A Flurry of Ponderings' Blogger Quiz

Let's be honest, I wasn't sure what I wanted to post today, so you're getting my answers to a handy little  quiz A Flurry of Ponderings has created (we'll just forget the fact that the link-up closed a long time ago). Personally, I love these kinds of tags and/or quizzes because they let you know a little more about myself as well as maybe expose you to new books you haven't heard of previously so without further ado.... The Blogger Quiz.

What are your top three book pet peeves?

Particular me is now wondering whether she meant my pet peeves about the book itself (condition) or the book's content (insta-love). 

My top three pet peeves about the physical book: 

Would it kill you to make the cover that much longer?

1. When it's really large, and has that strip of color on the actual first page of the book, which makes the paperback cover a centimeter shorter than it should be. 

Book One!

2. The order of the books aren't labeled. I mean, how hard would it be for the book jacket designer to put SOMEWHERE what number the book is. Instead, I have to rely on the praise on the back for what I'm guessing, is the previous book. 

This could be book one or 79 for all the information this jacket gives me.

3. When my paperback library books have stupid stickers covering the synopsis. I mean, you're librarians, you want to encourage the reading of the book, not make the reader clueless as to whether or not they want to read it. Us 21st century teenagers are too lazy to drag out our phones to view the full synopsis.

I might want to know what kind of person Celaena is

My top three pet peeves about the book's content: 

1. A Slow Beginning. I know a lot of books have good, quality content with vivid description that makes them a bit slow paced. But would it kill an author to introduce the story in an action-packed, epic way? For example, a lot of high fantasy books need a lot of world-building, therefore slowing down the book's pace, but an author could easily insert an awesome scene where the main character fights against some terrifying force that looms over them for the entire series.

2. Common Dystopian Tropes. I know in the past few years, dystopia has EXPLODED and I love that. What I do not love is feeling like I read a book thats content was copied and pasted. It seems like if you add something special to the book "everyone has a clone in the world that they need to kill" then make the protagonist want to rebel against the government, then BOOM. Bestselling dystopia. [I haven't read Dualed by Elsie Chapman yet, but the book was on the top of my head, but don't let me deter you from the book just because I used its premise as an example]

3. Common Love Triangles. I say common because there are some love triangles that I LOVE and am sincerely torn between which character the protagonist should choose. Yet, nowadays, so many of these love triangles are the same.... the longtime-best-friend-turned-boyfriend and the new-dark-and-mysterious-guy-thrust-into-the-story-to-create-conflict

What book would you love to see come out as a movie?

I have not had much luck with movie adaptations, in terms of liking the adaptation. I think We Were Liars by E. Lockhart would be an interesting adaptation. If you don't know, there's a huge plot twist in the end, and I would love to see how a director could convey the series of events without making the plot twist evident.

What are three bookish secrets?

1. At times, I will start four books at different times, then gradually read pieces of all of them until a week later when I FINALLY finish them all.... usually within a period of one or two days. I don't know why I can't read a book from cover to cover then pick up the next one like a normal person.

2. I am horrible at reading TBR books that I own. Library books are no problem, I go through them like nobody's business. Yet, once I own the book, I pretty much forget about it, or give it up in exchange for other books because library books have a deadline and I feel compelled to make them my priority.

3. I procrastinate when it comes to blog tour books. Even if it was a tour I was DYING to participate in, I am known to be up late the night before my tour date trying to finish the darn book. You would think the deadline would make me read it immediately (like with library books) but it kind of deters me. My brain obviously doesn't like sticking with one opinion or pattern.

When was the last time you cried during a book?

I don't cry because of books. I'm emotionless.

How many books are on your nightstand or on the floor by your bed?

19. There are 19 books on my nightstand and other surface where I keep my TBR books because I ran out of room. on my nightstand. Yeah.... I have issues. 

Do you read with music on or in silence? What music do you listen to?

95% of the time I read with music. Most of the time I just put on Pandora or a Spotify playlist and just listen to that. I find it comforting because I'm the kind of person that doesn't like silence much, and at times it's really ironic when the music matches the events in my book. 

Name three books you would recommend to everyone.

Contemporary



Fantasy



Dystopian

What is your most anticipated book of 2014 that has yet to be released?

EVERYONE who has ever visited Loving the Language of Literacy before knows the answer to this is The Young Elites by Marie Lu.

Describe your reading style in 5 or less words:

Young Adult
Dystopian
Contemporary
Romance
Thought-Provoking

What are four of your favorite book character names?

1. June: Legend Trilogy 
2. Waren: Shatter Me Trilogy
3. Jaron: Ascendance Trilogy
4. Celaena: Throne of Glass
5. Elise Dembowski: This Song Will Save Your Life 

A-Z Bookish Survey

Hello my lovelies! I know that I usually do Top Ten Tuesdays on Tuesdays, but I personally disliked this week's topic, but I had this thought, "Why don't I do the bookish survey that was created by one of the hosts of Top Ten Tuesday?" If you didn't know, Jamie is one of the book bloggers over @ The Broke and Bookish as well as her own blog - The Perpetual Page Turner. That's all besides the point because I haven't even told you what the A-Z survey is about. Anyway, there is one bookish question corresponding with every letter of the alphabet. I will try to be brief because as everyone knows (or I hope they do), there are 26 letters of the alphabet/26 questions.

A ~ Author you've read the most books from:

I have read over 20 books by her when I went through this phase where I literally tried to read EVERY SINGLE BOOK she ever wrote, and I semi succeeded because there are only about 5 other books that I haven't read by her.

B ~ Best Sequel Ever:

Is this even a question? I rambled on the entirety of 2013 IRL and online about how much I love this novel and think it is the best thing since sliced bread.

C ~ Currently Reading:

I am reading this book for a blog tour and will be done very soon because of how short it is.

D ~ Drink of choice while reading:

I know a lot of people would respond tea, or coffee, or even wine (even though I can't drink), but I love drinking water through my favorite plastic cup with a straw. I know it sounds like I'm describing a sippy cup, but I swear I'm not.

E ~ eReader or Physical Book?:

Physical Book ALL the way! Don't get me wrong, I love the convenience of eReaders, but there are a thousand reasons (and discussion posts) as to why physical books are my personal preference. Some of which include those pretty covers *drools*

F ~ Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School:

I'm not sure how to answer this question

G ~ Glad You Gave This Book A Chance: 

I have the ENTIRE back story as to why I was glad I gave this book a chance on my review *rolls eyes* surprise surprise. But the gist of it is that I picked this up over 3 years ago, thought I would hate it, but ended up loving it even though it was out of my comfort zone by a long shot back then.

H ~ Hidden Gem Book:
 

Some people may know that I want to be a writer when I grow up, and that I greatly admire people such as Winter Page who have been published by HIGH SCHOOL. I haven't heard much buzz about Breaking Free, but it is one of the best books I have read in the entirety of 2014, and I really wish more people would discover it

I ~ Important Moment in your Reading Life:

The most important moment in my reading life was when I discovered the blogosphere and all the wonderful people in it. Two of those people are Kelly & Jayne. They don't know this, but I modeled almost every element of my blog off of theirs (about me, review format, contact page, etc) and would have been so lost without them.
 

J ~ Just Finished:
 

As of Sunday when I'm composing this post, I just finished Winter in the Soul for my blog tour stop on Friday. 

K ~ Kinds of Books You Won’t Read:

I would like to think of myself as a pretty eclectic reader but (as stated in my review policy) I don't read erotica, and I try to stay away from Middle Grade novels because at this stage in my life, I'm not exactly in the mood for quests led by 12 year olds to find magic staffs. One exception to the middle grade thing is that I LOVE the Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan.

L ~ Longest Book You’ve Read:
 

The longest book I have ever read was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The funny thing is that it was the last HP book I read - purposefully, because it was so long. I was in 2nd grade, and that thing was over 800 pages.

M ~ Major book hangover because of:

I have to be honest that even with some of my favorite books of all time, I have never had a book hangover. If anything, I want to read more so I can experience that extreme rush of adrenaline again that comes with reading an awesome work of literature.

N ~ Number of Bookcases You Own:

I'm not sure how accurate of a picture I can give you of this, but I technically own three.

O ~ One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

I am not the biggest rereader, but one book was The School Story which I have read around four times. I thought it was just a great, harm warning middle grade novel and inspirational (in 4th grader terms) because the MC wants to become a writer.

P ~ Preferred Place To Read:

I am actually not the pickiest person when it comes to where I read, but I do love reading on both my bed and the balcony.

Q ~ Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read:

If anyone has seen my Pinterest Boards or Goodreads Quotes they will know that I am a freaking QUOTEAHOLIC. Therefore, I will list some random ones. 

"When you're in college, each book that you read tends to tell you who you are. "

"No two persons ever read the same book."

"Picking five favorite books is like picking the five body parts you'd most like not to lose."

"It is likely I will die next to a pile of things I meant to read."

"Every book you've ever read is just a different combination of 26 letters." 

"Each day means a new twenty four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it one day at a time."

R ~ Reading Regret:

My reading regret has to be whatever time I forced myself to read a book. I don't mean for school, because that's for a grade, but I am a strong believer in going out and getting what I want and not standing for anything less. What I regret is staying to deal with some books that were not worth my time.

S ~Series You Started And Need To Finish (all books are out in series):

This is the part where I start saying, "CARP" aka. the Sofia Li way of saying crap. There are a boatload of series I have started and not finished. The latest one (as of today) is the Shatter Me Trilogy by Tahereh Mafi

T ~Three of your All-Time Favorite Books:

How dare you make me try and choose? I am Divergent. I cannot be controlled. I will cheat by listing series, and more than three. See? I can be dauntless as well.

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy: Suzanne Collins ~ this book got me into reading dystopian and opened up a whole new world of excitement, adventure, romance, and astounding literature.



2. The Legend Trilogy: Marie Lu ~ To this day, I don't know the appeal of it, but I am the biggest Legend fangirl on the block and still will always compare characters to June Iparis to determine if they are strong female heroines.



3. Percy Jackson: Rick Riordan ~ What can I say? This is my favorite Middle Grade series of all time. How can anybody help but fall in love with the humor, plot, characters, and everything else. 

 

4. Harry Potter: J.K. Rowling ~ I think this is on everybody's list, but it's particularly on mine because this is MY Twilight. A lot of BookTubers/Bloggers have admitted that Twilight is what got them into the young adult genre and reading in general. For me - Harry Potter sparked my love and will always hold a special place in my heart.

5. The Mysterious Benedict Society: Trention Lee Stewart ~ These three books are the ones that my mom used to read aloud to me (you are NEVER too old to be read to) and hold such a special place in my heart because of the quirkiness and mystery behind them.

U ~Unapologetic Fangirl For:

Legend by Marie Lu. I AIN'T APOLOGIZIN for my lengthy twitter conversations, bad FanFiction, seeing Marie Lu twice. I love the trilogy and have no shame.

V ~Very Excited For This Release More Than All The Others:

If I could have any book in my hands at this very minute, it would have to be The Young Elites by Marie Lu. It's scheduled to release October 7, and I am buying that book as soon as you can say Adelina.

W ~Worst Bookish Habit:

I know I'm not alone on this one, but I love reading the last sentence of novels so I can find out what happens.

X ~X Marks The Spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:

The 27th book on my top shelf was The Witch of Blackbird Pond which I have not read, as the top shelf is the one containing all my books on my TBR.

Y ~Your latest book purchase:

My latest physical book purchase was Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas when I went to Barnes & Nobles. My latest eBook purchase was The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider when it was a Kindle Daily Deal.
 

Z ~ ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):

I have to admit that there haven't been that many books that I forced myself to stay up late for because at a young age, I learned that I NEED my sleep and am not a happy camper if I don't get my sleep. Anyway, it was actually today that I stayed up until almost 4am reading Shatter Me and am so excited to share my thoughts.

Have you done the A-Z Bookish Survey? Does it seem like something you would like to do? If you have, leave me a link or some of your answers in the comments. This isn't a tag persay, but I would love to see +Tina Chan +Mallory Alcala +Nathania Shuttleworth do it.

Bout of Books 10 Challenges

I will be posting all of the Bout of Books challenges I complete in this post (which, will hopefully, be a lot of them)

May 12, 2014

The Book Barbies: If You Like X, Try Y: For this challenge, "All you have to do is give one or more recommendations based on the formula "If you like ____, try ___." I will be doing something special with this challenge and writing my X and Y formulas based on what I have completed for #boutofbooks and then posting the hyperlink here. Hopefully, I will have 5 or more tweets here by the end of the week, so follow me on Twitter @sslluvsbooks if you want to see my formulas.

May 13, 2014

My Life in Books: Bookish Battle Royal: The Rules~ 

1. Choose three or more fictional characters as combatants – they can be haphazardly picked or themed (for example, I went with badass classic literature protagonists)
2. List three strengths and weakness for each contender (feel free to skip this step if you’re using social media to participate in Bout of Books i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads…)
3. Determine who would come out victorious and give a little explanation why you think they would win – get creative with the outcomes!
4. Link in the comments and if you tweet about this challenge make sure to use the hashtag #bookbattleroyal in addition to #boutofbooks because I want to see all your dueling characters!

I actually have prepared not one, but THREE Bookish Battles. 

The first is the classic hand to hand combat battle featuring all of my favorite kick-ass female heroines. The second is a verbal battle featuring my favorite characters that are outspoken, headstrong, and basically activists of the verbal word. 

The third battle features my favorite characters that deal with would be considered as "tough issues", so this would be measuring their perseverance and will to keep on living.

The Combatants: 

June Iparis: The Legend Trilogy: Marie Lu 

Strength: 1. Intelligence 2. Agile 3. Swift

Weakness: 1. Rash 2. Outwardly Hostile 3. Proud

Katniss Everdeen: The Hunger Games: Suzanne Collins

Strength: 1. Bow & Arrow 2. Endurance 3. Resourceful

Weakness: 1. Hostility 2. Purity 3. Stubborness

Alexa Hollens: Defy: Sara B. Larson

Strength: 1. Swordswoman 2. Trained like a male soldier 3. Magic

Weakness: 1. Can't reveal she's a girl 2. Love 3. Lost her brother

And the Winner is....... June Iparis from The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu

June won because of how tactical she is and because of her extensive military training. Both Katniss and Alexa are skilled in their weapons -bow and arrow/sword and magic- so it was a tough fight, but it was June's agility, as well as her gun that helped her win in the end. Besides, Katniss was too stubborn to turn back when her first plan didn't work and Alexa was still mourning the loss of her brother.

The Combatants: 

Sheryl Sandberg: Lean In, Women, Work, and the Will to Lead: Sherly Sandberg

Strength: 1. Confidence 2. Age 3. Experience in fighting (verbally)

Weakness: 1. The tendency to be overbearing 2. Frequent mistake making 3. A family to worry about

Daniel Altan Wing: Legend: Marie Lu

Strength: 1. Eloquent 2. Passionate 3. Intelligent

Weakness: 1. Family 2. Loyal 3. Compassionate

Jaron: The Ascendance Trilogy: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Strength: 1. Independent 2. Determination 3. Persistence 

Weakness: 1. Risk Taker 2. Act-Before-Thinking (kind of person) 3. Recklessness

And the Winner is....... Sheryl Sandberg from Lean In, Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl won because of her experience in fighting for equality and what she wanted in life. Both Daniel and Jaron ares skilled speakers, and it was quite the debate, but Sheryl's age helped her win in the end. Jaron spoke too soon on some occasions, and Day was worried about how speaking out might impact his family.

The Combatants: 

Gordie: These Gentle Wounds: Helene Dunbar

Strength: 1. Positivity 2. Being Deep 3. Having the support of the people that love him

Weakness: 1. Not wanting to get close to people 2. PTSD 3. Mental Scars

Cooper: Two Boys Kissing: David Levithan

Strength: 1. Access to resources that would help him 2. Independent 3. Self Sufficience

Weakness: 1. Not recognizing that he did have people that would support him 2. No supportive family/friends 3. Depression

Mary Rose: The True Diary of Mary Rose: (edited) Gillian McCain & Legs McNeil

Strength: 1. The will to live 2. Persistence 3. Writing as release

Weakness: 1. Negativity 2. Cystic Fibrosis 3. Substance Abuse

And the Winner is....... Gordie from These Gentle Wounds by Helen Dunbar

Gordie won because he honestly tried to make everything normal, and had depth and perception that others didn't. Cooper and Mary had self imposed negativity which dragged them down because of their somewhat similar positions. 

Bout of Books 10 Goals/Updates/Results

OMG! This is so exciting, in exactly one minute, Bout of Books 10 will start, at least where I live. (This is a scheduled post, and I didn't actually wait until 11:59 to post this, but you get the idea).   

I have participated in Bout of Books before, and have always loved them. This a quarterly (or thirdly, someone correct me) event that is always fun. It's a weeklong event from May 12-18 with mini challenges, twitter chats, and more. Check out the website for all information related to this readathon. If you have already seen my declaration of participation, it is because I have partially revised/updated it so this post will be solely for Bout of Books. The Open House rush iis on, and so are the preparations for hte court cases (don't even ask), bt I am still hoping to read five books, but my real goal would be to read six. 

Goals:

1. Read 5 Books

2. Review All 5 Books Read

3. R/R a Book I Own

4. R/R 2 Netgalley Books

5. R/R 2 Library Books 

TBR:

Updates:

Monday:

Number of books I've read today: 1

Number of pages I've read today: 288

Total number of books I've read: 1

Books: The One: Kiera Cass

{4:45pm} Tuesday:

Number of books I've read today: 2

Number of pages I've read today: 210

Total number of books I've read: 3

Books: Two Boys Kissing: David Levithan. Breaking Free: Winter Page. 

Wednesday: 

Number of books I've read today:

Number of pages I've read today:

Total number of books I've read:

Books:

Thursday:

Number of books I've read today:

Number of pages I've read today:

Total number of books I've read:

Books:

Friday:

Number of books I've read today:

Number of pages I've read today:

Total number of books I've read:

Books:

Saturday: 

Number of books I've read today:

Number of pages I've read today:

Total number of books I've read:

Books:

Sunday:

Number of books I've read today:

Number of pages I've read today:

Total number of books I've read:

Books:

Ides of March Challenges

Michelle @ Book Briefs ~Spine Poetry
*Warning, I SUCK at spine poetry*
The Rules:

1. You must use book titles to make a poem. (Try not to change up the words in the title)
2. For this challenge, you can only use books that are on your TBR pile with publication dates BEFORE March 1, 2014.
3. You can include as many extra words in your poem as books that you use. If you used 4 books for your poem, you can use up to 4 extra words.
4. You must post your poem or a photo of your poem and then come back and link it up here

Identical Prodigy[s] Unravel Me 

after Unwinding my Dualed, 

Altered, yet Perfect[ly] Flawless Soul.

 

Faking Normal Cut through 

Something Strange and Deadly

that was Born Wicked and Fracture[d] 

Villa @ Backchatting Books-   Rome Question
Ze Rules:
We all know that when in Rome, do as the Romans do which means you should follow the customs of the society you are visiting but (and here’s the important bit) what does that actually entail?

When in Rome, make sure to visit where the Seven demigods did.

Dannie @ The Bookish Brunette ~Six Words (or Less!)
Rules: Tell me the synopsis of the book you’re currently reading (or the one you just finished) in six words. Bonus points if you do it in less words than six.

This is totally what Allegiant by Veronica Roth is about:
Rebellion, Identity, Love Issues. Totalitarian Government.