Showing posts with label TTT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TTT. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday [36]



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics



Top Ten Reasons I Love Travel

I'm still alive! And back in the states!  This open top ten list coincided perfectly with my return from the trip (I got back late Sunday night).  A perfect way to kick start my blog again, I was able to read quite a few books while away (hooray long train rides and flights!) so I have some reviews lined up to write.

1 - Food - I'm a huge foodie, so to me nothing beats sitting in a restaurant ordering traditional local food and enjoying the meal

2 - Local Alcohol - There are so many different types of alcohol that you've never heard of all over the world.  Even the typical things, like beer, wine, vodka, etc. are so different when you have them locally.  My latest trip was all about the wine (France and Italy, how could it not be?) and I drank some of the best wine I've had in my life.  It's not just about what you're drinking though, it's also about the experience of drinking it, allowing it to enhance the experience, not become the experience.

3 - Learning Local History - Being a history nerd I love wandering cities and taking in the history of them.  Looking at old buildings and imagining what life was like 100, 200, 500, years ago.

4 - Seeing Amazing Works of Art - I'm not hugely into art, but I definitely do appreciate it.  I'm including architecture as works of art, just look at some of those old buildings, they're incredible!

5 - Shopping - I go a little shopping crazy, especially when I'm abroad.  I never buy the kitschy touristy stuff, I go for the good stuff.  It's a lot of fun to go into smaller local stores too, you get to see a different side of the cities.

6 - Scenery - Geography can be amazing, gorgeous mountains, sunsets over rivers and seas, turning a corner on the road and a beautiful view appears.  Windy streets in small towns, towns nestled in valleys, or perched on the side of a mountain.  There's always something amazing and picturesque to see.

7 - Learning New Languages - I love languages, and I try to learn as much as a can while I'm in a country (I can say 'thank you' in an absurd number of random languages).  

8 - Experiencing New Cultures - This goes along with the food and drink and shopping, it's all about the culture of the place, trying to meld into pace of the place you're visiting, trying not to be an annoying tourist.

9 - Arriving at the Destination - I absolutely love the anticipation of arriving, especially when I'm flying.  I love the window seat on planes, as we make our approach I'm glued to the window, watching my destination materialize beneath me, and get larger and larger until we bump onto the runway and we're there.  It's the best feeling.

10 - The People - The people I'm travelling with, when you travel with amazing people the overall experience of the trip is so much better.  The people you meet during your travels, it's so much fun to meet people and give advice and tips to them and they do the same to you, we found some really cool places this trip that way! 

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday [35]



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics








Top Ten Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads

1 - The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry



Finished on March 12, 2016.  

This review will be coming shortly









2 - Winter by Marissa Meyer




Finished on November 21, 2015. 









3 - A Madness so Discreet by Mindy McGinnis




Finished November 4, 2015. 









4 - The Immortal Heights by Sherry Thomas



Finished on October 27, 2015.










5 - Immersed by Katie Hayoz



Finished on October 25, 2015.










6 - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell



Finished on October 18, 2015.










7 - Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate



Finished on October 9, 2015.










8 - The Epic Adventures of Lydia Bennet by Katie Rorick and Rachel Kiley



Finished on October 6, 2015.










9 - Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff



Finished on September 29, 2015.










10 - Dumplin' by Julie Murphy



Finished on September 22, 2015.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday [34]



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics









Top Ten Books I Really Love But Feel Like I Haven't Talked About Enough/In A While


1 - Burning City - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle  





This book is fantastic, such an amazing world and captivating story.  









2 - Watership Down - Richard Adams  




My all-time favorite book.  You really can't beat communist bunnies. 









3 - Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut 



My favorite Vonnegut book (and to put things in perspective, Vonnegut is in my top 5 favorite authors) although Cat's Cradle is a close second.  I haven't read either of them in a long time and I've been dying for a reread.








4 - Nightfall - Issac Asimov  



My favorite short story I've ever read.  This story is so amazing.  There are no words for this one, I get the feels every time I read it, every time I think about it.  Amazing stuff, Asimov is a literary genius.








5 - Martin the Warrior - Brian Jacques 





I grew up loving the Redwall series, but this book is by far my favorite.  Martin is so much more awesome than Matthias and Mattimeo, and the others are equally amazing: Gnoff, Grumm, Laterose 







6 - Timeline - Michael Crichton  



Another one of my top 5 favorite authors - and this is my favorite book by him.  Travelling back in time to medieval France with a bunch of medieval historians and archaeology students?  Yes please.  This book may have been my inspiration to get a degrees in history and French with a minor in archaeology.  You never know, they quantum foam just may make me roam.







7 - 1984 - George Orwell  



This is probably the book I reference the most in the real world (have you seen the state of the US lately?)  But on my blog I don't think I've ever mentioned it.  I really love this book, it's so amazing and I'm unhappy to say that his predictions are coming true, if a few decades off.








8 - Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen  





Of course this one would make the list.  I'm such a romantic and this is pretty much the greatest romance ever written.  Seriously, I've yet to meet a girl who didn't want a Mr. Darcy of her own.








9 - Fairy Godmother - Mercedes Lackey 



Hey look! another of my top five favorite authors made the list!  And this one might be my favorite book by her, although some of her other stuff is pretty amazing too.  I love how she turned fairy tales into horrible things that people dread being a part of.  The world she created in this book is just fantastic.








10 - The Summer Prince - Alaya Dawn Johnson 



There's something about this book that I just love, I can't put words to it and so it usually goes without much mentioning.











And my three favorite series that I probably talk too much about:

1 - Red River - Lauraine Snelling  



I keep finding ways to bring up Thorliff, but hey, when you've been crushing on a character for almost your whole life and the series continues so he grows up with you, what else can you do?









2 - Anna/Lola/Isla - Stephanie Perkins 




It kind of bothers me that this series doesn't have a name...But I seriously love these books, and I've noticed, like Thorliff, I keep finding ways to mention them.








3 - His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman 




This is my all-time favorite series.  I went for a long time without mentioning it, but between the graphic novel coming out and getting my friend to read it I feel like I've been bringing it up a lot.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday [33]



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics






Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR

1 - Juniors by Kaui Hart Hemmings



I actually picked this one up over the weekend to start, but haven't actually opened it yet, so it will be the first book I read after this post.









2 - Stars Above by Marissa Meyer




I really really need to go and buy this book so I can read it, I saved a spot on my newly refilled bookshelves specifically for it.  Now I just have to get it








3 - Broken Crowns by Lauren DeStefano



So excited for this one to come out!











4 - Rodin's Lover by Heather Webb





I swear I'll read this one this time!  This book has made an appearance in several of my TBR lists, but other books keep getting in the way.  Not this time! I hope...








5 - Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus




I need to actually get this book so I can read it, but it will happen!  








6 - Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira



I've been wanted to read this one for a while, but it came out during my reading slump AKA obsession with Hamilton and Density, but now that I'm on the upswing of that I'll finally get to it.







7 - Venom by Fiona Paul



I need to read some of my Italy books before I get there.










8 - Masquerade by Kylie Fornasier



Another book to read before my trip.  It's probably for the best because I'll have little else on my mind in the coming months.  I've already started a count down!








9 - Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson




I'm hoping I can get to this one before I leave for my trip.










10 - Summer Days and Summer Nights by Stephanie Perkins



I'm so excited for this collection! I will be reading it the day it comes out!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday [32]



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics







Top Six Characters Everyone Loves But I Just Don't Get


1 - Gale Hawthorne - The Hunger Games - I'm very much not a fan of Gale's, and no, it's not because I totally in love with Peeta.  Gale is a jerk, especially as the series progresses, I don't understand how/why people love him.

2 - Ron Weasley - Harry Potter Series - I'm specifically talking about Ron from the books they completely changed his character in the movies.  I love Ron in the movies, Ron in the books?  I wanted to punch him in the face more often then not, he's so self-centered and he's an imbecile.  The only thing he has going for him is that he was able to befriend the boy who lived before anyone else had the chance, oh, and he knows how to play a good game of chess.  Why Hermione fell for him I will never understand, she could do so much better.

3 - Bill Compton - Sookie Stackhouse - Again, from the actual books not the TV show, they really like changing awful characters into better ones for the screen.  Bill is such a creeper.  As the series goes on you realize how truly awful he is.  Sookie is lucky she was able to mostly cut ties with him and only has to deal with him under Erik's protection.

4 - Lola Nolan - Lola and the Boy Next Door - Lola was the only character in the entire series that I just didn't get.  I like her, but I couldn't relate, at all.  And it did take me a couple reads to actually like her.  I think the main thing that bothers me about her is that she has to dress up extravagantly and make a spectacle of herself.  It's as though she does that to hide who she really is, which is an awesome person - why else would Cricket love her or Anna and St. Clair be friends with her?

5 - Ky Markham - Matched - I didn't totally hate Ky, I just didn't understand the appeal of him.  Also, Xander, way better, and with a way cooler name.

6  -Jacob Black - Twilight - Jacob is super creepy and rapey.  Of course they made him more palatable in the movies, but in the books it was a kid trying desperately to get with Bella, like forcing himself on her.  Not cool.



Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday [31]



Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that allows bloggers to share their top ten lists for that week’s topics









Top Five Fictional Boyfriends
I know I did my ten top fictional crushes here, but this is boyfriends, fictional guys I'd absolutely love to be real so I can date them (and marry Thorly)



1 - Thorliff Bjorklund - Red River to the North / Return to Red River - Have I mentioned how much I love Thorly?  I've been in love with him since, probably the third book in the Bjorklund saga (because it started when he was 5, and a 12 year old crushing on a 5 year old is weird).  He's smart (and an author to boot!), tall, blonde, and those Bjorklund blue eyes...

2 - Josh Wasserstein - Isla and the Happily Ever After - So I like the artist types...and really smart guys.  Josh is brilliant, and super sweet, even if he makes completely idiotic mistakes, he knows exactly what to do to redeem himself.

3 - Etienne St. Clair - Anna and the French Kiss - What's not to love about Etienne?  He's so cute and charismatic.  Utimately I don't think it would work out between us, but that's fine, he and Anna really are perfect for each other.

4 - Cricket Bell - Lola and the Boy Next Door - Another really smart guy (who's also really tall), and another sweetheart.  Can I get a guy who draws a star on the back of his hand because I'm always on his mind?  

5 - Briar Moss - The Circle of Magic / The Circle Opens - Another crush of mine I've have since I read the books.  He's also fairly smart and loves plants, and a bit of an artist.  Those tattoos?  Awesome!



Top Five Fictional Couples

1 - Will and Lyra - His Dark Materials - They're so sweet together, and their relationship quite literally save the world.  I'm still hoping for a fourth book for them.

2 - Scarlet and Wolf - The Lunar Chronicles - If there ever were a couple completely devoted to each other it's them.  No matter what was thrown at them the came out stronger and more in love than ever.

3 - Alanna and Jon - Songs of the Lioness - Yeah yeah, everyone seems to prefer Alanna and George, but I loved her and Jon together.  It was so clandestine and they're great together!

4 - Elizabeth and Darcy - Pride and Prejudice - You can't have a list of best fictional couples and not include them.  They are like the fictional couple.

5 - Varian and Cathlin - The Leopard Lord - They were destined for each other, and their love was so great they were able to overcome everything.