Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

I Got 99 Problems... and Books are at Least 10 of Them

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is "Top Ten Bookish Problems I Have."  I have at least ten, if not more!  Don't get me wrong:  I LOVE reading.  But I do have a few problems:

1. My TBR list is probably longer than my life span at this point.

2. Work.  I love my job, but library employees don't actually get to sit and read all day.  (A common misconception.)  So that's 8 hours a day that I could be reading, but am instead helping others find books to love.  ...  So I guess that's not really much of a problem, since I'm still working with books.  ;)

3. When I'm reading a physical book at bedtime and I drop it when I fall asleep.  I either slightly injure myself (depending on the size and location of the book relative to my head) and/or lose my place.  Bummer.

4. Inversely:  losing sleep to a good book.  When I finally neared the end of The Dark Tower I stayed up until 3:30 am to finish it!  And that wasn't the first or last time that sort of thing happened with a book.

5. When an author makes a decision that I don't agree with.  I love the book and am emotionally invested in the characters and then the book takes an unexpected turn and I must throw said book across the room.  Allegiant, anyone?

6. When I'm in love with a book and I check it back into the library and there's no holds list for it.  Why doesn't everyone else want this book?  Who can I force this book upon?  It can't just go back to the shelf!  It must go into someone else's life!

7. Dog-eared pages.  WHYYYY must people dog-ear pages???  I will give someone the bookmark out of my book if asked; just please don't dog-ear the pages!!!

8. Book banning.  If you don't like the book, don't read it.  But don't force your views on others, ok?  Personally, I self-censor just a little (no erotica), but I'm not going to demand that those books are removed from libraries &  book stores!  America!  Freedom of speech!

9. Can we all just agree that the book is better than the movie?  No more debates; just a common understanding.  And then maybe we can stop putting movie tie-in covers on books?

10. This final "problem" is only a recent one, and one I hope will pass soon:  EVERY CONTEMPORARY YA IS NOT THE FAULT IN OUR STARS!  Can we find other books to compare newer books to?  Also:  every new dystopian is not The Hunger Games!

What about you?  What bookish rants do you have pent up inside?  I think this week's topic will be really fun to read the responses to; leave me a link and I'll def visit!

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas | Book Review

(What a gorgeous cover!  My only complaint is that this cover shows none of the historicity of the book; Celaena wears a corset & long dress quite often, and only puts on trousers to fight duels.)

I've been reading tons and tons and tons of hype and praise for the Throne of Glass series for nearly two years now, but I just never got around to picking up the books.  Then I participated in a bookish Secret Santa exchange this past Christmas, and I was gifted Throne of Glass.  So of course I had to read it!  And I loved it!  And I will definitely be reading the rest of the series soon!

As I was saying, Throne of Glass definitely lived up to all the hype!  Sarah J. Maas delivers 3D characters, an intense competition that involves dueling and swordplay and archery, a murder mystery, and magic.  And she does it all without ever leaving the reader overwhelmed or confused.

The characters themselves are definitely the strongest win of the book.   I was cheering for Celaena from page one!  She's a world-famous assassin, who's been interred in a death camp for the past year.  Somehow, she's managed to survive and has been handpicked by the Crown Prince Dorian to fight in a competition to become the king's personal assassin.  If she wins, she'll only have to serve the king four years to earn her total freedom.  She's only 18, but she's fierce.  She's witnessed the horrific murder of her parents and become a killer for hire.  She's survived over a year in a death camp where others only live a few months.  And now she's the lone female in a competition to become the king's personal assassin.  Total badass.  And she's not the only character with a past and a story and all.  Chaol, the head of security, is also very well fleshed out, as is Dorian.  Unfortunately, I was able to see the love triangle coming a mile away.  I so wanted this book to break the mold and leave Celaena in only platonic relationships, or in a relationship with only one, but alas...

But in good news, there's TONS of action that way overshadows the romance.  Celaena is living at the castle for four months while she competes in a series of tests against 11 other rough guys to determine who will be the king's champion.  She's the only girl, but she definitely holds her own!  In fact, Chaol has to warn her against showing too much of her prowess to her competitors too early!  Even knowing that there's more books to the series, I was still so nervous for Celaena during many of the tests.  I could never put down the book in the middle of reading any of the test or duel scenes!  And just in case that's not suspenseful enough for you, there's also something in the castle murdering potential champions one by one.  Who will be next?  Will the mystery man/woman/beast come for Celaena some night?  As the number of champions dwindle (some are eliminated during tests; some are murdered), the odds look better and better for Celaena to be attacked.  So you can see why this book would be hard to put down!

There is magic in Celaena's world too.  Not a lot; in fact, I feel like I was nearly halfway through the book before it's even mentioned.  But it is there and it plays a part in the end.  I get the impression that it'll play a much larger role in books to come.  I love how Sarah J. Maas explains the magic to the reader:  Celaena herself doesn't know much, so she goes to the library and researches.  We learn about the magic right alongside Celaena.  (Also, as someone who works in a library, I loved loved loved that Celaena prefers to read in her free time, and goes to a library when she needs answers!)

Overall:  a fantastic fantasy with tons of actions and a little bit of magic and a heroine that you can't help rooting for.  Looking forward to reading Crown of Midnight!

*I received Throne of Glass from Beauty and the Bookshelf as part of a Secret Santa exchange.  Thank you!

Stacking the Shelves

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, stacking up all the books I've received in the last couple weeks.  Come see what I've brought home, and join in the fun yourself!

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes | Book Review

Usually, I'm not a fan of cover blurbs, but this one is so accurate:  "The Naturals is Criminal Minds for the YA world..." -Ally Carter.  I love Criminal Minds!  How did I not read this book sooner?!?  How soon can I get my hands on the sequel?!?  How can I adequately express my gratitude to Beauty and the Bookshelf for putting this in my hands?!?  Five enthusiastic thumbs up, and easily a Top Ten Read of 2015!

Pardon all the exclamation points.  They're necessary.

Cassie has always been really, really good at "reading" people.  Her mom made her living scamming people, claiming to be able to tell their fortunes, when really she was also just really good at reading people.  Then, one horrible night, Cassie's mom is brutally attacked and presumed dead.  No body was ever found, but the room that her mom was last seen in was covered in blood.  Not too long later, the FBI contacts Cassie.  They've heard of her talent for reading people and their motives, and they want her help.  She gets put in a group with other super-talented teens, and together they assist the FBI with cases both hot and cold.

The Naturals was so similar to Criminal Minds that I even tried to convince the hubby to try it!  (He also loves Criminal Minds, but doesn't usually care for YA.  I know:  his loss.)  I loved the mystery:  the "meat" of the book focuses on one case that the teens are trying to solve.  I loved that I didn't figure out the mystery before the end of the book.  Nothing more boring than solving a murder mystery before the characters do!  I also loved getting to know all of the characters:  their personalities, their special skills, their interactions.  As you can imagine, having such a highly refined skill for reading others' emotions or motives can be rather alienating and lonely for a teen, so it's interesting to see how personality quirks impact their relationships with each other.  I ended up liking all of the characters, even sarcastic Dean and lying Lia, for differing reasons.  Like I mentioned above, I'm TOTALLY looking forward to continuing this series!

Maybe this could become a TV show, too?  *hint, hint Hollywood!*

*My bookish Secret Santa gifted The Naturals to me.  THANK YOU!

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma | Book Review

(You can't tell in this digital copy of the cover, but it's a really cool mix of glossy and matte, that really adds depth.  The man and the bookshelves behind him are matte; the spirit and cogs are shiny.  So neat!)

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, gushing about how much I loved The Map of Time.  Click on over for unabashed adulation of this book!

*I own my copy of The Map of Time... and will probably be buying the rest of the trilogy in the near future!

Don't Give Up, Don't Give In: Lessons From an Extraordinary Life by Louis Zamperini with David Rensin

I was waaaaaay behind the crowd, and only just read Unbroken last month.  SO. GOOD.  And at the end of it, I wasn't yet ready to say so long to Louie.  I'm very glad that I still had this one to read!

Don't Give Up, Don't Give In is told in chronological order, so the beginning of the book does cover quite a few things already touched upon in Unbroken.  Each chapter, however, is focused on a life lesson, or theme.  This gives a new perspective to the events, and the reader isn't bored at all.  Laura Hillenbrand did a fantastic job relaying the events of Louie's time leading up to and during the war in a highly readable way, but this book gave us Louie's voice.

Don't Give Up, Don't Give In is also much shorter than Unbroken, so it might be more approachable for reluctant readers.    Also, each chapter could be read on it's own, like a vignette.  I am just so impressed by Louis Zamperini, and wish I could have met him.  Now, whenever someone asks the question: "if you could have dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?"  Louis Zamperini!

*I borrowed my sister-in-law's copy of Don't Give Up, Don't Give In.  Thank you!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike in Romance Books

So... I don't actually read many romance books.  If there's romance in my usual reading, it's usually secondary to the action! adventure!  So this list was kind of hard to think up.  But who am I turn down a challenge?

Things I Like in Romance in Books

1. Love that mirrors my own.  I'm definitely happily married, and I love when I can see my own bliss mirrored in a book's characters.

2. Witty banter between love interests.  I love reading flirty/semi-flirty scenes where the characters have an easy sorta-teasing, sorta-picking at each other banter.  Bonus points if the characters also have a dry sense of humor.

3. Love that overcomes adversity.  When some big odd is stacked against two characters, and they overcome it in order to be together, I want to cheer!

4. A slow burn.  I prefer for my characters not to fall in insta-love.  I want to fall in love with each character separately first, then decide on my own that they need to be together, then have them be together.

5. Chivalry.  I love when the male character is all old-school chivalrous!  Opening car doors, etc.

Things I Dislike in Romance in Books

1. Erotica.  I typically won't even read it.  It makes me blush, and makes me wonder a little about the author...

2. Incest.  This one should go without saying, right?  Can't we all agree this crosses a line?  But yet there are books out there...

3. Creepy age differences.  This could be only a couple of years, if the ages straddle that magic 18; or many years, like if a 50 yr old starts dating a 20 yr old.

4. Stalker behavior.  Whenever one character is obsessed with another, even if they're in a consenting relationship.

5. Love that feels "forced."  Like the author really wants these two together, but it doesn't feel right or natural.

I'm never really a fan of writing negative lists... this is just my personal opinion.  There's a reader for every book; some books are not for this reader.  How about you?  Do you love romance?  Hate it?  Leave a link in the comments and I'll definitely come visit!  Disagree with any part of my list?  Leave a comment with a book suggestion, and I promise to check it out and see if my opinion changes.