Top Ten Tuesday: Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

This week's Top Ten:

Top Ten Books Featuring Travel in Some Way

Travel novels are among my most favourite novels out there. It's almost guaranteed that I'll love a book if travel is featured in it, in a small or big way. (Usually) novels that feature traveling in some way mainly deals with self-discovery or it's a coming-of-age story. You have to get lost to find yourself. So without further ado, here are my top ten favourite travel novels:

Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Hands down, Just One Day is the best travel novel I have ever read, and one of my all-time favourite novels. Sometimes, when I'm sitting on the couch and my eyes travel to my bookshelf, I see my copy of Just One Day and I'm just struck by the sheer brilliance of this novel. I relive some of my favourite scenes then get sad that all those stuff didn't actually happen to me.

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
I am pretty sure I was Colin in a previous life. Fans of Green's works like Katherines the least but this is one of the best, in my opinion. Not many liked all the mathematical/academic stuff that Colin was obsessed but I loved it. Oh, and the anagrams! I loved it, I loved it all.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
PARIS and ST CLAIR and the FOOD. The Parisian culture was so rich, it was like you could taste the Parisian air.

From What I Remember by Stacey Kramer and Valerie Thomas
I was surprised by how much I loved this book. It was such a fun read. It had a lot of cliched tropes but it didn't feel cliched, do you know what I mean? It was hilarious, but still had enough 'serious' moments amidst all the fun. It was kinda like The Hangover, except much better and more heartfelt and with teenagers, instead.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
This is one of the cutest novels I have ever read. About 3/4 of the it takes place on a plane and it's these two teenagers- strangers- who've managed to fall in love with each other in about twenty four hours. But Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (that's a friggin' mouthful) isn't just about a non-insta-love. It's also about coming to terms with a broken family.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K.Rowling
Time travel counts, too, right? Of course it does. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
TFiOS is one of my all-time favourite books but we're focusing on the travel aspects of the novels so this isn't so high on this particular list. Anyways, this brought Amsterdam on my radar. I never really gave it much thought before but I didn't realize how amazing it is. And how can I forget about Hazel and Augustus' ridiculously romantic date? Who am I kidding, the whole trip was one big ridiculously romantic date.

How They Met and Other Stories by David Levithan
This one is a collection of short stories and only one involves travel but it's one of my favourites. It's stuck with me since I read it and I don't have a clue what the other short stories were about. I'm sure the others were good, just probably wasn't as good as the travel one.

I haven't actually read that many travel books, now that I think about it, no matter how much I love them. I've left the list incomplete since I didn't want to just pick any random thing. So any ones you think I must read?

What books are on your list? Any ones you think I should read? Sound off in the comments, leave me a link to your TTT post and I'll stop by!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Expectations, Expectations

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

This week's top ten:

Books I Thought I'd Like More and Less Than I Did

You can't help but have expectations for certain books, whether you thought it was going to be the most amazing thing ever or you thought it would suck like crap. I decided to split the list this week and do half of each category because why not?

First up are the disappointments. All of these books have a massive following and maybe it is because of the massive following and the hype that made me expect so much awesomeness. Then it falls flat. It happens. Warning: Rants Ahead



Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
-This was my first angel-type novel and I was so disappointed. Almost all of the characters annoyed me and I just didn't care about any of them. I didn't care if they died or lived, if she filled her purpose or not, Christian or Tucker. It was too slow for my tastes. I wanted more action and a quicker pace. I admit, I got swept up with the hype of the third book's release and I almost started the trilogy again. I didn't but NOBODY TELL ME WHO SHE PICKS BECAUSE THERE IS STILL A POSSIBILITY THAT I WILL.

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
-Yeah, this one I don't understand the hype at all. I couldn't stand Aria. Perry was a little bit better, but his smell-thing creeped me out so much. I couldn't get over the fact that he can smell her period. Cannot. Get Over. It. The romance was ok and the world-building was simply confusing.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis
-Me and sci-fi doesn't really have a good relationship. It is a hit and miss, most of the time, a miss. I thought this one would be one of the few that would hit the mark since everyone was recommending it to me. Yeah... No. The setting just didn't click for me. I couldn't imagine the spaceship in my head properly. The writing didn't flow well, the mystery wasn't a very good mystery and the insta-love was even worse than usual.



The Archived by Victoria Schwab
-I belong to the 00.01% of the book blogging population who didn't think this book was amazing. The premise is definitely original and Schwab can write like no one else. But with the amount of praise it was getting, I was expecting fully-developed characters and a more believable romance.

Iron King by Julie Kagawa
-Once again I'm in the minority for Iron King, and the whole series. I hated Meghan. I hated the romance with Ash. I hated the the writing. I'm sorry for hating this so much. The only thing I didn't hate was Puck. I gave it a second chance though! I read the second one, thinking it would get better. It didn't. Especially with how it ended with Puck. Just, no. I was angry and I don't think I should read the rest of the series anymore.

So, enough bitching about the books I thought I would like more than I did. It's time for the books that surprised the crap out of me.. Warning: Gushing Ahead


Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz
-Like I mentioned in my review, I had read Gone, Gone, Gone by Moskowitz but I thought it was just an ok book. I decided to give her another shot since everyone insists her writing is just amazeballs and the cover looked really cute. They were 100% right. She's amazing. this book is amazing. Rudy is amazing. Teeth is amazing. Her writing is fucking amazing.

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
-I thought Twilight completely ruined 'vampires in high school' for me. Turned out Twilight only completely ruined Twilight for me. I don't need to tell you all how unique Vampire Academy is. There are some holes in the lore but it's refreshingly different and Rose's character is interesting and dominant enough to balance out the imperfections in the novel. She can be annoyingly stubborn and so damn rude but at least she actually does something when trouble is there instead of just standing off to the side and bitting her lip while the men take care of everything.

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
Oh. My. God. Everything about this book just took me by surprise- the topic, the characters, the writing, the crying. I am so glad I read this. I am sorry I can't remember who insisted I read this but I will forever be grateful for it.



Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
-I love Peter Pan so I knew I was at least going to enjoy the book but I was so unprepared for the feels I was forced to endure when I read Tiger Lily. The book should come with a warning label: "Read at your own risk. Tiger Lily will make you cry for twenty minutes after the last page has been turned. Plus, you'll end up questioning all previous views about the classic Peter Pan. Truly dangerous." It's an extremely long warning but fitting. Actually, I think the warning should just replace the cover entirely. Yeah. We don't need any more hearts broken.

Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
-I'm sure you understand why I thought I was going to like Immortal Rules a lot less than I did. If I hated her Iron Fey series so much, why did I even bother with this one, you ask? Well, Meghan isn't in it, there are vampires and the vampires are living in a post-apocalyptic world. While the rest of the world was riding on the dystopia high, Kagawa took it a step further and mixed it with paranormal. Just great. Allie is a badass bloodsucker.


That's all for me, folks. What books took you by surprise, both in the good or bad way? Sound off in the comments or leave a link to your own Top Ten post and lemme know!

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Top Ten Tuesday: Down the Memory Lane

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

I wasn't going to post something today at all but the topic was too awesome. We are indebted to books and authors and reading for giving us the chance to create memories. Books have literally changed our lives. We've made new friends and opened up a whole new world that I personally couldn't have imagined existed in the first place.

This week's Top Ten:

Bookish Memories

Thanks, Harry

Harry Potter has a special spot in all our hearts. I came a year late to the party but I guess it was ok since I didn't have to do any waiting for the release of the books. It was one of the first books I had read when I started reading in the first place and it got me hooked to reading. It was with this series that it came clear to me why people liked reading. I laughed, I cried and felt just about every and all emotions during this series, which was just mind-boggling to my eleven year old brain. Who knew reading was so much fun? My naive self certainly didn't. At the time, I felt like I needed to shout to the world that reading was great, like it was some monumental discovery I had made and the world must know. Pfft. Like I wasn't the last to the party. 

Dumbledore died

So I had to split this into two because this is a legit story. Book 6- Snape had just killed Dumbledore, I was in denial and weeping, but then it came time to the funeral and he really was dead. I was a mess. Anyway, when I read it, I was alone in the house so I didn't have anybody to unload all my feels. Thinking it was a great idea, I call my dad in his office. He picks up the phone to me crying my heart out, I could barely breathe. Naturally, he went into panic mode and thought our house burned down. He asks me if everything was alright then I literally wailed into the phone, "Dumbledore dieeeeeed!", hanged up and proceeded to cry all in my lonesome. I got an earful about it when he came home, how I nearly gave him a heart attack and I should never do that again and blah blah blah. I was still too upset to pay much attention to whatever he was saying.

That memory always bring a smile to my face.

Library hopping

I love my library. I don't have money for books so libraries are a godsend. I was still all new to reading and libraries and whatnot so I didn't know that you could request books online and the branches that had copies could send it to your local branch for you to pick up. I didn't know that. You know what we did? My dad and I checked which branch the books were available at and drove there. Some of it ages away but we went anyway. We ended up visiting so many libraries and it was real fun to see what the other branches looked like. I do everything online now but I'd love to do it again. Also, it reinforced my love for my local library because seriously all the other ones were too loud with too many five-year olds, too quiet with old people, their stocks too small and their layout too confusing. My library is not the biggest or the most cool looking but it's seriously the best.

Seriously, my library is the best

They held this competition for teenagers a while back. You earn points by reading and reviewing as much books as you can. Hah! Needless to say, I won twice in a row. I got an iPod and a bunch of DVD sets. Shame they stopped doing it...

It's my library card. It's the one for kids but I don't care. It's not a dinosaur (although that would be super cool). It's a tuatara. But I'm pretty sure they're cousins so it's still super cool.

Sharing the passion

One of our favourite things to do as book lovers is to share our love for books. We all love giving recommendations. It's just unfortunate that I don't know many people in real life who liked reading. But I finally convinced one if my best friends (doesn't like to read) to read The Book Thief (all-time favourite). I was super scared that she wouldn't like it. Sure it's amazing and the best thing ever, but it's not exactly the easiest thing to read if you're not a reader in the first place. But, good news, everyone! She loves it and pretty much all the other books I loved and recommended to her. She passed the test and it doesn't matter so much that she doesn't quite have the same passion for books as I do because she loves all my favourite ones.

Year 10 Social Studies Class, also known as, the class where we did nothing but fangirl about books

I had Social Studies with one of the few friends I had that read and it was the most boring hour of the day. How did we pass the time? We sat at the back corner and talked and fangirled about books for the whole hour, every day. We had all these games and competitions about Harry Potter, reminisced about that part that made us bawl like a baby (the whole of book 7), tried to list all characters mentioned in the series during a particularly dull lesson. We also both loved Percy Jackson so when Son of Neptune came out, we read the book together, me finishing it in two days while I chastised her for dragging it out and reading slower. We spent a lot time discussing Mark of Athena and what would happen with the camps and the prophecies. The most sleep-inducing lesson of the day ended up being the one I looked forward to the most. It was great. Oh, but don't worry. (You probably weren't) we passed the class with flying colours.

 I haven't gone to any author meets or cons before because I live on the other side of the world and I don't even know New Zealand authors. But I'm going to meet an author and other bloggers and go to BEA if it's the last thing I do.

What are your bookish memories? Share them with me on the comments!

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Top Ten Tuesday: 2013 Debuts

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

This week's Top Ten:

2013 Debuts I'm Looking Forward to

 

Title: Taken
Author: Erin Bowman
Series: Taken
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 16 April 2013

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends…and he’s gone. They call it the Heist. More...



Title: Splintered
Author: A. G. Howar
Series: Splintered
Publisher: Amulet Books
Release Date: 01 January 2013

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. More...


Title: The Madman's Daughter
Author: Megan Shepherd
Series: The Madman's Daughter
Publisher: Blazer + Bray
Release Date: 29 January 2013

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true. More...


Title: Level 2
Author: Lenore Appelhans
Series: The Memory Chronicles 
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Reader
Release Date: 15 January 2013

Felicia Ward is dead. Trapped in a stark white afterlife limbo, she spends endless days replaying memories, of her family, friends, boyfriend ... and of the guy who broke her heart. The guy who has just broken into Level 2 to find her. More...



Title: Pivot Point
Author: Kasie West
Series: Pivot Point
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: 12 February 2013

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. More...


Title: Ink
Author: Amanda Sun
Series: Paper Gods
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: 25 June 2013

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building. More... 


Title: Let the Sky Fall
Author: Shannon Messenger
Series: Let the Sky Fall
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: 05 March 2013

Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents. And he has no idea if the beautiful, dark-haired girl who’s swept through his dreams every night since the storm is real. But he hopes she is. More...


Title: The Nightmare Affair
Author: Mindee Arnett
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: 05 March 2013

Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.

Literally.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. More...


Title: The Art of Wishing
Author: Lindsay Ribar
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: 21 March 2013

He can grant her wishes, but only she can save his life.
 
Margo McKenna has a plan for just about everything, from landing the lead in her high school play to getting into a good college. So when she finds herself in possession of a genie's ring and the chance to make three wishes, she doesn't know what to do. Why should she put her life into someone else's hands? More...


Title:Starglass
Author: Phoebe North
Series: Starglass
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Release Date: 23 July 2013

The generation ship Asherah coasts through space, bound for a planet its passengers have never even seen. On the eve of their arrival, sixteen-year-old botanist Terra discovers that her orderly society has fractured. Walking home one night through the long-abandoned engine rooms, she witnesses the murder of an innocent man. Now, called on by the Children of Abel, a group of rebels intent on destroying the High Council, Terra must prove her mettle--assassinate the ship's rising captain. More...
 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Dear Santa...

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

This week's Top Ten:

Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

1. Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
3. By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julia Anne Peters
4. Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant
5. Stardust: The Gift Edition by Neil Gaiman

Santa can do anything, right? Let's see him do some magic.

    6.   Detergent by Veronica Roth- To be published 26 Sep 2013.

    7.   Untitled (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater- Expected Publication Sep 2013. 

    8.   Untitled (Gallagher Girls #6) by Ally Carter- To Be Published 01 Jan 2013.

    9.   Scarlet by Marissa Meyer- To Be Published 05 Feb 2013.

    10. The Runaway King by Jennifer A. Nielsen - To Be Published 01 Mar 2013

What's on your list?

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Top Ten Tuesday (1)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the girls over at The Broke and The Bookish. This meme feature features a different theme every week, showcasing book-related lists. And hey, who doesn't love a good list?

This week's Top Ten:

Bookish Confessions

1. I can not resist the smell of old books' pages, especially if the pages are yellowy and fragile. That's why I love stopping by second hand book stores. The whole place smells like old books!

2. I judge books by their covers. I don't even bother reading the synopsis. If the cover looks awesome, then I'll read it. If it looks horrible, then I won't. I always feel slightly ashamed whenever I do it, but I'm not going to stop. I didn't always base my choices on covers. It was because of this book I read - Thirteenth Child. The cover wasn't the best but the synopsis really captured me. I started it out, expecting to have this magical experience. Turned out, it was one of the most boring books I've ever read. It was so slow and the characters were ordinary at best. The climax literally happened at the last ten pages of the book, and the term 'climax' is used very, very loosely here. The synopsis was more like a summary than anything else. Besides, I've discovered that it's much more fun delving into a book clueless about anything. They reveal way too much in the synopsis. The inciting incident in the story becomes a twist and it's just fun.

3. I haven't read Lord of the Rings. I tried out The Hobbit, but that bored me stiff. I'm pretty sure I ended up skimming a quarter of the whole book. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't get into it. Maybe next time...

4. I had a Twilight phase. Along with half of the teenage girls population, I was completely obsessed with Twilight at the height of its popularity. I bawled my eyes out in New Moon when Edward left Bella, and remember that month thing Stephanie Meyer did? The one where she had like three pages blank except for the month's names to express the passage of time and agony Bella felt when Edward left her. Yeah, that thing. I was crying at that part as well. I even read Midnight Sun and cursed Meyer when she decided not to continue it. I repeat, it was a phase. I don't feel the same way about Twilight any more but I can't deny the good times I had reading the saga.

5. I feel like books that my school assign me to read are automatically boring and stupid. This year, we studied Montana 1948 by Larry Watson and it wasn't even that. The fact that I'm forced to read this piece of work just makes me want to hate it. Maybe it's because I'm just sick of talking about the book day after day. And with people who don't even give a damn about literature. I love a good book discussion but if it's just three people participating, then it's just no fun.

6. I can barely remember what happened in books I've finished reading, especially if I didn't read it this year. It's really embarrassing actually because I only remember liking a certain book but if you ask me what the main character's name is, I wouldn't be able to tell you (Nineteen Minutes). I have to reread a bunch of books. This is really cumbersome when the book is from a series and I can't even remember what happened in the first book (The Lost Hero). I wasn't really making a conscious effort to become an active reader then. Reading was just a hobby to me, and it was just fun. It still is but when I found out about Goodreads, I discovered discussions, quizzes, threads, basically the book-lovers' community. It became more than a hobby and I guess I started paying more attention to what I'm reading. 

7. I don't hesitate to DNF a book anymore. I used to not even be able to entertain the idea of not finishing a book, especially if it's read for pleasure. No matter how much I'm enjoying the book, I used to force myself to finish it. But now, I'm not even going to bother. If it's slow at the beginning, or the main character is annoying, or the writing is just bad, then I'm not going to waste my time trudging through it. There are better books out there and my TBR pile is ridiculously long. I'm going to spend my time reading something I enjoy.
This is not to say I drop a book whenever I feel like it. I only DNF when it's reallly bad and I don't even care what happens anymore.

8. I'm scared of poetry. I don't understand it. It confuses me. I don't like that I don't understand it and that it confuses me.

9. Whenever I read a book out loud, I end up putting an English accent. I don't know why. It's not on purpose, I swear.

10. I borrowed a paperback from my friend once, and I accidentally creased the cover. (Gasp! I know, I'm sorry) I got really scared and didn't admit to doing it. I pretended I got it that way- it was plausible because there were two people before me who borrowed it from her- but I don't think she bought it.

This was a lot harder than I originally thought. I realize it's not Tuesday anymore, but there was some confusion about the time zone.

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