The Quoteables [May 23]

The Quoteables is an original, weekly (sometimes bookish, sometimes not) meme in which I share a few of the quotes that I have been loving.



This week's quote is:

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

— Henry Stanley Haskins

Top Ten Tuesday [May 19]

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they update their blog with a list of ten things that have to do with a predetermined topic.



This week's topic is: Top Ten Tuesday Freebie

Even though I have a feeling it was done a few months ago, I have decided to list my Top Ten Standalone Books.



1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

3. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

4. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Though, apparently, there are rumors this might be made into a duology?)

5. Vicious by V.E. Schwab

6. Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King

7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

8. The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

9. Paper Valentine, Fiendish, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

10. Panic by Lauren Oliver


What are some of your favorite standalone books?

Teaser Tuesday [May 19]

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. All you have to do is grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two teaser sentences (that don't give too much away).


This week's teaser, courtesy of my Harry Potter reread:

Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. He would have liked Cho to discover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told; he would not have chosen to be sitting with Neville and Loony Lovegood, clutching a toad and dripping in Stinksap.

— Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Bout of Books 13 [Progress/Wrap-up]

Instead of doing seven individual updates, I have decided to combine my progress from the week into one, convenient post! Check back for daily updates and visit the Bout of Books blog for more information.



[ Day One ]

▫ Continued/finished reading Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
▫ Participated in the Bookish Survey challenge

# of hours read on Day One: about 2 (total = 2)
# of pages read on Day One: 138 (total = 138)
# of books read on Day One: 1 (total = 1)
# of challenges completed on Day One: 1 (total = 1)


[ Day Two ]

▫ Began reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
▫ Participated in the Character Face-Off challenge

# of hours read on Day Two: about 3 (total = 5)
# of pages read on Day Two: 210 (total = 348)
# of books read on Day Two: 0 (total = 1)
# of challenges completed on Day Two: 1 (total = 2)


[ Day Three ]

▫ Continued reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas  

# of hours read on Day Three: about 1.5 (total = 6.5)
# of pages read on Day Three: 91 (total = 439)
# of books read on Day Three: 0 (total = 1)
# of challenges completed on Day Three: 0 (total = 2)


[ Day Four ]

▫ Finished reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
▫ Began (re)reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
▫ Participated in the Modern to Classic challenge

# of hours read on Day Four: about 2.5 (total = 9)
# of pages read on Day Four: 204 (total = 643)
# of books read on Day Four: 1 (total = 2)
# of challenges completed on Day Four: 1 (total = 3)


[ Day Five ]

▫ Participated in the Cover Color challenge

# of hours read on Day Five: 0 (total = 9)
# of pages read on Day Five: 0 (total = 643)
# of books read on Day Five: 0 (total = 2)
# of challenges completed on Day Five: 1 (total = 4)

Notes: I took day five off from reading, in order to get some other things accomplished.


[ Day Six ]

▫ Continued (re)reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
▫ Participated in the Favorite BoB13 Read challenge

# of hours read on Day Six: about 2.5 (total = 11.5)
# of pages read on Day Six: 199 (total = 842)
# of books read on Day Six: 0 (total = 2)
# of challenges completed on Day Six: 1 (total = 5)


[ Day Seven ]

▫ Finished (re)reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
▫ Began (re)reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

# of hours read on Day Seven: about 2.5 (total = 14)
# of pages read on Day Seven: 191 (total = 1,033)
# of books read on Day Seven: 1 (total = 3)
# of challenges completed on Day Seven: 0 (total = 5)

The Quoteables [May 16]

The Quoteables is an original, weekly (sometimes bookish, sometimes not) meme in which I share a few of the quotes that I have been loving.



This week's quote is:

 "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

BoB 13: Favorite Bout of Books Read

Today's Bout of Books challenge is "Your Favorite BoB13 Read," hosted by Once Upon a Chapter! For this, we are supposed to take a picture of our favorite Bout of Books read and post it online.



Here is mine:

 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Why: This book had a little bit of everything; action, adventure, romance, humor and a great, kick-ass female protagonist. I found myself thoroughly enjoying this read and finished it in a matter of days. I loved it so much that I broke my book-buying "ban" of sorts and ordered the second book online, immediately after finishing the first!

BoB 13: Cover Color Challenge

Today's Bout of Books challenge is "Cover Color," hosted by Wishful Endings! For this, we are supposed to chose at least four books of the same color and take a picture.



The color(s) I chose were: Yellow/Orange

1. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

2. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

3. The Kill Order by James Dashner

4. Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

5. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

6. A Million Suns by Beth Revis

7. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

8. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

BoB 13: Modern to Classic Challenge

Today's Bout of Books challenge is "Modern to Classic," hosted by Ranty Runt of a Reader! For this, we are supposed to share a book that we believe will be considered a classic in 100 years time.



1. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, published in 2005.

Reason #1: This book takes place during a time that is well-known in history and deals with not only the repercussions of Hitler's rule over the Jewish, but also the German. 100 years from now, historians and school children will still be studying World War II and this book will remain relevant.

Reason #2: Along with the subject, the thoughts and feelings that this story invoke will also remain a key feature of its excellence. Death, love, sacrifice, family, hatred, allegiance to one's country and war are all feelings that transcend time, allowing it to remain the darling of many generations to come.



2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, published in 2006.

Reason #1: This book is a masterpiece. Falling under the genre of historical fiction, it perfectly embodies the time period from which it takes place, incorporating youth and maturity in a way that is both wise and insightful.

Reason #2: The book has everything that a good story should posses; action, adventure, romance and fun, all wrapped up into a delightful and sometimes heart-wrenching coming of age story about a boy and a circus.



I chose two, partly because The Book Thief is likely to be a popular pick and partly because I have so much faith in both of these books that I absolutely could not narrow it down to just one!

BoB 13: Character Face-Off Challenge

Today's Bout of Books challenge is a "Character Face-Off," hosted by LuLo Fangirl! We must pick two of our favorite characters and pit them against one another, listing their strengths and flaws, in an attempt to crown the grand champion of our own personal Favorite Fictional Characters list.



Because I don't necessarily want to compare my many, many book boyfriends (too cruel, that) and most of my favorite characters are labeled as my "favorite" for varying reasons, I am going to throw two, kick-ass females into the ring. Everyone knows I have a soft spot for girls who can kick butt and look good while doing it - all without assistance from the opposite sex - so I feel like this challenge will definitely live up to its title.

#1. In the first corner, we have Ruby Daly from Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds trilogy!

Pros:

— Extremely loyal
— Fights for what she believes is right and does not accept the "easy way out"
— Incredibly brave; will place herself in situations to further the cause and protect her friends
— Stubborn (in a good way)

Cons:

— Stubborn (in a bad way)
— Will keep quiet about things that she is afraid will hurt the people she cares about but, in the end, these secrets get everyone into more trouble


#2. And in the second corner, we have Tessa Gray from Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices trilogy!

Pros:

— Is not afraid to get her hands dirty, despite her upbringing (and lack of Shadowhunter experience).
— Does not let difficult decisions/situations get the better of her; she will keep her head and power through, even if it means certain death
— Loyal
— A visionary

Cons:

— She has a soft spot in her heart for friends and family and can be easily manipulated when they are involved.

. . . .

Winner: Tessa Gray

Why: Most of the time, Ruby Daly's decision-making skills are severely lacking and, despite her incredible bravery, she will sometimes land herself and her friends into situations that could have been avoided. Tessa, though a little too compassionate at times, does not allow herself to fall into traps or be pushed around without a fight. She may not necessarily be the strongest female protagonist out there, but she certainly holds her own and makes up for her lack of physical strength with a good head and heart.

. . . .

I was right. That was an incredibly difficult/painful process...

Teaser Tuesday [May 12]

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. All you have to do is grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two teaser sentences (that don't give too much away).


This week's teaser:

Magic was dead, the Fae were banished or executed, and she would never again have anything to do with the rise and fall of kingdoms. She wasn't fated for anything. Not anymore.

— Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Top Ten Tuesday [May 12]

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they update their blog with a list of ten things that have to do with a predetermined topic.



This week's topic is: Top ten authors I want to meet.



1. J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.

2. Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series.

3. Victoria Schwab, author of The Archived, Vicious and A Darker Shade of Magic.

4. Cassandra Clare, author of The Infernal Devices trilogy and The Mortal Instruments series.

5. Michelle Hodkin, author of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer trilogy.

6. Beth Revis, author of the Across the Universe trilogy.

7. Marissa Meyer, author of The Lunar Chronicles.

8. Sarah J. Maas, author of the Throne of Glass series.

9. Alexandra Bracken, author of the Darkest Minds trilogy.

10. Tahereh Mafi, author of the Shatter Me trilogy.

And one more, just for fun (not because I had a hard time narrowing the list down, or anything):

11. Ransom Riggs, author of the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children trilogy.


Who are your favorite authors?

BoB 13: Bookish Survey Challenge

Today's Bout of Books challenge is a "Bookish Survey," hosted by Writing My Own Fairytale! We are given five questions to answer, which are listed below:

1. How do you organize your shelves?

Mine are organized by series (with separate shelves for those that are complete and incomplete), standalone books and specific author. I have separate bookshelves for my favorite books and TBR.

2. What is one of your favorite books that is not in one of your favorite genres?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I don't read too many adult books, but this one was fantastic!

3. What is the last 5-star book you read?

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson.

4. What book are you most excited to read during the read-a-thon?

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I have heard some pretty amazing things!

5. What book do you recommend the most?

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. It has a little bit of everything.

The Quoteables [May 9]

The Quoteables is an original, weekly (sometimes bookish, sometimes not) meme in which I share a few of the quotes that I have been loving.



This week's quote is:

"'Tis always morning somewhere in the world."

— Richard Henry Hengist Horne

Bout of Books 13

It's time for Bout of Books!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 11th and runs through Sunday, May 17th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 13 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team



Will I see you there?

Teaser Tuesday [May 5]

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jenn of A Daily Rhythm. All you have to do is grab your current read, open to a random page, and share two teaser sentences (that don't give too much away).


This week's teaser:

The stupid thing was that James didn't know what he'd died of. He didn't even know he was dead. Er, was going to die. Would be dead. The longer you thought about this time travel stuff, the more complicated it got.

— Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

The Quoteables [May 2]

The Quoteables is an original, weekly (sometimes bookish, sometimes not) meme in which I share a few of the quotes that I have been loving.



This week's quote is:

"Don't wait until you know who you are to get started."

— Austin Kleon

and

"We love the things we love for what they are."

— Robert Frost