Category Archives: Top Ten Tuesday

May 7, 2013 · 5:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Fluffy Reads

Happy Tuesday book lovers! It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the lovely gals over at The Broke and The Bookish. This topic is so spring-appropriate: Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light and Fun. In other words, brain candy reads! Or fluffy reads! (Yes, admire my cool bookish slang…)

1. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - This is such a great book. Adorable big hunk of a guy Lincoln has a job monitoring employee email usage at the local newspaper office, and he ends up falling in love with Beth while reading the emails of her and her friend Jennifer. There are email conversations, and they are hysterical.

2. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie – This is basically the best romance novel ever. There’s misunderstandings, snarky characters, real friendships, real conversations, delicious food, carbs, great shoes, and a grumpy cat. I read this book probably at least once a year.

3. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen – If you’re more of a classics lover, then I think Northanger Abbey is a good pick. It kind of mocks the whole Gothic novel craze of the times, and Austen is still young and trying to figure out this whole writing thing. It’s a lot of fun.

4. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling – Famous for her role as Kelly Kapoor on The Office, Mindy talks about her love of comedy and her various musings on life. This was really funny, and Mindy is totally that girl that everyone would love to be friends with. There have been a lot of female comedian books out lately, and I think this one is my favorite.

5. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell – This is really a short, hilarious book that is just amusing tidbits from booksellers and librarians. Good for a laugh.

6. The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey – This is actually the first book of the Tales of the 500 Kingdoms series, and they’re really fun books. Lackey takes a known fairy tale and turns it on it’s head, usually with an element of romance involved. I think there are six out in the series, and I can’t wait till another one comes out.

7. Tales of the Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding – Okay, technically these aren’t exactly fluff or brain candy books, but I love them. There’s a lot of action and witty, sarcastic banter that just makes these books so darn fun to read.

8. The Pirates! series by Gideon DeFoe – These goofy, tiny little books can straight crack me up. (Can you tell yet that I really value humor in the books I read?) The Pirates! In An Adventure with Scientists was the inspiration for the movie Pirates! Band of Misfits. The books are WAY funnier.

9. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy – Feel like reading something intended for 11-year olds? Here you go! This book shows the side of the fairy tales that you don’t see – the Princes’ points of view. There’s a lot of silliness, and it’s a quick read.

10. Wishcraft series by Heather Blake – Are cozy mysteries your jam? Well this series is adorable! Some inhabitants of this little town tend to have a special “craft” or magical power, and the series focuses on one witch who can grant wishes. Of course, murders pop up in town because that’s how these kind of books work, but the stories themselves are so damn cute and sappy.

Now don’t you want to grab one of these and go lay in the sunshine and read? I do. What are your light-hearted book recommendations?

~Sarah

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April 30, 2013 · 8:31 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Topics in Books that Get Me Excited

Good morning fellow bloggers! It’s Tuesday, and I am LE TIRED. I’m baby-sitting my almost 2 year-old nephew L and that kid has me so sleepy! Hopefully later he’ll want to take a nice nap with Aunt Sarah, cause a well-rested Aunt Sarah is a nicer Aunt Sarah. Anyyyyhoo, I still mustered up the energy to hop online and join in on Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke and The Bookish. The topic today is Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book. Onwards!

1. Humor – I like to laugh! And I love books that make me laugh, so if I hear that a book is funny or humorous, I instantly want to read it! And honestly, that’s worked out quite well for me in the past. So authors – be hilarious!

2. Comparisons to Outlander series – Is it ever AS good as the Outlander books? Of course not. But if I hear that something is similar to Outlander, I have to try it. I read The Bronze Horseman because someone compared the love story in that to the love story of Jamie & Claire, and that was a really good book! It’s also why I have The River of No Return waiting for me on hold at the library.

3. Zombies – Come on, zombies are so much fun! Ironically, I don’t think that the zombie trend is quite overdone yet. These fads usually come and go so quick, but I think zombies are such a fun scenario to play around with, and I’ve seen authors come up with VERY different and unique angles on it.

4. Childfree books – So, I don’t want kids. They’re just not my jam. But you would be AMAZED at the number of people who say “Oh you’ll change your mind” or just generally demean your situation. It’s frustrating! So whenever I see a book that’s about being “childless by choice”, I always want to check it out. The Baby Boon is about how our society caters to parents so much and kind of ignores the childless, and I’m waiting for I Can Barely Take Care of Myself by Jen Kirkman at the library, which is a humor book on the topic. Sometimes it’s nice to read about people who go through the same stuff as you and make it funny, ya know?

5. Parallel worlds – This is one of my FAVORITE sci-fi topics! Well, sci-fi and non-fiction, since there’s a growing number of science books exploring the topic and likelihood of the multiverse. The Neanderthal Parallax series is what really piqued my interest in the idea of parallel worlds and it’s a topic I’ve been seeking out since then.

6. Good blurbs on the covers – This isn’t so much a “topic”, but when I see recommendations from authors I like printed on the front of a book, of course it makes me want to read it! It’s one of the reasons I read Ex-Heroes by Patrick Clines, and that was a fun book!

7. Dinosaurs – This is a kind of new-ish topic that appeals to me. I already liked things like Jurassic Park and Terra Nova, but after reading My Beloved Brontosaurus recently I’m craving more dinos! So I might be seeking out some more dinosaur-related books soon, whether they be fiction or non-fiction.

8. Physics - This kind of relates to parallel worlds, but I’ve really enjoyed reading more about physics lately, in all it’s different forms. This mostly applies to non-fiction books, but it also means that if I hear that a novel’s main character is a physicist or something, I’m totally all over that.

9. Comparisons to Firefly – If I hear that a book is in anyway similar to the awesomeness that is Firefly, of course I’ll check it out! It’s what got me to check out the Tales of the Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding and I LOVE IT.

10. Sci-fi and fantasy - You know what, let’s just make the last pick here a blanket topic – I really love sci-fi and fantasy. Anything that relates to weird science, space travel, alternate worlds, magic, the paranormal, etc and it instantly catches my attention.

Okay book-lovers! Those are mine, what are the words or topics that instantly make you want to read a book?

~Sarah

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April 23, 2013 · 8:28 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Judged Wrongly Before I Read Them

Good morning you guys! It’s Tuuuuuuesday! I’m hosting a Premier jewelry party tonight, so obviously I should be cleaning my apartment like a madwoman and running to the store for more snacks, but here I am finishing up this post instead. This will be short-ish. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish, and this week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like More/Less Than I Did. I’m gonna try to divide this topic in two and do five of each.

Books I Thought I Would Really Like but Ended Up Being Disappointed By

1. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker - I picked this up after seeing some buzz around the blogosphere for it and it sounded good! A woman tells the story of how when she was 12-ish, the Earth suddenly stopped rotating and it caused all sorts of hell. EXCEPT the book is really just about a 12-year old girl, with some world-going-to-hell happening in the background. Lame.

2. The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan - A story of a relationship told via dictionary “entries”? Sounds intriguing! Except it wasn’t. The relationship told was kind of a joke, and the dictionary entries were the author trying to be cool and edgy, and instead it came off as the author being pretentious and wannabe-edgy. Fail.

3. Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison – Came highly recommended to me by a friend, and it’s about a witch set in a world in which lots of humanity died and so supernatural creatures are now out in the open. It could have been so cool! But I HATED the main character. A lot. The setting was well-done and there was a fun secondary character, but I couldn’t stand to continue with The Hallows series just because I couldn’t stand Rachel Morgan.

4. Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw - The apocalypse in the form of flesh-eating strawberry jam? Hell yes! Sadly this was not the fun romp I thought it would be. It got a little too weird, and I never really grew to like the characters.

5. The Return Man by V.M. Zito – It’s the zombie apocalypse this time, and the main character is hired by survivors to find their zombified loved ones and deliver peace to them. A zombie hitman! Great premise that could have been done SO much better. It turned out to be more of a political-ish thriller, and the main character was not as tough or smart as he should have been, seeing as how he’d been killing zombies for a living for several years. Disappointment face.

Books I Tried Out and Was Pleasantly Surprised By

6. Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding (Tales of the Ketty Jay series) - I heard awesome things about this book in one review, but that was just one review so I was still a little tentative going in. And OMG the love!!! I finished it and IMMEDIATELY wanted to read the sequels, and now I am counting the days until the fourth and final book in the Ketty Jay series comes out (142 days, in case you’re wondering).

7. Nexus by Ramez Naam – The idea of a nano-drug that links minds sounded really cool, but after the first couple chapters I thought it wasn’t going to be my thing and almost quit it. But I kept reading and got sucked in and ended up liking it! I’m actually looking forward to the sequel, Crux, which comes out in August.

8. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray – I never go into classics assuming I’m going to love them. And since this was 800+ pages, I was almost sure that it was going to be a drag. But it wasn’t! It had interesting, detailed characters and humorous lines and I ended up really digging it. Classic win!

9. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory – Sometimes you should judge a book by it’s cover! I saw it and thought the cover was super pretty and so I finally decided to try it, not expecting much. I devoured it! I first read it at least 8 years ago, but it’s still one of my favorite historical fiction books.

10. Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines - I was lured into buying this book because it was about zombies and superheroes and got great author blurbs on the cover, but I was still a bit hesitant of course. Luckily, I REALLY enjoyed it! And the sequel, Ex-Patriots, comes out today and I’m sooooo tempted to stop and get it.

And there we have it! What books did or didn’t meet your expectations?

Aaaaand now I’m off to do above-mentioned cleaning & snack-buying.

~Sarah

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April 16, 2013 · 7:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday REWIND: Series I STILL Haven’t Started

Good morning ya’ll! It’s Tuesday! And I’ve actually been really looking forward to this Tuesday, because it’s a Top Ten Tuesday Rewind from The Broke and The Bookish today, and I missed a topic in the beginning of March that I really wanted to do. That topic that I’m going to tackle today is Top Ten Series I Want to Read But Haven’t Started Yet. Cause seriously, this list could be a MILE long.

1. The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher – This is a really popular sci-fi / fantasy series that I’ve had my eye on for a while. The only thing holding me back is that it’s already a REALLY long series (over a dozen books long, I believe) so I’m just patiently waiting to finish a few other series before I start this one.

2. A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket – I feel like this is almost as bad as those people who’ve never read Harry Potter. It’s such a classic kids series! But it’s apparently also very snarky and witty. I should really just borrow the whole series from the library and plow through them one of these days.

3. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King – Because Laura wants me to! And because it sounds like one of the less-scary things that King has written.

4. The Wrinkle in Time quintet by Madeleine L’Engle – I’ve only ever read A Wrinkle in Time, and that was at least 15 years ago. I’m kind of waiting until I own the whole series before I get into it.

5. The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud – My friend has been recommending this kid’s trilogy to me for 7 years now. I REALLY do want to read it this year, especially since she read the first Outlander novel last year at my recommendation.

6. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray – I’ve read two books by Libba Bray so far and I loved them both (Beauty Queens and The Diviners), so I don’t know why I’ve been holding back on starting this super-popular trilogy. I guess I’m still wary of the hype?

7. The Christ Clone Trilogy by James Beauseigneur – This has also been recommended to me for years, and I have the book on my shelf just waiting to be started. It’s about someone trying to clone Jesus using DNA found on the Shroud of Turin, and I’m sure it’s good… but it sounds a little action-thriller-y for me, like a Tom Clancy novel or something. I need to get over my (probably wrong) perception of it and just start reading it.

8. Nursery Crime series by Jasper Fforde – I really enjoy Fforde’s Thursday Next books, and I kind of can’t wait to try this other series by him. But as I’m still reading the Thursday Next books AND his kid’s series The Chronicles of Kazam, I figure I should finish those first.

9. Eon / Eona dualogy by Alison Goodman – I’ve been wanting to read this dualogy for a long time because I hear fantastic things about it, but I think I’ve been waiting to crave a little YA fantasy.

10. The Booktown Mystery series by Lorna Barrett – I have the first three books in this series, AND the author is a local author to my area. I really should read the first one soon and keep an eye out for any author events she might be at!

Can’t wait to see what you guys come up with for today’s rewind topic!!! Are there any series I should be reading that you would suggest to me?

~Sarah

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April 9, 2013 · 11:37 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books I Read Before I Blogged

Whoa whoa whoa… Books I read before I blogged? There was life before blogging? Oh yeah. Well I’ve been blogging since sometime in 2009, which a long freaking time to try to remember stuff, but since The Broke and The Bookish’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday today is Top Ten Favorite Books I Read Before I Was a Blogger, I’ll try.

Also, this post is in a bit of a rush today cause I’ve got lots to do, so no pretty book pictures to go along with my picks

1. Don’t Die, My Love by Lurlene McDaniel - This was probably one of my first favorite books ever, because I read it when I was pretty darn young. It’s about a high school couple who are totally in love and so sweet, but the boy gets some sort of cancer and dies. (This is hardly a spoiler, come on, it’s Lurlene McDaniel…) I STILL have a copy of this on my bookshelves.

2. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan – I actually read and loved this book so much I went on to read all of Amy Tan’s other novels, and I still have most of them. I haven’t read them in FOREVER, so I have no idea if I would still enjoy them or not. Part of me doesn’t want to re-read them because I have fond memories of liking them, and what if I read them now and found them lacking?

3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon – (Thanks Katie for making me remember this!) Do you guys remember when this book came out and it was all the hype? Maybe people had better standards of what was hype-worthy back in the day, because this book about an autistic 15-year old boy was really, really good and I should read it again soon.

4. Eragon by Christopher Paolini – I was working at Waldenbooks when I discovered this series. The books were pretty popular and had gorgeous covers, and I signed a copy out to read it (yeah we were allowed to do that, it was awesome) and I immediately bought all of the books out at the time in hardcover. They were probably my first intro to fantasy, and so they hold a special place in my heart still.

5. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant – I used to read a LOT more historical fiction than I do now. This was suggested to me by one of my sister’s co-workers at the time, and it was super good. I wasn’t expecting to like it cause you know, eww religion, but I remember liking it a lot.

6. I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb – Isn’t it awesome how memories just come flooding back when you think about a certain book? I remember that I was with my mom and siblings, we were in Barnes and Noble (which was rare, because I’m the only reader in the family), and I remember buying this book because it looked interesting, it was a paperback, and it had Oprah’s seal of approval on it. I want to re-read it to see if I still like it, but it’s a hefty one and just haven’t had the motivation to do so yet.

7. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd – This author gets a lot more praise for The Secret Life of Bees, but I liked this novel by her a lot better. It’s basically about a woman trying to rediscover herself after being a wife and mother for so long, and I enjoyed it a lot.

8. Helen of Troy by Margaret George – AGAIN with the historical fiction! And this sucker is huge, but it was a really, really great story about Helen. Margaret George does historical fiction really well.

9. Kindred by Octavia Butler – I don’t remember how I heard about Kindred or why I wanted to read it, but I remember seeking it out and thinking that it was a special kind of awesome. Once again I really should re-read it soon, but until then check out Alley’s fab review.

10. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon - I had put off reading this book for years, and then I finally read it, and I really dug it cause come on, it’s about books and mystery and dark beautiful intrigue and it was just great. Unfortunately, I wasn’t into blogging yet so I need to re-read it.

Okay so basically this is just a giant list of books I should probably re-read at some point so that I can blab about them to you! Also, check out this similar TTT list from last year: Books I Loved But Haven’t Reviewed. I didn’t repeat any! Amazing.

What have you read and loved but not blogged about?

~Sarah

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March 26, 2013 · 6:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Shove in People’s Faces Until They Read Them

Good morning fellow bookworms! It’s Tuesday AKA time for Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most. Should be easy! These are the books that I buy spare copies of when I find them used and cheap, just so I can give them out to people to read. They’re all amazing.

1. Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon – Are you surprised? Of course not! I’ve been beating ya’ll over the head about how awesome this series is for years! READ IT. You’ll thank me for giving you Jamie & Claire.

2. Tales of the Ketty Jay series by Chris Wooding – This has been my newest favorite series to gush about. PLEASE SOMEONE READ THE FIRST BOOK (Retribution Falls) AND CHAT WITH ME!!!

3. Lamb by Christopher Moore – This is probably the book I’ve been most successful at getting other people to read – I talked my friend, my honeyman, and my sister all into reading it and they all enjoyed it. Cause it’s full of hilariousness and awesome. Sadly, I haven’t read it in several years which means I’ve never reviewed it on here. I’m hoping to correct that this year.

4. He’s Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt – This is probably one of the only “self-help” type of books that I own, but I’m constantly recommending it to female friends and family members who are hung up on a guy that is CLEARLY not worth their time. I also highly recommend It’s Called a Break-Up Because It’s Broken for girls just getting out of relationships. These books are funny and make you feel awesome and sassy!

5. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie – My favorite romance recommendtion, because it’s the best one ever! I <3 Min & Cal.

6. Newsflesh trilogy by Mira Grant – This is probably my favorite zombie recommendation. It’s SO. GOOD. Apparently there are also a few Newsflesh novellas out too, but they’re only available as stupid e-books, so I’m hoping a collection of them in print-form comes out sometime.

7. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons – This is one of my favorite historical fiction suggestions. You will laugh and cry (mostly cry) for Tatiana and Alexander, but seriously the pages just fly by.

8. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray – OMG the laughs! This book brings the humor, satire, and girl-power at full force. I totally recommend it to young teen girls, but it’s fun for everyone.

9. The Autobiography of Malcolx X by Malcolm X & Alex Haley - This is probably my favorite autobiography, and I like to encourage people to read it. It’s fascinating and eye-opening, and Malcolm X does not get nearly as much attention as MLK Jr. when it comes to talking about the Civil Rights movement.

10. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss – This is my FAVORITE epic fantasy to suggest to people. I’ve only convinced one person to read it so far- a friend of the honeyman’s, who really enjoyed it. For real, do yourself a favor and read it. It’s beautiful.

Yup, those are definitely some of the books that I’m CONSTANTLY trying to get people to read.

Alrighty, now it’s time for you to suggest some of your favorite recommendations to me! Leave me a comment and tell me what some of your favorite books to recommend are!

~Sarah

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March 12, 2013 · 6:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Book I Wanna Read This Spring

Good morning ya’ll!

It’s Tuesday, it’s Tuesday *does a little dance* so it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Books at the Top of My Spring TBR List. This should be easy

Peter Clines

1. Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines – I saw this at Barnes and Noble the other day, and it sounded really interesting. After seeing that it got really good reviews online, I’m so psyched to read it. It’s about superheroes trying to protect Los Angeles from the zombie plague. SUPERHEROES AND ZOMBIES. Goodness.

Cassandra Rose Clarke

2. The Mad Scientist’s Daughter by Cassandra Rose Clarke – This is a new sci-fi book that’s gotten really fantastic reviews. I think it’s about a girl and her robot. I really want to read it.

Christopher Healy

3. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy - I think this is a YA or children’s book, but it looks so fun! The various Prince Charmings from various fairy tales are often sitting on the sidelines, but soon they band together to protect their kingdoms from various threats. It sounds like a really fun twist on fairy tales!

4. Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde -I really, really like the Thursday Next books and I have no good reason for not having read this one yet.

Jane Austen

5. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen – The only one of Austen’s six novels that I haven’t read yet. It’s on my Classics Club list and I think it’s time I crossed it off!

Barbara Kingsolver

6. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver - I have had this book sitting on my shelf pretty much since the day it came out like 2 or 3 years ago. I really like Kingsolver (The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favorite books) so I don’t know what the hold up is, but I want to finally read it.

Veronica Roth

7. Divergent by Veronica Roth - This is a super-hyped up YA book, but I found it used for about $2 so I figured I’d try it. I mean, the movie is going to have Kate Winslet in it so maybe it’s better than the slew of other dystopian YA flowing from the publishers these days.

Jim Al Khalili

8. Paradox by Jim Al-Khalili – I picked this out when the honeyman took me book shopping for my birthday. It’s about 9 of the major paradoxes in science and explains how they’re not really paradoxes if seen from the right angle and using the right science. It sounds really fun.

9. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly – Oh look, yet another book I’ve owned forever and still haven’t read! Something about a kid mourning his dead mom finding refuge in books and it reality and fantasy become magically blended… I don’t know. It sounds like something I would like, you know?

10. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas – Another book from my Classics Club list that I want to get to soon. I literally know nothing about this story. The closest I can get is saying that I really like the candy bar (haha), so this should be interesting.

So that’s my list! And this is the tip of the iceberg, I promise.

What are you excited to read this spring? Tell me!

~Sarah

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February 26, 2013 · 6:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: My Auto-Buy Authors

Alriiiiight, it’s Tuesday! Which means is time for Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Authors That I’d Put On My Auto-Buy List.

1. Diana Gabaldon - Umm, duh. I will scoop up any book she puts out as quick as they come. ESPECIALLY if they’re Outlander or Lord John books.

2. Michio Kaku - Michio is my probably my favorite physics author, because he writes really fun, interesting, thoughtful books about theoretical physics and the possibilities of where theories and science could take us. You should check out Physics of the Future.

3. Christopher Moore - He is SO FUNNY. I prefer some of his older stuff like Lamb, but no matter what I’ll try whatever he puts out.

4. J.K. Rowling - Yeah, even though I couldn’t finish The Casual Vacancy, I would still buy and try out anything she writes.

5. Jennifer Crusie - She’s my favorite contemporary romance author, so whenever she comes out with a new book I pick it up instantly. I’m always holding out hope that she’ll write another book as awesome as Bet Me. (It’s been a long while… I really hope she puts out a new book soon, whether it’s amazing or not.)

6. Rainbow Rowell - Attachments was a blast, and I am SO excited that her newest novel, Eleanor and Park, is being released in the U.S. today!!! Tomorrow is my birthday and I’m totally going to go birthday book shopping and pick it up.

7. Patrick Rothfuss - Dude writes epic fantasy like nobody’s business. The Name of the Wind got me hooked on fantasy. He’s SO GOOD that even if he broke into other genres I’d try it out.

8. A.J. Jacobs - Jacobs takes on major quests (live the Bible literally, be as healthy as possible, etc.) and then writes about them in a really hilarious but interesting way. Can’t wait to see what he cooks up next.

9. Chris Wooding - In all fairness, I’ve only read his first two Ketty Jay books so far, but I LOVE them. I already bought one of his other books, The Fade, to try and I’m pretty sure I’ll continue exploring his work, old and new alike.

10. Sarah Addison Allen - I adore her books, no one does magical realism like she does! I should re-read Garden Spells while I’m waiting for a new book from her.

Also, I wanted to list some relatively new authors whose books I really liked, and am anxiously awaiting to see what they come out with next… but since I’ve only read one book by them, I need to read more by them before deciding if they go on my auto-buy list!

11. Ernest Cline - Ready Player One was so awesome and unique. I really want to see what idea he comes up with next, because he has major world-building skills. (Okay actually I just did a search online and his next novel is going to be called Armada, but there’s no details or release date about it yet. Can’t wait!!!)

12. Drew Magary - The Postmortal was fantastic! More please.

13. Matthew Norman - Dude, Domestic Violets was hilarious. And I need more humorous fiction in my life, so I hope there’s more where that came from.

14. Helen Simonson - Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand was well-written and wonderful. I hope she has something else in the works!

Soooo, I cheated a little bit. But I’m just so excited for authors I like to put out new books! I always want more!

What authors are on your auto-buy list?

~Sarah

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February 19, 2013 · 5:00 am

Top Ten Tuesday: Classic Characters I Dig

Good morning ya’ll!

Soooo it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, which is hosted by the fabulous gang over at The Broke and The Bookish. This week’s topic is Top Ten Favorite Characters in X Genre – and the genre I’m going with this week is classics!

1. Heathcliff - Yup, the anti-hero from Wuthering Heights. He is totally my number one favorite classics character. He’s treated pretty terribly by just about everyone as a child, except for Cathy. And then she goes and betrays him even though they loooove each other and he comes back and shows everyone that he is a MASTER at revenge. I love it.

2. Emma - From Emma, probably one of Jane Austen’s less-loved books. I know that Lizzie Bennet is usually the favorite Austen character, and I really like her too – but she’s so damn perfect. I like Emma because she’s flawed – she’s a little vain, a little mean, a little snobbish.

3. Mr. Darcy - Uhh, DUH. Hero from Pride and Prejudice. I like him because he’s a bit of a jerk (are we noticing a trend yet?), but also because even though he’s a complete jerk to Lizzie, he does come to see what an ass he was. He admits that he’s not very good at the whole “feelings” and “politeness” thing. Yay for men who can admit their mistakes!

4. Phileas Fogg – This cool little dude made Around the World in Eighty Days a really fun read. I like that he’s SO damn punctual, and that he remains totally chill even when other people are freaking the hell out. And I kind of like the name “Phileas”.

5. Betteredge - !!!! He’s basically the Mr. Carson of The Moonstone, and I adore the old dude. Him and his silly, mildly sexist ways.

6. Colonel Brandon - He is pretty much the best character in all of Sense and Sensibility, and he’s SO underrated! He’s sweet and charming and he’s played by Alan Rickman in the movie (obviously that’s important).

7. Becky Sharp - Okay don’t quote me on this, because I’m only about 60 pages into Vanity Fair so far, but I like Becky already! She’s like the female version of Heathcliff – poor and mistreated, hence she’s mean and conniving. Also, she states herself that she’s no angel – I like that she’s not a hypocrite. I have about 700+ more pages to go, so my opinion may change, but so far she’s my kinda girl.

8. Lizzie Bennet - Well okay, she does deserve to be in the top ten just for the way she completely tears into Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine. She has a sharp, witty tongue, and I totally dig that in my classic characters.

Aaand… I can’t come up with 10. Which seems ridiculous, because there’s SO many classics that I like – but apparently I like a lot of those classics more for their plots or settings or stories rather than because they have awesome characters. Well, here’s some serious motivation to keep working away at my Classics Club list!

Which classics characters do you like? Any that I didn’t mention?

~Sarah

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Filed under Classics, Top Ten Tuesday

Tagged as classics, Classics Club reads, favorite characters, great characters, i like jerks, the broke and the bookish, Top Ten Tuesday

February 12, 2013 · 12:49 pm

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Romances & Love Stories

Good morning people! (Welllll, it’s almost noon, but you know what I mean.)

It’s time for Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, this week’s topic is Top Ten Favorite Romances.

I’m splitting my ten into two categories – Favorite Romance Novels, and Favorite Love Stories. What’s the difference, you ask?

Romance novels are usually shorter, super cheesy, formulaic, fluffy, and kind of forgettable. They usually feature one male character and one female character who meet, are attracted to each other, overcome some sort of obstacle to be together, and voila! Happy ending. There’s often several steamy sexy scenes. The novel usually ends with them happily together, possibly married (with or without kids), and there’s usually never a sequel. They’re almost always sold only in mass market paperback.
Love stories are fiction novels in which a love story is the focus, but there’s a lot more story going on as well. They’re often longer than romance novels, not quite as cheesy, have more plot, and aren’t necessarily fluffy. The writing is what most of us would consider “good” writing, or literature. The characters are ones you really grow attached to and they are memorable. The love story in a fiction novel doesn’t necessarily end at the end of the book – there might be sequels in which you see the characters grow together or live their lives together. Whereas romance novels are good for a quick fluffy read, fiction novels with love stories are the books that you end up loving and coming back to. They stick with you a little more. They can be hardcovers, trade paperbacks, and sometimes mass market paperbacks.

Is this making sense? Maybe some examples will help!

My Top Five Favorite Romance Novels

1. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie - I LOVE Bet Me. It’s not just my favorite romance novel, it’s one of my favorite books ever. It’s unique in that the characters are really memorable, there’s a lot of humor, there’s a great cast of secondary characters, and the sexy bit doesn’t happen until the end. Min and Cal are awesome, and I there are so many quotable lines. It’s one of the only romance novels I’ve ever re-read.

2. Comanche Moon by Catherine Anderson - Comanche Moon is a historical romance set in old western times when violence between cowboys and Indians was a real thing. It’s about Loretta and Hunter and they have to overcome racial barriers and there’s some violence happening during the story because of the turmoil of the times.

3. Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn - This is one of the first Julia Quinn books I ever read, and I really liked it. Julia Quinn makes her historical romance novel REALLY funny, and I like that. This book is a good example of forgettable characters though – I had to look at the back of the book for the characters names, and honestly I don’t remember a LOT of the story. I just remember really enjoying it because it was a great fluffy read.

4. The Tattooed Duke by Maya Rodale - This was a really great historical romance. Sebastian and Eliza were a fun match, and isn’t quite as insta-love as most romances. They actually had conversations! Gasp! And Eliza carries a knife, which was awesome. It’s definitely unique for romance novels, which is apparently a big deciding factor for whether or not I consider it a favorite.

5. Truly, Madly by Heather Webber - This could actually count as a contemporary romance or a mystery, because it’s a little bit of both. But I need a 5th pick, so this is it! This is actually the first book in the Lucy Valentine series – Lucy has a magical gift for finding lost things, which is the focus of the books and usually the main plot point revolves around that. But she has a love interest named Sean, and their romance takes a while to build up, which I like. I actually want to re-read the first three books because I want to read the fourth the it’s been a while.

My Top Five Favorite Love Stories

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I love Jamie and Claire. This is the start of the Outlander series, and it has adventure, history, romance, time travel, and so so so much more. Jamie and Claire have a seriously epic love. I acutally miss them when I’m not reading the series.

2. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - The Bronze Horseman is fantastic historical fiction. It’s in Russia at the start of WW2, and it focuses on Tatiana and Alexander and how they have to go through absolute HELL to be together. I cried a lot. They’re my second favorite epic couple.

3. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - The main storyline of this book is about adorable Lincoln falling in love with Beth, because it’s basically his job to read all the emails of employees at this newspaper and Beth stands out. This is set in Nebraska back when the internet was a relatively new thing, and it’s SO FUN. I root for Lincoln and Beth to get together throughout the whole book.

4. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - I love forbidden love stories. Witch Diana and vampire Matthew aren’t allowed to be in love – it’s against the rules for two different kinds of creatures to be together, which just makes their romance all that more awesome. Don’t let the paranormal aspect throw you off – the author has created a world of witches, demons, and vampires that’s really unique. It looks at the world of creatures from a historical, scientific, and philosophical views and I really enjoyed the intellectual approach.

5. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares - Daniel has spent centuries falling in love with the same girl. He has “the memory”, the ability to remember all of his past lives and to recognize reincarnated souls he knows. Across continents and throughout many lives, Daniel has been in love with Sophia and now here she is, reincarnated as a girl in his class named Lucy. Will they finally be able to get their happy ending? You should read to find out! (Also, there really should be a sequel to this but annoyingly the author hasn’t announced any plans for one yet.)

So there we have it! My favorite romances and love stories.

What are some of yours?

~Sarah

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Filed under Top Ten Tuesday

Tagged as epic love stories, love, love stories, romance novels, the broke and the bookish, the difference between a romance novel and a love story, Top Ten Tuesday, V-Day, valentine's day reads

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Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Romances & Love Stories

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