Mid-Year Book Freakout

Hosted by A Book So Fathomless

I got challenged to do this by my friend and fellow blogger Mara at The Reading Hedgehog. And I thought it looked like fun and a good idea so here is my post, kind of a wrap up of the entire year and not just my summer reads.

1- Best book you've read so far in 2014
Okay, this is tough. I've read lots of good books, but only a few really awesome, epic books. As far as books that came out this year, definitely Jackaby by William Ritter. But as follow up books that I just read this year, I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga and Vicious by Victoria Schwab were close seconds.

2- Best sequel you've read so far in 2014
Probably The Shadow Throne (Ascendence Trilogy #3) by Jennifer A. Neilson was the best sequel book I read so far.

3-New release you haven't read yet, but want to
Ooh, soo many! I have heard many good things about The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen and really want to read that. I also really want to read Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne. Looks like a good adventure fantasy novel.

4- Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater (Raven Boys III) I'm both anticipating this one and scared to death by it. I almost wonder if I just want to have it so I can see where it goes.

5- Biggest disappointment
I don't know if I had any books that were a HUGE disappointment. Half Bad by Sally Green wasn't nearly as awesome as it sounded nor was Crusher by Niall Leonard, but it didn't keep me up at night.

6- Biggest surprise
This would probably be Spookygirl by Jill Baguchinsky. This was one of those books that could go either way, but ended up being good. Not one of the best books ever, but very enjoyable.

7- New author (debut or new to you)
I'm going to do both. For a debut, William Ritter, author of Jackaby definitely and for new to me, Rob Thurman, author of the Cal Leandros series.

8- Newest fictional crush
Ummm....wow, that's a hard one. Maybe Niko from the Cal Leandros series. Off the top of my head.

9- Newest favorite character
Jackaby, definitely.

10- Book that made you cry
I think I've spent most of this year so far crying over TV series instead of books, but I did cry reading The Shadow Throne by Jennifer A. Neilson. It tore me up.

11- Book that made you happy
The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel. Classic adventure novel, and I always adore his books. Makes me feel like a kid :-)

12- Favorite book to film adaption you have seen this year
As crazy as this sounds, I have not seen a book movie this year. I have actually only gone to see three movies this year so far, and none of them were book adaptions. I can probably say with conviction that my favorite will be the third Hobbit movie when it comes out.

13- Favorite review you have written this year
This might sound bad, but my favorite review to write this year was the one I wrote for The Friday Society which I gave one star to because I got to say what I thought about it and use lots of gifs. It's here if you want to read it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/446704041?book_show_action=false

14- Most beautiful book you have bought this year or received
The Barns & Noble Classics edition of Grimm's Fairy Tales It is sooo pretty :-)

15- What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Um...all of them? I don't really plan that far ahead and I actually finished up all the books I told myself I needed to read this year that were already out over the summer, so I'm pretty clean right now :-) Maybe you should tell me what books I need to read before the end of the year??? (I'm serious, I love to hear people's suggestions!)

I'm not going to tag anyone for this, but I would like to thank Mara again for tagging me, because I enjoyed it a lot! Hope everyone has a good September! I'll be back before long with...something :P

Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon

So to start off the summer with my piles of reading, I joined a Read-A-Thon that Hannah at The Book Tower is putting on from June 9th--15th.


Here are my goals for the Read-A-Thon:

-Read 100 or more pages a day
-Read a Classic
-Finish last month's book club read (got behind!)
-Get some research done on the side


I'll mark the books that I read for the challenge on this post as I finish them.

There's also other challenges to participate in during the Sweet Summer Read-A-Thon that you can find out about on Hannah's blog. And if you'd like to join the read-a-thon, too, just follow this link! http://the-book-tower.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/sweet-summer-read-thon-sign-up-here.html

My Summer Reading List!

Every summer, I get a huge stack of books from the library (and some from my own shelves) and challenge myself to read them all before the end of August. I decided to share my planned reading list with you all here, and I'm really hoping to get through them all before summer is over.

I've started a summer reading shelf on Goodreads and I have also started a board on Pintrest to track all my books. If you want to follow it, or if you made one yourself, let me know. We may be able to share recommendations!

First off, the Library Stack:

Dragon Slayer: The Story of Beowuf-- Rosemary Sutcliff

Madhouse (Cal Leandros #3)-- Rob Thurman

Deathwish (Cal Leandros #4)-- Rob Thurman

Don't be Afraid of the Dark: Blackwood's Guide to Dangerous Fairies-- Guillermo Del Toro & Christopher Golden (I didn't realise this was some sort of film tie in, but it has fairy lore, and I like Christopher Golden's writing, so I thought it sounded cool)

King of Ithaka-- Tracy Barrett

Game (Jasper Dent #2) Barry Lyga

The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co.)-- Jonathan Stroud

The Pale Assassin-- Patricia Elliott

Nightmare City-- Andrew Klaven

Far Far Away-- Tom McNeal

This Dark Endeavor-- Kenneth Oppel (A Frankenstein tie in, one that I wanted to read for a while)

Crusher-- Niall Leonard

Simon-- Rosemary Sutcliff (This is one I have never even heard of before!)

The Friday Society-- Adreinne Kress

The Iron Hand of Mars (Falco Mysteries #4)-- Lindsey Davis

Poseidon's Gold (Falco Mysteries #5)-- Lindsey Davis

Most of the ones I got from the library apart from the series books are ones I've wanted to read for a while, but I'm not sure about them, so I hope they're good.

The second stack are books I own but haven't read yet, so I'm probably even more excited about those since I'm pretty sure I will enjoy them. A couple were faith buys on good recommendation from friends I trust (Thanks Mara ;-) and some are series books I haven't gotten to yet.

Moonshine (Cal Leandros #2)-- Rob Thurman

Knight of Shadows (Hunter of Sherwood)-- Toby Venables. (Had to get this one because Guy of Gisburne is the main character!!)

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)-- Marissa Meyer (This was a faith buy since I found them at the booksale. I've wanted to read them for a while and since they are hard to find at the library I decided to buy them.)

Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2)-- Marissa Meyer

The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson #5)-- Rick Riordan (Finally need to get around to reading this!!)

Shadow and Bone-- Leigh Bardugo (Heard this was really good, so am excited to read it!)

Reckless-- Cornelia Funke (Haven't found a book by Cornelia Funke I didn't like)

The Hero's Guide to Being an Outlaw (League of Princes #3)--Christopher Healy (LOVE these, they are so funny!)

What is everyone else planning on reading this summer?

7 Favorite First Lines

Here's a fun post that I hope will entice people to share with me their favorite first lines as well. I was inspired to do this after my friend Mara did her favorite book beginnings and endings on her blog (see her post here) and thought it would be fun to show everyone what my favorite first lines are. As writers and readers both, we know that first lines are so important because that is what will keep a reader reading. Some of these might not even be from my favorite books, but they are all from books I enjoy very much.  Okay, I'll also admit that most of these are actually the first paragraphs and not just the first lines, but oh well.

7. Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

"Sailing toward dawn, and I was perched atop the crow's nest, being the ship's eyes."

I think I like the simple beauty of this first line, and the whole first chapter of this book is probably my favorite part out of the whole thing.





6. The Last Knight by Hilari Bell

"To say it was a dark and stormy night would be a gross understatement. It was colder than a witch's kiss, wetter than a spring swamp, and blacker than a tax collector's heart. A sane man would have been curled up in front of a fire with a cup of mulled wine and a good boo--, ah, I willing wench. But not me. I was out in it. I'm squire to a hero."

Because I love Fisk, and I think this first line totally captures his character perfectly =)



5. Fair Blows the Wind by Louis L'Amour

"My name is Tatton Chantry and unless the gods are kind to rogues, I shall die within minutes."

This is one of those first lines that grabs my attention instantly and makes me want to read more.





4. The Sea Wolves (Secret Journeys of Jack London) by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon

"If it hadn't been for the pelican, Jack London would have been murdered by the wolves."

Again, one of those first lines that makes me want to read. I also love this one because, unless you know the book, it's rather strange and makes you wonder whether to take it literally or not.



3. The Rogues by Jane Yolen and Rober J. Harris

"I have seen ghosts in a burned-out cottage and the devil on horseback. This is no lie. The first I saw on the day my brother, Lachlan, and I picked out way through the shell of Glendoun. And the devil--well, he followed soon after."

One of my favorite books ever, and I really liked the introduction to the story in this first line. It has a nice ambiance.




2. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

"It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die."

I love this first line. It makes you want to read more, and is also eerily nonchalant in the delivery, giving a good introduction in just this line into Sean's character (and Sean is one of my favorite characters ever). I always like lines in books with first POV that let you know the character as soon as you start the book, and this is one that does that.



1. Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini

"He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad."

After consideration, I kind of had to decide that this is probably my most favorite first line ever. I don't know why, I just really love it =)







So, a bonus discussion question: what is it that you like best in first lines?