End-of-the-Year Survey – 2015

I enjoy filling out surveys, and I (obviously) love books, so this end-of-the-year survey hosted by Jamie (Perpetual Page Turner) is right up my alley! Read on for my answers :)

Number Of Books You Read: 111 + about 10 manuscripts during my internship (Jan-April)
Number of Re-Reads: 18
Genre You Read The Most From: probably urban fantasy (YA is NOT a category!)

1. Best Book You Read In 2015?
It’s a cross between Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Becky Albertali) and Every Word (Ellie Marney).

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
The Bane Chronicles. I mean, I wasn’t really surprised because I haven’t liked the last four Cassandra Clare books I’ve read, but Magnus was always my favourite character.

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?
When Everything Feels Like the Movies (Raziel Reid) – it got a lot of buzz when it was chosen as one of the finalists for Canada Reads, and that in itself was surprising (in a good way!).

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?
I’m going to say Every Breath a) because I recommend it on pretty much a monthly basis (technically I read it in 2014, but it was literally the last book I read – I finished it on December 31!) and b) my sister read it and become just as obsessed!

5. Best series you started in 2015? Best Sequel of 2015? Best Series Ender of 2015?
Best series started: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Laini Taylor)
Best sequel: Every Word (Ellie Marney)
Best series ender: The Wondrous and the Wicked (Page Morgan)

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2015?
Susin Nielsen. I read literally all her books (including one that’s not even published yet!) this year.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?
Unbearable Lightness – Portia de Rossi

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?
Every Move (Ellie Marney). I could not move while reading it.

9. Book You Read In 2015 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Cinder (Marissa Meyer) because I haven’t picked up the rest of the series yet, and I’ll probably have to re-read it before I continue.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2015?
The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath – Ishbelle Bee

11. Most memorable character of 2015?
Nimona – Noelle Stevenson

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2015?
The Book Thief (Markus Zusack) is gorgeous, but it was a re-read. “New” book that was beautifully written: Magonia (Maria Dahvana Headley)

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2015?
The Universe Versus Alex Woods – Gavin Extence.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2015 to finally read?
Soulless – Gail Carriger. It has so many things I love in it!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2015?

I have seen the aftermath of death, the incredible mechanism of the body laid bare, and I know now that each person is a kind of miracle. A spark nestles like a bird inside our chests, so deep that we can’t find where it lives, but it is everything. It’s what makes us dream and think and feel and laugh and sing. And it is a mystery, and it is mundane, and, above all, it is fragile. Any moment could be our last. – Rachel Watts, Every Word

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2015?
The shortest (not including picture books or comics) was The Little Prince with 98 pages and the longest was the Complete Blooming Goddess Trilogy (Tallulah Darling) with 1080 pages total (it was all one ebook, so if I was counting individual books, it would be Outlander with 850 pages).

17. Book That Shocked You The Most
The Hollow Boy – Jonathan Stroud. THAT ENDING. I NEED THE NEXT ONE LIKE NOW.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)
Wattscroft forever!!! Ellie Marney is in charge of writing all the kissing scenes forever.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year
Flavia and Dogger from Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2015 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket!)

21. Best Book You Read In 2015That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:
My sister told me repeatedly to read a Gail Carriger novel and I’m SO GLAD I read Soulless (and the sequel, Changeless!).

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2015?
Technically he’s from the end of 2014, but who doesn’t love James Mycroft??

23. Best 2015 debut you read?
Mad Miss Mimic – Sarah Henstra

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Daughter of Smoke and Bone – Laini Taylor

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Nimona – Noelle Stevenson

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2015?
I flat out sobbed at the end of The Wondrous and the Wicked (Page Morgan).

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
Not published in 2015, but I really enjoyed Knightly and Son – Rohan Gavin

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
In terms of being sad, I’d say Why We Broke Up, but if you’re talking about one that beat me down until I finished it, I’d say Neil Gaiman’s American Gods.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2015?
Lair of Dreams – Libba Bray

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?
Anne & Henry – Dawn Ius. I had such high hopes for it because it had such a great concept, but the characters infuriated me.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2015?
This year was the first year I really paid attention to book blogs and really worked on my own reviews. Some of my favourite blogs include: Pop! Goes the Reader, The Broke and the Bookish, A Reader of Fictions, Snuggly Oranges, Cuddlebuggery, and, of course Perpetual Page Turner, plus a whole lot more! I also have to shout out to all the blogs I follow/who follow me here :)

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2015?
Probably my Simon vs review or my extensive review for Every Breath/Every Word.

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
The post with the most comments was my Top Ten Books of 2015 from a few weeks ago.

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I helped out at OLA which was a really interesting experience, but I also got to meet Alan Bradley at Random House which was really cool (he’s such an adorable old man!).

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2015?
Interning at Tundra was definitely a highlight and I got to work on their blog, which was lots of fun!

6. Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?
Finding time to write the reviews in between writing for Mind the Gap/idobi!

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?
Every Word blog tour (most views on one particular day); overall, it was my Blurryface track-by-track review (in terms of views) and top 10 books of 2015 (in terms of comments).

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?
I’m quite proud of my UK in YA TTT!

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?
Apart from all the blogs I mentioned earlier, I’ve also really enjoyed Book Riot and the read-iculously cheap Book Outlet.

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?
I set 100 books as my Goodreads challenge and surpassed that goal!

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2015 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2016?
Good Omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett) is going to be the first book I read in 2016.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2016 (non-debut)?
I don’t even know if it will come out in 2016, but I’m salivating for the next Lockwood and Co (Jonathan Stroud) book.

3. 2016 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
The Love That Split The World – Emily Henry. It’s been getting a lot of hype and it was the first book to come to mind.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2016?
I’m really hoping that Every Move will be published in North America next year so I can complete my collection!

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2016?
I’m setting a goal for 120 books, plus one of my resolutions is to read more classics. And my sister and I (and possibly our nine year old niece) are going to do a full Harry Potter re-read which is really exciting.

6. A 2016 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:
The two 2016 books I’ve read so far have been The Serpent King (Jeff Zentner) and Vikki VanSickle’s If I Had a Gryphon (illustrated by Cale Atkinson), both of which I recommend (and will have reviews up in the next couple of months!).

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Book to Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

It’s been forever since I did a TTT, but I finally carved out some time to put this together!

This week’s prompt is Top Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I’m Looking Forward To or Ten Book To Movie Adaptations I Still Need To Watch. I’ve tweaked it slightly, so I’m doing Ten Book to Movie Adaptations I Own.

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Yes, I know, a lot of stuff was missing from the movies, and I’ll never get over how Ginny’s character was treated, but they were still enjoyable and rank among my favourite films ever!
2. The Princess Bride: “Hello, my name is Inigio Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Enough said.
3. Northanger Abbey: My friends and I swooned over Henry Tilney when we watched this for our Austen course in university. And it’s my favourite Austen novel (sorry, Pride & Prejudice, you’re a close third – after Persuasion).
4. Stardust: Mostly, I just remember Robert de Niro as a gay pirate, but as a Neil Gaiman fan, I love everything about this.
5. Coraline: Ditto (minus the gay pirate, of course).
6. A Series of Unfortunate Events: Again, there’s a lot missing from this adaptation and they gave it a whole different ending, but visually, it’s so much fun.
7. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: While I didn’t love the sequel (because it skipped the middle books and changed the story lines a lot), this first one is girly fun at its best!
8. The Princess Diaries: One of the rare times I saw a movie before reading the books, the only thing that makes me sad is how Grandmere is not nearly as sweet as Julie Andrews makes her out to be (also the fact that it took THREE BOOKS for Mia and Michael to get together!!).
9. Beautiful Creatures: I enjoyed the books (though after hating the sequel series, I’m not sure if I can re-read them), and while the movie deviated somewhat, it was still cute.
10. The Great Gatsby: Visually gorgeous. Plus who can resist the always-charming Leo DiCaprio??

BONUS:

• 10 Things I Hate About You: Based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this teen romcom is one of the greatest things to exist. Come for a young Joseph-Gordon Levitt, stay for Heath Ledger-with-his-Australia-accent (RIP, Heath).
• Easy A: Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. I’ve said it before: the only unbelievable aspect is the idea that someone as gorgeous as Emma Stone could be invisible to her classmates.
• She’s the Man: Also based on Shakespeare (Twelfth Night), this was Amanda Bynes at her funniest. Also a then relatively unknown chap by the name of Channing Tatum who sticks a tampon up his nose. Hilarious.

All three of these bonus movies are high on my list of favourites; I’ve always loved retellings!

What adaptations made your list? Are there any I should check out immediately?

Mini Review Round-Up: September – October 2015

I realized the other day that I read a bunch of books in the past few months that I didn’t write reviews on. I’m not sure why, to be honest, but instead of writing eight (!) extra posts, I’ve condensed them all into one post of mini reviews!

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow – Katherine Woodfine

A charming middle-grade mystery. I can see it appealing to people who’ve read/want to read The Adventures of Miss Petitfour (except a lot less cats). There were certain elements that seemed “older” than middle-grade, but I feel like people in the UK have different standards for children’s books. Also, LOVE the endpapers/spot illustrations by Julia Sarda.

Rating: 4 interrobangs

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Knightly and Son – Rohan Gavin

Mix Artemis Fowl (or really any Eoin Colfer boy protagonist) with a hint of Sherlock Holmes, a dash of Lemony Snicket’s All The Wrong Questions series, and a lot of Spy (the hilarious British show), and you get this. I think I literally laughed out loud a couple of times (or at least snorted). Another fun middle-grade mystery, not to be taken too seriously.

Rating: 4 interrobangs

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The Ghosts of Ashbury High – Jaclyn Moriarty

I’ve been a big fan of Jaclyn Moriarty’s Ashbury/Brookfield books for many years, and I was so stoked when I realized there was a fourth book (they’re loosely connected so you don’t really need to read them in order). I liked what she was doing with it – ghosts! gothic fiction! exams! – but I found it took longer to get into this installment than the others.

Rating: 4 interrobangs

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Flights and Chimes and Mysterious Times – Emma Trevayne

This cover kills me, it’s so pretty. It had a lot of elements that I really enjoyed – clocks and London and alternate universes, to name a few – and I would compare the tone to classic children’s books like Peter Pan or The Wizard of Oz. The only thing that stopped it from being perfect was the slow-moving plot: stuff happened, but it took a while for it to really pick up.

Rating: 4.5 interrobangs

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Vivian Divine is Dead – Lauren Sabel

I got an ARC of this last year when I was interning at HarperCollins Canada and then sort of forgot about it until last week. It started out great, then kind of sputtered along in the middle, and the end was good in a soap opera kind of way. Now that I think about it, it’s probably similar to a really dramatic Hispanic soap opera. Decent, but not stellar.

Rating: 3 interrobangs

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Vampirates: Demons of the Ocean – Justin Somper

This was a re-read. I know it sounds almost like a joke (vampires + pirates?), but it’s honestly such a good series, even if the second book is a little slow. Lorcan Furey is definitely one of my book boyfriends. And I know it gets better, especially when the badass lady vampirate shows up. Really, I was just glad to see it still held up after almost ten years!

Rating: 5 interrobangs

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Why is This Night Different From All Other Nights? – Lemony Snicket

I’ve been reading Lemony Snicket books for literally half my life, so you think by now I’d know that a series ending is just going to leave me confused. It was about as satisfying (that is, unsatisfying) as I expected, but still so Lemony Snicket (if you’ve read his books, you know exactly what I’m talking about). Loved the references to ASOUE characters!

Rating: 4 interrobangs

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Whisky From Small Glasses and The Last Witness  – Denzil Meyrick

I liked book one more. It was well-paced and I could easily imagine the small Scottish town where it took place. It’s interesting because some of the characters, such as DS Scott had heavy Scottish accents which were depicted in the text (think Hagrid’s way of speaking x 1000). Book two was harder to get into for because the storyline was more complicated and DS Scott played a huge role, which made reading it a chore.

Rating (Whisky From Small Glasses): 4 interrobangs
Rating (The Last Witness): 3 interrobangs

Have you read any of the books on this list? Or do you have any recs for me now that I’ve read these? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Don’t forget to enter this giveaway for an ebook of J.P. Grider’s Naked and Far From Home, courtesy of Xpresso Book Tours!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who…Have Great Sibling Relationships

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s prompt was: Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who _____ (are musically inclined, have lost someone, have depression, who grow up poor, etc.)

I stared at my bookshelves all weekend until a random thought popped into my head: a YA protagonist is often an only child. Sometimes they have siblings, but if they do, most of the time those siblings are tragically killed/sacrificed/missing for half the novel or are kept secret until the BIG CLIMACTIC SCENE (I’m not mocking the “secret sibling” plot line, I’m totally guilty of doing it in my own writing). So, as the youngest of four children myself, I thought I’d look at books where the characters have siblings who play an important role. Because family is important.

1) The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June – Robin Benway

First of all – heck yeah to the Oxford (or serial) comma in the title. This is my second favourite Robin Benway book, and I absolutely love the relationships between these three very different sisters. May is my preferred sister because she’s sassy/snarky, but the other two have their own sass-filled moments too.

2) A Series of Unfortunate Events – Lemony Snicket

Obviously the Baudelaire orphans are on this list. They’re loyal and supportive and genuinely loving toward each other. Even when they have moments of frustration, they would never think of betraying/leaving each other. They’re the true definition of “ohana” (nobody gets left behind or forgotten).

3) Every series – Ellie Marney

Come for the ridiculous chemistry between Rachel Watts and James Mycroft, stay for the best brother-sister relationship ever between Rachel and Mike. Mike quickly became one of my favourite secondary characters; he constantly has Rachel’s back, even when he thinks she’s about to do something stupid/crazy (i.e. when she flies to London in Every Word). He’s also great comedic relief and you can’t help getting attached to him.

4) The Dispossessed series – Page Morgan

Okay, fine, I’m more than a little obsessed with this series right now, but since it revolves around twins (Grayson and Ingrid), and their younger sister (Gabby), it makes sense for them to be on this list. The relationship between Grayson and Ingrid is the reason I cried while reading the third book.

5) Flavia de Luce series – Alan Bradley

I’ve read the first three books so far (I’m working on the fourth), and Flavia’s relationship with her older sisters (Ophelia and Daphne) is the stuff of legends. While Feely and Daffy tend to be absolutely horrid and Flavia spends a lot of time plotting her revenge, there’s still a certain amount of love behind all their actions. Plus they’re just hilarious in general.

6) Vampirates series – Justin Somper

I realize that saying “vampire pirates” makes people go “WHAAAAT?” but seriously, this was such a good series. Again, it focused on twins – Connor and Grace – who, even though they are separated for at least the first book (I can’t remember when they meet up again), their affection for each other literally spans across the seas.

7) Sisterhood series – Ann Brashares

On the one hand, these books are about the bonds of friendship. On the other, if Lena didn’t have a slightly jealous younger sister (Effie), the last half of the fourth book would not have happened. It’s also interesting to see how Lena interacts with her sister-like friends compared to her relationship with Effie (sometimes you feel sorry for Effie, who was often pushed aside in favour of Bridget/Carmen/Tibby).

8) The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen – Susin Nielsen

Technically this falls into the “sibling who tragically dies” category, but since the plot is based on Jessie’s death, it’s fascinating (and so sad) to see how his actions affected his younger brother, Henry. I’ve now read all of Susin Nielsen’s books, and I’d have to say this one is my favourite. It’s also the most emotionally draining.

9) The Two Princesses of Bamarre – Gail Carson Levine

I desperately need to re-read this one (my niece just read it for the first time and every time she mentioned it, I was like “AWW, SUCH A GOOD BOOK”), but Addie and Meryl’s dependence on each other is so sweet, especially once Meryl gets sick. I remember being heartbroken near the end, but it all wrapped up so beautifully. They were like the original Anna and Elsa – self-sacrificing and all.

10) Harry Potter series – J.K. Rowling

Did you really think I could make a list like this and not mention the Weasleys? They’re one of the best fictional families to ever exist!! And while they may have their own problems (i.e. lack of money), they were nothing but loving toward each other (for the most part…*cough PERCY cough*) and always made sure to include Harry. I love how in later books, the boys all recognize that Ginny is more powerful/talented than they are, but they continue to treat her like their baby sister.

My biggest issue with the movies is that we never see Charlie Weasley :(

BONUS:

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Because the Bennet sisters are surprisingly well-rounded, considering most of them are supporting characters.

Lydia, Kitty, Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary

Who makes it on your list of favourite fictional siblings?

A Bookish Alphabet

If there’s one thing I like, it’s answering questionnaire-type things, especially when it has to do with books!

I stole this from The Hidden Staircase who in turn was inspired by Just My Humble Books. Go check out their posts and thanks for the great idea, ladies!

A. Author You’ve Read The Most Books From

Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket. I’ve read all of A Series of Unfortunate Events (13 in total), plus the “extra books” (The Beatrice Letters, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid, and The Unauthorized Autobiography – which is hilarious, if a little nonsensical, by the way) AND the first three books of All The Wrong Questions (just waiting for book four to be released this fall), AND his YA novel, Why We Broke Up.

I also think I have one of his adult books on my shelf (haven’t read it yet), and I’d like to read his latest, We Are Pirates.

B. Best Sequel Ever

That’s like asking parents of multiple children which kid they like the most. I could write an entire post about the sequels (and series) I love.

C. Currently Reading

It’s on hold right now, but I’m re-reading A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray). I’m also reading I am Half-Sick of Shadows (Alan Bradley), two manuscripts for work, and I’ve just started When Everything Feels Like the Movies (Raziel Reid).

D. Drink of Choice While Reading

I don’t often drink while reading, but tea is my go-to drink.

E. E-Reader or Physical Books

Physical books!! I’ve recently been using a Kindle (it’s actually my dad’s but he doesn’t use it, so I “stole” it) for all my NetGalley ARCs, but I do miss the feel of a physical book (even if the Kindle IS lighter than a 300+ page novel).

F. Fictional Character You Would Have Dated In High School

James from Audrey, Wait! (Robin Benway). He’s a big music nerd and is genuinely sweet (plus at the start of the book, he was working at an ice cream store, so I would just eat ice cream ALL THE TIME. And then at the end of the book, he was working at a music store, so then I would buy CDs ALL THE TIME!).

G. Glad You Gave This Book A Chance

I picked up The Beautiful and the Cursed (Page Morgan) on a whim because I liked that there was a character named Grayson (my current work-in-progress main character is named Grayson). SO GLAD I READ IT, IT WAS AMAZING, DEFINITELY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TRILOGIES NOW.

H. Hidden Gem Book

Middle Grade: The Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo. I don’t know anyone else who’s ever read them – they’re excellent for (younger) Harry Potter fans.

Young Adult: People are all about Gena Showalter’s White Rabbit Chronicles for some reason (I read the first one and thought it was awful), but her first YA series – Intertwined – was fantastic.

Adult: My sister, Ro, has a knack for finding excellent books that no one else has heard of. If I had had a rating system when I started talking about books on this blog, these would have gotten five interrobang hearts: Mathilda Savitch, Gods Behaving Badly, Johannes Cabal: The Necromancer, Prospero Lost.

I. Important Moments of Your Reading Life

I chose three big moments:

-my oldest sister (Vanessa) handing me Ella Enchanted for the first time when I was 8. It remains one of my favourite books of all time and it got me interested in the idea of re-tellings and fractured fairy tales.

-my other sister (Roanna) starting to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to me around the same time and eventually just handing it over so I could finish it myself.

-reading The Sweet Far Thing (Libba Bray) at 17 and realizing that books don’t always have to have happy endings.

J. Just Finished

The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath (Ishbelle Bee) and A Red Herring Without Mustard (Alan Bradley). Both reviews will be up this Friday!

K. Kinds of Books You Won’t Read

Satire type things and/or stuff by Chuck Palahniuk (sorry if any of you are fans). I read Invisible Monsters in high school (because Panic! at the Disco‘s song “Time to Dance” is based on it), and while I appreciated how well the song retold the story, I didn’t actually enjoy the book.

L. Longest Book You’ve Read

That I’ve finished? Probably Inheritance (Christopher Paolini) – 860 pages. It took me several months because I was bored to tears by it (and was also in my last year of university). I was just so unimpressed with that entire series.

Long books I haven’t finished: in third year university, I started both Our Mutual Friend (Charles Dickens – 880 pages) and Ulysses (James Joyce – 1056 pages), but didn’t finish either of them because my professor spoiled the ending of Our Mutual Friend and Ulysses was daunting, plus I had 5 other books to read that week (yay for being an English major!)

M. Major Book Hangover Because Of

This happens on a constant basis, but after crying my way through the end of The Wondrous and the Wicked a couple of weeks ago, I had a hard time functioning for about an hour after finishing it.

N. Number of Bookcases You Own

Three – two of them are double stacked (the third is too short and stout otherwise it would be too), plus there are four individual shelves on my walls that are packed with books.

O. One Book That You Have Read Multiple Times

There are so many, but I’m going to go with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares) because I was just talking about it on the weekend and it made me want to re-read the series.

P. Preferred Place to Read

My room (i.e. my bed), or the living room.

Q. Quote From A Book That Inspires You/Gives You Feels

Just last week, I talked about my top ten favourite book quotes, but I’m really tied between the first two:

“Trust dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story.” – Instructions (Neil Gaiman)

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (spoken by Dumbledore)

R. Reading Regret

I regret buying all of the Cassandra Clare books in hardcover. Yes, they are gorgeous, but they take up SO MUCH ROOM and, as I’ve grown out of her, I cringe at the thought of how much I spent on them (thankfully, I bought them all at Costco, so at least my parents saved some money).

S. Series You Started and Need to Finish

I’m steadily working my way through Alan Bradley‘s Flavia de Luce series, and I’ve only read The Fellowship of the Ring (many years ago), so I should probably read the rest of those at some point.

T. Three Of Your All-Time Favorite Books

1. Ella Enchanted
2. Audrey, Wait!
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban/Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

U. Unapologetic Fangirl For

Harry Potter!!!!!!! #always

W. Worst Bookish Habit

Buying books because they’re pretty/look interesting and then not reading them for several years.

V. Very Excited For This Release More Than Any Other

Calvin – Martine Leavitt

I’m a huge Calvin & Hobbes fan and this book will either be the greatest thing to happen to me or the worst. Either way, I’m intrigued!

X. Marks The Spot (Start On Your Bookshelf And Count to the 27th Book)

I chose my biggest bookshelf because the selection is much more varied: The Boleyn Inheritance (Philippa Gregory).

Y. Your Latest Book Purchase

I haven’t bought a book in a while (one of the perks of working in publishing!!), but the last book I picked up was Vanessa and Her Sister (Priya Parmar).

Z. ZZZ-Snatcher (last book that kept you up WAY late)

Every Word – Ellie Marney (which I haven’t written a review for yet because it doesn’t come out until September!).

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten ALL TIME Favourite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s prompt is Top Ten ALL TIME Favourite Authors, which was a lot harder than it sounds. The top five are probably constant, though the others could shift up or down or maybe even be replaced, depending on my mood. But they are all authors that make me react like Jake the dog when someone interrupts me:

1. J.K. Rowling
2. Neil Gaiman
3. Libba Bray
4. Melissa Marr
5. Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler
6. Jonathan Stroud
7. Ellie Marney
8. Page Morgan
9. Robin Benway
10. Gail Carson Levine

A year ago, Ellie Marney and Page Morgan would not have been on this list, but after discovering them over the past few months (Marney’s Every series and Morgan’s The Dispossessed trilogy), I can say with certainty that they made it onto my “as soon as they release a new book, I’m going to run screaming to the bookstore” list.

Actually, a year ago, Neil Gaiman wouldn’t have been on this list either, and my reading life would not have been nearly as FULFILLING as it is now that I’ve “discovered” him (why did it take me so long to read his books?!? WHY?!!).

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favourite Quotes from Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Technically this week’s prompt was Top Ten Inspiring Quotes From Books, but since I’m more likely to find inspiration in song lyrics, I just chose quotes I like. Several of them actually are “inspirational” or have something to do with books/writing.

1) From Instructions – Neil Gaiman

“Trust dreams. Trust your heart, and trust your story.”

2) From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” (Dumbledore)

3) From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

4) From Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine

“I had been able to break the curse myself. I’d had to have reason enough, love enough to do it, to find the will and the strength.”

5) From Audrey, Wait! – Robin Benway

“If you really want to know something about me, you should know this: I like my music loud. I mean loud […]You have to turn it up so that your chest shakes and the drums get in between your ribs like a heartbeat and the bass goes up your spine and fizzles your brain and all you can do is dance or spin in a circle or just scream along because you know that however this music makes you feel, it’s exactly right.”

6) From The Picture of Dorian Grey – Oscar Wilde

“The artist is the creator of beautiful things.”

7) From Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can’t Avoid – Lemony Snicket

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”

8) From Through the Looking Glass – Lewis Carroll

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast…” (the White Queen)

9) From Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling

“Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.”

10) From The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman

“I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.”

And a bonus gif:

What are some of your favourite quotes, inspirational or otherwise?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Characters You’d Like To Check In With

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week’s prompt is Top Ten Characters You’d Like to Check In With and is described as being characters in books/series that are over “and you so just wish you could peek in on the “life” you imagine they are leading years down the line after the story ends”.

I can’t talk about them without spoiling the last book in the series, so here’s a list in no particular order:

1) Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire (and Beatrice Snicket!)

From Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (13 books)

2) Artemis Fowl (and Butler and Holly, obviously)

From Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series (8 books)

3) Charlie Bone and friends

From Jenny Nimmo’s under-rated Children of the Red King series (8 books)

4) Aislinn, Seth, Donia, Keenan, Niall, and the other faeries

From Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series (5 – technically 6 – books)

5) The Vampirates crew

From Justin Somper’s Vampirates series (6 books)

6) Gemma, Felicity, Ann, and (maybe) Pippa

From Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy (3 books)

7) Bartimaeus the demon

From Jonathan Stroud’s Bartemaeus Sequence (4 books)

8) Lydia, Emily and Cassie (and their respective boyfriends)

From Jaclyn Moriarty’s The Year of Secret Assignments (standalone, but technically part of the Ashbury/Brookfield books)

Sidenote: I love that it’s called Finding Cassie Crazy in the UK.

Fun fact: I have an ARC of it, and it was the first time I learned that there was such as thing as advanced copies (I was 14 and my sister had got it from work).

9) Audrey/James, Victoria/Jonah

From Robin Benway’s Audrey, Wait! (standalone)

10) ALL THE WITCHES AND WIZARDS FROM Harry Potter

Do I even need to tell you who wrote this series?

Sidenote: Yeah, there’s all the extra content on Pottermore, so maybe I’d get my fix if I actually logged in once in a while, but I’m sure most HP fans will agree: sometimes I just want random details about their day-to-day lives. In book form. So that I can read it forever.

BONUS:

Rachel Watts and James Mycroft

From Ellie Marney’s Every series

Technically the last book has not been released in North America, but I’ve read it and it was wonderful, and I just want 5346984 more stories about Rachel and James. Wattscroft forever!

Fiction Friday Round-Up – March 20, 2015

It was a three book week, which makes me feel accomplished (even though I had been reading one of those books for several weeks). Click the links for full reviews!

• The Monogram Murders – Sophie Hannah: “I’ve never read an Agatha Christie novel before, so I was pretty excited to try this one. Perhaps there is a reason I never bothered looking up Hercule Poirot.”
• Masque of the Red Death – Bethany Griffin: Not only does this book have a gorgeous cover, but it’s based on/influenced by a short story by Edgar Allan Poe…These are two surefire ways to pique my interest and I’m glad I picked this one up.”
• Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler: “I’m actually surprised I liked it as much as I did, considering it was written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style. That normally drives me crazy, but, since there was proper punctuation, it was bearable. Plus, I’ve always liked the epistolary form.”

Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler

Why We Broke Up – Daniel Handler, illustrated by Maira Kalman

Min Green and Ed Slaterton have broken up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. A movie ticket from their first date, a comb from the motel room they shared and every other memento collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.
Why We Broke Up is a sincere and moving portrait of first love, first heartbreak and all the firsts in between. Min’s smart, sharp, devastatingly honest voice is one of the most memorable in contemporary young adult literature.

This is the first non-Lemony Snicket book by Daniel Handler that I’ve read (I think I have one of his adult books that I bought for really cheap, but I’m not sure where on my bookshelf it lives and I’ve never read it).

Like reading The Casual Vacancy, you can’t go into this book expecting it to sound like the beloved series from your childhood. It’s nothing like A Series of Unfortunate Events or All The Wrong Questions. I can’t even compare it to another YA book, because I can’t think of anything that deals with the same idea in a similar way.

A couple of people told me they cried through most of this book. I won’t say I cried (I didn’t), but every so often, Min said something that truly felt heartbreaking to me. The one that actually made me tear up a little was right near the beginning:

You know I want to be a director, but you could never truly see the movies in my head and that, Ed, is why we broke up.

Also, the moment near the end when she reveals the real reason why they broke up: that was just three pages of her hating herself for being duped, and it was raw and emotional and I felt a little breathless by the time she was done because I was imagining how hard it would be to say those words out loud.

Ed was a tool. He was awful to her. Yes, sometimes Min seemed a bit clingy; yes, they were really different (but opposites attract, right?); yes, their relationship was intense over such a short time frame. But that still doesn’t mean he had any right to do what he did.

I’ve seen a couple of reviews where people complained about how often Min referred to old movies (all of which were completely made up), but I liked it. I reference music/books/certain TV shows all the time, so I didn’t even register it as being a “thing”. I guess it’s more jarring to read than it is if you heard someone drop a reference in a conversation.

I’m actually surprised I liked it as much as I did, considering it was written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style. That normally drives me crazy, but, since there was proper punctuation, it was bearable. Plus, I’ve always liked the epistolary form.

Overall, it was as quirky as can be expected from Daniel “Lemony Snicket” Handler, and it did not disappoint. It has a gorgeous design and is full of wonderful illustrations, but, dang, these super glossy pages make for a heavy book!