Top Ten Tuesday (31)

Bookish Resolutions and Goals

DNF Books If I’m Not Feeling Them

I always feel bad when I DNF a book, what if I’m missing out on some great stuff later in the book? what if the story picks up and gets exciting? Unfortunately, this means I almost always suffer through the book even if I’m not enjoying it. This year I resolve to be more ruthless if I’m reading a book that I’m just not feeling into, so I can put my time into books that I really want to read.

Read Quality over Quantity

In previous years I have had the habit of picking up smaller novels to read just to help me reach my Goodreads target or avoiding books longer than 500 pages, as they slow my reading down and when I think about it it’s absolutely ridiculous. Why avoid a good book just because it’s long and read shorter books that may bring me less enjoyment all because I need to reach a target!?

Read More Of My Backlog and Less New Releases

My, oh my. My TBR list is ever-growing and so many of the books have been on there for goodness knows how long. It’s hard when every year more and more beautiful new releases come out, but this year I’m going to try and read 75% backlog books and 25% new releases.

Finish Some Damn Series

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, I am chronically guilty of not finishing series. I either start a series when it’s first released and then never get to the sequels because I’ve forgotten the detail by the time they’re released or I just ‘take a break’ from a series and then always plan to ‘get back to it’ but alas never do. This year I’ve joined up a challenge, where I hope to complete 5-8 series this year.

 
For Once Complete The Alphabet

Who knew the alphabet could be so damn hard haha. Every year I try and complete the A-Z or Alphabet challenge and not once have I reached it (the highest I've ever gotten is 18/26 and I've been trying since 2013!)... This year it changes!

Blog Consistently

So last year I started off strong but lost my way about April, and then completely dropped off the radar. I remember the days when I had a list of features for everyday of the week that I wanted to do, but in reality it just hasn’t worked for me. This year I have a very basic goal of 2-3 posts a month. A wrap-up, A review and a Top Ten Tuesday. 

Comment More

While I may not have much time to write and publish posts, it only takes a short time out of my day to go through and read others posts and write comments on them. Historically I haven’t been very good at this. Even when  I do often read peoples reviews and posts sometimes I don’t know what to comment about or feel awkward posting (my social anxiety strikes again). But I realized even a simple ‘Awesome review’ can make someones day, so I’m definitely going to work on this. 

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Top Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics

I have been waiting a really long time for a topic like this to come about, so I'm super buzzed to share with you guys some of my favorite graphic novels/ comics.

I am a huge fan of Brian K. Vaughn and highly recommend his Saga series and Y-Man series (you can find my review of it here). I also like his new graphic novel Papergirls, but I haven't had the chance to fully immerse myself into it, although I think the story has a lot of potential. Giant Days is a great series if your at college and want something lighthearted and relatable. The unlikely trio of friends are always a good laugh. In Real Life, was an amazing eye opening comic, that was so much more than I was expecting (my review can be found here).

Lastly, BTOOOM is the epitome of everything I want in a manga. It has a Hunger Games vibe, but with 1000x more violence and some scenes that definitely made me feel uncomfortable. If you want something a little rougher and more volatile, this would be a great one to pick up.

Honorable Mentions

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Nine Scary Books/Movies I Would Love To Read/Watch But Won't

(because I'm too chicken)

I am honestly the biggest sook when it comes to anything scary. I shy away from Horror movies at the slightest mention of gore and even attempt to hide behind my giant popcorn at the theater if there happens to be scary trailers prior to my intended movie. Below I've illlustrated a few of the reasons I will not be picking these up anytime soon.

House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski 

While the premise is interesting, I know it will mess with my mind, and the mind is a delicate thing you know.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk 

 While I'm sure a great writer, Chuck manages to create things I wouldn't even dream could be written about (I read one of the shorts from 'Haunted' as a teen; 'Guts'. Typically it was one of those things that went around high-school and lets just say masturbation stories gone wrong aren't my jam)

The Omen by David Seltzer

 I would like to have children one day and not be paranoid about them.

Pet Semetary/ Cujo/ Stephen King in General

 I have animals and would like to not be paranoid about them. Also there are a few of his books I wouldn't mind reading but overall...NOPE.

Hannibal Series by Thomas Harris 

 HELL TO THE NO!

Top Ten Tuesday (27)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For the First Half of 2016

There are so many good looking books coming out in 2016, my TBR list is getting ridiculously long. Especially with all the books that I missed out on reading this year! (But that's for another list). Anyway I've totally gone over the allotted number of 10, but hey, rules were meant for breaking.... so here are the books I'm most excited for in 2016.

YA Contemporary

It was so hard to narrow this list down for contemporary reads. There are a lot of ones that I am super excited for next year, but these are the ones I can't wait to read.  

       

Sequels

I read the first books of both these series this year and loved them. They are both full of political intrigue and romance and I'm glad I don't have to wait to long until the next installments. 

 

Fantasy

I haven't been in to fantasy as much as I once was. But the books below definitely have me excited to dive back into the realm of the unknown.

        

What are your most anticipated books for 2016? 

Top Ten Tuesday (2)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Broke And The Bookish.


Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun

Anna and the French Kiss (Stephanie Perkins): This book is sweet, funny and unlike other books, has Etienne St Clair as the male lead *swoon*. Set in France, this book is a delightful get-a-way from reality.

Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine): I read this as a young teen and still love this book. It centers around a young girl Ella who has been 'gifted' by a fairy which has causes her to obey anyone's commands.  This book is a nice light read, full of magic and romance; a retake on the classic Cinderella story.

Holes (Louis Sachar): This is a classic. I can't even count how many times I have read this book, but I absolutely love it. This is a great adventure story, about a boy sent to a camp for 'naughty' boys to build character, and how he uncovers the truth about camp Greenlake, and his family's curse.

Any book by Sara Dessen: So Sara Dessen is amazing, almost everything she has written I have enjoyed immensely. She just has a great way of writing, that makes it easy for you to relate to the characters.

Beastly (Alex Flinn): Again another retake on a fairytale (I'm a big fan of these), this time beauty and the beast set in modern day New York. (Any of Alex Flinn's books could be on here really)

The Future of Us (Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler): I read this in a day. The premise is so enticing, who wouldn't want to be able to glance in to their own future and see what's in store for them?

Graffiti Moon (Cath Crowley): Short fast paced read, about a young girl who is fond of a mysterious graffiti artist no-one knows the identity of, and how she finds out the guy she was least expecting, may be the boy she's been looking for all along.

The Ghost and the Goth (Stacey Kade): Kind of predictable, but fun read. About the popular girl who dies and becomes a ghost and the only person she can communicate with is the loser loner boy she's made fun of her entire life.

Dare Truth or Promise ( Paula Boock): This was my first ever LGBT book, and I have been a fan of the genre ever since. The book was such an eye-opener for me and I hold it close to my heart, since I had a close friend who had just come out to me. This book is an easy page turner, full of 'forbidden' love.

Blood and Chocolate (Anette Kurtis Klaus): A female werewolf falls for a human boy, while also being pursued by the Alpha male of her pack. Pretty steamy, fast-paced read.