Tag Archives: top 10

The Top 8 Books on my Winter TBR

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Wouldn’t Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree This Year. But instead, today I’m being a REBEL and doing the Top 10 (or really 8) Books on my Winter TBR. This is a big deal for a rule follower like me…

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Jemma = me

I do have a purpose to my rebellion though. I LOVE doing seasonal TBR lists. I never follow them to the letter, but it helps me form a game plan and keep me somewhat on track with my TBR. So I was incredibly sad to to see no Top Ten Tuesday topic for our winter TBR list month! What is this blasphemy?! Winter has started, so there’s no time like the present for this list! Besides, this list includes books I am anticipating getting for Christmas. In no particular order…

1. & 2. Killer Instinct and All In (The Naturals #2 & #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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I read The Naturals over a year ago and I’m ready to continue the story!

3. The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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If I actually follow this list, I’ll be reading a lot of Jennifer Lynn Barnes! I got this one for my birthday and still need to read it.

4. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

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I’ve been moderately interested in this one thanks to the positive reviews, but now that it’s my next book club read, I’ll be reading it soon for sure!

5. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

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I want to read this one for the hype. And it definitely looked really interesting when I saw it in person, especially underneath that dust jacket! I’m intrigued!

6. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

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I bought this one a few months ago and have been meaning to read it since before then, but Victoria Schwab is coming to town (well, she’s actually local to Nashville, but I anticipate seeing her at an upcoming event in a few months) so I need to read this one and/or my next pick…

7. The Archived by Victoria Schwab

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For a while I had no interest in this one, but now I do! I asked for it for Christmas, and as previously mentioned, I’d like to read something by Schwab before I see her!

8. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

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I’ve been meaning to read this one for ages, and now that I own it I fully intend to do so sooner rather than later!

9 and 10 are kind of up for grabs. I have some books I own that I still need to read, books I have been thinking about grabbing from the library, or new shinies that are very likely to crop up.  Possibilities include but are not limited to…

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What’s on your winter TBR?

The Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Best Books I Read In 2015. I read a lot more good and great books than just OK books, but at the end it thankfully wasn’t too hard to whittle down to my very favorites of the year. I tried to put them in order to leave my absolute favorite for last, but sometimes exact order is challenging. 🙂 I chose these largely based on what has stayed with me.

10. The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

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I read this one because I thought it might be helpful with how someone might heal after someone close to them committing suicide (which is something my main character in my WIP has to go through) and wow, this was just so beautifully done. I don’t usually read heavy-issue contemporaries, but I’m glad I read this one.

9. Winter by Marissa Meyer

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The ending of The Lunar Chronicles! Sob! So I haven’t reviewed this on the blog yet, so I will go ahead and say that I think the pacing of the book suffered a bit and made it lag a little in parts for me, but overall I was so happy to see all these characters again and how their stories would end!

8. All Our Yesterdays by Critin Terrill

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I finally read this book I had heard so much fuss about, and it was worth the hype! I don’t know how to describe it succinctly, but let’s just say the ending was unlike anything else I’ve read in YA, but it felt really right for the story. I definitely recommend it if you haven’t read it yet!

5-7. (listed in series order not ranked order) Mistborn (of The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

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If you know Nikki at all, you know she “pushes” these books on everyone. Listen to Nikki. Talk about another shock ending! This is great fantasy right here, folks. I have a massive amount of love for these characters!

4. Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

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Out of all the HP books this is my second fave. After the first three feeling a bit juvenile (minus the ending of The Prisoner of Azkaban), this one was instantly darker and Rowling just really brought her pacing A-game. I loved everything about it!

3. Let’s All Be Brave by Annie F. Downs

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I needed to read this book when I did. I probably need to reread it soon. It’s good to know you don’t have to think of yourself as daring to be brave in life.

2. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

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THIS BOOK. Contemporary romance perfection. I never would have dreamed of a book like this being my second fave of the year but it was just very me. I mean, references to Pride and Prejudice AND Firefly? A friendship that slowly turns into more? I will probably reread this one next year because it’s just so enjoyable!

1. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

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This was the book that sealed the deal on HP hype for me. I devoured the series finale and just loved every moment of it, even with all that camping. It was just the perfect ending with every question I had answered to my satisfaction.

Compare this list to my mid-year rankings here.

What were your favorite reads of 2015? 

Top 10 New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top 10 New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015. This week’s list is in no particular order.

1. Rachel M. Wilson

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I’ve been getting a little more into contemporaries this year, and Don’t Touch was one that I really enjoyed. I hope Rachel M. Wilson will set some more of her future books in the South!

2. Sharon Cameron

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Fun fact: Sharon Cameron is local to me and I didn’t even realize it until AFTER I had just seen her at a writing conference (as an attendee) AND asked for Rook for my birthday. Maybe next year at the conference I’ll tell her how much I enjoyed Rook.

3. Renée Ahdieh

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Even though it took me some time to get into this book, once I got into it I really loved the cinematic writing and the complicated characters. I’m looking forward to the sequel!

4. William Ritter

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I haven’t read Beastly Bones yet, but I thought Jackaby was a fun read. I look forward to more of Ritter’s books.

5. Cynthia Hand

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I found Cynthia Hand’s The Last Time We Say Goodbye compelling, and while I probably won’t be diving into her paranormal books, I do hope to read more contemporary from her in the future.

6. Shannon Hale

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Austenland was a fun, light read for me, and I think I would enjoy reading more of Shannon’s works in the future.

7. Emery Lord

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I LOVED The Start of Me and You ridiculous amounts, and it has made me very excited about future Emery books! I admit I’m still not sure if I want to read Open Road Summer though, since the characters don’t sound as likable. But I am all about When We Collide when it comes out!

8. Cristin Terrill

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Her debut is one of the best YA sci-fi books I’ve read, that was also filled with elements of contemporary, thriller, and dystopia, but came together so well. I need more by Cristin Terrill!

9. Annie F. Downs

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I don’t read much non-fiction, but I will be reading more Annie F. Downs in the future. Reading her book was like having coffee with a friend.

10. Ally Carter

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I read two Ally Carter books this year: All Fall Down and the first Gallagher girls. I liked the former more than the latter, but plan to continue both series. Ally Carter is definitely a new-to-me go-to for quick, fun reads, with just a little dash of danger.

Who are your new favorite authors you discovered this year?

Also, random side note: In case you have missed it, my Twitter handle has changed from @acps927 to @acshawYA. This is also my name for all social media now: Tumblr, Pinterest, and now my new Instagram account! Definitely be sure to follow me on Instagram if you haven’t already! 

The Top 8 Wishes I’d Ask The Book Genie To Grant Me

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Top 10 Wishes I’d Ask The Book Genie To Grant Me. At first I wasn’t planning to do this week’s topic, one because nothing was initially coming to mind, and two because I try so hard to be content with what I have and where I am in life, but then I started to think on it some and decided to go for it and came up with 8. This week’s list is in no particular order.

If I could I would wish for…

1. An awesome space to store my books.

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I mean, what book lover doesn’t want this?

2. The ability to read books a little faster.

I don’t want lightning speed reading ability… I think there’s something special about taking some time to savor what you read, but I wish I could maybe up my reading count a bit without necessarily devoting more time to read (not that I don’t want to read more, but life is busy!).

3. That I can write and publish books that will resonate with people.

It’s not a secret that I want a career as an author. I hope one day to share multiple stories, and I want them all to mean something to someone.

4. That I could stop losing bookmarks.

I have a serious problem with losing bookmarks. I would like for this to stop!

5. More books in the For Darkness Shows the Stars world.

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Diana Peterfreund’s For Darkness Shows the Stars and Across a Star-Swept Sea features one of my favorite fictional worlds ever with its exploration of genetic engineering and its consequences, and I want more! With two books it just doesn’t feel complete! Maybe she could do a Little Women retelling next? There are so many possibilities!

6. To meet Marissa Meyer.

I am thinking this will surely happen one day, but I just want to ensure it! She’s one of my favorite authors and I want to get all the books signed by her and just tell her how much I love her characters!

7. To have the full experience at Universal Studios’ Harry Potter World… for free!

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Source

This is definitely a trip my husband and I want to take someday, but it’s not cheap, especially if you want to do it and Disney World in the same go! I would love to be able to take this trip without fear of the money spent.

8. To see a book I write get made into a movie.

I’m sure there are downsides to this, but it’s something I’ve always wanted and would love to see happen! I would try to write into my contract that I get to be a co-producer or something for any possible films.

What are your bookish wishes?

The Top 10 Books on my Fall TBR

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Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is the The Top 10 Books on my Fall TBR. Out of the actual seven titles I said I intended to read for the summer, I read all seven! BAM! I’m quite excited about that. We won’t get into how pitiful I am about the books I own and still haven’t read as I instead parooze the library… instead let’s move on to the books I hope to read this season. This list is in no particular order.

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1. The Wrath and the Dawn

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This is the next read for our book club and our meeting is in early October, so I plan to dive into it pretty soon.

2. Vicious

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I bought this on Nook a little while ago when it was a good deal, and I think it’s about time I read some Schwab!

3. Six of Crows

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I plan to buy this either on release day or soon thereafter because LEIGH BARDUGO! And GRISHA!

4. Rook

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I’m pretty sure I’m getting this one for my birthday, and Charlene praised this Scarlet Pimpernel retelling, so I’m looking forward to it!

5. The Fixer

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This is another one I am pretty sure I am getting for my birthday. I enjoyed The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and look forward to this new series starter.

6. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson #1)

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I have never read these books, but grabbed the first book on an e-deal recently, so I believe I’m going to have to check it out!

7. On Writing

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I read a review of this that explained that this book is part Stephen King memoir and part actual writing advice, so I plan to just read the part about writing, since I’m not really all that interested in Stephen King himself.

8-10. The Hunger Games Trilogy Re-Readhg-trilogy

In anticipation of the last movie (!!!) I really want to reread the trilogy. I devoured these books in 2011 before the first movie had been released (though it was cast and I had seen those first pics released of Katniss, Peeta, and Gale). These books got me back into reading, especially YA! I’m pretty excited about experiencing the trilogy again.

What do you hope to read this fall?

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