What’s On My Christmas List…Book Edition!!

AHHHH, I can’t believe Christmas is in 5 days! I got the idea for this post from yesterday’s Top Ten Tuesday. While my favorite part of the holidays is being with my family and just embracing the holiday spirit (AKA Christmas music all day long), I can’t lie. Opening up a present and seeing a book I want to read is definitely a great feeling. Here are my top reading-related gifts that I am hoping to find under the tree this year!

      

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

Far from the Tree by Robin Benway

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I’ve seen these books everywhere recently and want to see what the hype is all about! Oddly enough, they are all contemporary I believe–normally I have some fantasy thrown in there too!

And finally…a hands free book holder! I’m not sure if it will work well, but if it does I can read books hands free! Maybe this would let me sneak in some reading while I am eating less-snacky foods. We shall see!

So what’s on your Christmas list this year? Any recommendations I should add to mine? Let me know!

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons I Love Book to Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a certain theme assigned where you have to try to list ten for that category. For more information, visit their page here.

June 7: Reasons You Love _____

This week’s topic really caught my eye, since it was so open-ended. There are so many things I love it was hard to choose! I ended up selecting “book-to-movie adaptations” because I have so much to say about them.

1. the anticipation

This may sound strange, but I actually love the anticipation that comes while waiting for a new book or movie to release. I love counting down the days or seeing how close I am to reading or watching something I am excited for!

2. Extremely Accurate Screenplays

One of the best things for me when it comes to movie adaptations is when the author writes the screenplay. When you are sitting in the theater and you hear the exact same lines you read, it is just a really neat experience.

3. Similarities

While watching a book-to-movie adaptation, it is always fun to spot the similarities. Movies could go in any direction, so it is cool to see you favorite scene or character included.

4. Differences

Differences–the thing that sparks the most arguments about book to movie adaptations. Sometimes the movie will take a different path than the book, and sometimes it can lead to something great or something awful. I always enjoy seeing how the movie has a unique story to itself, because it is impossible to dully translate a book to a movie.

5. Gives Characters a Face

I am extremely bad at picturing characters while I am reading, so seeing other’s interpretations of the character is always helpful. There are times were if I see pictures or a trailer of the movie, I will imagine the characters that way. Also, I love when characters I pictured look exactly how I thought they would. For example, Daniel Radcliffe does not play Harry Potter–he truly is Harry Potter to me!! 😀

6. Helps Visualize the Setting

This is for books that have specific settings of places I haven’t been. When reading The Fault in Our Stars, I couldn’t picture Amsterdam the best. But after watching the movie, I now know what the Anne Frank House and the restaurant looked like in the book,

7. The Hype 

Seeing one of your beloved books getting the attention it deserves is a great feeling. When a book is announced to become a movie, while there are some that will just watch the movie, many will also read the book. In the end they all are enjoying the same story you love.

8. Picking Up Small Details

Sometimes, the movie producers throw in small Easter eggs for us readers. To someone hasn’t read the book, they wouldn’t notice these details. However, when we see them,  we get completely giddy.

I personally love movies that are really accurate and adapt the book as best as possible. These adaptations can be a total hit or complete flop (looking at you Percy Jackson, Beautiful Creatures, Divergent, etc.) Here are some of my absolute favorite recent book to movie adaptations.

 

 

The Sunday Post: 2 Weeks In…

The Caffeinated Book Reviewer created The Sunday Post as a weekly feature for bloggers to review their week. With this feature, you can talk about your latest posts, let your readers know what is coming on the blog, and any other information. Check it out here for more information.

Here we are at the second week of January! Last week was a very productive reading week, and this week I hope to make it a very productive blogging week. I am currently playing around with my graphics, so this week may look a little different. In the experimental process!

• Top Ten Tuesday New Years Resolutions
• Bout of Books 15 Round-Up

• Before I Fall Review
• Shadowhunters TV Thoughts
• Disney Character Tag

JANUARY 12

This is a very anticipated debut novel, and it is coming out on Tuesday! In case you haven’t heard about this book yet, here is the goodreads summary.

“In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins’ life would be a book. Preferably a YA novel with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn’t even qualify for a quiet contemporary. But when Phoebe finds out that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her, she turns to her favorite books for advice. Phoebe overhauls her personality to become as awesome as her favorite heroines and win Dev’s heart. But if her plan fails, can she go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing”

Seven Ways WE Lie by Riley Redgate

So this book wasn’t bought, but rather acquired from Netgalley! It is one of my first arcs, and I am super excited to read it! Youcan read it March 8, but here is the summary for now.

“Paloma High School is ordinary by anyone’s standards. It’s got the same cliques, the same prejudices, the same suspect cafeteria food. And like every high school, every student has something to hide—whether it’s Kat, the thespian who conceals her trust issues onstage; or Valentine, the neurotic genius who’s planted the seed of a school scandal.When that scandal bubbles over, and rumors of a teacher-student affair surface, everyone starts hunting for someone to blame. For the unlikely allies at the heart of it all, the collision of their seven ordinary-seeming lives results in extraordinary change.”

 

As you can tell, I am playing around with my layout for The Sunday Post. I am trying to add more features to it. I’m not quite done yet, but I like where it is heading. Have a great week!

The Sunday Post: The New Year

The Sunday Post is a weekly feature run by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It gives bloggers a chance to recap the week, talk about news, and show what is in store for the coming week. For more information, visit her blog here.

It is officially  2016! I have recently had a lot of time on my hands, so I got a ton of posts out pretty much everyday last week! The links are below in case you missed one!

• 2015 Christmas Wrap Up
• 2015 End of the Year Survey
• TTT: Most Anticipated Releases of 2016 (Part 1)
• 2016 Trends and Predictions
• 2016 Contemporary Challenge
• 2016 Reading and Blogging Goals
• What I Want to Do/Change
• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell (Non- Spoiler Book Review)
• Bout of Books 15 Sign Up 

Yes I know, there were a boatload of end of the years! Trust me, I know, it was hard to schedule everything I wanted to do in! Unfortunately, this week I will not have the luxury of posting every day, but I definitely have some posts planned! Check them out….

• Carry On Discussion (SPOILER EDITION)- I have so many things I need to gush/rant about that I wasn’t able to put in my review, so if you have read the book, this post is for you!
• Bout of Books Update- Just a post updating my progress in the read-a-thon I am participating in this week.
• A Tag that has yet to be determined 😉

As always, my brain may come up with some random post idea (which it normally does), and I’ll end up posting it as well.

OTHER NEWS

• So I am in the process of making some new graphics, so (hopefully) by the next Sunday Post, this post’s layout will be completely different and have some pretty graphics!
• I have also found a way that I like doing my reviews, so one by one I am going to be reformatting and updating my old reviews. This will take a while, but I am know I could use grammar checks on most of them anyway (considering quite a few were written before I knew how to spell check on here) (don’t blame me I was a newbie!)
• Passenger comes out this week!! I am so excited to see how it turns out!

2016 Contemporary Challenge

Got the picture from Jillian’s Post!

This year I decided I wanted to partake in some reading challenges that would (hopefully) motivate me to read more. I came across this one and it seemed fitting considering the amount of contemporary releases I want to read this year. This challenge is hosted by The Book Belles and Jillian’s Books. All of the rules are on both sites, and you can sign up on either one!

There are six levels you can choose from for your goal…

• Poppy: 1-5 books
• Carnation: 6-10 books
• Peony: 11-15 books
• Lily: 16-20 books
• Tulip: 21-25 books
• Rose: 26+ books

I am going to shoot for Peony. I haven’t really paid attention to how many contemporaries I normally read, but this shouldn’t be too hard. In addition to your goal, they also have 12 challenges that you can complete.

1. Read a contemporary from an author you’ve never heard of
2. Read one that features mental illness
3. Read a contemporary book with only one (1) word as its title
4. Read one with watercolors on its cover
5. Read one that you borrowed from the library
6. Read a contemporary novel with more than 400 pages
7. Read a contemporary book with a cover that features your favorite color
8. Read a contemporary by a 2016 debut author
9. Read a contemporary that’s been on your TBR for 1+ year
10. Read a contemporary that starts with the same letter of your first name
11. Read a contemporary that’s a standalone
12. Read a contemporary recommended to you by someone else (friend, family member, blogger, etc.)

 

I love extra challenges because it makes me look for new books! I am looking forward to doing this in 2016, and will ensure more reviews are coming out. Definitely check out either of the sites for more information, it’s a great challenge!

TTT: Most Anticipated 2016 Releases (Part 1)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a certain theme assigned where you have to try to list ten for that category. For more information, visit their page here.

December 29: Most Anticipated Releases for 1st Half of 2016

This Top Ten Tuesday came just in time! I was already planning a post out for this, because guys, there are a TON of releases I am looking forward to! This may be one of the first times I have more than 10 answers. So many great books to look forward to in 2016. These are in order according to month.

*EDIT- After looking at this completed post, I realized I am lacking so many Fantasy novels. This is almost all contemporary! I may have another list of fantasy novels later on…

January 

  

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken (Jan. 5th)

Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira (Jan. 12th)

The Year We Fell Apart by Emily Martin (Jan. 26th)

January holds two of the books I have been waiting for the longest- Passenger and Bookishly Ever After. Alexandra Bracken stole my heart with The Darkest Minds, and I can’t wait to see her new book! This is Isabel’s first book, but it reminds me a bit of Fangirl, and I am extremely excited!

february

   

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (Feb. 2nd)

The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine (Feb. 16th)

Looks like February is the month of Fairytale Retellings! You all know my unhealthy obsession with The Lunar Chronicles, so obviously I am stoked for this bind up of short stories. The Shadow Queen was found by the Once Upon a Time  fan in me, and I’m looking forward to this Snow White story.

 

March

   

The Girl Who Fell by S.M. Parker (March 1st)

Tyranny of Petticoats by Multiple Authors (March 8th)

This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang (March 22nd)

Raelia by Lynette Noni (March 23rd) 

So many releases in March! The main book I want my hands is Raelia, the second book in the Medorian Chronicles. I have raved about Noni’s Akarnae several times on this blog, and I can’t wait to see Alex’s next adventure! A Tyranny of Petticoats looks like it will be a promising bind-up of heroine short stories, and the author line up looks pretty great. I just bought the book Falling into Places by Amy Zhang, so I’m hoping to read her other book as well.

April

 

When We Collided by Emery Lord (April 5th)

Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here by Anna Breslaw(April 19th) 

I’m a bit hesitant about When We Collided, but I still think I want to give it a try. Now Scarlett Epstein sounds amazing! This is one of the several fandom related books coming out this year, and follows a fanfiction writer that is distraught over the cancellation of her favorite tv show.

May

  

The Way Back to You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott (May 3rd)

The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson (May 3rd)

The Crown by Kiera Cass (May 3rd)

ALL OF THESE COME OUT ON THE SAME DAY. After reading Since You’ve Been Gone last summer, I have been anxiously awaiting Matson to release a new book. Just look at the cover, it screams fun and summer! And of course, The Crown is the final (for real this time)book in The Selection series, and it will be interesting to see who Edalyn chooses.

 

June

Summer Days & Summer Nights by Multiple Authors (June 14th)

This is just like the book My True Love Gave to Me, but a summer edition! I’m pretty excited to read Roth and Clare’s stories,  because I haven’t read anything that was contemporary from these authors. Summer Days and Summer Nights looks like a perfect book to read outside by the pool!

 

There you have it, some of my most anticipated releases. There are quite a few on this list that I would consider “must buys on the day they are released,” so that’s exciting. I’m sure a few of these will remain on my TBR for a while, but I hope to get to them all eventually!

The Sunday Post: 2 MORE DAYS

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme created by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a way to recap posts and talk about what is coming in the future. Check out the website Caffeinated Book review here for more information: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme

Before I do all the regular stuff, can we jus take a minute and appreciate that Winter is coming out in 2 days. 2 days. I have waited for this book forever and it is finally here. I know lately I haven’t had time to read, but I will read this one. I don’t care what it takes.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS:

• November Goals
• How to Catch Up on Reading Goals
• My 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards Votes 

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CURRENTLY READING

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

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 UPCOMING POSTS

• Top Ten Tuesday: Movie Adaptations ]
• Book Spotlight: Red’s Untold Story
• Probably some post that contains an emotional me rambling about Winter (could be next week)
• TAG

Main goal this week is to get some posts in. I have no idea how long it will take me to read Winter, or how long it will be before I can write a review that is not pure ramble. We shall see.

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My Own Book Choice Awards

You may have seen my Goodreads Choice Awards post where I had failed to check if there were more than two categories I could show you guys. However, after I was done voting, I had an idea. What if I hosted my own little Book Choice Awards with narrower categories. I’m currently investigating the best way to do this, so if you have any ideas, let me know down in the comments!

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RANDOM UPDATES

• I have a lot of candy from Halloween still. It’s like candy heaven.
• Forever wishing I could get an ARC of a book…literally any book.
• QUANTICO.  This show makes my Mondays (I record it on Sunday, watch on Monday). Does anyone else watch this show? It is beyond good.
• I bought two books the other day, because apparently I enjoy adding more to my never-ending TBR pile.

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Author Duos I Want

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a certain theme assigned where you have to try to list ten for that category. For more information, visit their page here.

October 13: Top Ten Author Duos that You Would Love to See

This was a bit harder for me, so I wasn’t thinking realistically. I choose concepts authors are good at in their books and paired them with authors and their concepts. I kept a list of just a couple of authors so it was easier, so that’s why there are many of the same authors on here (most with very popular books)

1. John Green and Gayle Forman: This book would break my heart into a billion pieces.
2. Morgan Matson and Rainbow Rowell: Cuteness Overload, am I right?
3. Lynette Noni and Sarah J. Maas: These two are the queens of world building.
4. Marissa Meyer and Rick Riordan: They both deal with recreations…it would be perfect.
5. Alexandra Bracken and Veronica Roth: These two could build a great dystopian.
6. J.K. Rowling and John Green: Magical heart-break
7. Stephanie Perkins and Gayle Forman: Best contemporary ever.
8. Rainbow Rowell and John Green: PLEASE

I could only think of 8 duos. I promise next week’s TTT will be much better.

 

The Sunday Post: Actually Planned!!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme created by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a way to recap posts and talk about what is coming in the future. Check out the website Caffeinated Book review here for more information: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/the-sunday-post-meme

I am bringing back The Sunday Post! I retired it for a while because I honestly didn’t know what posts to expect that upcoming week (if any). Today, I realized it would be a busy week, so I buckled down and pre-wrote some posts. I actually have 3 to 4 posts planned for this week, so I figured this is a great time to bring back The Sunday Post.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY RECENT POSTS:

• R.I.P Chasing Life
• Liebster Award 

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Books I Have Finished

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 UPCOMING POSTS

• The Stages of a Reader on Release Day
• Top Ten Tuesday: Author Duos
• Once Upon a Time…
• Some sorta tag

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RANDOM UPDATES

• ONCE UPON A TIME IS BACK ON TV AND GUYS…ITS AMAZING.
• Netflix –> Rules of Engagement –> No reason to leave house.
• I don’t know if anyone has seen Rules of Engagement, but Timmy is by far one of my favorite characters. He kills me he’s so funny.
• Woahhhh October 6. What a day to be alive.
• Stephanie Meyer pulled a Beyonce.

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on Fall TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a certain theme assigned where you have to try to list ten for that category. For more information, visit their page here.

September 22: Books on Your Fall TBR List

GUYS! Fall starts tomorrow, and I am so pumped! Not only is it the best time of the year with weather and holidays, but it’s also a great part of the year when it comes to book releases! My TBR list for Fall consists of several new releases as well as some older books as well.

  

1. Winter by Marissa Meyer: I NEED IT RIGHT NOW. I have been waiting for a year and a half. Needless to say, I am extremely excited for this book.

2. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan: Rick Riordan is like the god of writing (sorry Apollo) and I will try all his books. I will admit, I was never able to get into the Kane Chronicles, but I’m thinking it’ll be different with this series.

3. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell: This is the release I am most hesitant about. I’m probably the only one, but I honestly didn’t care for the Simon Snow shorts in Fangirl. There were so many of them, I always wanted to get back to Cath. I’m hoping that I will love this book because I won’t be waiting for the main characters to come back. We’ll see…

  

4. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella: This has been on my radar since its came out. Definitely want to get around to it in ext few months.

5. A Court of Thorns of Roses: Sarah J. Maas is a goddess. I would read her grocery list, so of course I want to get to the other series she is creating.

6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor:  I bought this whole trilogy when they were on sale on amazon, so I’m looking forward to a long weekend marathon!

These are the 6 books I want to read or at least get a start on during fall. Lately it seems like I never have a chance to read, so I’m keeping my TBR pile pretty low right now. I can’t tell you how long it is taking me to finish Queen of Shadows because I can only read a few parts at a time (it’s amazing so far).