Literary Junkies: July 2013

Enjoying Sharp Objects and a cold drink during my Fourth of July vacation.

It's the third Tuesday of the month, which means it's time for the Literary Junkies link-up! Although I'm active on the Facebook and Goodreads groups, I haven't participated in the link-up for a while, so hopefully this can now become a monthly occurrence. Read on for this month's literary questions and my answers.

What are you currently reading? Tell us about it.

Image via Goodreads

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. This book satisfies requirements for several reading challenges I'm participating in this year: Library Books, A to Z (I don't have an "L" book yet), What's in a Name? (contains the word "lost"), and Mammoth/Chunkster (more than 450 pages long). It will also count for my very own book challenge (see below!) as a book that is not the first in its series. Also, I just noticed this was one of my top three "to-read" books when I participated in this link-up in March. I'm glad I finally got around to it. :)

What book first made you fall in love with reading?
I honestly can't even remember. My mom tells me my older sister taught me to read before I was in preschool, and I know I was reading chapter books before I ever went to school, so I have my sister to thank for that! Early books I remember reading include the Anne of Green Gables and His Dark Materials series, and the first Harry Potter novel was released in the U.S. when I was only 8, so those books all contributed to my continued love of reading as I entered school.

Summer is a great time for series. What are your series recommendations?  

Image via Twitpic

Of course I have to say Harry Potter, first and foremost. This summer would also be a good time to join The Hunger Games craze before the second movie is released this fall. The second book was my favorite of the series, so I'm really looking forward to this installment! And if you like The Hunger Games, you'll love Uglies. I actually compared the series in this post last year.

Does a song come to mind with the book you are currently reading?
Not that I can think of, but I'm really bad at these types of questions. They are too creative for my left-brain tendencies....

Are you participating in any summer reading challenges?

  Yes! In addition to the 16 year-long challenges I'm participating in this year (see first question), I am hosting my very own Semi-Charmed Summer 2013 Book Challenge. The challenge lasts from July 1 to September 30 and requires 12 books with specific requirements for completion. Even though the challenge is already underway, you can still join! The first check-in isn't until August 1, and you can retroactively count any eligible books you've read since July 1. Check out my original challenge post for the full rules and guidelines, and link up here with your preliminary list if you decide to join the fun and see what other participants are reading! (A preliminary list is not required to join, just be sure to come back to this blog on August 1 to record your progress.)

Click the button below to see the other literary junkies' answers to this week's questions, and join us for next month's link-up on August 20!

P.S. — Travel Tuesday returns next week! Instead of asking a specific travel-related question for y'all to answer, I'm going to spend the next few months catching you up on my recent European extravaganza trip. I will still include a link-up with each post so you can share any travel-related posts you wrote that week! First up: Amsterdam, The Netherlands.