Top Ten Books On My Spring 2014 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is one of my personal favorites, TBR lists! Below are ten books I'd like to read this spring!

1. Dangerous by Shannon Hale: She is coming to a bookstore near me today and I plan on getting her newest book, Dangerous, signed (along with The Goose Girl)!

2. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan: I read The Lightning Thief earlier this year and am looking forward to continuing the series!

3. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales: A few students have gushed over this one and said I need to read it, so I am making a point to get to it soon. Maybe over spring break? Good plane reading?

4. The Forsaken by Lisa Stasse: Another student rec that sounds pretty good!

5. Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger: I've been meaning to read this one for a while and am determined to finally read it this spring.

6. The Girl of Fire and Thorns trilogy by Rae Carson: I am thinking about binge reading this whole series! Yay or nay?

7. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows: I have this on my kindle and am thinking of reading it over spring break

8. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: I've been meaning to read this forever and am thinking it's the perfect time because Leigh is coming to Michigan with the Fierce Reads tour in June!

9. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski: This one sounds awesome!

10. Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock: I need to finish DJ's story :)

Top Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is near and dear to my heart, as I often am sad when I think about all the books I need to read and how I won't ever get to all of them! Here are 10 popular authors I have yet to read:


1. Richelle Mead

2. Melina Marchetta

3. Khaled Hosseini

4. Sherman Alexie

5. Stephen King

6. Neil Gaiman

7. Ally Carter

8. A.S. King

9. Tamora Pierce

10. Holly Black (I am currently listening to Coldtown now though!)

Top Ten Books of 2013...So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I haven't participated in quite a while, so I'm excited to take part this week!

This week's topic is top ten books of 2013 so far, so here are mine, NOT in order!
1. The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe

2. Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach

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

4. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

5. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

6. Every Day by David Levithan

7. Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

8. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

9. The Hobbit graphic novel by JRR Tolkien & Chuck Dixon

10. Shades of Earth by Beth Revis

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring 2013 TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week's topic is: Top Ten books at the TOP of my spring TBR

1. Requiem by Lauren Oliver: I have heard mixed reviews on this one, but I still need to finish the series!

2. Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi: I probably should have read this by now.

3. Boundless by Cynthia Hand: I can't believe this series is over!

4. Defiance by CJ Redwine: This seems like a fun fantasy and right up my alley.

5. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell: Have only heard good things about this contemp

6. Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson: Loved the first book, Hattie Big Sky!

7. The Miseduation of Cameron Post by Emily Danforth: Have this in my class and it looks interesting

8. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: I know, I know.

9. Wonder by RJ Palacio: Thinking of trying this on audio

10. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers: This one intrigues me.

Top Ten Tuesday: Best of 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books of 2012

My plan is to fill out Jamie's end of the year survey, but to basically wait until the last minute so I can get in more reading! Thirteen days left in 2012 and most of them are no work days! My plan is book a day, but we'll see how that goes :)

Anyway, here are my top ten books of 2012, NOT in order, AS OF DECEMBER 18.

1. A Million Suns by Beth Revis

2. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

3. The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell

4. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

5. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

6. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

7. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

8. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

9. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

10. This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Books I still want to read before 2013: Seraphina, The Diviners, Reached, Water for Elephants, something by Robin McKinley, The Sea of Tranquility, The Language of Flowers, Mudbound, The Compound, Beautiful Creatures...

Top Ten Tuesday: New Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is:

Top Ten New to Me Authors in 2012 (NOT in order)



1. E. Lockhart (Ruby Oliver series)

2. Beth Revis (Across the Universe series)

3. Marissa Meyer (Cinder)

4. Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, The Goose Girl, Austenland)

5. Ellen Hopkins (Crank, Glass, Burned)

6. Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)

7. Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray and Out of the Easy)

8. Jessica Spotswood (Born Wicked)

9. Patrick Ness (The Knife of Never Letting Go and A Monster Calls)

10. Cynthia Hand (Unearthly, Hallowed)

It was so hard to narrow it down to 10 authors! Honorable mentions include Donna Cooner, Neal Shusterman, and Trish Doller.

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated 2013 Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is:

Top Ten Most Anticipated Reads of 2013

So many great books coming out in 2013! I'll try to contain the list to ten. 

1. Shades of Earth by Beth Revis: I am dying to read this one! I absolutely love this series and Beth!!

2. Requiem by Lauren Oliver: Must know what happens!

3. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare: I surprisingly loved Angel and Prince--so good!

4. Boundless by Cynthia Hand: Never though I'd like angel books, but I completely fell for Unearthly and Hallowed!

5. Unravel Me by Taherah Mafi: Yes please.

6. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer: I flat out loved Cinder and am so excited for Scarlet!!

7. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins: Yesssss, more Stephanie Perkins!

8. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen: Who doesn't love a good Sarah Dessen?

9. The Archived by Victoria Schwab: I didn't love The Near Witch, but The Archived sounds really cool.

10. The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson: MJ. That's all.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Settings

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a rewind, so I'm going with:


Top Ten favorite settings

1. The prairie: I adore historical fiction that takes place on the prairie, particularly when the characters live in a shanty or sod house. LIW or Hattie Big Sky, anyone?

2. Islands: I find islands to be really cool settings, especially when very few people live on said island, like in Burn for Burn or The Gathering.

3. Boarding schools: Boarding school settings are AWESOME, especially if they are old and have cool features like forbidden wings. I'm thinking of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Looking for Alaska.

4. Mountains: Mountains make great settings, like in Princess Academy.

5. The South: I love southern settings, especially in historical fiction, like Ruta Sepetys's upcoming Out of the Easy.

6. 18th & 19th century east coast: I love when historical fiction takes place in old timey cities on the east coast, like Born Wicked and The Vespertine.

7. Really small towns: Books that take place in super small towns always suck me in, like Cryer's Cross (although I ended up not liking that one). Bonus points for one room schoolhouses in modern times.

8. Spaceships: Who doesn't love spaceship settings? I'm looking at you, Across the Universe! Any other spaceship books I need to read?

9. London: London is an awesome setting, historical and modern. I'm thinking Name of the Star.

10. Castles: Castles kind of fascinate me, so if a book were set in a London boarding school that used to be a castle? I would die. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Series I Need to Finish

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and was started by the lovely Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner.

This week's topic is: Top 10 series I haven't finished yet (in which all the books are out). There are tons of series I need to finish that are not all out yet, but here are the ones with all the books available!

1. Jessica Darling series: still need to read the last two!

2. The Firelight series by Sophie Jordan: have only read the first one, but I'd like to keep going

3. The Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale: I read The Goose Girl and loved it, so I know I need to continue

4. Graceling Realm: Still need to read Fire and Bitterblue!

5. Chaos Walking trilogy: Sadly only read The Knife of Never Letting Go. I loved it, so I will be sure to listen to the others on audio.

6. A Wrinkle in Time: I think I read at least the first two

7. The Giver series by Lois Lowry: I didn't even know it was a series until recently!

8. The Crank series by Ellen Hopkins: Still need to read the last one!

9. Uglies series by Scott Westerfield: I've only read Uglies! I think there are three more left!

10. Millennium series: Have only read Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish People

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and was created by the lovely Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. This week's topic is:

Top Ten bookish people I'd like to meet (authors, bloggers, etc). This one was hard for me to do since I have been fortunate enough to meet many of my favorite authors and bloggers, but here goes!

1. JK Rowling: I would like to worship at her feet, then probably cry and combust from fangirling.

2. Lauren Oliver: I love her books so much and really just want to tell her that. Coincidentally she is coming to a bookstore about 2 hours north of me in October for a "children's event." Am I allowed to go to that? I think it's a release party for The Spindlers, her new MG.

3. Laurie Halse Anderson: I want to thank her for writing such powerful books, especially Speak and Wintergirls.

4. Laura Ingalls Wilder: I know she's been dead for over 50 years, but hello, I am a fangirl for life. Meeting her would be amazing because of 1. who she is and 2. time travel would be possible.

5. Sarah Dessen: I think she was my first favorite author and I'd LOVE to meet her someday!

6. Ruta Sepetys: I loved Between Shades of Gray and the upcoming Out of the Easy, plus she is from Michigan. Win-win.

7. Ann Brashares: I grew up on the Traveling Pants books and it even inspired my friends and me to have a traveling notebook.

8. Caragh M. O'Brien: I love the Birthmarked series and I'd love to discuss making the move from being a teacher to being a full time writer (a dream of mine...)


BLOGGERS I AM DYING TO MEET IN REAL LIFE

9. Christina from Book Tasty: So Christina and I are pretty much twins (and have been known to maybe obnoxiously hashtag #twinsies on twitter) and I think she's awesome. She's a middle school librarian, has excellent taste in books, and is one of my closest blogging/bookish friends.

10. Elizabeth from Don't Take My Books Away: I also really want to meet Elizabeth, another awesome blogging friend. Any book she likes I am pretty much guaranteed to like and we are both fans of baseball and cleaning our kitchens while coffee is brewing.

Why can't bookish friends live closer??? Guess I need to plan some vacations...

Top Ten Tuesday: Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is one of my faves: 

Top Ten Books on my fall TBR list NOT in order



1. Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Writer's Life by Pamela Smith Hill: Gotta feed my addiction! I am obsessed with learning about her real life versus her books.

2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: I STILL HAVEN'T READ THIS

3. Such A Rush by Jennifer Echols: Loved Going Too Far, didn't love Forget You. Curious about this one.

4. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund: Sounds fab!

5. Origin by Jessica Khoury: I just started this one and I like it so far

6. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: I totally failed at reading this over the summer.

7. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan: I like reading about food.

8. The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian: Sounds interesting

9. Promised by Caragh M. O'Brien: Love this series!

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorites Since I Started Blogging

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Today's topic is:

Top ten favorite books I've read since I started blogging

In no particular order...


1. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

2. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

3. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

4. The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell

5. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

6. Divergent by Veronica Roth

7. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

8. Paper Towns by John Green

9. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

10. The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

Top Ten Tuesday: ME

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is pretty fun:

Top Ten posts on my blog that give readers that best picture of ME


1. I am a Laura Ingalls Wilder fangirl. See my review of The Wilder Life to read about me being a LIW spaz as a kid (who am I kidding, I still am). Now I want to do what the author, Wendy McClure, did and visit LIW's homes. But in all seriousness, I think this post shows my voice well.

2. I wrote a short series of posts called Former Favorites, in which I waxed poetic on series I loved as a kid. See The Baby-sitters Club, Animorphs, Little House on the Prairie, Sweet Valley Twins, and The Face on the Milk Carton.

3. I went to the RT Convention in Chicago in April and met some fabulous bloggers and authors. Read my recap here.

4. I love readathons and did my first Dewey Readathon also in April. LOVED IT.

5. I wrote book blogging tips that I try to follow. I am oddly proud of this list.

6. I met Meg Cabot a few weeks ago. She rocks.

7. My review of Delirium, my favorite book of 2011.

8. My review of The Help audiobook, which was the first real audiobook that I loved.

9. My review of Between Shades of Gray, a new favorite (and a new fav author).

10. And, um, my About Me page, which is one of the first things I look at on people's blogs. Is that weird?

Basically these posts show you that I am nerdy, awkward, and fangirly AND COMPLETELY OKAY WITH THAT.

Top Ten Tuesday: Blogger Recommendations

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a freebie, so I'm going with:

Top ten books that I read and LOVED because of book bloggers...aka would not have read these without book bloggers!

In no particular order of favorites...

1. Delirium by Lauren Oliver: One of my favorite books EVER and would not have heard of it if not for book blogs.

2. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: The title alone would have pushed me away, but the reviews were so amazing that I couldn't say no!

3. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepeteys: Would not have read this if not for Tara's glowing review!

4. The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell: I can thank Heidi for this one!

5. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: Thanks, Christina, for sharing your love of Shannon Hale!

6. Across the Universe/A Million Suns by Beth Revis: Love this series and wouldn't have known about it without book blogs!

7. Shade trilogy by Jeri Smith-Ready: I would have NEVER read this series without blogger recs!

8. The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare: Love this one!

9. Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols: I'll thank Ginger for the Echols love!

10. Something Like Normal by Trish Doller: Saw lots of early reviews for this one, all good, and knew I had to read it!

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and was started by the lovely Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. This week's topic is:

Top Ten books on my summer TBR list

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore: I KNOW, I KNOW

2. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: Just read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and loved it, so more Kingsolver is needed soon.

3. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan: I have the audio book from the library.

4. Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia: How have I not read this?

5. Eve by Anna Carey: I met the hilarious Anna in Chicago; must read Eve now!

6. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: I'd really like to start this series as I love the Infernal Devices!

7. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr: I love Melissa and have seen her multiple times at author events, so it's about time I read her books!

8. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: The big question: print or audio?

9. Let's Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson: Audio, I think?

10. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo: I have a copy of this from a conference, so I think I'll be reading it soon, yes?

Top Ten Tuesday: Non-bookish sites

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and was created by the lovely Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner.

I LOVE this week's topic, which is: Top Ten sites you read that are NOT about books.


1. Jezebel: I've been reading Jezebel since it started about 5 years ago. I love it, although not as much as I used to. The community used to be a bit different, but I still love the articles and check it every day.

2. CNN.com for my world news, of course

3. Neatorama for odd and off the wall articles

4. Pamie.com: I used to go to Television Without Pity all the time back in the day and Pamie wrote awesome Gilmore Girls recaps. I've been reading her blog since high school.

5. The Small Things Blog: I love her hair tutorials

6. Hyperbole and a Half: clean ALL THE THINGS!!

7. Pinterest: It's addicting, you know.

8. The Bloggess: Beyonce the chicken. I die.

9. The Oatmeal: He just GETS it.

10. The Daily What: Quirky news

Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and was started by the lovely Jamie at The Perpetual Pageturner. This week's topic is:

Top Ten Book Quotes


I am TERRIBLE at remembering quotes but I will do my best!

1. "It is our choices, Harry, that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities." -Dumbledore

2. Tina Fey's prayer for her daughter from Bossypants. Google it. I dare you to not fall out of your chair laughing. Too long to write here.

3. "In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." -Mr. Daaaarcy

4. "Don't judge a man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins." -Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. This quote has stuck with me since 4th grade.

5. YOU. YES. YOU -Second Helpings. Not really a quote, but OH WELL.

6. "So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." -Looking for Alaska

7. "What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person." -Paper Towns

8. "So it's not gonna be easy. It's going to be really hard; we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, everyday. You and me... everyday." -Yeah, I like the Notebook. And I like the movie more than the book. SUE ME.

Top Ten Tuesday: Book to Movie

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and started by Jamie at the Perpetual Page Turner. This week's topic is:

Top Ten Books I'd like to see as movies



1. Divergent: How awesome would this be on film???

2. The Shade series

3. Delirium/Pandemonium: I think this has been optioned as a film.

4. Across the Universe/A Million Suns

5. The Night Circus: I think this one would be hard to pull off well.

6. Lola and the Boy Next Door: This would be ADORABLE

7. This Lullaby: My favorite Dessen book

8. Chaos Walking trilogy: I believe this has also been optioned.

9. When She Woke: I really want to see red people.

10. Cinder: This might be awesome.

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Blogging Tips

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted The Broke and the Bookish and was started by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner. This week's topic is:

Top Ten Tips for new book bloggers! I definitely still consider myself a new book blogger, but here are some things that I've learned during my 10 months of blogging:

1. Be Yourself. If you let your personality shine through on your blog (and it's likable), people will want to read it. I am still in the process of finding my voice in my reviews, but when I do, I think the reviews are better and people like them more. Be yourself.

2. Blog for the Right Reasons. I started blogging last June because I wanted to share my love for YA/reading and reach out to others like me. I didn't even know ARCs existed or that people got free books sometimes. (Clearly I have learned a lot since then.) Do it because you love reading.

3. Don't Worry About Stats. If I worried about stats and how many people came to my blog, I probably wouldn't be typing this right now. I know I don't get a lot of visitors, but it doesn't matter! I write about what I love, interact with other bloggers/readers, and enjoy myself. That's all. Who cares how many visitors you get per day?

4. Read Whatever You Want. My blog is mostly about YA books, but I still read and review whatever I want because it's my blog! There are definitely some non-fic and adult books in there and that's okay! Don't feel like you have to stick to a certain genre or type because other people might.

5. Go to the Library. That's where I get most of my books because I am poor. I see people ask bloggers "Where do I get books to review?" Um, duh. The library, the bookstore, friends? You don't need to receive ARCs to review a book. I almost always review older books and guess what? That's fine too.

6. Use Twitter. Find other bloggers, authors, and readers on twitter and follow them! I absolutely love having conversations on twitter! I talk to people every day that I have never met in real life and I love it. Promote your reviews or blog posts, tweet to authors, do anything you want! (except spam.)

7. Don't Let Blogging Turn into Another Job. Most of us who blog also have full time jobs, so if blogging ever feels like a chore or takes up way too much time, take a break! When I only post once a week, you can probably assume I am busy with school and have lots of grading to do. Sadly, the paying job has to come first :(

8. Go to Events. I went to a signing last fall (we don't get too many here, unfortunately) and went to RT this last weekend. I met some wonderful authors and bloggers and although I was nervous, it was really great to meet everyone in person. So do it! Go to events and talk to people who love reading as much as you do.

9. Comment! Comment on other people's blogs whenever you can. I love getting comments and I think I can safely assume everyone else does too. I don't comment just to comment, though; only when I have something genuine to say (or things like, OMG I LOVED THAT BOOK).

10. Have fun! Blogging is fun! You get to meet great people, read books you would have never even heard of before, and have a sense of belonging in this huge online world of ours. I love blogging and now I can't imagine not doing it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Playing Hooky (or Spring Break Reads)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is top ten books I'd play hooky with, but I'm changing mine to:

Top Ten Books I Want to Read over Spring Break Next Week



1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: Currently reading this one and anticipate being finished soon. As always, the humor is perfect.

2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore: I bought this one and plan to devour it soon.

3. The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell: Intrigued. On hold at the library.

4. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand: Bought this one and need to read it before I go to RT Teen Day!

5. Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands by Susan Carol McCarthy: This is part of our 10th grade curriculum where I work and I need to read it still! Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird.

6. Born Wicked by Jessica Cahill: I requested this through the Michigan e-library (MeL), meaning it will come from a library somewhere in the state. Can't wait!

7. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly McNees: I love historical fiction about real people and about LMA? Sounds fun! Another MeL book too.

8. Austenland by Shannon Hale: This one sounds kind of awesome, I'll be honest. Should be ready at the library tomorrow.

9. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant: I have read the first 20ish pages of this and really need to finish it!

10. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness: My current audio book, which is fantastic.