Pondathon II: A Round 4 Summary
Hello friends! It is now April, and that means that round 4 of Pondathon II has finished! I’ve been really enjoying this whole readathon, and especially connecting with other participants via social media and/or Discord. And good god my TBR has exploded even more from hearing about all the books people are reading! So anyway, I’m gonna tell you a bit about what the quests and rewards were for this round, and what I read! And of course at the end I’ll show you my garden.
A few notes:
- All of the Pondathon graphics were created by CW of The Quiet Pond and belong to her!
- Find my intro post about joining Pondathon II here!
- And find all my other Pondathon blog posts here!
Round 4 Pondathon II Quests
New round means new regular rewards!! Look at these lovely designs! I especially love the tulips and ferns. Did I accumulate enough tulips to make a tulip field?? Guess you’ll have to read on and find out.
Our side quest this month was to help Sprout plant trees! In order to do so we had to read a book that explores themes of disability and/or is about a disabled character. If we read a book by a disabled author, we earned a bonus badge. And we got a secret achievement reward if we read two books by disabled authors! You can see the full side quest post here.
We had a special companion quest this round! It was given to us by Judy Lin, the author of A Magic Steeped in Poison (out now in the US!). She asked us to post a photo of our favorite drink along with our current read. AND LOOK AT THESE REWARDS!!!!!!! They are BEAUTIFUL. The only problem is how to fit them in my already very full garden…haha. The full companion quest post is here!
Books I Read
I read quite a variety of books for this round! Five of these books explored disability and featured a disabled main character. A handful of those were also by disabled authors. I read some fantasy, some sci-fi, and some romance/contemporary! So here are the books:
- Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan (a young adult contemporary about two teens who meet at a comic convention in disguise, and then again in real life. ROMANCE ENSUES)
- Only a Monster by Vanessa Len (a YA fantasy about a young woman who discovers she is a “monster” – she can steal time from humans with just a touch)
- Noor by Nnedi Okorafor (a fascinating short sci-fi novel about a woman who has many different technological augments, and eventually develops odd powers)
- Little Thieves by Margaret Owen (a YA fantasy RETELLING!!! of The Goose Girl! I loved this one so much omg)
- Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese (a cute adult romance featuring a hard of hearing main character)
- The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis (an adult sci-fi novel following a few different main characters on different sides of a large scale war)
- Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan (an adult fantasy retelling of the legend of Chang’e, the moon goddess – tells the story of her daughter trying to free her)
- Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik (an adult sci-fi romance about two enemies who must band together to retrieve a stolen object – yes it’s enemies to lovers OBVIOUSLY)
- The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (an adult romance following a Vietnamese woman who is brought to the US by a mother trying to find a wife for her autistic son)
I really enjoyed all of these!! If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Little Thieves. Everything about it was just amazing and everything I love in a book! I highly recommend it.
Companion Quest – Favorite Drink
As I said in the first section, our companion quest from Judy Lin was to post a photo of our favorite drink and current read! And how could I choose anything other than boba?? I made my classic matcha latte with boba, and paired it with my current read The Bone Shard Emperor. I included my glass of water as well, since I also love staying hydrated and drinking plain water.
If you’re on Twitter, I posted that image in a Tweet that you can find here!
Character Card and Garden Update
I completed the bonus achievement for the side quest, so I earned the “Treemendous Love” badge. I’ve now collected four badges!! You can see them all on my updated character card.
I also did a major garden overhaul after this round. The companion quest reward of a pagoda was just not going to fit with how I had my garden previously haha. So here is my new and improved garden, with all of my rewards from ALL of the rounds. I’m in love with it!!
How was your reading during this past month? Have you read any of the books that I mentioned? What would you pick as your favorite drink?
Oh I love it, that’s so cute! The pagoda and the table! The bricks around your garden! This is so, so good!
thank you so much!!! i worked for quite a while on it hahaha
Wow! You garden!!! It’s so beautiful!! 😊
thank youuuu i wish i could live there haha