Top Ten Tuesday 03/03/2015

So I realize I’m posting this on Thursday March 5, but I am going to edit the publish date to Tuesday March 3 because I missed this Top Ten Tuesday and this is a week I didn’t want to miss. It’s definitely going to include some books that haven’t made any of my top ten lists before. As always Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is…

Top Ten Books You Would Classify as ALL TIME FAVORITE BOOKS From the Past 3 Years

1.) The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

2.) Pretty Little Liars (Book 1) by Sara Shepard

3.) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

4.) Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

5.) Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

6.) Five Summers by Una LaMarche

7.) Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

8.) Second Chance Summer & Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

9.) Compulsion by Martina Boone

10.) Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

 Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay, This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E Smith, Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington, The Bargaining by Carly Anne West, Moonglass by Jessi Kirby, Ten by Gretchen McNeil, Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, Magnolia by Kristi Cook, The Perfectionists by Sara Shepard, The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher, Appaloosa Summer by Tudor Robins, Lost Summer by Alex McAulay, The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Terra Elan McVoy, Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, Truly, Madly, Deadly by Hannah Jayne, Looking for Alaska by John Green, Things I Can’t Forget by Miranda Kenneally, Laguna Cove by Alyson Noel, If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

Okay so I went way past ten books but honestly how was I supposed to ONLY pick ten? I extended my list to thirty books, and they are in no particular order, I just only included pictures for the first 10. If someone asked me to fill a box with my favorite books from the past 3 years and give it to someone, these are the books I’d put in there. I know I have to be leaving some out too that I really enjoyed but I just currently can’t think of, plus thirty seemed like a good number to stop at.

Top Ten Tuesday 10/07/2014

So last week I skipped Top Ten Tuesday and posted my monthly wrap up for September instead. I wasn’t into last week’s topic either. This week’s topic is Ten Books for Readers Who Like Character Driven Novels. Characters in a novel can make me love or hate a book, so this is going to be an easy week for me. Not all of these books may be published yet and if they aren’t be on the look out for them because they’re great!

Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like Character Driven Novels

1.) Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley

2.) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

3.) Looking for Alaska by John Green

4.) Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington

5.) The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver (04/2015)

6.) All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (01/2015)

7.) The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner

8.) Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

9.) The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard

10.) The Ruining by Anna Collomore

So there we go 🙂 Sorry there’s no pictures this week. I’m doing this post from my iPad and it gives me a terrible time when I try to upload photos in the post. All of the books on my list have also received a 4 or 5 star rating and are some of my favorites.

Top Ten Tuesday 08/05/2014

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I’d Give To Readers Who Have Never Read [BLANK]. I’m going to fill in the blank with… Young Adult Books. Since I mainly read YA books I wasn’t really sure what other topic I could have chosen. If I did thrillers or dystopians, I wouldn’t have ten to make a whole list so I will do a mix of young adult genres that I’d give/recommend to someone.

Top Ten Books I’d Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Young Adult Books

1. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han – A nice, light, summery contemporary book that is just so good.

2. Ten by Gretchen McNeil – A really well written YA thriller/horror novel and by far my favorite.

3. Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington – A really amazing YA mystery. Currently in my top 10 favorites, I could reread this over and over.

4. Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne – My favorite YA dystopian novel. So realistic it gives you goosebumps.

5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Because you need to cry a little when reading a book.

6. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen – Everyone needs to experience a Sarah Dessen book and this one is so far my favorite.

7. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs – So original and has photographs that really make the characters come to life.

8. Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson – Another amazing YA contemporary that is really popular.

9. Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas – Another great thriller although this features a female lead character.

10. I’m actually going to leave 10 blank. There are so many other YA books I’d recommend/give to someone who hasn’t read YA before, but I can’t just pick only 1 more.

I know these are probably not the most popular YA books and a lot of people wound probably recommend books like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, but everyone has heard of them before. I’d recommend/give someone a stack of books that are really good and popular, but not ones that everyone has heard of. (The Fault in Our Stars being the only exception.)

Top Ten Tuesday 06/10/2014

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is going to be a difficult one. The topic is: Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far This Year. I’ve read a good amount so far, so it is going to be hard for me to pick a top ten. I may have to list a few honorable mentions at the end. Most of these books I have written a review on my blog for them, if not I have listed them in my monthly wrap ups. I will count down from 10-1 leading up to my favorite so far.

10.) The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

9.) The Ruining by Anna Collomore

8.) Monument 14 trilogy by Emmy Laybourne

7.) Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

6.) Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

5.) Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

4.) Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

3.) If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin

2.) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

1.) Ten by Gretchen McNeil

So those are my top ten. I’m sure in another six months some of them, possibly even all, will be replaced. For books numbers 2&3, have a box of tissues prepared, as well as being prepared to feel like your heart has been ripped from your chest. Books numbers 4&5 I don’t think would have been on this list, or at least as high, if it wasn’t for the photographs, they really added to the story. Book numbers 8&10 would be great for fans of dystopian novels. Book numbers 1, 6, 7&9, prepared to have your mind blown and expect the unexpected.

Since I’ve obviously read more than ten books that I’ve loved this year, I have three in mind that I would like to give honorable mentions to.

1.) The Summer of Letting Go by Gae Polisner

2.) Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

3.) Baby Bumps by Nicole Polizzi (Snooki)

I got the opportunity to read The Summer of Letting Go before it was published and fell in love with it. I love all of the books by Miranda Kenneally I’ve read so far and love how they all tie together. Lastly, you’re probably think either one of four things…1.) ew you read that book, 2.) why the hell did you spend money on that, 3.) you consider that a book, or 4.) I loved it too. I’m going to be really blunt about how I feel about Baby Bumps right now. If you never read it or at least gave it a chance, keep your mouth shut. I had intentions of reading it but put it off for a while since I am not pregnant nor plan on being so anytime soon. Well, Snooki was coming to a local university to sign copies of Baby Bumps, so I went out and read it in two days. It didn’t glorify pregnancy like so many people try to. She gave all the nasty details and although I already liked Snooki and respected her, this book gave me a thousand times more respect for her to be able to read (and picture) her going from party girl to an amazing mother. If you’re pregnant or plan on being pregnant, give it a chance. It will definitely be a book I will pull out again when I am expecting.

Book Haul

Last post of the day I promise! In my previous review of Dangerous Girls, I mentioned I did a small book haul. Now mind you, this is small in my terms. I used to buy 30-40 some used books from Amazon at a time. I went to Barnes and Noble, as well as this other book store called Books A Million and I bought two more yesterday at BJ’s because they’re priced really good there. Anyways here are the books I bought and the reviews that will be posted within the next few weeks:

-Monument 14: Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne

-Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

-Summer State of Mind by Jen Calonita

-Fever by Lauren DeStefano

-Ashes by Ilsa J Bick

-Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

-Stay by Deb Caletti

-Paper Towns by John Green

-172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad

-The Enemy by Charlie Higson

-This Star Won’t Go Out by Esther Earl, Wayne Earl, and Lori Earl

I am currently halfway done This Star Won’t Go Out which I got for $11 at BJ’s. Not bad at all. So look out for reviews on those books within the next few weeks.

May (& April) Monthly Wrap Up

I know I’m a few days early, but with my two month break I figured who cares? I have quite a handful of books I read between then and now and also recently did a book haul before I went camping Memorial Day weekend. I also figured it would be better to post this today because tomorrow starts my first day of work at my new job. Yay for a new job, but boo for having to wake up at 4:30 in the morning. I’m also incredibly nervous because my new job is a server at a restaurant in a casino, and I have zero experience serving in a restaurant setting. (By the way does every state have casinos in them? I know obviously Nevada does..Las Vegas, New Jersey..Atlantic City, and I’m pretty sure Pennsylvania and New York do as well.) Anyways, I’m working full time and the drive is also a little over an hour so I am not sure if I will get up to two reviews a week but I will definitely still do TTT and one review. (I already have a double review -the two books go hand in hand- to post over the weekend.) So onto to the books I have read since my last post in April. Since I haven’t posted reviews, and there isn’t enough time to post them all, I will include my rating and a quick review or note for the book.

 

Snapshot by Angie Stanton – 5 Stars. I fell in love with this book from the first page and it is definitely one I would recommend as a summer or beach read. It’s also a companion novel to one of her other books (which I am definitely ordering asap).

Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont – 4 Stars. Definitely refreshing and original. Once again a good, easy summer read. Made me want to go on a canoeing/camping trip for two weeks with a bunch of friends.

In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg – 3.5 Stars. Once again refreshing and original, as well as a super quick and easy read. Really cute and is one I will most likely read again.

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby – 5 Stars. Absolutely love this book! Great for bringing to the beach. Just fell in love with everything about this book and have not a single complaint.

The Ruining by Anna Colomore – I actually posted in my March wrap up that I was going to review this book and I still will because I feel like it was so good that it needs a review.

If He Had Been With Me by Laura Nowlin – 4 Stars. This book was so good, and had be bawling my eyes out like a baby at some points. Definitely read when you’re alone!

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson – 5 Stars. So happy I finally have read this book. I loved every page and understand why everyone raves about it. So far Morgan Matson has not failed to pull me into her novels. Can’t wait to read her newest!

Monument 14: Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne – 4 Stars. Great way to end the trilogy. I loved how in the last few chapters everything tied in and made sense and was just perfect as it could be in their situations. Had me up late turning the pages because I couldn’t take a break.

And last but not least…….

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – 5+ Stars. Why anyone allowed me to wait until a couple of weeks ago to read this book makes me mad. I fell in love with the storyline and the characters. Obviously like everyone else I cried more than any book has made me cry before. I had to put the book down twice until I could compose myself. I’m already planning on bringing a whole box of tissues when I go see this in the theaters. I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that it does the book justice. Anyone interested in seeing the movie, read the book first!!!

 

I am pretty positive those are all the books I have read besides the two I plan on reviewing over the weekend. I also have about 10 new books from the past week as well as a good amount of ARCs I’ve downloaded this past week on my Kindle, so I should be set for reviews for a while. I will probably try to review a few of the books I posted in this post because some were too good not to get a full post to themselves.

Top Ten Tuesday 03/04/2014

 

This is probably the one Top Ten Tuesday I am dreading to post my top ten list of. I am sure a lot of you are going to freak out when you see the popular authors that I am listing, but I just never was 1.) interested in their books/series or 2.) it’s not a genre that interests me. As always, Top Ten Tuesdays topics are provided by The Broke and the Bookish. So, here is my top ten list and again I apologize for the authors who I am about to type…

Top Ten Popular Authors I’ve Never Read

1.) J.K. Rowling – Yep, you read that right. I have never, ever read a Harry Potter book before. I know it is a popular series and no offense to the fans, but it is just not something that ever interested me.

2.) Veronica Roth – I have not yet read Divergent, but I do have the book on my shelf. Hopefully I will read it before I go see the movie.

3.) Lemony Snicket – Not as popular as they were back when I was in middle school, but I have never read any of The Series of Unfortunate Event books.

4.) Cassandra Clare – Once again, I know this series has a big fan base, so no offense but just not interested. (The Mortal Instruments series)

5.) James Patterson – I do however want to check out his new YA mystery novels, Confessions: The Private School Murders and Confessions of A Murder Suspect.

6.) Rainbow Rowell – Surprisingly I have not read Eleanor & Park or Fangirl. They are both listed as the books of the month in upcoming months for the book club I am in.

7.) Marissa Meyer – I feel like The Lunar Chronicles came out of no where. I had never heard of the books before and then all of a sudden BAM! I’m reading reviews for them online, they’re in the top sellers on Amazon, and I’m seeing them even at places like Target and Walmart. Although I’m not sure if I will read this series or not.

8.) Ellen Hopkins – All of her books sound good and I have heard a ton of praise for them and have read a lot of good reviews, but I can’t get past her style of writing. I like paragraphs and I can’t get into the book unless there are paragraphs with clear details, explanations, ect.

9.) Richelle Mead – Not entirely sure how popular The Vampire Academy series is right now, but I am sure it is going to have a large fan base since the movie has been released. I’m not entirely sure if this is a series I want to read yet or not.

10.) James Dashner – The Maze Runner series is one that I do plan on reading, but because I have so many other books to get through first I’m not sure when I’ll get to begin reading them.

Well there you go, my top ten list of popular authors who I have never read. Some of you probably expected to see a few of these authors on my list, while others are probably still stuck on the first one wondering how I could have never read a Harry Potter novel. I almost guarantee that some of the top most listed authors for this week are going to be John Green, Suzanne Collins, Sara Shepard, and J.K. Rowling (because I know I am not the only one posting this week who hasn’t read one of her books).

I’m going to be on the lookout for your TTT posts this week because I am interested in seeing what popular authors you haven’t read. If you want you can even post the link to your list in a comment. 🙂