

The colors match perfectly with my birth-stone, which is a plus. It also takes place in Spain, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt.

Page Count: 182 Pages

Challenge(s) It Fulfills:

• • Read a book with a cover that matches the color of your birth stone – Orange/Yellow
  • Read a book that starts with the word “The”
  • Read a book that takes place on a different continent – Africa; Europe

5.//Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

GoodReads Synopsis

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six: The band’s album Aurora came to define the rock ‘n’ roll era of the late seventies, and an entire generation of girls wanted to grow up to be Daisy. But no one knows the reason behind the group’s split on the night of their final concert at Chicago Stadium on July 12, 1979 . . . until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ‘n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice.

Why I Picked This Book

I got the audiobook for this novel because The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was my favorite book read last year and I wanted to read more by the author. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, but I don’t read a lot of it because most of it is super depressing and I have to be in a certain mood to read it. It’s also very hard to find non-World War II historical fiction, which I do read but don’t want to read exclusively.

This book takes place in the 1960s and ’70s, but I think mostly in the ’60s because the book is told through an interview talking about the past. I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book and am hoping it’s 5-stars. The audiobook is 9-hours, and I plan on listening to  another audiobook before this one. This may seem like a lot, but I’m sure I can do it. I’ll listen to them while cleaning, painting, playing animal crossing, etc.

Page Count: 355 pages

Audiobook Length: 9 hours 3 minutes

Challenge(s) It Fulfills:

• • Read a book in a genre you’ve always wanted to read more of – Historical Fiction/Interview

6.//Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

GoodReads Synopsis

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.

Why I Picked This Book

This one is actually the book I’m most worried about not finishing because I got the eBook from the library. I don’t like reading eBooks and they take me a lot longer to finish, so I’m going to try to read this every day.  I’ll hopefully finish it in time.

I recently watched the Studio Ghibli film Howl’s Moving Castle because I did the HBO Max free trial for my Harry Potter blog posts and watched a few other movies. Princess Mononoke is still my favorite, but it was a very fun, whimsical, fantasy movie. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the book, and I tend to enjoy fairytale-esque fantasy books when done well.

Page Count: 329 pages

Challenge(s) It Fulfills:

• • Read a book that inspired a movie you’ve already seen – Studio Ghibli: Howl’s Moving Castle
  • Read a book that takes place on a different continent – Europe

7.//Push by Sapphire

GoodReads Synopsis

Precious Jones, an illiterate sixteen-year-old, has up until now been invisible: invisible to the father who rapes her and the mother who batters her and to the authorities who dismiss her as just one more of Harlem’s casualties. But when Precious, pregnant with a second child by her father, meets a determined and highly radical teacher, we follow her on a journey of education and enlightenment as Precious learns not only how to write about her life, but how to make it her own for the first time.

Why I Picked This Book

The thought of listening to this audiobook scares me a little because I know that it describes her rape vividly. I watched the movie trailer for this on YouTube and it gave me anxiety, but I think stories like this should be told. Oprah and Tyler Perry had to really push to make this film happen, and it won multiple awards. The author couldn’t get it published, so she sold it someone else who got it published later. The teacher who helps Precious is a lesbian, so the person she sold the book to added some homophobic things to the book. (from what I’ve heard). I’m gonna keep that in mind while I read so that I know that the actual author didn’t write that in. I also love it when poverty is portrayed in books because I don’t see it portrayed often, and it usually isn’t done well.

“Please don’t lie to me, Ms. Rain. Love ain’t done nothing for me — but beat me — rape me — call me an animal. Make me feel worthless.”

“That wasn’t love, Precious. Your baby loves you. I love you.”

Here’s the trailer for the movie:

So yeah…this is going to be a very heavy read. I’m going to listen to this audiobook first, since it’s shorter, and the Daisy Jones book will hopefully boost my mood a bit afterward.

Page Count: 177 Pages

Audiobook Length: 5 hours 5 minutes

Challenge(s) It Fulfills:

• • Read a book in a genre that you’ve always wanted to read more of – Urban Fiction/Bildungsroman/Domestic Fiction

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Total Number Of Pages To Read: 1,423 pages

//How My Reading Rush Blog Posts Are Going To Work//

I plan on writing three updates: Day 1-2, Days 3-4, and Days 5-7. They’ll likely be shorter than my usual blog posts, but I’ll try to keep them interesting since there are a bunch of daily challenges on social media that the Reading Rush runs. I tend to read multiple books at the same time, which will be useful here since it’ll give me more content to write about. I’ll make sure to keep it spoiler free.

I may give daily updates on Instagram stories. I haven’t decided yet.

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 //My Plan//

Day 1 // Monday, July 20, 2020

• Get the shortest books out of the way
  • Finish Tintin graphic novel on my balcony
  • Finish The Snow Queen
• Listen to at least 2 hours of an audiobook: Push
• Read the first section of Organize Yourself! [Getting Control Of Your Time]
• Start Howl’s Moving Castle – read it on Kindle every night.

Day 2 // Tuesday, July 21, 2020

• Read the second section of Organize Yourself! [Paperwork]
• Start The Alchemist
• Listen to at least 2 hours of an audiobook: Push
• Read Howl’s Moving Castle on Kindle every night

Day 3 // Wednesday, July 22, 2020

• Read the third section of Organize Yourself! [Financial Records]
• Continue reading The Alchemist
• Finish the first audiobook: Push 
  • I may be able to finish it on Day 2, but we’ll see
• Start listening to Daisy Jones & The Six audiobook
• Read Howl’s Moving Castle on Kindle every night

Day 4 // Thursday, July 23, 2020

• Read the fourth section of Organize Yourself! [Household Matters]
• Continue reading The Alchemist
• Listen to at least 2 hours of an audiobook: Daisy Jones & The Six
• Read Howl’s Moving Castle on Kindle every night

Day 5 // Friday. July 24, 2020

• Read the fifth section of Organize Yourself! [Main Events]
• Finish The Alchemist (Maybe. I could stretch it out till the end of the week)
• Listen to at least 2 hours of an audiobook: Daisy Jones & The Six
• Read Howl’s Moving Castle on Kindle every night

Day 6 // Saturday, July 25, 2020

• Read the sixth section of Organize Yourself! [Personal Agenda]
• Listen to at least 2 hours of  an audiobook: Daisy Jones & The Six
• Read Howl’s Moving Castle on Kindle every night

Day 7 // Sunday, July 26, 2020

• Read the seventh section of Organize Yourself! [Children]
• Finish the second audiobook: Daisy Jones & The Six
• Finish Howl’s Moving Castle  E-Book

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Considering I haven’t read seven books in a month since last year, this will be quite a feat. I likely won’t follow this schedule perfectly and I may end up switching books. Who knows? I’m just excited to dedicate an entire week to reading. I’ve never been able to do that before because I usually have school, work or other plans. This may be my only chance to put my sole focus on reading.

I’ve also been reading a lot less during quarantine and I’m hoping  this will get me back into the habit. I’m going to try to put up another post later this week so that this blog doesn’t become too saturated with Reading Rush content, so stay tuned for that. Until next time!

Reading Rush Recaps 2020

• • Reading Rush 2020 Recap | Day 1-2

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Are you doing the Reading Rush? If so, what’s on your TBR? If not, what book recommendations do you have that fit in with the challenges?