Reading Queue: December

December 1, 2014 | BookTasty

Well hello there!

Before I was pregnant I really doubted this whole “pregnancy brain” phenomenon. I actually thought it was a cop out for women just dropping the ball. I completely admit it. Especially because now I know that it really is a thing! No joke. It wasn’t until about a week ago that I realized “Oh yeah. I didn’t post my November Reading Queue”! OOOPS!

So yeah.

But I’m really excited to say that I remembered December! But before we go through my plans for December, let’s take a look back at what I did read in November.

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How I Did Last Month

I may not have posted by Reading Queue for November, but I was reading!

Splendor (Luxe #4) by Anna Godbersen

Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

Zombie Baseball Beatdown by Paolo Bacigalupi

Lawless by Jeffery Salane

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Falcon in the Glass by Susan Fletcher (DNF)

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My December Reading Queue

December means Winter Break, which is of course two glorious full weeks off from school. I get to relax and read all the books I want! So, I do have some big plans!

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking: A 14 Day Mystery by Erin Dionne

Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle #1) by Heather Demetrios

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3) by Gail Carriger

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3) by Robin LaFevers

The Perilous Sea (The Elemental Trilogy #2) by Sherry Thomas

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

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What titles are on your Reading Queue for December? In your opinion, which books on my list should I prioritize? Let me know!

Closure and Onions: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

January 10, 2014 | BookTasty

Hello! Okay, so Winter Break has been over for about a week now and I’ve been back at work. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, but I do miss those days of lounging on the couch reading, blogging or just seeing my friends in the middle of the day! But, I guess if…
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Reading Queue: November

November 2, 2013 | BookTasty

Hi there!

Welcome to my November Reading Queue!

The Reading Queue is a monthly meme, hosted by Book Tasty (hi there!) and Books: A true story , where we share our reading plans for the month. You can hop to other blogs and see what others are reading and maybe find someone reading the same thing as you! Or you can ask for people to vote on what you should read next if you can’t decide. Please feel free to contact me in the comments if you’d like to join and/or if you have questions!

Each month we’ve had a few more people join up with us which is pretty exciting! I love visiting the other blogs who participate, it’s just fun to see what everyone else is reading!

How I Did Last Month

Guys, I completely sucked with reading in general during October! And when I did read I didn’t keep to my Reading Queue! LAME. Plus, I didn’t even read anything in print this past month, I only listened to audiobooks, which is not a bad thing (because I love audiobooks), just odd.

Chime by Franny Billingsley (audiobook)
I loved this strange supernatural read. It reminded me a lot of The Gemma Doyle trilogy.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (audiobook)

Okay, so I liked parts of this book a lot, but the end left me feeling “meh”.

Legend by Marie Lu (audiobook)

My husband and I started and finished this on the drive to and from my little brother’s wedding.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (audiobook)

Requiem by Lauren Oliver (audiobook)

I really enjoyed this series, but wanted more at the end.

My November Reading Queue

Again, I have high hopes for my reading this coming month. Hopefully I can actually stay on track because I REALLY want to read all the books I have listed here. I’ll be on a plane to and from the UK later this month, so that will be a big help!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (ebook)

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster (print)

The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas (audiobook)

I just started this one and I’m really liking it a lot so far!

United We Spy by Ally Carter (print)

Allegiant by Veronica Roth (print)

AHHHHH!

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron (print)

Some steampunk to brighten my month!

Days of Blood & Starlight by Lani Taylor (audiobook)

There you have it! What are you planning to read during November? Have you read any of the titles on my Reading Queue? Do you have any suggestions on which I should start with?

If you’re interested in joining up, add your Reading Queue post to the linky below! We’re happy to have you!

Reading Queue: October

October 1, 2013 | BookTasty

Hi!

Yes, it is actually October!

I feel like September just blew by me this time around! School is in full swing and the weather has been turning crisp and cool!

The Reading Queue is a monthly meme, hosted by Book Tasty (hi!) and Books: A true story , where you share what books you plan to read for the month. You can hop to other blogs and see what others are reading and maybe find someone reading the same thing as you! Or you can ask for people to vote on what you should read next if you can’t decide. Please feel free to contact me in the comments if you’d like to join and/or if you have questions!

Each month we’ve had a few more people join up with us which is pretty exciting! I love visiting the other blogs who participate, it’s just fun to see what everyone else is reading!

My October Reading Queue:

I have eight books on the queue this month, which is pretty presumptuous of me, but I like to keep my eyes set high! haha

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (e-galley)

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster (print)

Chime by Franny Billingsley (audiobook)

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

City of Orphans by Avi (print)

Notes from an Accidental Band Geek by Erin Dionne (print)

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (print)

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

How I did Last Month

I was pretty proud of myself for September since I was able to finish four out of the six planned books! And by the looks of it I apparently I went on a little bit of a fantasy binge this past month! I just love fantasy so much!

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson (audio)

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson (audio)

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (audio)

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (e-galley)

Not too shabby! What tasty treats are you planning to read during the month of October? Have you read any of the titles on my Reading Queue? Which of these should I gobble up first?

If you’re interested in joining up, please do and add your Reading Queue post to the linky below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Sequels

September 24, 2013 | BookTasty

Hello and welcome back to BookTasty!

I’m a big fan of book series. I just adore how they allow me to continue living in a world that I don’t want to leave. They allow me to just keep on doing exactly what I want to do!

Well, today’s Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and Bookish) theme gives me the chance to highlight some of my favorite sequels ever.

Are you ready to see some of my favorite sequels? Here we go!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My favorite book in the trilogy because Katniss’ world opens up and we meet more of the past tributes. Tick-tock!

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

This second book in the series has the Spence girls in London attending fancy balls. Oh and more Kartik.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

This sequel introduces a brand new group of spies to the Gallagher Academy!

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

This series is awesome, but there was something more frenzied and creepy about this sequel, which I loved.

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

This series is just perfection.

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson

It’s not as atmospheric as the first book, but suddenly there is a new enemy that I didn’t expect!

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares

Honestly, I read these books so long ago that the plot of the last three kind of run together for me (thanks to that mashed up second movie), but I just remember my love for this series growing with each book.

The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them by E. Lockhart

Ruby Oliver. She just gets better and better.

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Cashore is the queen of awesome, sexy fantasy. I loved Graceling, but I REALLY LOVED Fire.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

The wizarding world finally opens up and we get to meet other schools of wizardry when Hogwarts hosts the Triwizard Tournament

Are you a fan of any of these sequels too? What are your favorite sequels? Please feel free to share in the comment section!

Top Ten Tuesday: My Fall TBR List

September 17, 2013 | BookTasty

Welcome back BookTastyians!

Every week I participate in Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by The Broke and Bookish.

Today’s list theme is Books on my Fall To Be Read (TBR) List. Now, you’ve probably already seen my September Reading Queue post, which has books I plan on finishing throughout the month of September. This TTT theme however, has to do with my reading plans for the entire fall, so there will be some that didn’t make it onto my Reading Queue.

Most of these titles are not new releases (although some are), but are instead books that have been sitting on my shelf for a while now and deserve a little love and attention. I would LOVE to get to all of these before December, but we’ll see how that goes!

Chime by Franny Billingsley

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

United We Spy by Ally Carter

Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Seriously, I love how there are ALWAYS so many unread books to look forward to! I can’t wait to get started on these!

Have you read any of these books? Which should I make top priority?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Should Totally Be TV Shows

September 10, 2013 | BookTasty

Well, hello and Happy Tuesday!

It’s time for the weekly Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and Bookish)! This week’s theme is a really fun one: Books that Should Totally Be TV Shows!

See?! I told you it’s a FUN one!

Okay, so when choosing the titles for my list I thought about qualities that would make a book transition to a TV show well. First, the book’s story line cannot be so tight that there isn’t room for meandering…does this make sense? There needs to be enough “stuff” to explore. Second, there needs to be a lot of characters (not like millions) but there needs to be more than 3 or 4 strong characters to hold the story down so the watcher doesn’t get bored.

So, here is my list of books I’d freakin’ LOVE to see be made into TV shows:

The Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson: First we have a boarding school book. YES. Then we have a secret “police force” that can see and help/stop ghosts. There is so much to explore with these books!

The Paranormalcy books by Kiersten White: A girl who has mysterious and special powers and hunts supernatural creatures, while also learning more about herself? So much could be done with this storyline!

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger: We totally need a steampunk show. Also, because it’s set in a boarding school with lots of characters there are tons of storyline to checkout.
The Ruby Oliver books by E. Lockhart: We totally need to see Ruby Oliver tough it out through her years of high school. There is so much humor, drama and romance in her story that a TV show would be perfect for these books.

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter: Apparently TV shows and boarding school books mean like the same thing to me! Each week the girls could be using their cool spy gadgets and going on secret missions!

The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen: We already know that Gossip Girl was a win. Now, let’s just add AMAZING 19th century gowns and we’d have a SUPER WIN.

The Heist Society books by Ally Carter: Like the Gallagher Girl books there is just so much to explore in these books!

Forgive my Fins by Tera Lynn Childs: We need a tv show about a teen mermaid. I mean we already have Teen Wolf…it’s time we become equal opportunity, especially with mermaids.

The Books of Umber series by P.W. Catanese: With the success of Once Upon a Time I think another fantasy based TV show would be so well received and again, there is just a lot of story to explore here!

The Selection books by Kierra Cass: Rumors have been flying out the CW picking up, then dropping this book as a potential TV series. I think the CW just needs to acknowledge that it’d be awesome and that they just need to say “yes”.

Okay, now you’ve seen my list of books that I think should TOTALLY be made into TV shows…what books are on your list? Do you completely disagree with me on one or two titles? Go ahead and share your thoughts on this week’s list theme in the comments below!

Top Ten Tuesday: Qualities that Instantly Make Me Pick Up a Book

April 30, 2013 | BookTasty

Hi there everyone!

It’s time again for Top Ten Tuesday! Every week the wonderful people at The Broke and Bookish post a theme to create our lists by. This week the theme is qualities that will instantly make me pick up a book. I have a few that will guarantee I pick up your book. Chances are that if I pick up a book with some of these qualities I’m going to enjoy it! (I’ve done extensive “research” on this topic…)

1. Girls In Pretty Gowns.

I just LOVE pretty gowns and want to wear them. I also generally enjoy books with this type of cover.

2. Romance Included.

Not romance novels, but novels with some romance in them. Le sigh…

3. Fairy Tales.

Yes. I will most likely pick up the book if its a retold fairy tale. Fairy tales are just so classic and I love the magic of them.

4. Female Main Characters.

I just have a hard time connecting to male main characters so it’s always a tough sell for me.

5. England.

If your book is set in the UK in some way…historical, contemporary, fantasy whatever. I want it. I am 100% Anglophile.

6. Boarding Schools.

I have always loved boarding school books. Boarding schools just seem so fun without your parents watching you all the time!

7. Jane Austen Related.

If your book relates to Jane Austen because it’s a retelling or something similar then I’m probably going to pick it up.

8. Amish People.

I’m just so intrigued by their community and culture! I want to read about them!

9. Husband Appeal.

If you’re book has qualities that both my husband and I will like, then the chances that I’ll pick up your book increase greatly. I’m not sure what those qualities are though…murder (judging by the three books above)?!

10. Audiobooks Narrated with a British Accent.

Yup. I’m 100% Anglophile.

So there you have it. The qualities that will instantly make me pick up a book…all laid out in front of you. Some one should write one book to rule them all….one that fits all of my favorite things! haha

What book qualities always entice you to read? Thanks for visiting!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I am Constantly Recommending

April 9, 2013 | BookTasty

Hello!

Each week I participate in Top Ten Tuesday hosted by the Broke and Bookish. It’s a really fun meme where book bloggers create lists based on a common theme. To find out more about it, click here.

This week the official theme is Top Ten Favorite Books from Before You Were a Blogger, but I kind of did that list already. So since I skipped the theme for March 26, I’m going to do that one this week. The theme is Books that I am Constantly Recommending to people, whether it be students or friends! Seriously, I recommend a lot of books in my job as a Media Specialist, but these are the ones on my “go to” list because they’re usually winners!

1. The Maze Runner by James Dashner

It’s usually a win with the boys, especially the older “reader boys”.

2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This one is a win for new 6th graders who are excited to read the popular book that their elementary school didn’t have!

3. Smile by Raina Telgemeier

This is just such a fun book that pretty much everyone will love it.

4. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

I always recommend this one to my older 8th grade “reader girls” and their friends. It’s usually a big hit!

5. The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

I recommend this quick series to my contemporary loving girls.

6. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

I tend to recommend Sarah Dessen to my friends to introduce them to YA.

7. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Another one I recommend to my friends to introduce them to YA.

8. The Trouble with Half a Moon by Danette Vigilante

My go to Sunshine State book for my kids who want to read about drama.

9. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

The action packed short chapters in this one make it the book I recommend to my reluctant readers this year.

10. Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer

I recommend this one to my guys who are interested in supernatural fiction but avoid Twilight-like books! Of course my girls usually love it too.

For some reason I’m constantly recommending these books to my kids or friends. Every once in a while I add a new one to my repertoire, but these are my current go to recommendations! What are some of your “go to” books for recommending?

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Most Frustrating Characters Ever

January 29, 2013 | BookTasty

Happy Tuesday BookTasty readers! It’s nice to have you back!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish. This week’s theme is Ten Most Frustrating Characters Ever. Now, let me say that I’m sure there are tons of obnoxious or frustrating characters that I just can’t remember, so the ones on my list today are not necessarily the most frustrating, they’re just some of those that fit the bill.

1. Bella from the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. Okay. No Twilight bashing. I don’t think I need to say anymore about this!

2. Katarina Bishop from the Heist Society series by Ally Carter. I love these books and I love Katarina, but I really don’t understand why Kat pushes people away and thinks she doesn’t need help from people. I know she does it…but why?

3. Jane from My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison. She steals her sister’s boyfriend and then gets annoyed when her sister wont speak with her. Uh..duh!

4. Conrad from The Summer I Turned Pretty series by Jenny Han. Now, I have only read the first two books in this trilogy so I may not have the whole picture here, but Conrad! ARRRGGHHH You love Belly so just be nice to her and let her know how you really The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han feel.

5. Charlie Joe Jackson from Charlie Joe Jackson’s Guide to Not Reading by Tommy Greenwald. Seriously, just read the darn book Charlie Joe! Seriously.

6. The Capital from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Yes. The entire capital. For the love of all things holy, just leave the districts alone!

7. Greg Heffley from The Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney. Greg, you are super hilarious, but you’re not a really nice person. Stop being rude to your loyal friend Rowley!

8. Lexi Smart from Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella. This one is not YA, and I didn’t really like it. I think Lexi is selfish and obnoxious. I can’t really find anything redeemable in her at all. Wow that was harsh.

9. Ruby Oliver from the Ruby Oliver series by E. Lockhart. I adore Ruby! She is one of my favorite characters ever, but sometimes she is sooo darn frustrating! But I really do love her so much despite this!

10. Gale from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Okay, so I love these books. A lot. But Gale! You can’t get so upset at Katniss for being interested in Peeta if you never once told her you loved her! Plus it was a classic case of “don’t know what you got ’till it’s gone”. For reals.

So there you have it! That is a list of some of the fictional characters that frustrate me the most. Which characters just really get to you? Go ahead and share in the comments