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!

Top 5 Wednesday – May 17th, 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 books that remind you of summer and are your quintessential summer reads. I’ve decided to go back a few years and pick out my top five favorite reads that I randomly picked up from the library during the summer and fell in love with. The library always reminds me of summertime, and it is the perfect time to not only do a ton of reading, but also to go out of your comfort zone and choose some books you might not normally have picked up. So here are my reads that I loved and thought were perfect for reading in the summer! 🙂

Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck.

The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy.

By the time he learns she’s ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).

Precious by Sandra Novack

The summer of 1978, ten-year-old Vicki Anderson rides her bike to the local park and goes missing. Her tight-knit blue-collar Pennsylvania neighborhood, where children roam the streets at night playing lightning tag, aboveground pools sparkle in backyards, and flowers scent the air, will never be the same.

Down the street from Vicki’s house, another family is in crisis. Troubled by her past, headstrong Natalia Kisch has abandoned her husband and two daughters for another man. Frank Kisch, grappling with his anger, is left to raise their girls alone, oblivious to his daughters’ struggles with both disappearances: Eva, seventeen, plunges into an affair with her married high school teacher, and nine-year-old Sissy escapes to a world of imagination and storytelling that becomes so magical it pierces the reality of the everyday.

When Natalia unexpectedly returns, the struggles and tensions that have built over the summer erupt into a series of events that change the Kisches irrevocably—forcing them to piece together their complicated pasts and commitments to each other.

In this haunting, atmospheric debut, Sandra Novack examines loss, loyalty, and a family in crisis. Lyrical and elegiac, Precious illuminates our attempts to make sense of the volatility that surrounds and consumes us, and explores our ability, even during the most trying times, to remember and hold on to those we love most.

Wherever Grace is Needed by Elizabeth Bass

In this thoroughly heartwarming novel, Elizabeth Bass-author of Miss You Most of All-creates an unforgettable story of friendship, compassion, and the extraordinary love that lies at the heart of every ordinary family.

When Grace Oliver leaves Portland for Austin, Texas, to help her father, Lou, recuperate from a car accident, she expects to stay just a few weeks. Since her mother’s divorce thirty years ago, Grace has hovered on the periphery of the Oliver family. But now she sees a chance to get closer to her half-brothers and the home she’s never forgotten.

But the Olivers are facing a crisis. Tests reveal that Lou, a retired college professor whose sharp tongue and tenderness Grace adores, is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Grace delays her departure to care for him, and is soon entwined in the complicated lives of her siblings-all squabbling over Lou’s future-and of the family next door.

Ray West and his three children are reeling from a recent tragedy, particularly sixteen-year-old Jordan, whose grief is heightened by guilt and anger. Amid the turmoil, Grace not only gives solace and support, but learns to receive it. And though she came to Austin to reconnect with her past, she is drawn by degrees into surprising new connections.

With wit, wisdom, and unfailing insight, Elizabeth Bass tells a story of loving and letting go, of heartache and hope, and of the joy that comes in finding a place we can truly call home.

The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

One moment can change everything.

Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him.  And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.

A private island.

A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.

A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.

A revolution. An accident. A secret.

Lies upon lies.

True love.

The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart. 

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Honorable Mention:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

What books remind you of summer or have been your favorite summertime reads? Let me know in the comments!

Top 10 Tuesday – May 16th, 2017

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is a Mother’s Day related freebie. So my choice for a topic is the top ten books I think that my mother should read! She is always asking me for reading recommendations, so I figured this would be an interesting topic to do. I would also love to see her get back into reading more. So hopefully, my mom will see this! 😀

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

The Wingsnatchers by Sarah Jean Horwitz

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Aimless Love by Billy Collins

Jackaby by William Ritter

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Me: Stories of my Life by Katharine Hepburn

Top Ten Tuesday – April 18th, 2017

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is the top ten things that will make you instantly want to read a book. It was a little tough thinking up ten things that turn me on to a book, which is odd considering I will read just about anything I can get my hands on. I guess that goes to show that I will give any book a try, but I somewhat rarely feel that need to instantly pick up a novel. However, there are a few cases where this is true.

Time Travel or Parallel Universes – Anyone who knows me knows that I am absolutely addicted to books about time travel and/or parallel universes. Honestly, this is one of the only cases where there is practically no hesitation on my part. I will literally read anything I find that involves either time travel, parallel worlds, or (preferably) both!

Books About Books – I think many book lovers out there can relate to this one! I love reading books in which reading and literature plays a huge part. This can come in the form of the characters being book nerds like myself, the setting being somewhere like a bookstore or library, or a storyline that is shaped around either a real or fictional book within the book.

Recommendations – I’m not one who typically gives into major hype about books—I have been disappointed many times when I get sucked into that. However, if a friend that I trust and share a similar reading taste with highly recommends something, I will pick it up straight away. People like my best friend Lizzie, and my awesome blogger besties Heather and Anna, are to blame for much of my ever increasing TBR pile!

Retellings – I am a complete sucker for retellings. Whether it’s a retelling of a classic novel, folklore, or fairytale, that’s pretty much all I need to know before I pick it up. This can occasionally amount to me reading a really crappy version of a story I love. But many times I have discovered some absolutely wonderfully crafted retellings with their own unique twist.

Interesting Magic System – I love love love fantasy novels! This is the primary genre that I read, but I do get a bit picky with them, at least in recent years. There are a lot of novels that deal with the same subjects over and over again, and those don’t make for the best reading experience. However, any fantasy novel with a unique-sounding magic system will instantly pique my interest.

Modern Fairytale – As I mentioned, I love fairytales and folklore, and I love present-day novels that give off that fairytale or folklore feeling. I find those types of stories to be absolutely beautiful and captivating. I really hope I can write a story like that one day.

Highly Praised Classic – I am a huge fan of classic literature—I was always that weird kid in English class that loved almost every book they made us read! So if a classic is highly praised, either by people I know or just in general, I will most likely pick it up. I won’t say I always like them, but I’ll at least give them a try!

Little to No Romance – I’ve talked about this many times before, that, despite being a hopeless romantic, I actually really do not like reading about romance in novels. Sometimes a little bit is nice, bit I find that there are so many instances where it completely overshadows the actual plot. So if a novel boasts little to no romance, that’s definitely a plus for me.

Noir or Gothic – I love noir and gothic everything! Books, movies—you name it, I love it! So of course, these are major turn-ons for me when it comes to finding books. If it has a noir or gothic setting, I’m getting my read on! 😛

Sounds Like Sherlock Holmes – And finally, the most embarrassing book turn-on I have to admit. I typically don’t go for books that are compared to other books I love because ninety percent of the time, I end up feeling disappointed in a book that may have been great if I weren’t holding it to the highest possible standard. However, the one thing that gets me every time is when a novel (or a character in a novel) is compared to Sherlock Holmes…or Doctor Who (hence my love of the Jackaby series!).

Honorable Mentions

Gillian Flynn, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Ness, Victoria Schwab – …Enough said… 🙂

What are some things that make you instantly want to read a book? Let me know in the comments, and stay tuned for next Tuesday when I talk about my book turn-offs!

Top 10 Tuesday – March 22nd, 2016

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is the top ten books you really love but feel like you haven’t talked about enough or in a while. It was actually a surprisingly tricky topic to come up with ten books for—I tend to fangirl over my favorite books quite often on here. However, I did finally manage to put together a list of my less fangirled over favorites! 😀

Also, on a personal side note, I apologize for slow replies to comments and posts in the past few weeks. I haven’t been feeling quite up to snuff lately and that’s caused me to get a bit behind on everything. I promise, I will be catching up very soon! ❤

   

1. Aimless Love by Billy Collins – Okay, so this isn’t technically a novel exactly—it’s a collection of poems. But this is by far one of my favorite reads in the last few years. Billy Collins is an incredible writer and has created so many stunning pieces. His poems are deceptively simple, each one packed with a surprising amount of meaning. This is a particularly beautiful collection and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

2. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster – One of my childhood favorites. My mom loves this as well, and I remember her giving it to me to read in elementary school, around the same time she gave me the Narnia series. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I read this book when I was little—I couldn’t get enough of it. This is one of many old favorites of mine that I haven’t read in ages, so I’m definitely going to have to have a reread nostalgia-fest at some point!

3. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury – Back when I was a kid, I said the most horrifying words ever: I hate science fiction books! …Let us pause to feel pity for the hopelessly naïve young Ari. I am (obviously) a most massive sci-fi fan now, as well as a huge Ray Bradbury fan, and this is a novel that I credit for both. On a side note, there is also a fantastic movie adaptation of this that I would highly recommend as well.

4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – This is honestly one of the most beautiful novels I have ever come across. An incredibly thought-provoking read, it deals with important topics and proved to be very eye-opening. On top of that, Khaled Hosseini’s writing is stellar, and this novel quickly made him one of my favorite authors.

  

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – I have totally mentioned this before, but it is one of my all-time favorite classics by one of my all-time favorite authors, so it deserves another mention. I’ve come to the realization that there are some books (mainly classics) that I love so much (*ahem*To Kill a Mockingbird*ahem*) that I actually find them genuinely difficult to talk about it depth because I feel that I can’t possibly do my love of them justice. This is most definitely one of those books.

6. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett – I had to read this one summer for class back in high school and ended up completely falling in love with it. This is an engrossing story about the bonds between humans and how people who are very different can be brought together in the most unexpected of ways. I have not yet had a chance to read any more of Ann Patchett’s work, but I definitely intend to some time soon.

7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett – Another childhood favorite—both the book and the movies. I completely adore this novel and have so many fond memories of reading this beautiful story over the years. When I was little, I always wished I could find a secret garden of my own. And this definitely contributed to my love of old keys. This is another one I’m going to have to add to my reread nostalgia-fest list!

  

8. The Marvels by Brian Selznick – I have spoken about this novel before since I do have a review up on here about it, but I think it definitely deserves another mention. This was just a lovely and beautiful read (both the text and the pictures) with a deep and meaningful message. Though I was already a huge fan of Brian Selznick’s work, I enjoyed this even more than I had expected.

9. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – Though I actually have never mentioned this one on here before, something tells me that you all know me well enough by now to not be at all shocked. The plot is brilliant, the characters are incredibly lovable, the humor is witty. Everything about this book is fantastic, especially to a nerd such as myself! I also cannot recommend the movie adaptation of this book highly enough—one of my all-time favorites since I was a little kid!

10. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston – This was another school book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a very emotional, bittersweet, but very rewarding read. A stunning depiction of braving through the ups and downs of life, it is a perfect mix of heartbreaking and uplifting moments. This is yet another novel on this list that I would also highly recommend the movie adaptation of as well.

What are some books that you guys love and can never get tired of talking about? Please gush about them in the comments! 😀

-Ariana

Top 5 Wednesday – February 24th, 2016

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. 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 worst love interests (male or female). I don’t read many romance heavy stories, so I was unable to think up five love interests that I didn’t like. Instead, I’ve decided to go with last week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic since I was unable to do it on the day. Last week’s topic was the top five suggested books (books recommended to you) that you loved.

It goes without saying, if there are any books on this list that you haven’t read yet, I recommend them to you! 😀

5. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

I actually bought this one as a Christmas gift for my mom. She ended up loving it and immediately told me I needed to read it too. This story was everything I had hoped for—lovely, heartwarming, and with spectacular writing to boot. It was a wonderful read, and an absolutely perfect book for book lovers. I promise, I will have a review up for this one day!

4. Alice by Christina Henry

If there is one thing I like more than a retelling, it’s a dark retelling. This one was recommended to me by my friend Heather from The Sassy Book Geek. It was disturbing and twisted and creepy and fantastic—overall a fascinating and extremely creative reimagining of a classic and well-loved tale.

Full review coming very soon!

3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I’ve been a massive Neil Gaiman fan for a long time, so this was already on my radar. However, I read it when I did because my best friend had just finished it and kept going on about how good it was. Actually, I was over at her house and she handed me the book and told me to start reading right then and there; that’s definitely the sort of recommendation you know you can trust! Obviously, I ended up absolutely adoring this novel—in fact, I think this may be my favorite Neil Gaiman novel that I’ve read so far.

2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This one will come as no surprise to anyone since I rave about it (and Gillian Flynn) way too much! On top of the entire world talking about this book, it was specifically recommended to me by both my best friend and my dad. My best friend and I have extremely similar reading tastes, so I always trust her recommendations—and she loves Gillian Flynn. A few months before I picked it up, my dad also read and loved this, so when I was out visiting my best friend at school, I began reading it. It rapidly became one of my favorite novels of all time, and made Gillian Flynn one of my favorite authors.

Click here to read my full review!

1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Though I had known about these novels for ages, this is another recommendation that I have to credit my mom for. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you probably already know that this is one of my favorite novels of all time (and that it’s another one I talk about way too much!). I attempted reading my first Sherlock Holmes novel—The Hound of the Baskervilles—when I was far too young to really enjoy it, and thus, I assumed that I did not like Sherlock Holmes…oh boy was I wrong! I had to read The Speckled Band in class a few years later and enjoyed that, but it wasn’t until my mom gave this to me as a gift one holiday that the obsession truly began! ❤

Click here to read my full review!

What are some recommendations that you’ve received and ended up loving? Do you have any favorites you would like to recommend? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana