Tag: top 10 | Amy C. Shaw

The Top 10 Books On My Fall TBR List

September 23, 2014 • 18 Comments

I read 7 out of 10 books on my summer TBR list! Not too shabby! I also finally read some long-awaited reads like The Screwtape Letters and the first two Harry Potter books, so go me! So now on to the fall list, which its completion will depend partly on whether or not I receive all the books I requested for my birthday. 😉 In no particular order…

1 & 2. Behemoth and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

I know I’m getting Behemoth for my birthday (since I picked it out and then gave it to my husband to give back to me, lol), and will hopefully be getting Goliath as well. I am looking forward to continuing the series after impulsively buying and thus reading Leviathan!

3. Echoes of Us by Kat Zhang

Interested in seeing how this trilogy ends and hoping I remember enough from the first two books!

4. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

I really enjoyed The 5th Wave when I read it back in May, so I’m hoping for a great follow-up!

5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

I’ve heard this is the book where the series really picks up, so I’m excited.

6. In The Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo

When I saw the raving review and beautiful illustrations for this book at Oh the Books, I was intrigued, so I put it on my birthday wish list.

7. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This is one I’ve been meaning to read a while, and am hoping to finally do so sometime before the end of the year.

8. Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

As many of you know, contemporary is not my go-to. But Courtney Stevens is a local author (in fact, I’ve seen her twice at writing conferences but never spoken to her) and blogger Kayla mentioned a “contemporary Peeta” character, so I’ve been wanting to check this one out.

9. Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

I’ve been interested in reading Free to Fall since finishing Parallel, and since I might see Lauren Miller next month at a book festival, that makes me ready to read this sooner rather than later!

10. It’s Kind of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

I still haven’t completely decided if I want to read this, but it’s about people in a mental hospital, which I think could help me with writing about teens in rehab (where a majority of my WIP takes place). If you’ve read this one I would love to know your thoughts on it to help me decide for sure.

What’s on your fall TBR list?

The Top Ten Book Characters That Would Be Sitting At My Lunch Table

September 2, 2014 • 14 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Book Characters That Would Be Sitting At My Lunch Table, in honor of school being back in session. Thank goodness I’m finished with school. Except I do miss summer break. But regardless, if I could hang out with some fictional folks at lunchtime, here’s who I think I would get along with best!

1-2. Lizzie & Charlotte from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

I feel like these BFF’s pretty much come as a package deal, and what an entertaining package they would be!

3-4. Kiggs & Seraphina from Seraphina

Since I’ve read Seraphina I’ve talked a lot about how much I love these two, and I don’t even know how to describe why. They’re just likable people. I want to hang out with them!

5-7. Prince Kai, Cinder, and Cress from The Lunar Chronicles

rapunzel — I will never apologize for pretending this is Cress, because basically, it is.

I like Prince Kai and Cinder a lot, and Cress… Cress is just so sweet and funny and would be so fun to hang out with! Then one day she’d bring along her boyfriend Carswell Thorne and he would annoy me at first, but then I would get used to him and enjoy having him around too.

8. Justen from Across a Star-Swept Sea

Again, I just loved this book and I loved Justen. He’s intelligent and kind and I just like him.

9. Hermione from Harry Potter

As I mentioned in my recent review of Harry Potter, this girl is even more intense about her studies than I ever was (which to me, is kind of amazing)! Still, I can relate to her drive to study, study, study, and it would be nice to have her around as a study buddy!

10. Peeta from The Hunger Games

Because who doesn’t want/need a kind, loyal friend who can also bake to sit at their lunch table?

Who would you want sitting at your lunch table?

The Top 10 Book Characters I’d Want With Me on a Deserted Island

July 22, 2014 • 27 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Characters I Would Want With Me On A Deserted Island. I considered quite a few factors while compiling my list, and I think it turned out pretty solid. This week’s list is not in any particular order.

1-3. Katniss, Peeta, and Finnick from The Hunger Games trilogy

I think it’s pretty obvious why I want Katniss and Finnick, because they can help with our survival needs on the island, and I think Peeta can too since he did, after all, survive two Hunger Games. Plus, I feel he needs to be there to soothe Katniss. Though really, they probably won’t be finding the situation all that grim since none of us would be trying to kill each other (or at least I hope not!).

4. Pine Sap from Tiger Lily

For starters, Pine Sap is from Neverland and is therefore used to limited resources. But also, the guy is extremely patient and will build houses for everyone! He’s definitely the kind of guy who would be helpful to have on the island.

5-6. Mal and Sturmhond from The Grisha trilogy

With his hunting skills and survival ability, Mal seems like an obvious choice for someone who would be handy to have on the island. Then Sturmhond would not only be entertaining, but also knows a lot about the sea and could maybe even find a way to build a boat for us.

7. Lizze from The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet

I want Lizzie on the island with me because I want someone that I have things in common with, and because I need someone from my world who can bemoan with me the first world problem of being stuck on a deserted island with such limited resources. While Lizzie actually claimed she would do fine on a deserted island surviving off of clams and coconuts, she did also add “as long as there’s WiFi.” Needless to say, I think she and I will need to help each other out. She’s also intelligent and can probably contribute some ideas.

8. Justen from Across a Star-Swept Sea

Justen is a scientist and doctor-in-training, so basically he would be super helpful on the island. I also really like his personality and would be happy to be in his company.

9. Peter from The Chronicles of Narnia

I chose Peter because I think we would need a leader on the island, and I think Peter would be perfect for the role. Sturmhond might try to overthrow his authority, but Peter will stand his ground and prove himself to be the most capable for the job. Besides, Sturmhond needs to focus on building that boat!

10. Seraphina from Seraphina

Though I don’t have quite as much in common with Seraphina as I do with Lizzie, I feel we would get along and that I would enjoy her company on the island. She is also smart and could probably help solve problems that arise.

So what book characters would you want on a deserted island with you?

My Top 11 Favorite Classic Books

July 1, 2014 • 19 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Favorite Classic Books. I decided to do my Top 11 because I honestly didn’t think I would be able to come up with 10 classics I really liked, and then when I did that plus one, I didn’t have the heart to cut anything. So here they are, in no particular order… (BTW, I’m defining “classic” as those typical high school reads.)

1. The Scarlet Pimpernel

This is my most recently read classic, and while I found the beginning a little slow and the ending a little too quick, I enjoyed the in-between, and might have to read one of The Scarlet Pimpernel sequels sometime!

2. Pride & Prejudice

I don’t love Jane Austen’s writing, but I love her stories. Out of the three books I’ve read by her so far, Pride and Prejudice, my first Austen read, is still my favorite. Even though there are some slow and/or moments (OMG SHUT UP LYDIA), it has also some very notable swoon-worthy moments!

3. Little Women

Obviously I love Little Women, since part of my blog name is dedicated to Jo March. I think this book will forever be the quintessential coming of age tale. And Jo and Laurie are still my OTP, no matter how much Louisa May Alcott broke my heart with the two of them.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird

I have to admit I don’t remember a lot about this one from my high school days, except the basic premise, the main characters, and that I really did like it. Harper Lee made her one book writing career count.

5. Crime and Punishment

I know, some of you are probably thinking, seriously?! Believe me, when I had to read this over the summer before my senior year for AP English I was not looking forward to it, but it surprised me! It’s really a psychological thriller of sorts! So the book is a little bloated with a dumb subplot about Raskolinkov’s sister, but I forgive it. This book impacted me so much I made a short film based on the book for my Honors College thesis project four years after reading it.

6. The Giver

I didn’t read The Giver until almost two years ago and I wish I had been required to read it in school! It’s simple enough for older children to understand, and yet still completely thought-provoking.

7. The Picture of Dorian Gray

I read this one the same summer as Crime and Punishment and I quickly became an Oscar Wilde fan. We read one of his other stories for my English class that year, and I even read another for fun since it was in the same book. All of his stories are witty, but this one also makes you think.

8. The Hobbit

I was determined to hate this one when I was required to read it in 8th grade, but caught up in my first-ever true fantasy read.

9. The Crucible

This is another one that really made me think and has continued to impact me over the years. This play actually serves an important purpose in the first novel I ever wrote.

10. Rebecca

Oh, the suspense! My sophomore year English teacher recommended this to me when we had to pick a classic to read for a film project, and I’m so glad she did!

11. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

I don’t have this one linked because it’s too confusing to choose among the variations of Sherlock Holmes on Goodreads. I’m not even sure if I have actually read the complete adventures or just some of the short stories, but I absolutely love what I have read. I even “re-read” some of Sherlock’s adventures earlier this year via audiobook and I loved them just as much as I did in high school.

What are your favorite classics? Any from my list you plan to read?

Top 10 Covers That Feature an Awesome Picture + Awesome Font

June 24, 2014 • 14 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Book Cover Trends (or just elements of covers) I Like/Dislike. My favorite covers are pretty similar at least in terms of design elements, and that is that most of them feature a great picture (photograph or realistic illustration) that takes up the entire cover, and there’s awesome font over it. That may sound like a lot of book covers, but I’m very particular about what pictures I like, what fonts I like, and some include other elements like weird graphics that I don’t really love. Here are some that really stand out to me (in no particular order)…

1. These Broken Stars

Just a gorgeous picture with perfectly minimalist font.