Top 10 | Amy C. Shaw

The Top Ten Books On My Summer 2014 TBR list

June 17, 2014 • 37 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR List. As I looked back on my spring TBR list, I actually read five of the books! Considering my usual track record with these TTT TBR posts, that isn’t too bad! Going on vacation really helped hone in my focus on my TBR list since I only brought particular books with me, didn’t take my Nook, and managed to only buy one book while on vacation. Whether or not my track record will continue into summer, well, we’ll see. This list is no particular order except the first three are probably what I will read first. As usual though, there will be distractions and moods will sway me elsewhere. Also, I decided not to include The Partials or The Screwtape Letters as carry-over, though they are also still very much on my TBR.

1. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

This absolutely will be my next read since I have to have it read by early July for book club. I’ve heard a lot of good things about it so I’m looking forward to it!

2. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

3. Rise and Ruin by Leigh Bardugo

I bought Shadow and Bone on a whim this spring, read it, and loved it! Now I’m looking forward to reading the next two installments back to back!

4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I have this on hold at the library, and it’s a long list, so I honestly have no idea when I’ll read this. I’m sure it will become available at an extremely inconvenient time, as it did once before so I ended up not checking it out then. And clearly I’m the last YA book blogger to read this.

5. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Talk of this novel is seriously rousing my curiosity, so after seeing that I could get it through my library’s e-book system, I placed a hold it on it as well.

6. Write Your Novel from The Middle by James Scott Bell

I’m about to get serious about some writing revisions, and Bell’s book Plot and Structure really helped me before, so I bought this back a while book in anticipation of gleaning from his wisdom yet again.

7. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su and Kate Rorick

Lizzie Bennet in book form! Yay! I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up putting this off, but I do want to read it now!

8. SOMETHING by Kasie West

This is vague, ha. I’ve been wanting to read Split Second since it came out, but it keeps not being on sale ever, so if that keeps up, I might end up reading The Distance Between Us or On the Fence sooner, since the former I can get from the library and either for cheap on paperback.

9. Tandem by Anna Jarzab

10. Relativity by Cristin Bishara

Because I want to read more parallel universe stories and Kelley enjoyed both of these.

Bonus!

The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types by Don Richard Riso is something I will be looking through once it arrives on my doorstep (I ordered it along with the Grisha books). I learned about it from Shauna Niequist on the Revelant podcast and it sounds like a really interesting way to learn more about your personality and how you relate with others. I’ll keep you guys updated for sure, even if I don’t read the book from cover to cover right away.

What’s on your summer TBR list?

The Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far This Year

June 10, 2014 • 18 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Books I’ve Read So Far This Year. Today’s list will be grouped by how many stars I gave the book, but other than that, this list is not in a particular order. Conveniently, this list includes everything I’ve rated 4-5 stars this year so far, except novellas.

1. Across a Star Swept Sea

Review/Goodreads

“If they didn’t take you seriously, they would never see you coming.”

2. Cress

Review/Goodreads

“I promise, I will not let you die without being kissed.”

3. Shadow and Bone

Review/Goodreads

“I missed you every hour. And you know what the worst part was? It caught me completely by surprise… And then I’d realize that you weren’t there anymore, and every time, every single time, it was like having the wind knocked out of me. I’ve risked my life for you… So don’t tell me why we don’t belong together.”

4. The 5th Wave

Goodreads

“God doesn’t call the equipped, son. God equips the called. And you have been called.”

5. Code Name Verity

Review/Goodreads

“But I have told the truth. Isn’t that ironic? They sent me because I am so good at telling lies. But I have told the truth.”

6. Ready Player One

Goodreads

“It is on! It is on like Red Dawn!”

7. The Distant Hours

Review/Goodreads

“Write what’s in here because you must, because it pleases you, but never because you want someone else to like what you’ve said.”

8. Steelheart

Goodreads

“You can’t be so frightened of what might happen that you are unwilling to act.”

9. The Scarlet Pimpernel

Review/Goodreads

“God would be merciful. He would not allow so appalling a crime to be committed as the death of a brave man through the hand of a woman who loved him, and worshipped him, and who would gladly have died for his sake.”

10. Parallel

Goodreads

“A person rarely gets just one chance at anything. There are second chances everywhere, if you know where to look for them.”

What are the best books you’ve read so far this year?

Top 10 Beach Bag Books

June 3, 2014 • 21 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books That Should Be In Your Beach Bag or Ten Books That Will Be In My Beach Bag This Summer.

Well, I just came back from the beach not too long ago (sad), and since I live in a landlocked state (more sad) there isn’t much opportunity for me to go back again this summer. So first I’ll share what I did take with me to the beach (and enjoyed!), what I would take if I was so fortunate to go again later this summer (after I acquired said books), and books I’ve read that you might enjoy reading when you hit the beach.

Bag source: Scout

The 5th Wave: Thankfully there was no sign of an alien apocalypse on my vacation, so it was a fascinating world to delve into while I relaxed.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight: A light contemporary read that made for a fun, fast read by the water.

Shadow and Bone: Something about immersing myself into this new world while in a place far from home I think made this read even more mesmerizing.

The Scarlet Pimpernel: I bought this one while on vacation and started on it. Unfortunately, the book didn’t pick up for me until after I got back home, but it has some fun moments!

Bag source: Life is Good

Split Second: I STILL need to read this follow-up to Pivot Point, and needing a book for the beach seems like just a good a reason as any.

Siege and Storm: Can I go back to Florida to continue the Grisha trilogy, please?

The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet: Coming June 24, how can the book adaptation of our favorite web series that was a retelling of one of our favorite love stories not be a perfect beach read?

Bag source: Stuffosaurus

The Scorpio Races: This book takes place on an island with a much more deadly beach than what you are likely to encounter. So while you read about this mystical place, you can be glad that you’re not there and delve into the fascinating culture of Thisby Island.

Across a Star-Swept Sea: I know I talk about this book a lot (and spoiler alert – it’ll be back for next week’s TTT again), but when I read this book in December/January, the descriptions of the tropical island setting really left me aching for warmth and beachiness!

Rebecca: So there isn’t really anything about the beach here, though there is water, but this is a great, suspenseful classic that you will leave you on the edge of your beach chair. And personally, I like some intrigue in my beach reads since I can gobble down the pages with hours to read at my disposal.

What would you pack in your beach bag this summer?

The Top 10 Books I Might Not Have Discovered Without Blogging

May 27, 2014 • 18 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is a freebie!

Before I started this blog, I found some YA book blogs that I would run across when searching for what to read after The Hunger Games, which is how I came across The Selection, Matched, and Divergent. I wasn’t religiously following these blogs yet though, and I still didn’t know what it was like to see hype surround a book at its release as I do now. Needless to say, I’ve learned a lot from blogging, and I’m thankful to the community for introducing me to some great reads that I might have otherwise not found! This week’s list is in order of my absolute favorite book discovery from the blogsphere to well, I’m still really glad I found this!

Note: These aren’t necessarily my absolute favorites that I’ve read since blogging, but what I don’t think I would have read on my own. Some of my favorites I found on my own or I know I could have because of my awareness of something that would have directed me to it (like my awareness of Brandon Sanderson from his podcast would have still potentially led me to Steelheart).

1. The Lunar Chronicles

I highly doubt I would have ever picked up a story about a cyborg Cinderella had I not read so much hype about it on various blogs. And it was rightly earned! I thoroughly enjoyed Cinder and Scarlet, and then Cress was just so near perfection… I just love this series, so much. I love the characters and just… everything!

2. The Book Thief

I might have had more feels about this book after reading it than I did while reading it. It’s just when I think of Liesel and Rudy I can hardly handle it! Their story is so poignant and I’m so glad I discovered it from blog hype.

3. Across a Star-Swept Sea

acrossastarswept I decided to separate this one from its previous book, instead of lumping it together like The Lunar Chronicles because… it’s my blog and I’ll do what I want to! Or I guess because they stand on their own a little better. I ADORE THIS BOOK. I can’t imagine this still not being in my Top 3 for the year at the end of the year, and that might be a bold statement to make in May, but it had everything I want and love in a book. I NEED MORE IN THIS UNIVERSE, DIANA PETERFREUND.

4. For Darkness Shows the Stars

The day I found out that Jane Austen retelling + genetic engineering existed in a book was a glorious day indeed.

5 (tie). The 5th Wave

Again, there was a lot of hype around this one that piqued my interest. Alien apocalypse? Hmmm… could be interesting. I really enjoyed it and am glad I checked it out!

5 (tie). Shadow and Bone (Grisha trilogy)

I just finished Shadow and Bone last week and I am definitely intrigued by this world and its characters. I’m hoping that the trilogy will end strong, and it seems everyone also enjoyed Siege and Storm, so I’m looking forward to getting it and reading it soon so I can truly be on the bandwagon.

7. Code Name Verity

Even if I had discovered this one outside of blogging, I most likely would have dumped it because I would not have been so sure it would all turn out to be so interesting. (OK, so I have DNF’d one highly revered book after blogging, but I just couldn’t go on. I could get through this.) Even though I didn’t experience all the feels like some, I do have a great appreciation for this story.

8. Pivot Point

My first recommendation for this book was actually from a non-blogger friend, but it was via Goodreads and I didn’t know what Goodreads before I started blogging so… there you go. And what really prompted me to read it was its rave reviews (oh, and the e-book was on sale! That’s actually the case with many on this list; take note, publishers!) But seriously, I love the sci-fi paranormal meets contemporary twist. I still need to read more Kasie West!

9. The Scorpio Races

Pretty prose and a unique world.

10. Ready Player One

I do think I could have discovered this one without blogging, especially since I remember it being reviewed on Epbot a while back, but I read it for my book club that I’m part of with some fellow bloggers, so that was what really got me to read it. It’s certainly one of the most unique books I’ve read.

What are some of your favorite books you may have never discovered without blogging?

The Top 10 Most Unique Books I’ve Read

April 8, 2014 • 22 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Most Unique Books I’ve Read. The way I decided to approach this is to focus on books that, when I read them, were truly unique to anything I had read before or had even heard of before. I realize some of these books do get compared to some others, but while I was reading them, they felt unique to me. This week’s list is in no particular order.

1. The Book Thief

The book is narrated by Death, and the prose is incredibly unique as well. I feel this truly is a unique book.

2. Code Name Verity

This book is extremely layered, and in the second part of it, I found myself continuously surprised by how everything was intertwined and tied in together.

3. For Darkness Shows the Stars

A Persuasion retelling set in the future and featuring genetic engineering? Unique, and awesome.

4. Cinder

What if Cinderella was a cyborg? And lived in a future New Beijing? Definitely a unique twist on a classic story.

5. The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games was my foray into dystopia and reintroduced me into the young adult fold as an adult. A lot has been compared to it, though it has been compared to one or two books as well, but to me, it was completely new and eye-opening.

6. Finding Alice

The first and only book I’ve read about a main character with schizophrenia.

7. The Scorpio Races

A book set in a place that doesn’t exist and feels mostly real, with the exception of the deadly water horses.

8. Ready Player One

A book set in the future that focuses largely on playing a complex simulation game and is littered with references of the 1980’s, sci-fi favorites, anime, etc. (Review coming soon!)

9. What’s Left of Me

An alternate history book that focuses on a world where everyone is born with two souls, but only one is meant to remain.

10. Thirteen Reasons Why

What I find unique about this contemporary is the element of using cassette tapes to tell the story of a girl who has killed herself. The snippets of audio that our main character is listening to are woven into his story of discovering why Hannah killed herself and as he tries to wrestle with his guilt.

What are the most unique books you’ve read?

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