Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Top Ten 2013 Books

My Top Ten Favorite Books of 2013


The end of the year and the time to rank my reads has arrived. It's always hard to choose favorites, but this year was difficult for a different reason. I feel like I've been in somewhat of a reading and blogging rut for the past year. While I've certainly read books that I loved, I feel like I have fewer that I'm raving about. Maybe with the passage of time I'll feel differently.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Manga Mondays #172: Manga New Year Goals

Manga Mondays Meme


It's been far too long since I've done a Manga Mondays. I'm going to try to get back into the habit.

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog more than 3 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Do you have any Manga reading goals for 2014?



Thursday, December 26, 2013

Feature and Follow Friday #181

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.





Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas everyone! I'm in the middle of my annual Harry Potter re-read (just started the 6th book). I'm going to be going on a reading bender for the next few days. I'll see you all back here on December 26.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Feature and Follow Friday #180

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.





Reading Stats: A White, Female Book Year

The homogeneity of YA authors and characters has been a significant issue the last several years (frankly, the issue extends to all literature, not just YA). The majority of YA authors and characters are white. The majority of YA authors tend to be female. (Interestingly and troublingly though, the majority of YA authors who hit the top ten in the NYT bestseller list are male).

I'm well aware that my reading habits coincide with the white, female trend. Not purposely, of course, but it does work out that way. I was curious just how homogeneous my reading was this year, so I decided to break it down my 2013 reading by genre, author gender and race. I am displeased, although not surprised by the results.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Waiting on Wednesdays: Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!


Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

Publish Date: February 25, 2014
Publisher: Point

I love Elizabeth Eulberg's books. I've read all of them and I think each one gets better.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

GIVEAWAY! Blog Tour: Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott




Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

Release Date:
January 28, 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma—the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia—New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge. Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death—and maybe, for love?

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Feature and Follow Friday #179

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.





Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Waiting on Wednesdays: Panic by Lauren Oliver

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!


Panic by Lauren Oliver

Publish Date: March 4, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins

I am almost always a fan of Lauren's books. I'm definitely excited for a new one from her. Not sure if it's stand-alone or a new series.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date:
September 17, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: BEA

Summary

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same.

Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life.

Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after... (courtesy of Goodreads.)

Review

The Dream Thieves in the second book in Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle series. I adored the first book The Raven Boys. It set a very high bar for The Dream Thieves to meet. Unfortunately, for me at least, it fell short.

Monday, December 9, 2013

Manga Mondays #171: Boys Over Flowers vol. 2 by Hana Yori Dango

Manga Mondays Meme


It's been far too long since I've done a Manga Mondays. I'm going to try to get back into the habit.

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 3 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Boys Over Flowers vol. 2 by Hana Yori Dango


Summary

Tsukushi Makino has been accepted into the snobbish Eitoku academy. From a middle-class background and poor compared to her classmates, Tsukushi is determined to get her diploma. Standing in her way is the gang known as F4 -- four handsome but vicious rich boys who rule the school and attack anyone who gets in their way This popular series features drama, romance, humor, strong girls, and cute boys. Because she stood up to the F4 gang, Tsukushi is now a celebrity But not everyone has joined her fan club. A boy playing a violin is rude to her. A trio of girls tricks her at a party. And she gets kidnapped and taken to Tsukasa's mansion, where she and her sometimes enemy have a fight and he spreads cruel gossip about her around the school Tsukushi's resourceful, but how will she handle this one? (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

In some ways volume 2 of Boys Over Flowers is a mess. It starts off in the middle of a scene without any context. If it's a continuation from volume 1 I've forgotten it. To make matters worse, it feels like there's a dozen separate subplots.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Feature and Follow Friday #178

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.





Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Waiting on Wednesdays: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!


The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Publish Date: April 15, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown for Young Readers

I've read both of Jennifer's previous books and adored them. I can't wait to check out her newest offering.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Release Date:
September 10, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Source: BEA

Summary

While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival. (courtesy of Goodreads.)

Review

Rose Under Fire starts off in a difficult position. Elizabeth Wein's previous novel Code Name Verity received astronomical levels of praise. Hard to follow that. Also, Rose Under Fire deals with the Holocaust. Always a difficult topic because of its horrific nature, but also because there are so many Holocaust novels that it's hard to write anything new.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Manga Mondays #170: Boys Over Flowers vol. 1 by Hana Yori Dango

Manga Mondays Meme


It's been far too long since I've done a Manga Mondays. I'm going to try to get back into the habit.

I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 3 years ago. It started out as a personal feature, but I decided to turn it into a meme last year. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme is a great way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.

The linky will be below my review.

Boys Over Flowers vol. 1 by Hana Yori Dango


Summary

Tsukushi Makino has been accepted into the snobbish Eitoku academy. From a middle-class background and poor compared to her classmates, Tsukushi is determined to get her diploma. Standing in her way is the gang known as F4 -- four handsome but vicious rich kids who rule the school and attack anyone who gets in their way This popular series features drama, romance, humor, strong girls, and cute boys. When her only friend, Makiko, accidentally offends F4 leader Tsukasa, Tsukushi boldly defends her. Enraged, Tsukushi puts the dreaded red tag in Tsukushi's locker -- a sign that she is now a target for the abuse of the F4 and the entire school. But when Tsukushi fights the gang with their own weapon, Tsukasa finds himself falling for her (courtesy of Goodreads)

Review

*Warning: Potential spoilers. My manga reviews tend to be more of a summary than a review. I find it hard to review manga in the same way I do regular books.

From the cover and title alone, I was expecting this to be a typical, ridiculous shoujo manga series. Perhaps it will become so eventually, but the first volume was surprisingly genuine and serious.