Top Ten Tuesday #10 - Favorite Books I've Read So Far In 2013

The weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish

 

 

I've been seriously neglecting my TTT posts the last few weeks, but since 2013 has already given me so many amazing reading experiences, I knew I had to make time for this week's.  For the most part, these are listed in no particular order.

 



Top Ten Books I've Read So Far In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday #10 - Freebie Week (Books That Have Been Recommended To Me)

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by the amazing The Broke And The Bookish

I've always been a big "recommended reader", meaning I'm always asking book friends for new titles to read. I've even gone as far as to say, "Name a book you think I should read and I'll buy it, no questions asked."  Occasionally I'm disappointed, but I've also found some of my very favorite books (like those on this list) through recommendations.  I also absolutely love recommending books to other readers.  So this week, I'm going to list the top ten books I've read directly due to either a recommendation, or a glowing review by a trusted blogger/reviewer.

Top Ten Books That Have Been Recommended To Me

 

Top Ten Tuesday #9 - Books I Read When I Want Something Light And Fun

The highly addictive meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish

 

 

Top Ten Books I Read When I Want Something Light And Fun

I first saw this topic and thought it would be a breeze to think of ten.  I do, after all, mostly read YA, which is known for fun, light reads.  But, the thing is...most are actually a lot deeper than they appear on the surface, and though I love them, I would never dream of adding books by Laurie Halse Anderson or John Green, or series' like The Hunger Games or Unwind to this kind of list.  But then there are the "light, fun" reads that I didn't think were all that fun, so I can't add those, either.  So though I did think of ten, and could probably have thought of a few more, this list wasn't nearly as easy to actually compile as I thought it would be.

These are the ten I thought fit this week's list the best, the light reads that were also fun and enjoyable.  They're listed in no particular order.

Top Ten Tuesday #8 - Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish.

Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book



Ooh.  This is a really hard one, because I don't really have any must-have topics.  I have more must-avoid topics, actually, but that's not what this TTT is asking for. *pouts*  But I'm sure I can pull something out for this one, though I can almost guarantee I won't be able to think of ten.  Keep in mind, though, that more than key topics or words, I base my TBR decisions on reviews and recommendations, and the overall feel of the synopsis.

Top Ten Tuesday #7 - Books I Thought I'd like MORE/LESS Than I Did

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish. Check them out!

This week, we got to choose 10 books that either pleasantly surprised us, or not-so-pleasantly annoyed us when we were sure we'd love it.  Since I like to keep things even, I'm doing five of each!

Top Ten Tuesday #6 - Rewind Week!

A meme hosted by The Broke And The Bookish.  If you haven't already, check them out!

 

Rewind Week - Top Ten Trends To See More/Less Of

 

If there is a list more suitable to this blog, I don't know what it is.  (For those of you who don't know, I have a weekly feature on this blog called YA Epidemics, which is pretty much me ranting every Saturday about a different one of these trends I want to see less of in YA.)

I'm going to separate this one into two categories; the five I want to see less of (which will be the same five I already have featured as Epidemics.  My pushy self is even going to link them to their featured YA Epidemic post, so check them out if you haven't already), and the five I want to see more of.

Ready?  Here we go!

Top Ten Tuesday #4; Characters I'd Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character



I'd like to thank the girls over at The Broke And The Bookish for hosting this addictive weekly meme.

As you may or may not be aware, beneath all the bluster and criticisms of my reviewer persona lives a fourteen year old fangirl for those swoon-worthy book hotties.  (Which is weird, considering I'm 22.)  This week's Top Ten Tuesday is right up her alley.  Expect gushing and "omg"s coming.

 

Top Ten Characters I'd Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character

Which I'm not, and I still do

 

 

1. Akiva from "Daughter Of Smoke And Bone" - Duh.  Helloooo, I'm known as the DOS&B book-pusher to my blogger friends, and Akiva is a huuuuuge part of the reason for that.  This troubled winged warrior has leapt off of the pages he was born on to become imprinted on my brain, as real to me as any boy I know.
2. Jericho Barrons from the "Fever" series - At the risk of sounding unfaithful to Akiva, I'm going to admit something that shocks even me here; I wasn't sure Barrons would settle for second. If there was ever a character made to lust over, it's Jericho Barrons.  He is the alpha-male of alpha-males, and he's good at everything he does. For raw sexuality, this man comes out on top of any list I could make.
3. Etienne St. Clair from "Anna And The French Kiss" - Admittedly pretty far behind Akiva and Barrons, St. Clair has earned his number-3 spot by the addictive romance he brings to the pages of Anna.
4. Adrian from the "Vampire Academy" series - Though I don't like him in Bloodlines, this Moroi owned the pages of Vampire Academy.  Dimirti, who?
5. Hunter Niall from the "Sweep" series - As one of my biggest teenage crushes, I couldn't not include Hunter in this list. Wiccan, witch, and British?  Yes, please!
6. Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake books - I'm admittedly not a fan of the later novels in this series, but Jean-Claude is still a no-brainer addition to this list. He's a vampire to rival Lestat, with better hair and a better wardrobe.
7. Eric Northman from the Sookie Stackhouse books - The third and last vampire on this list, Eric is the only reason I read as many of those books as I did.  I couldn't stand Sookie herself, but Eric would always show up, steal a scene (and the whole damn book), and reel me in for the next book.
8. Peeta from "The Hunger Games" - How can you not love the boy with the bread? My favorite part about his romance with Katniss is that it wasn't overly-romanticized to steal the book.  But the scenes between the two were so impossibly sweet that it's still one of my favorite book romances.
9. Jack from "Everneath" - The hero for every guy/girl stuck in The Friendzone.  Jack and Nikki's love is epic, but if Nikki loses her senses and chooses Cole, I'll be right there to, um..."console" Jack.
10. Lan from "The Wheel Of Time" - Okay so he's not exactly the romantic interest you'd think would evoke the fangirl reaction, but he totally did.  He stole my heart with one line; “I will hate the man you choose because he isn't me, and love him if he makes you smile.” Awww!

So there you have it, my top ten fictional crushes!  I love them all, and be warned; I am willing to fight over every one of them. There will be eye-gouging involved if it comes to the first two.

What are some book hotties you've fangirled (or boy'd) over?  Share in the comments, or link to your TTT if you have one so I can show your blog some love!

Top Ten Tuesday #3 - Ten Books I Recommend The Most

 

First, I'd like to thank the wonderful girls over at The Broke And The Bookish for hosting this highly addictive weekly meme.

Top ten books I recommend the most?  This is the TTT I've been waiting for since I jumped on this meme's bandwagon!  Mwahahahaha!!! *cue low-budget maniacal laughter*

Ahem.  Okay.  So I should probably get to the actual list, then....  For this one, I'm going to work backward, 10 - 1.  A true countdown, fanfare supplied by your imaginative minds.

10.) "Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn won't appeal to everyone, but it's one of my top-recommended epic fantasy novels.  A must-read for fans of the genre.

 

9.) "Warm Bodies" by Isaac Marion - This one probably won't appeal to everyone either, but if you're willing to overlook a cheesy premise for fantastic writing that truly has the power to change your way of thinking, read Warm Bodies.

 

8.) "Interview With The Vampire" by Anne Rice - Every Twilight fan needs to read this.  Learn your roots.  Lestat was the sexy, sensual vampire I grew up with, and he'll always be number 1 in my heart.  His best feature; he doesn't sparkle.

 

7.) "Fever" Series by Karen Marie Moning - Okay, okay, this isn't technically a book. It's five.  This is the problem I'm faced with whenever I'm recommending the Fever series, because the first book, Darkfever,...it wasn't that great.  So I can't recommend it by itself.   But the pure awesomeness of every other book in this series more than makes up for it.  Jericho Barrons.  That name should be trademarked to mean "One sexy expletive."

 

6.)"The Sky Is Everywhere" by Jandy Nelson - The writing is beautiful, the angst is real, and the pain is raw.  The romance is a bit too good to be true, but hey, that's why I'll always love my fictional crushes more.

 

5.) "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson - If you want to feel your worst emotions well to the surface, ride this roller-coaster.  It lets you off in a place of hope and reminds you what it means to be fragile, to be human, and to be alive.

 

4.) "Anna And The French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins -  This book is just so much fun!  It isn't super profound or emotional, but damned if you can find a better way to spend an afternoon.

 

3.) "The Fault In Our Stars" by John Green - If everyone had the same outlook on life as Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters, the world would be a better place.  Sad and ironic, funny and romantic, The Fault In Our Stars hits every note on the spectrum of emotion at least once.

 

2.) "The Eye Of The World" by Robert Jordan - Another that won't appeal to everyone, but was one of the building-block books of my youth.  This is the book that showed me a different kind of fantasy than Harry Potter.  I can pinpoint the exact moment I started to stray out of the YA genre to when I picked this book off of a shelf at Target.

 

Aaaaand, the one we've all been waiting for, the creme de la creme of books, the one whose identity is burning a hole of curiosity through you, the one you want me to just shut up and reveal already;
 

 

 

Okay, for real now 

 

1.) "Daughter Of Smoke And Bone" by Laini Taylor - As soon as I saw this week's list, Daughter Of Smoke And Bone popped into my head like a blazing beacon.  I can't possibly say enough about this book, so I won't even try.  Just...read it.  Shut up and read it.  Now.  And have the sequel, Days Of Blood And Starlight, ready, 'cuz you're gonna need it.

 

 

 

Now, there are the obvious two that I left out; Harry Potter and The Hunger Games.  Everyone reading this list has probably already read both series', so I didn't waste a spot on them.  But yeah, of course.  If for some crazy reason you need my voice added to the gigantic roar of love for these two, I highly recommend them to the four people left in the world who hasn't read them.



So, which elite books make your Top Ten cut?  Share in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday #2 - Ten Books At The Top Of My Spring TBR List

This is my second Top Ten Tuesday post, hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish, and I can't tell you how much fun I'm having with these.  You may notice a lot of the same books on this list as last week's Top Ten Series I Want To Start, but just roll with it.  They're worth repeating. ;)

Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Spring 2013 TBR List

 

"Stormdancer" by Jay Kristoff - Even though I have this one sitting on my nightstand, just waiting to be picked up and probably finished before the first official day of Spring (March 20th, I looked it up), my excitement for this book is such that it deserves to top two TTT lists.  In a row.  Why?  Two words: Japanese steampunk.

 

"Shadowfever" by Karen Marie Moning- The fifth (and last) book to what is shaping up to be my favorite urban/paranormal fantasy series ever.  I have a very unhealthy obsession with one mysterious-as-feck Jericho Barrons.  The only reason this doesn't top the list is because, well, c'mon.  Japenese steampunk...duh.

My Jericho Barrons.  Now, go.  Flock to the bookstores, my pretties.

 

"The Archived" by Victoria Schwab - Because a world in which our dead are hidden in an underground archive is a world I never want to live in.  But would love to read about.

 

"Boundless" by Cynthia Hand - Christian, Tucker, Christian, Tucker....  And some angels and stuff.  But mostly Christian and Tucker.

 

"Jellicoe Road" by Melina Marchetta - If I had a dollar for every 5-star review I've seen for this book, I'd have enough to money to feed my book addiction for a year.  Six months.  At least a month.

 

"A Memory Of Light" by Robert Jordan - The final chapter to the series that started my love for epic fantasy, and further kindled my love for books.  I don't want to see it end, but damn do I want to see how it goes down.

 

"Shatter Me" by Tehereh Mafi - Both my inner cover whore and my inner Rogue (the chick who can't touch anyone without draining them from X-Men) demands this of me.

 

"Pivot Point" by Kasie West - There are two futures for me; the one in which I read Pivot Point this Spring, and the one in which I don't.  I choose the one in which I do.  Bad things happen in the one in which I don't.... *shudders*

 

"Stolen" by Kelley Armstrong - I need more Clay/Elena.

 

"Delirium" by Lauren Oliver - I can think of no fewer than three people who will hurt me if I don't finally read this one.  Or, you know, text their displeasure to me.  Either way, I'd rather just read it. 

 

So there you have it, my top ten must-reads for the season!  Want to tell me how awesome my list is, what I'm missing, or what's on yours?  Do so in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday - Series I'd Like To Start But Haven't Yet



This is my first ever book meme, so I apologize if I do something wrong.  I'm sure most of you don't know this, but I'm pretty much technologically-challenged - which means I suck at basically anything that requires a computer until I've had a lot of practice at it.  I'm pretty excited, though, because this week's looks like a lot of fun!

Top Ten Series I'd Like To Start But Haven't Yet

 (because the best titles are in purple)

1. "The Lotus Wars" by Jay Kristoff - I have heard so many good things about Stormdancer and its author that I am itching with anticipation.  This book is currently on its way to me via Amazon, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to turn into a temporary hermit until I've finished it when it finally gets here.
2. "Under The Never Sky" by Veronica Rossi - I haven't been as enthusiastic as some about the new post-Hunger Games crop of dystopian YA, but I have the feeling that this will be as amazing as everyone says.
3. "Just One Day" by Gayle Forman - Has contemporary romance always been so good?  I don't know, but some of my favorite recent reads have been contemporaries.  Just One Day seems like the perfect book to continue that streak.
4. "Delirium" by Lauren Oliver - Ever since I was informed that this is in production to be a television series, I knew I had to get my nerdy little hands on it.  I'm one of those people who always has to read the book before I see its transition to the screen.
5. "Lux" by Jennifer L. Armentrout - I don't know a whole lot about this series, but a few raving reviews from some very trusted bloggers have put it high on my To-Read list.
6. "The Lunar Chronicles" by Marissa Meyer - Cyborg Cinderella?  This is either going to go very wrong, or very right.  I'm curious enough to take that gamble.
7. "The Archived" by Victoria Schwab - Gorgeous cover, interesting premise, rave reviews, gracious author...need I go on?  The question here should be, Why haven't I started it yet?
8. "Kingslayer Chronicles" by Patrick Rothfuss - I've been wanting to read this for the longest.  Epic fantasy done right just can't be beat sometimes, and I have high hopes that Kingslayer Chronicles will help scratch the itch that The Wheel Of Time started a decade ago.
9. "Valkyrie Rising" by Ingrid Paulson - Another book that's been on my list for awhile now.  This has been read and loved by a couple of reviewers whose opinions I trust more than my own sometimes.
10. "The Hollows" by Kim Harrison - How many nerd points do I lose if I admit that I've had this book for a couple of years now, but...lost it until last week?  I've been on a bit of an urban fantasy binge lately, and Kim Harrison is another powerhouse in the genre whose world I want to be introduced to.

 

Whew!  Only ten?  When I started this list, I wasn't sure I'd be able to think of ten series I'm dying to read but haven't started yet (though there are quite a few stand-alones), but now that I made the list I can't believe how many I had to leave out!

 

I have to admit, I was a tad skeptical about adding a meme to my blog, but now I'm glad I did!  This was so much fun.  If you haven't yet, head on over to The Broke And The Bookish and find out how to start participating in Top Ten Tuesdays yourself!