Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent Additions to my TBR

The Top Ten Tuesday has a new home. It's hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller - I've just finished a book about vikings and I'm itching to read another viking book, this one seems on a similar thread. I really liked Levenseller's previous books and so I'm hopeful that this book will satisfy my viking desires.

2. We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal - This book sounds amazing. I've been looking at it for a while now, but I haven't officially added it to my TBR until recently. It's inspired by ancient Arabia and follows a hunter and an assassin who are each legends, but don't want to be.

3. Rayne and Delilah's Midnight Matinee by Jeff Zentner - Two best friends host a TV show on their local cable channel and in their senior they have to make decisions about their future of their show, their lives, and their friendship. It sounds like the perfect contemporary read and I'm excited to read it when it comes out.

4. Carnival at Bray by Jessie Ann Foley - I'm missing Ireland a lot recently, and this book just spoke to me. It takes place in 1993, a Chicago teen is uprooted to a small town in Ireland. Tragedy strikes and a pilgrimage to Dublin might be the trick to processing the grief. Running around Ireland sounds like a book I'm ready to read.

5. Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy - Set in Ireland again, this time on the movie set of a widely famous fantasy trilogy written by the main character's grandmother. I'm particularly excited to read this book.

6. Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan - It's about a girl who has a job as the hot dog girl in her local princess park. She's got plans to win a boy's heart and save the park all while dancing around as a hot dog. I mean that sounds so cute and I'm here for it.

7. #Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid - I'm getting some serious Digby vibes from this book and I LOVED Trouble Is A Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly, so I'm pretty interested in checking this book out.

8. The Tyrant's Tomb by Rick Riordan - The latest book in the Apollo series and I'll be really excited to read more about Apollo's mortal teenage self when it comes out later this year.

9. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin - I've read several of her books and really enjoyed them. This one seemed to have slipped under the radar, but I've found it now and I'm keen on reading it. I mean there's a bookshop involved!

10. The Darkest Legacy by Alexandra Bracken - I binge-read the The Darkest Minds Trilogy last year just in time to learn about this book. I can't say that I'm sorry there's another one. I mean, Alexandra Bracken has a way with storytelling, I'm completely obsessed. I'm so excited that there's more for me to read.

Notable Quotable: Ryan Graudin (#220)

"Her self-reflection was no reflection at all. It was a shattered mirror. Something she had to piece together, over and over again. Memory by memory. Loss by loss. Wolf by wolf."
     --Wolf by Wolf

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2018 but Didn't

The Top Ten Tuesday has a new home. It's hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.


1. Renegades by Marissa Meyer - This book was on all of my TBRs last year, and for some reason I just didn't pick it up. I'm nearly certain that I will love this story, I just need actually take the moment to read it.  2019 is the year!

2. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (and the rest of the series) - This was one of the series I wanted to finish in 2018, but I didn't make it that far. I'm hoping that 2019 will be the year that I put this series forward in my priorities, especially since the entire series is now out. I won't have to do any waiting for the final book.

3. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater - I was saving this book for October because it felt like a great time to read it, but then I fell into a reading slump and I didn't do much reading in the last bit of 2018. I'd really like to get to it in 2019, so we shall see if I save it for this October.

4. To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han - I actually started reading this book, but I accidentally had it returned to the library before I could finish listening to it. The wait list is so long that I didn't get a chance to finish it.

5. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - I really wanted to read this book, but somehow time got away from me this year. I've borrowed it from a friend and she'll want it back soon, so it's one I've got to get to very soon.

Notable Quotable: Kasie West (#219)

"I wonder why some people seem to be born knowing what they want to do with their lives and other - mostly me - have no idea."
     --The Distance Between Us

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Read in 2018

The Top Ten Tuesday has a new home. It's hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
Seven seems to be my new ten for the time being.

1. Ryan Graudin (Wolf by Wolf) - I've had Ryan Graudin on my radar for a while now and I'm so glad I took the time to read one of her books. I'm excited to read more books by her this year.

2. Kendare Blake (Three Dark Crowns) -  I read the first two books of Kendare Blake's series in 2018 and it was so good.  I can't wait to dive into the third one and I'm sure I'll be impatiently awaiting the last later this year.

3. Amanda Foody (Ace of Shades) - I've been looking for another good fantasy story to dive into and I came across Amanda Foody's novel when a friend suggested Ace of Shades to me. I was really in need of a good book and it was a great book!

4. Alexandra Bracken (The Darkest Minds) - I don't normally choose favorites but man, Alexandra Bracken came in from left field. I was spellbound by The Darkest Minds and binged read the rest of the series, aside from the new book that came out this year. Now I just want to read everything else she's written.

5. Rachel Hollis (Girl, Wash Your Face) - I found Rachel Hollis and her book by pure coincidence.  I had no idea she had this massive platform and company dedicated to helping women realize their amazing potential. Since reading this

6. Alan Bradley (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie) - Bradley has a series set in the 50s in England, centering around a 12-year-old girl, who has some mad observational skills and a sassy attitude. She's one of those characters you can't help but love. I'd been meaning to pick up this series for a while now and this year I read two of them!

7. Julie Murphy (Dumplin') - Julie Murphy is an author I wish was around when I was in high school. Dumplin' was the book I needed back then, and one that I needed now. To be honest, it was one that I received in a Owlcrate box and then put off for a long time because I just wasn't sure about it. I almost got rid of it, but I ended up picking it up and I was blown away.

Notable Quotable: V.E. Schwab (#218)

"Everyone thinks I have a death wish, you know? But I don't want to die - dying is easy. No, I want to live, but getting close to death is the only way to feel alive. And once you do, it makes you realize that everything you were actually doing before wasn't actually living. It was just making do. Call me crazy, but I think we do the best living when the stakes are high."
     --A Gathering of Shadows

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books for the First Half of 2019

The Top Ten Tuesday has a new home. It's hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

1. King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo (January 29th) - I LOVED the Six of Crows duology, so naturally I'm excited to read more in that world. I do need to get to the Shadow and Bone trilogy probably before I read this book. That fact does not make my excitement for this book any less!

2. A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro (March 5) - SO HIGHLY ANTICIPATED

3. Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis (March 12) - I really enjoyed her other book Girl, Wash Your Face. It was so empowering and reaffirming for me to read when I did, I'm excited to see what else Rachel Hollis has to share with the world about being the best version of you, you can be.

4. The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston (April 2) - Ashley Poston has such a good record with me! I have loved everything she has written. And while my most anticipated Poston book comes out in the second half of the year, I'm still really excited to get more of the Geekerella world.

5. Runaways Vol. 3: That Was Yesterday by Rainbow Rowell (April 23) - I am loving this run of Runaways I can't wait to own this trade.

6. King of Fools by Amanda Foody (April 30) - I really enjoyed this book last year and I'm eager to find out what happens next!

7. Again, But Better by Christine Riccio (May 7) - I've been watching her writing vlogs since the beginning and I'm so invested in this book now, how could I not want to check it out!

2019! New Year, New Goals

WELCOME
It's time to decide and commit to my reading challenges for the year. I ended 2018 in a pretty large reading slump, so I'm not particularly inclined to set too many challenges. I would like to participate in a couple read-a-thons, though I don't which ones right now. And I did really enjoy focusing on the series I need to finish last year, so I'm going to do it again!

2019 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge hosted by Celebrity Readers.

Last year, I attempted and completed being a B-lister, so I'm going to do it again. I didn't choose the B-lister life, the B-lister life chose me. I will be attempting to finish/catch up on 5-8 series this year. I've got some new series in mind but we'll see which ones I actually read. Here's a tentative list:

B-List Finisher

1. Charlotte Holmes Series by Brittany Cavallaro (4 books total) - 3/13/19
2. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (3 books so far)
3. Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith (4 books so far) - 1/19/19
4. Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin (2 books total)
5. Renegades by Marissa Meyer (2 books so far)
6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (8 books total)
7. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (2 books total)
8. Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel (3 books total) - 10/31/19

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2019 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader.

I did this challenge a couple of years ago, but I did not do well. I just didn't choose my books well.  Now, I think I'm ready to give it another go. 12 books from my TBR pile and a couple alternates just in case I can't get through some from my original list. They must be published before before 1/1/2018, so I've had them on my pile for at least a year. And I know I have plenty to choose from, so here's the list:

1. The Blackhouse by Peter May (2011)
2. The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater (2013) - 10/6/19
3. Brit-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman (2014) - 3/4/19
4. Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas (2014)
5. Red Rising by Pierce Brown (2014)
6. Renegades by Marissa Meyer (2017)
7. Watership Down by Richard Adams (1972)
8. The Fade Out: Act One (2015)
9. Mr. Toppit by Charles Elton (2009)
10. Heartless by Marissa Meyer (2016)
11. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (2016)
12. Uncaged by John Sandford and Michele Cook (2014)

Alternates:
1. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (2015)
2. How (Not) to Fall in Love by Lisa Brown Roberts (2015)

Notable Quotable: Marie Lu (#217)

"When you refuse to ask for help, it tells others that they also should ask for help from you. That you look down on them for needing your help. That you like feeling superior to them. It's an insult, Emi, to your friends and peers. So don't be like that. Let us in."
     --Warcross

4th Quarter Review 2018!

I saw a quarterly stats review on both Geeky Zoo Girl and Curiosity Killed the Bookworm. I really like this idea so I'm going to do my own version!
It's the end of the year!! (Happy 2019, y'all)

Third Quarter Books(October-December)
Total Books: 12
Paperback/hardcover: 3 (25%)
Audiobooks: 9 (75%)
Total pages: 4,276
Yearly Total Books: 66
┉┉┉
Own: 3 (25%)
Borrowed: 9 (75%)
┉┉┉
Male Authors: 5 (41.6%)
Female Authors: 7 (58.4%)

I was in a serious reading slump this quarter; I started several books some that I liked but had to put down because I had to read others that I didn't really find all that interesting. I was just reading incredible slowly for some reason. The books I did finish, I gave an average star rating of 3.5 stars. I only DNF'd one book, (still working on some of the ones I had to put down.) There was one 5 star book: Wildcard by Marie Lu, but Dumplin' by Julie Murphy got me in the feels. It's a book I wish I had read in high school.

Genre breakdown
This quarter sci-fi and historical fiction were my top read genres. Though many of the historical fiction had elements of fantasy to them, they were manly historical. I even dropped a middle grade book into the mix.

Middle Grade: 1 (6.7%)
YA: 9 (60%)
Adult: 5 (33.3%)
┉┉┉
Contemporary: 2 (16.6%)
Fantasy/Sci-fi: 6 (50%)
Historical: 1 (8.4%)
Mystery: 2 (16.6%)
Literary: 1 (8.4%)

Length
0-150: 0
150-250: 1 (8.4%)
250-350: 3 (25%)
350-500: 7 (58.2%)
>500: 1 (8.4%)

Reading Goals Update!
Goodreads goal: 30/25 books - It's a really good thing that I met my goal last quarter because I only physically read three books. Oh well, I made my goal and I'm super happy about it! (Goodreads counts all the books toward my goal, but I'm only counting books I physically read, which is why this count is different from my official Goodreads count.)

Finish the Series: 8/8 series - Yay! I did it! I am pretty proud of myself to reaching this goal. I read eight series (duologies count), they weren't necessarily the series I originally planned to finish. In fact, there were two that I started and finished this year.  I'm really pleased with this challenge.

Read it or Leave it: 3/21 books - Alright, y'all this was a miserable failure for this year. This just wasn't a priority for me as these were already books I wasn't super interested in reading in the first place.  I do know that I chose way too many books for this challenge, I think I should have limited it to ten for the year. As promised, I am going to go through this list and get rid of the ones that I really don't want to read. I'm sure there will be some I don't want to get rid of yet.