The Nog ♡ Logs: Bout of Books 18

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2017, Everyone!

Last year was a completely nonexistent year for blogging, but I did have a pretty successful year both in my reading and personal life! I managed to tackle my 2016 Goodreads goal of 50 books and revive my love of reading! After a bit of an inner-struggle, I also decided to leave my job of 7 years and start afresh at a new firm, which has allowed me to reconnect with myself again and really appreciate a healthy, restored work-life-balance!

This year I’m looking to ramp up my reading goal (75 Books!) and what better way to accomplish this but by joining Read-a-Thons throughout the year!! The social media book community is so encouraging, fun, and welcoming, and I just get this warm fuzzy feeling when I’m participating in a Read-a-Thon!

The first Read-a-Thon of the year is Bout of Books!!!! This is the 18^th installment of this Read-a-Thon, and is one of my favorites to participate in due to its low pressure feel. There’s no theme per-say; you’re just encouraged to read more during the week than you would normally. What a great way to hit the ground reading on those 2017 goals, right!?

Okay, the details:

Bout of Books 18 begins January 2, 2017 at 12:01am and goes through January 8, 2017 at 11:59pm in your local time zone. All you have to do to participate is sign up through the Bout of Books blog before Tuesday, January 3, 2017 at 11:59pm CST. There are no rules regarding what you can or can’t read, so put those daunting TBR lists and jars to work or decide based on your mood – the beauty is that anything goes! There are also a couple of challenges, a chance to win a grand prize (only if you’re linked up!), Twitter parties, and so many opportunities to meet new bookish buddies!

Here’s the official Bout of Books blurb, straight from the source!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 2nd and runs through Sunday, January 8th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 18 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

The Twitter Chats are scheduled for Monday, January 2, 2017 at 8:00pm CST and Saturday, January 7, 2017 at 10:00am CST. If you’re doing this Read-a-Thon, I really encourage you to check out at least one of the Twitter Chats! They are so much fun and provide a nice little break from reading to get to know some of the other Bout-of-Bookers! Make sure you’re following @Boutofbooks and using the hashtag #boutofbooks on your post! I’m going to try to make it to both parties this year, so look for me and say hi! I’m @Lightening_Boot.

My Bout of Books 18 TBR: