It’s a little late in the month for my book haul but better late than never right? I do a book haul damn near every month, I think I need help. I’ve gone from book lover to book hoarder I think.
Book Blogs
Top Ten Tuesday: Some of My Fave Book Blogs!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
It has now been moved over to That Artsy Reader Girl.
This is easily one of the most fun and tricky Top Ten Tuesday posts I’ve done, it’s always fun to give shout outs to my fave bloggers but at the same time how do I pick just ten?! I also tried to only include bloggers who are producing content currently. Of course there are so many more though!
****These are in no particular order and PLEASE remember that this list is by no means ALL of my favorite blogs/bloggers so don’t feel excluded if you aren’t listed here! I love you all! ****
Down The TBR Hole #8
Here’s another round of Down The TBR Hole in which I am terrible and indecisive about a lot of books! Yay!
If you missed my other posts of Down the TBR Hole here they are:
- Down The TBR Hole #1
- Down The TBR Hole #2
- Down The TBR Hole #3
- Down The TBR Hole #4
- Down The TBR Hole #5
- Down The TBR Hole #6
- Down The TBR Hole #7
This was “created” by Lost in a Story!
The Rules:
- Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
- Order on ascending date added.
- Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
- Read the synopses of the books
- Decide: keep it or should it go?
- Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!
Current TBR: 781
(You can tell I keep adding as many as I get rid of….)
Book #71
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Date Added: July 9th, 2015
This is an author that seems to come very recommended but I just don’t have a lot of interest in any of his books anymore and realistically I don’t think I’ll ever really read any of them either.
The Judgement: Go
Book #72
Cracked by Eliza Crewe
Date Added: July 9th, 2015
It seems that everyone really loves this book and it seems interesting since it’s about a girl who eats people’s souls. I definitely want to give it a try at the very least!
The Judgement: Keep
Book #73
The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
Date Added: July 9th, 2015
I actually debated back and forth A LOT about this book because every time I read the description and other reviews I want to read it but it ends up being a book I forget about? It’s about a kingdom’s royal family falling ill under the influence of a mysterious plague and the two main characters, servants in the castle, become intertwined in the court’s politics and power plays. Plus it’s Scandinavian, which I love!
The Judgement: Keep (For Now)
Book #74
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Date Added: July 9th, 2015
Once again another book that everyone seems to love about a woman who becomes a food taster for the Commander of Ixi in order to escape execution. There’s also magical powers and rebel plots, so you can’t really go wrong there can you?
The Judgement: Keep
Book #75
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Date Added: July 14th, 2015
I already own a copy of this book and it’s YA sci-fi which I just can’t ever get enough of, hopefully it’s not TOO heavy on the romance though. Definitely looking forward to reading this one!
The Judgement: Keep
Book #76
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Date Added: July 14th, 2015
OF COURSE I’M KEEPING THIS ONE!
The Judgement: Keep
Book #77
Alive by Scott Sigler
Date Added: July 20th, 2015
I’m so undecided about this one! On the one hand I’m not like dying to read it but on the other hand it sounds like it’s very fast paced and I’d be able to breeze through it. I think I’ll keep it for now….
The Judgement: Keep
Book #78
Hunter by Mercedes Lackey
Date Added: July 21st, 2015
I haven’t heard that many great things about it and I’ve just lost all interest in reading it now.
The Judgement: Go
Book #79
Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley
Date Added: July 22nd, 2015
Another book that I’m kind of up in the air with because I’m interested but also not, if that makes any sort of sense? I like that the reviews say it’s very creative and original but it seems like it would be really slow and I’d get bored.
The Judgement: Go
Book #80
A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston
Date Added: July 22nd, 2015
I’m pretty much up for any and all 1,001 Nights retellings so, here I am. Plus I bought a copy on sale on my Kindle so I’m going to read it.
The Judgement: Keep
Have you read any of these? What did you think?
Do you think I should have kept any of these books?
Do you agree with any of my keeps or discards?
Let me know in the comments!
Top Ten Tuesday: 10 Things On My YA Reading Wishlist
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.
So as the title suggest these are all things on my YA reading wishlist so basically things I want more of in YA! These are in no particular order and I will provide links to my reviews to the example books if I have them!
Also if you guys have read or heard of any books with these themes then PLEASE let me know about them in the comments below, I’d really appreciate it!
10.) Diversity!
Examples: The Hate U Give, Labyrinth Lost, & The Seafarer’s Kiss
Of course diversity is definitely an easy thing to pick since it’s very important to have in books, obviously! Unfortunately there really aren’t as many out there as you would think and definitely not as many that are problem free. However, these are some books that are very enjoyable and have diverse main characters!
9.) More Morally Ambiguous/Grey Characters
Examples: Vicious, I Hunt Killers, & This Savage Song
I love reading about characters like this so, so much! I love when they aren’t truly good or evil but a bit of both instead. It just adds a lot of complexity and development to the story this way, in my opinion.
8.) Dark, Grungy Mystery/Thrillers
Examples: The Darkest Corners, I Hunt Killers, & With Malice
This one is a little more self explanatory but I LOVE YA mystery/thrillers that really toe the line between what is considered too dark for YA and what’s not. Maybe it’s just me but I like dark, twisted mystery books! Plus it’s always an upside when you don’t see any of the plot twists coming!
7.) Terrifying YA Horror
Examples: Daughters Unto Devils, Slasher Girls & Monster Boys, & The Girl From The Well
I feel like there aren’t that many YA Horror books out there in the first place and there definitely aren’t as many of them that are truely terrifying. Or, you know, fun to read at the very least. These ones that I used for examples were magnificent though if you’re looking for some good chills!
6.) Ancient Civilization Setting (Not Fantasy)
Examples: And I Darken & My Lady Jane (sort of…..)
Mostly what I’m talking about with this one is any ancient themed historical fiction, if that makes sense. Such as Medieval England, Ancient Egypt, or really any other ancient civilization because I feel like these really aren’t done in YA that often. Sure there are many YA fantasies that have these themes but I’m talking based off of REAL history or a retelling of real history.
5.) Contemporaries Featuring Royalty
I don’t read contemporary all that much but what would definitely get me reading it would be tales of modern royalty! This may have to do with my love for movies such as The Princess Diaries (no I have not read the books, sorry!), The Prince and Me, and What A Girl Wants. I’m not talking about dystopians or fantasies or any of that either because there definitely are plenty of those!
4.) Peter Pan Retellings
Examples: Tiger Lily
There are a few of these out there and I do have most of the good ones on my TBR already but I feel like we should just have a TON of Peter Pan retellings because I just adore Peter Pan! “Tiger Lily” is an amazing retelling of the story and I have read “Unhooked” and was not a fan of it at all.
3.) Vicious and Badass Female Characters
Examples: And I Darken & The Diabolic
I LOVE heroines who are cold, calculating, fierce, and actually badass! Two of the best examples I’ve seen in YA are Lada Dracul from “And I Darken” and Nemesis from “The Diabolic, both these women are all of those things! There’s no “damsel syndrome” with these two at all and it’s nice to have heroines who don’t get all distracted with ball gowns and love triangles.
2.) Sympathetic Villains
Examples: Illuminae & Heartless
This kind of goes with “Morally Ambiguous Characters” a lot because I really love when villains in books are in a grey area, you find yourself hating them and loving them all at once. So of course that usually means the villains are more sympathetic, and for some reason I love this I think it makes the story ten times more complex!
1.) Westerns
Examples: Vengeance Road
There are actually quite a few YA westerns popping up and while I do own a couple I also have yet to read them. I will say though “Vengeance Road” was pretty fun to read through and I just really love the “wild west” setting!
What are some things on your reading wishlist?
Do you agree with any of the ones I listed?
Have you read any of the books I used for examples? If so what did you think?
Do you have any recommendations for books that match these themes?
Let me know in the comments and feel free to link up your TTT as well!
Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Bookish Blogs You Should Follow
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & The Bookish!
This week’s theme is people you should follow on social media, be it Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, or Facebook etc. So I’ve decided to do blogs, more specifically WordPress blogs. Now this was super hard trying to only pick ten so I’m going to cheat and mention a few others at the end as well!
Make sure to check ALL of these lovely ladies’ blogs, guys!
(Also these are in no specific order!)
Alysyn has BEAUTIFUL, bookish pictures on her blog. I could seriously sit and look at them all damn day. Her photos are definitely my favorite thing about the blog but it isn’t the only great thing, she also has great posts such as: hauls, reviews, and playlists.
I love Ali’s book reviews, plain and simple. Not to mention she gets TONS of ARCs that she reviews, so her blog is definitely one of my go-to’s when it comes to the newest releases!
Reg has a gorgeously maintained blog, I just love how pretty and neat it looks when I go on her page. Her reviews and other features are always super fun to read through and Reg is great to chat with! She ALWAYS replies to comments you leave her, which is a big plus for me since I love engaging with other book bloggers.
Kelly is not only super friendly she also has some great blog graphics, I love her social media icons and her graphics she includes in her book reviews. I feel like review graphics really add to the reading experience.
Ashleigh manages a fantastic blog, she hosts some very interesting discussions as well as writing informative (and spoiler free!) and helpful reviews. Not to mention her bookish photos (and Instagram) are crazy awesome.
Paige & Yasmin host some fantastically hilarious discussions with the inclusion of many (even more hilarious) gifs. They both do up very unique posts and are super fun to chat with! Also be sure to check out their Goodreads pages as well, they’re both VERY active on there and have fun status updates.
4.) A Stranger’s Guide To Novels
Astra’s blog is just all around fun, I love her Instagram photos as well as her reviews, discussions, and memes. She is also super friendly and will always reply to comments, so don’t be afraid to talk to her, she’s a sweetheart!
Anna is always on point with her posts, seriously I’m jealous of how well she manages her posts all the time (haha). I mean it though she’s always keeping up with awards, tags, memes, and other great posts. It’s awesome. Plus the gifs she uses are awesome!
Michelle is pretty much one of the first book bloggers I ever discussed books with, I LOVED her Book Tag Thursdays meme and I still do so I just have to add her to this list. Michelle is always posting reviews and memes and such, so she maintains a pretty active blog. She is super approachable and always replies to comments, so please don’t be afraid to head over there and chat with her!
Let’s see, what can I say about Ariana and her blog? Well first off she writes fantastic, insightful reviews and she’s also one of the friendliest bloggers, ever. Ariana is also the first person I ever did a Buddy Read with, aw good times. (You can check out both of our reviews for said Buddy Read, Ariana’s here and mine here.) I like to think of us as very alike, we both obsess *cough* I mean really like Skyrim after all!
And then just a few other blogs to check out as well: Dreaming Through Literature, The Awkward Book Blogger, Whimsy Journals, & The Bookgasm.
Like I said guys make sure to check out all of these fabulous blogs and say hi to their wonderful creators!
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