Top Ten Tuesday: Fall 2016 TBR List

The last TBR list I drafted up was also for a Top Ten Tuesday, in which I talked about my Spring 2016 TBR. Guess what? I read ZERO of the ten books I listed. It seems to always play out that way. I make a list, and then promptly ignore it. It's mostly because I am a total mood reader, and I can't force myself to read books if anyone tells me to, even if that person is ME. 

This time, though, I made a commitment to read books for a Mock Printz Award, which I am really jazzed about. I think that's really going to hone my focus. Plus, I am accountable to someone other than myself, so that also helps motivate me.

Without any further ado, here are the top ten books on my fall TBR list:

• The Beauty of Darkness (The Remnant Chronicles #3) 
  by Mary E. Pearson 
  I read the first two books of the series and really enjoyed them, so I bought this final book to end the series. I wasn't counting on it being utterly massive and double the size of the previous two books, so I've been dragging my feet on picking it up.

• With Malice
  by Eileen Cook 
  This book was gifted to me by a dear friend for my birthday. I've heard a lot of great things about it, so I'm looking forward to cracking it open sometime in the fall season before someone spoils it for me.

• The Reader (Sea of Ink and Gold #1)
  by Traci Chee 
  Here is one of the books I am going to read for the Mock Printz. I got an ARC of it at BEA, though a friend cautions me that it may not have all the elements that are in the final book, which is very important to the overall enjoyment. 

• The Sun Is Also a Star
  by Nicola Yoon 
  I loved Everything, Everything, so I was thrilled to get a copy at BEA. This is another book I am going to read for the Mock Printz.

• We Are the Ants
  by Shaun David Hutchinson 
  This one comes highly recommended, and is also a Mock Printz contender. After reading the premise, I decided this one is going to be my next read. Actually, I plan on starting it tonight...

• The Lie Tree
  by Frances Hardinge 
  This one has been out for a while, but I hadn't heard of it until I became involved in the Mock Printz. From what I understand, it has a big shot at winning this year.

• Salt to the Sea
  by Ruta Sepetys 
  I actually met Ruta at BEA, and she signed a hardcover copy of this book for me. I've wanted to read it for ages, and now that it is a Mock Printz hopeful, I finally have a reason to pick it up already.

• Caraval (Untitled #1)
  by Stephanie Garber 
  This is another book I was lucky enough to snag at BEA. It pubs in January, so I'd like to read it before then.

• The Witchcraft of Salem Village
  by Shirley Jackson 
  So here is one of two books about Salem that I'd like to read this fall. Because I work in Salem, and because I've been obsessed with the Salem Witch Trials since I was a kid, I figured it's time to read more about them. I'm hoping I can get to this book right around or a bit before Halloween.

• Six Women of Salem: The Untold Story of the Accused and Their Accusers in the Salem Witch Trials
  by Marilynne K. Roach 
  Here is the second Salem book and the final book in my fall TBR. I actually bought it two years ago during my first visit to Salem. I have no idea why I haven't read it yet. Well, actually, it's probably because I am more of a fiction than nonfiction reader. But this is a book I can see myself loving.

So, there you have it. Ten books to read before December. Think I can swing it?

What's in your Top Ten Tuesday?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Enjoyed That Have Under 2000 Ratings On Goodreads

It’s time for another very cool top ten list by The Broke and the Bookish. This topic is a new way to talk about underrated books, especially when calling a book underrated is subjective. An easy way to figure out your own list is to go to Goodreads, select your “read” list, and at the top of your read list where it says “settings,” you can add a column for “# of ratings.” From there, you can sort your list from least to most ratings.

So without any further ado, in order from least to most ratings, here are ten books I enjoyed with less than 2000 ratings on Goodreads:

1. Yes, Let's
   by Galen Goodwin Longstreth, Maris Wicks
   183 Ratings
   
   
2. Stories
   by Doris Lessing
   195 Ratings
   
   
3. Spread, Vol. 1: No Hope (Spread #1-6)
   by Justin Jordan, Kyle Strahm
   222 Ratings
   
   
4. Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula
   by Andi Watson
   533 Ratings
   
   
5. This Monstrous Thing
   by Mackenzi Lee
   750 Ratings
   
   
6. In the Shadows
   by Kiersten White, Jim Di Bartolo
   951 Ratings
   
   
7. The Wind Blows Backward
   by Mary Downing Hahn
   957 Ratings
   
   
8. A Curious Tale of the In-Between
   by Lauren DeStefano
   983 Ratings
   
   
9. Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures (Pip Bartlett #1)
   by Jackson Pearce, Maggie Stiefvater
   1,066 Ratings
   
   
10. Ethel and Ernest
    by Raymond Briggs
    1,201 Ratings

Have you heard of or read any of the books I mentioned? I’d love to talk more about them, especially because they are so very deserving of love and attention!

What's in your Top Ten Tuesday?

Top Ten Tuesday: The Most Anticipated Book Releases for the Second Half of 2016

I love Top Ten Tuesdays. I don't know why I don't participate in this book meme more often. I love love love making lists, especially book lists. This week's TTT is about my most anticipated releases for the second half of the year. Obviously, this list does not encompass every single book I am excited about that is going to pub in 2016, but it's a good start! 

1. Replica (Replica #1)
   by Lauren Oliver
   Expected publication: October 4th 2016 by HarperCollins
    
2. Three Dark Crowns (Untitled #1)
   by Kendare Blake
   Expected publication: September 20th 2016 by HarperTeen
    
3. The Peculiar Night of the Blue Heart
   by Lauren DeStefano
   Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
    
4. Ghosts
   by Raina Telgemeier
   Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by Graphix
    
5. Dark Matter
   by Blake Crouch
   Expected publication: August 2nd 2016 by Crown
    
6. The Forgetting
   by Sharon Cameron
   Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by Scholastic Press
    
7. The Sun Is Also a Star
   by Nicola Yoon
   Expected publication: November 1st 2016 by Delacorte Press
    
8. Moo
   by Sharon Creech
   Expected publication: August 30th 2016 by HarperCollins
    
9. King Baby
   by Kate Beaton
   Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by Arthur A. Levine Books
    
10. The Graces (The Graces #1)
    by Laure Eve
    Expected publication: September 6th 2016 by Amulet Books
     

Luckily for me, I already have ARCs for most of these on this list. I wish I had copies of Moo and The Graces, but I'll just buy them when they pub. It's not as if I don't have enough books to keep me occupied in the mean time.

What's in your Top Ten Tuesday?

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a TTT. The last one I did was May of last year, where I recapped the covers that made me buy thebook. Today’s TTT called to me because it is kind of a no-brainer-- I have a 300+ TBR towering over me, both metaphorically and physically. I read by mood, so it’s hard for me to nail down a specific to-read list, but there are a few genres I’ve been wanting to tackle, especially because I set some 2016 reading goals that I still need to meet. All of the following books are books that I already own.

Let’s start with the classics. My book bucket list is brimming over with classic literature. During my undergrad days, I read a ton of classic lit and loved it. But once I graduated, I was burnt out and just wanted to turn my brain off, so I ended up reading them a lot less frequently. I will pick one up every now and then, but I don’t read them consistently, and I know I’m only cheating myself. This is why three of my ten Spring TBR choices are classics: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer, and Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman and Nancy Freedman. I figured I’m more likely to read them if they have a strong romance thread.

Next, I really want to knock some of the 2015 ARCs off my TBR. Last summer I acquired an obscene amount of ARCs from publishers and through giveaways, and now they are just sitting on my shelves, taunting me with their past pub dates jumping off their spines. I feel so guilty for not having read (or reviewed) them before they pubbed, so I’ll try to make amends by reading them now. The three that I’m going to read are Soundless by Richelle Mead, A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis, and Court of Fives by Kate Elliott. 

I’ve also acquired quite a bit of contemporary YA, even though I barely touch the genre; I generally like my YA to have magic and supernatural elements to it. That isn’t to say I absolutely NEVER read contemporary though—Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon and Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella are a couple of contemps. I’ve read recently. So here are the three contemporary YAs that I plan to read: The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, and Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly.

Lastly, I want to read some of the non-fiction I’ve been hoarding for years, always saying to myself “oh, I should really read that!” and then go pick up a YA fantasy novel instead. So my non-fic choice is Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit. It comes highly recommended to me by a friend. From what I understand, it’s sortof a self-help/psychology/art book combo that helps you sustain your creativity through ritual and organization. 

 

Will I get to all of these this spring? Eh, probably not. Like I said, I’m a mood reader. I have to really be in the mood for something in order to read it. I’ve never been able to stick to a book list before. But these are just ten of many books I hope to read this spring, and I give myself permission to stray away and read whatever my heart desires.

Which books did you choose for this week’s
Top Ten Tuesday?

Top Ten Tuesday: Covers that Made Me Buy the Book

This is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday, which is a really popular meme floating around the book blogosphere created by The Broke and the Bookish, where bloggers create a list of ten items pertaining to that week’s theme. Past topics include Top Ten Inspiring Quotes from Books, Top Ten All Time Favorite Authors, Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List—simple and fun book-related lists, basically.

It looks like I picked a good week to start with because this week’s theme is “Top Ten Tuesday Freebie: Your Choice of Topic.” What I ended up doing was scrolling through the list of previous TTTs and was inspired by “Top Ten Books Whose Titles Or Covers Made Me Buy It” from October 2011 (wow, what a long-running meme!). I chose this one because of how I recently purchased Two Serious Ladies for its cover art. So, Two Serious Ladies would be my number one pick.

For the next three, I absolutely love the fonts and color schemes. They are all simple yet beautifully detailed at the same time. 

• The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
• Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I also really love silhouettes and hand-drawn illustrations on covers. I definitely purchased all three of these books based on their covers alone. I didn’t even bother with reading the back copy. I haven’t read any of these particular books yet, but I know Wonder got rave reviews.

 

• The Aviary by Kathleen O’Dell
• Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
• Wonder by R.J. Palacio

The final three are all random wild cards. I found Silver Princess, Golden Knight on Book Outlet, knew it was completely obscure and potentially a total flop, but bought it because of the magnificent bird/human/angel hybrid on the cover. Some high-fantasies have cheesy covers, but this one is breath-taking. 

 

• Silver Princess, Golden Knight by Sharon Green
• Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
• Whirligig by Paul Fleischman

Did you participate in this week’s Top Ten Tuesday? What was your freebie pick? I’m so curious to see the topics that everyone else chose.