Top 5 Wednesday – September 27th, 2017

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey and is now hosted by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is the top five books you’ve picked up because you’ve heard of them in the online book community. Though I stayed somewhat on top of popular releases before blogging, my knowledge (and my purchasing of books!) has increased a great deal since joining the book blogging community. I have found so many incredible novels through various sources like Booktube and my fellow book blogging friends, so this was a tough list to narrow down. However, I think I’ve finally picked out the books that have impacted me the most since joining this wonderful community! 🙂

5. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

This is one of my most recent discoveries due to the book blogging community, and this trilogy has quickly risen to the top of my favorites list. I can’t recall specifically where I saw this novel for the first time, but I read numerous reviews from many of the blogs I follow and was immediately convinced to pick it up. This book, as well as its sequel, are beautifully written, somewhat dark modern fairytales and I absolutely adore them!

Click here to check out my full review!

4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer

I discovered this book—and the rest of the series—through Booktube. I am a complete sucker for unique retellings, and this promised to be one. Every channel I watched had incredibly positive reviews of the whole Lunar Chronicles series, though it was Catriona from Little Book Owl who first brought Cinder to my attention. I’m still in the process of finishing up the series, but it is already high on my favorites list.

Click here to check out my full review!

3. Alice by Christina Henry

This novel was recommended to me by my good friend and fellow blogger, Heather, from The Sassy Book Geek. We have an extremely similar taste in books, and both particularly love dark retellings such as this one. I have never once been disappointed by any of her recommendations, and I have her to thank for bringing this amazing novel and its author into my life.

Click here to check out Heather’s full review!

2. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

I’m fairly certain that I first discovered this novel through the blogging community, but I also saw it everywhere in the Booktube community as well. Again, all the reviewers I found constantly raved about this book and, being a fan of World War II historical fiction as well as science fiction, I knew I had to give it a read. I read this in a buddy read with my good friend and fellow blogger, Anna from My Bookish Dream, and it was fantastic!

Click here to check out my full review and click here to check out Anna’s full review!

1. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

I first discovered Vicious—as well as Victoria Schwab in general—through Booktube and continued to see it pop up all over the blogging community. Every review I saw or read raved about how amazing this novel and Schawb’s writing were, so I knew I had to give it a try. I ended up reading it for the first time with my friend and fellow blogger, Heather from The Sassy Book Geek, and absolutely adored it!

Click here to check out my full review and click here to check out Heather’s full review!

What books have you guys discovered since joining the online book community and where did you discover them? Let me know in the comments!

A-Z Bookish Survey

I found this survey through my friend and fellow blogger, Jen over at J.N. Cahill, and she found this through Sarah Sunbeemz’s Booktube channel. Jen is an amazing writer, so please head on over and check out her blog. Also, make sure to go check out Sarah’s video as well! 🙂

On to the survey!

A — Author You’ve Read The Most Books From:

At the moment, that would be a tie between J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis. However, my copy of The Cursed Child just arrived, so I believe this will be changing in a few days!

B — Best Sequel Ever:

Catching Fire, hands down! And I’m even passing up using my favorite Harry Potter novel, Chamber of Secrets, because it’s just that amazing.

C — Currently Reading:

I’m in the middle of a couple of books right now, but my primary read is It’s All Fun and Games by Dave Barrett.

D — Drink of Choice While Reading:

Usually tea or water. Sometimes a fruit smoothie can be a nice drink while reading.

E — E-Reader or Physical Book?:

While I do love my Kindle and I’ve definitely gotten more into the habit of using it in the last year or so, I will always choose physical books over e-books. Nothing can compare to a physical edition.

F — Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Dated in High School:

Definitely Neville Longbottom. He will forever be my first and favorite book boyfriend!

G — Glad You Gave this Book a Chance:

The Giver by Lois Lowry. I first read it some time in middle school and absolutely hated it. Then, given how many of my friends enjoyed it when they read it in their late teens/early 20s, I decided to give it another go, and oh boy am I glad I did. It was fantastic!

H — Hidden Gem Book:

Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander. This was a book that was way out of my typical reading comfort zone, but I picked it up on a whim and ended up really enjoying it.

I — Important Moment in Your Reading Life:

This is going to be a very common answer, but I have to say discovering/starting the Harry Potter series for the first time. This is a series that has inspired me in countless ways, turning me into not only an avid reader, but a writer as well. I owe a lot to this series.

J — Just Finished:

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

K– Kinds of Books You Won’t Read?:

Erotica. I have nothing against the genre or anyone who likes to read it—it’s just not my thing.

L –Longest Book You’ve Read:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (according to my Goodreads shelf!).

M — Major Book Hangover:

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I don’t get book hangovers frequently, but this gave me a huge one!

N — Number of Bookshelves You Own:

Zero…embarrassing for a book nerd, I know! I promise, I will fix that soon!

O — One Book You’ve Read Multiple Times:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

P — Preferred Place to Read:

I love to just curl up in my bed with a good book. Reading at the beach is pretty nice too, though… 🙂

Q — Quote that Inspires You and Gives You All the Feels:

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” – Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

R — Reading Regret:

The massive amount of book to movie adaptations that have been coming out lately have made me realize that there are a bunch of pretty well-known children’s books/series (ex. The BFG, Percy Jackson, etc…) that I regret not reading back when I was a kid. I have read or plan to read many now, but I wish that I could have had that experience of reading them through younger eyes.

S — Series You’ve Started and Need to Finish:

Way too many! I would say my top ones right now are The Lunar Chronicles, the Legend trilogy, and the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

T — Three of Your All Time Favorite Books:

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

U –Unapologetic Fangirl/boy for:

Gillian Flynn. As I have said before, she is my spirit animal. 😛

V — Very Excited for this Release More than Anything:

Since The Cursed Child is already here, I’ll go with Heartless by Marissa Meyer.

W — Worst Bookish Habit

Like many other book nerds out there, one of my worst bookish habits is buying too many books before reading the ones already in my TBR pile! I do this far too often, and now my pile is a mountain!

X — X Marks the Spot–Start at the top of your shelf and pick the 27th book off it:

Since I don’t actually have physical shelves, I’m going to use my Goodreads shelf of owned books, set to alphabetical by author. So my 27^th book would be The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury.

Y — Your Latest Book Purchase:

I just did a huge book haul post since I went on a bit of a shopping spree recently, but I guess my latest purchase would be Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel.

Z — The Zzzzzzzzzzzzz Snatcher Book (Book That Kept You From Sleeping):

When I was a kid, any of the Harry Potter or Narnia series. But the most recent novel that kept me up all night was The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

Anyone count how many times I referenced Harry Potter, Narnia, or To Kill a Mockingbird? 😛

I’m not going to tag anyone specific to do this, but this survey was incredibly fun to fill out, so I highly recommend giving it a go. If you have done this survey or decide to do it, make sure you leave a link for me in the comments so I can come check out your post!

-Ariana