TGIF: Giving Thanks

TGIF is a weekly Friday feature over at GReads! This is my first one, so bear with me :)


Today's question:
Giving Thanks: Which books are you most thankful for receiving from other bloggers, friends, family members, or publishers?


I have so many books to be thankful for that were given as gifts, but the BIG one that sticks out in my mind is Harry Potter:

When I was in 6th or 7th grade, a friend gave me the first 3 books as a birthday/Christmas gift (they are 3 days apart) and I fell in love. One of the greatest gifts I have ever gotten. I've gotten many books over the years as gifts, but these really stand out (and, you know, turned into an obsession).

Top Ten Tuesday 11/1

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


Top ten books that I had VERY strong emotions about (cry, laugh, hurl across the room, etc)


1. Shine by Lauren Myracle: I just read this one and the the injustices in it made me FURIOUS. I know a writer is amazing when she makes me angry as I read because of her writing talent (and because I know these things happen in real life).


2. Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares: This one made me teary. If you read it, you know why.


3. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson: This book FREAKED me out. I was afraid of every little noise while reading and couldn't turn off the lights.


4. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma: Still trying to sort out my feelings about this one. It made me sad, but not teary. Not sure yet.


5. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: I was amazed, shocked, saddened, etc, that people actually have these disorders. I mean, I knew about them, but this gave me a much deeper glimpse.


6. Atonement by Ian McEwan: I WTFed at the end and wanted to throw it against the wall.


7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: The ugly racism made me angry! 


8. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: I basically WTFed at the whole book and was disappointed by the ending. I know a lot of people loved it, but I'm definitely not one of them.

Book Blogger Hop: 10/28-10/31

The Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books, is a great way to get know other bloggers and find new blogs to read. This week's question is:


“What is your favorite Halloween costume?
Even if you don’t celebrate, what kinds of costumes do you like?”


Halloween in my family was a BIG DEAL when we were little. My parents loved taking us trick-or-treating and I went until I was a senior in high school. My last costume was a bag of jelly beans, but I think my favorite was the Statue of Liberty. We found a shimmery, sparkling silver sheet for the gown, made a crown out of tin foil, and created the torch using tissue paper and a flashlight. It looked great and even better, it was homemade! Homemade costumes are the best.


The best I've seen so far this year are Transformers. My friend made her own and they are awesome. They even "transform" into cars when they crouch down on the floor. So cool.

Book Blogger Hop 10/21-10/24

The Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books, is a great way to get know other bloggers and find new blogs to read. This week's question is:


"What is your favorite type of candy?"


Tough question! I hardly ever eat candy, but if I do, I like kinds that I can eat little pieces of, like gummies, m&m's, or nerds. I think it seems like more when there are tiny pieces :)

Book Blogger Hop 10/14-10/17

The Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books, is a great way to get know other bloggers and find new blogs to read. This week's question is:


“What is your favorite spooky book (i.e. mystery/suspense, thriller, ghost story, etc.)?”


I don't read a lot of spooky things because, uh, they scare me since I'm a wuss, but recently I read The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson and loved it. It definitely had a lot of scary elements in it and like other reviewers/readers have said, I may have had a bit of trouble sleeping after finishing it. Maybe. Check out my review here.


I am open to suggestions if anyone thinks I am missing out by not reading suspense/thrillers/other spooky books!

Top Ten Tuesday 10/11

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


Top ten books I wish I could read again for the first time!


1. Harry Potter series, hands down. I consider myself legit obsessed with these books and am always so jealous of people who get to experience it for the first time.


2. To Kill a Mockingbird: I read this for the first time in 8th grade and I think had I been a little older, I would have appreciated it more. I loved it at the time and even more so now.


3. Tuck Everlasting: I think I was in 4th grade when I read this and just absolutely loved it. Beautiful story, great characters, and a decent film version to boot.


4. Delirium: I know I just read this recently, but I loved it way more than I thought I would! Excellent writing and story and I couldn't put it down.


5. The Little House books: I really loved these as a child and it would be wonderful to experience them again for the first time. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era (she typed on her blog).


6. Roald Dahl books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, Danny the Champion of the World, etc: I loved these as a kid and my parents even read them aloud to us. I loved imagining everything in the books and think it would be fun to do that again.


7. The Face on the Milk Carton: I LOVED this series as a middle schooler and found the concept so intriguing and crazy.


8. Pride and Prejudice: When I read this for the first time, I didn't really appreciate what it was and now I wish I could do it again.


And that's about all I could think of!

Book Blogger Hop (10/7-10/10)

The Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Crazy for Books, is a great way to get know other bloggers and find new blogs to read. This week's question/spotlight is:


“It’s time to spread some love beyond the borders of the Book Blogger Hop! This week, we aren’t answering a question. We are spotlighting our fellow bloggers. Find your favorite(s) author interview(s), guest post(s), book review(s), or bookish article(s) that ANOTHER BOOK BLOGGER featured on their site recently and tell us why you love it/them! As an additional challenge, find your favorite one of EACH of the categories above and spotlight all 4 (interview, guest post, review, article).”


Well, I failed at the challenge, but I could easily think of a few reviews and a book cover discussion blog post to share with everyone.


1. Review of Daughter of Smoke & Bone over at The Story Siren. She starts the review by proclaiming that she LOVED the book, which immediately makes me want to read it. The story itself sounds odd, but with all the blogger love of this book, I think I need to read it soon.


2. Review of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer at Young Book Love. She titled the review "The Unbecoming of Bethany's workouts," which made me crack up, then she followed it up with a very detailed and funny review. I knew I wanted to read Mara, but now I do more than ever!


3. Review of Shade at Gone with the Words. Jess was tweeting about loving this book a few weeks ago, then her review was gushing with more love! She (and her review) convinced me to get it from the library and it is currently sitting in my car, waiting patiently to be read.


4. Discussion of Revolution's cover changes at The Compulsive Reader. I have an arc of this, currently in my classroom, and I noticed at a book signing on Tuesday night that the cover is now different from the arc. I liked the arc cover much more and then on Friday saw the blog post about the very same thing! I liked how she compared all the covers, including the UK one. The old one is by far the best :)

Top Ten Tuesday (9/27)

Top Ten Tuesday is brought to us by the Broke and the Bookish and I absolutely love it, because who doesn't love making lists? 


Today's topic: Top ten books I want to reread. Great topic, because I reread books all the time! The first few are books I have already reread, then I delve into ones that I need to reread for the first time.


1. The Little House on the Prairie series, specifically These Happy Golden Years- I just plain love this book and adore/am obsessed with the whole series.
2. The Harry Potter series, especially from Azkaban until the end- Azkaban is probably my favorite of the series and Sirius is my favorite character. What I need to do is reread Deathly Hallows again.
3. Pride and Prejudice- Read it a few times; love it and the movie versions. I need to read more Jane Austen. Sidenote: My college offered a Jane Austen class and I tried SO HARD to get into it, but I never did :(
4. Any Shakespeare- I hated Shakespeare in high school and college, then I became a teacher and now teach Romeo and Juliet to 9th graders every year. I have grown to love it, honestly, and I need to read more of his plays and reread the ones I "read" in high school and college: Hamlet, A Winter's Tale, Macbeth, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, King Lear, etc.
5. The Golden Compass series- I read these as a teen and I'd love to reread them to see if I still love them...but there are so many new books to read!
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower- I read it and loved it in middle school and I keep hearing about how people love it (still!), so rereading would be nice.
7. Brave New World- I read it in senior English and I would like to reread it since I am loving dystopian right now. I don't remember much about it, probably because I was itching to graduate and leave high school behind.
8. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn-I read this a couple years ago and didn't love it like everyone else seems to. I think a reread is in order.
9. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley- This is a modern retelling of King Lear that I need to reread. I got about halfway through and quit, but I think now that I like Shakespeare more, I should give this one another shot.
10. The Time Traveler's Wife- I loved it when I read it for the first time and with all books I love, I want to reread to find out if I still love it!

Book Blogger Hop (9/24-9/27)

The Book Blogger Hop is run by the wonderful Crazy for Books. I love it and think it's a great way to find blogs and get to know other bloggers! This week's question is:
"As a blog reader, what information (besides the book review) do you like to see in other bloggers’ reviews of books? (For example – Author bio, social media links, book synopsis from Amazon/Goodreads or one written by the blogger, page count, ISBN number, link to purchase, etc.)"


Great question and definitely one that I struggle with when I am trying to decide what information to include in my reviews! Other than the review, I like to see the book cover and a synopsis from either Amazon or Goodreads (no preference for either one). Page count and all that doesn't really concern me since, for me at least, the length doesn't normally effect my enjoyment of the book. I never thought about wanting to see social media links, but now I realize that I did put Maureen Johnson's twitter link on my review of The Name of the Star because she is so hilarious and entertaining. I guess other than the odd social media link, I really just want to see a synopsis and the cover!

Book Blogger Hop (9/16-9/19)

Book Blogger Hop time! As always, the hop is brought to us by Crazy for Books. This week's question is: 

“As a book blogger, how do you introduce yourself in your profile?”


Honestly, I love looking at people's profiles on their blogs, so it took me a while to decide what to put in mine. I finally decided to explain first of all that I am a girl (my name is Kyle, so everyone usually assumes I am a dude) and then what my job is. Hopefully knowing that I am a teacher can kind of explain 1) part of the reason I enjoy reading so much and 2) why I post much less during the school year. All that pesky grading and planning gets in the way of reading, sadly.


In profiles, I just like learning a bit about the blogger and what kinds of books they like, so that's how I concluded mine. Hopefully I don't come off sounding too weird! Profiles/About Me sections are your own, so do what you want!


Happy Friday and Happy Reading!

Musing Monday (3)

This week's Musing Monday asks:

What is the one (or maybe two) qualities a book must have for you to pass it along to your best friend as a “must-read?”


Great question! For me, it's the "not able to put down" factor, which can happen in both fiction and nonfiction. A book can make me want to keep reading in a number of ways: interesting story lines, crazy plot twists, great characters, laugh out loud moments, etc. I know I'm cheating by including everything as one factor, but I can't pick just one!


The last fiction book that I absolutely could not put down was Divergent, which I wholeheartedly recommend to those who like dystopian lit. My review of it is basically me gushing about how much I loved it and how the story line just kept grabbing me and holding my attention. The last few nonfiction books I've read were also hard to put down: The Wilder Life, Into the Wild, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. 

Book Blogger Hop (9/9-9/12) and Book Beginnings (9/9)

Book Blogger Hop time! Last week was my first one and I loved it, so here I am again! As always, the hop is brought to us by Crazy for Books. This week's question is: 

“Many of us primarily read one genre of books, with others sprinkled in. If authors stopped writing that genre, what genre would you start reading? Or would you give up reading completely if you couldn’t read that genre anymore?”


Interesting question! I'm honestly not even sure what I primarily read anymore; I used to adore YA contemporary, but I think I'm growing out of it. Lately I have found myself loving both adult and YA dystopian, sci fi/fantasy, and historical fiction (although I have always loved that one). I've also read some really great nonfiction recently.


Anyway, my answer: I would never stop reading, but if my favorite genre(s) disappeared, I would probably read more mystery/suspense books. I've read a few and while I enjoy them, I never seem to seek out more. I also have tons of classics left that I want and need to read, so I suppose I'd throw those in there too with the mystery/suspense.

Book Beginnings is a great meme I just discovered, hosted on Fridays by A Few More Pages.  You basically share the first line or two from the book you are currently reading and then discuss if you like them! Love it. I'll kinda sorta break the rules and write the lines from two books.




1. I just started Delirium by Lauren Oliver last night and am enjoying it so far. The first line is:

"It has been sixty-four years since the president and the Consortium identified love as a disease, and forty-three since the scientists perfected a cure."

I love it because it immediately grabbed my attention and I knew that I needed to keep reading. Love as a disease? Love is gone? There's a cure? What the what? I'm thinking Delirium will be one of those read in a day or two kind of books. Glad it's the weekend!

2. I reviewed Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer here a few weeks ago, and I'm including the first line here because my junior English class started reading it on Thursday. I read the Author's Note aloud to the class and we stopped after the first two sentences to discuss them:

"In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do East Coast family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness of Mt. McKinley. Four months later his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters."

My students loved how open and honest it was. They knew right then that the young man did not survive and they knew that the book would track his journey to his death. We talked about why Krakauer just lays it all out in two sentences and about how it made them want to keep reading. I love it because, well, they wanted to keep reading! Great, tragic story.

WWW Wednesday (1)

To play along with WWW Wednesday, hosted by Should Be Reading, you answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?


What are you currently reading? That's a great question! Technically...nothing. I tried and failed to get into a couple over the past few days, but they just didn't click. The Poisonwood Bible is sitting on my floor, begging to be read, though. I know I should read it, but I don't know if I'm motivated enough at the moment. I think I'm in a sci fi/fantasy mood!


What did you recently finish reading? I finished The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Pairie by Wendy McClure. Fantastic and hilarious. Required reading for Little House fans.


What do you think you’ll read next? According to my online account, my copies of Wither by Lauren DeStefano and Delirium by Lauren Oliver are en route to my library location for pick up by yours truly. They better be. I'm dying to read both and received an email yesterday saying Delirium was in, but when I went to get it, they couldn't find it. Major sad face. 


Any recommendations if I'm in the mood for sci fi/fantasy? I'm not a fan of vampire/werewolf books, but I do enjoy other "this could never happen in real life" stories. I'm also a dystopian fan (in case you couldn't tell).

Book Blogger Hop!

The Book Blogger Hop is of course brought to us by Crazy for Books. This week's question is:

“What are you most looking forward to this fall/autumn season – A particular book release? Halloween? The leaves changing color? Cooler temperatures? A vacation? (If your next season is other than fall/autumn, tell us about it and what you are most looking forward to in your part of the world!)”


Let's see...I am definitely looking forward to November because my best friend and I are heading to Washington, D.C., for a long weekend to visit our other friend who teaches there. I also have another friend from college who just moved there, so I'll get to see her too! I haven't been to D.C. in at least 15 years, so I am really looking forward to it. It'll be a nice break from teaching and I love traveling.


I'm also looking forward to cooler weather. It was a hot, hot summer here in Michigan and I can't wait to wear jeans and hoodies/sweaters outside instead of shorts and tank tops while dripping with sweat (you're welcome for that visual). And of course, there will definitely be bonfires! My favorite!


Anything you are looking forward to?

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday, as always, is brought to you by The Broke and The Bookish.

Today's topic: Top Ten books on my to-read list this fall, which are not necessarily books that are new, just ones I never got around to reading (in no particular order):

1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Everyone says it's fabulous and my close friend loves it, so I plan on stealing it from her soon. Plus if I read it, I can see the movie after!

2. Forget You by Jennifer Echols. Sounds great and exactly the type of book I would like.

3. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. A must read. Sad that I have not read it yet. The end.

4. Summer in the South by Cathy Holton. I love southern gothic and I really should read more of it.

5. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. The topic of this book may seem disturbing or controversial to some people, but I think this book has the potential to be very powerful. I would really like to read it and have suggested that my library purchase it.

6. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Many secondary schools use this book in their curriculum and as a teacher, I feel that this is one of those that I should read, even though we do not teach it.

7. The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle. This one might make me a little teary, but again, sounds exactly like the type of book I love.

8. Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker. This storyline sounds very interesting and I'm curious to see how the author interweaves the faith aspect. I would not consider myself a religious person, but definitely want to read this one.

9. Shine by Lauren Myracle. Gotta love coming of age stories from a lovely author.

10. Delirium by Lauren Oliver. I have heard great things and I have become a big fan of dystopian done right.

Feel free to link to your Top Tens in the comments!

Musing Monday

This week's Musing Monday asks:

What was the last book you…

• borrowed from the library?
• bought?
• cried over?
• disliked and couldn’t finish?
• read & loved?
• got for review? (or: got in the mail?)
• gave to someone else?
• stayed up too late reading?

1. I last borrowed Divergent by Veronica Roth from the library. I love the library so much. Free books, they usually order books for you if they don't have them, they put books on hold for you...I could go on and on.

2. The last book I legit bought was The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. It was fantastic and intriguing and nonfiction!

3. Cried over? I have no idea. I kind of have a heart of stone, so I don't really cry at books. Extreme home makeover, though? Yes. Tears.

4. I started Spoiled by the fug girls a few weeks ago and just couldn't get into it. Maybe it was too pop culture? I'm not sure.

5. Read and loved? Divergent, for sure. I also read Into the Wild so I can teach it in a few weeks and I really liked that one too.

6. I don't get books for review (yet?), but I am a member of NetGalley and plan on reading Saving June soon from there.

7. I kind of gave my mom the Hunger Games trilogy. She has a kindle and wants to read more on it, so I gave her an amazon gift card specifically to buy those 3 books.

8. I stay up too late reading almost every night during the summer. Last night I couldn't stop reading The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson and before that it was Divergent.