1. Harry & gang – How are the kids doing at Hogwarts? Any shenanigans? I just hope Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione are happy.
2. Katniss & Peeta – The ending of Mockingjay was too…bittersweet. I felt like Katniss and Peeta just dropped off the grid, and there were so many things I still wanted to know. Has the rebellion ended? Have their wounds healed?
3. Katsa & Po & Bitterblue – Katsa and Po are off doing good things for people, and Bitterblue is queen. How’s life?
4. Alina & Mal – I’d just love to peek in on these two. What’s new at the orphanage?
5. Simon & Isabelle – One of my favorite YA ships of all time…I’d give anything to know more about Simon and Isabelle’s lives post-CoHF.
6. Ginny – Is she still traveling?
7. Skeeter – Is she a famous writer? Is she still advocating for change, tackling controversial and impactful issues?
8. Hazel Grace – I changed my mind. I actually don’t want to know.
9. Gigi & gang – Where did the girls go to college? What did they decide to do with their lives? Did they find love?
10. Cammie – Is she a super awesome spy, doing super awesome things for the world behind-the-scenes? Oops, that’s probably classified.
Have you read these novels? What would you expect from these characters? Who’s lives would you like to peek into?
I’ve just added these books to my TBR list within the past two weeks (or so) – after going on a Goodreads spree, stalking everyone else’s bookshelves. 🙂 And one of the (many) things I love about the online book blogging community is the recommendations. I really enjoy reading reviews, and they often influence my reading decisions. So many books, so little time, am I right? So it’s my pleasure to reference the reviews that encouraged me to add the following books to my TBR list.
1. Stitching Snow by R.C. Lewis – Oct. 14, 2014 – Read a great review by Shae Lit, AND it’s a fairy-tale retelling. *score*
2. Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay – Dec. 9, 2014 – Has pretty high star ratings from my Goodreads friends, which means it definitely has promise.
3. Love, Lucy by April Lindner – Jan. 27, 2015 – I generally enjoy books about traveling – and falling in love. *winks*
4. The Conspiracy of Us (The Conspiracy of Us #1) by Maggie Hall – Jan. 13, 2015 – Stumbled across this book on Goodreads and realized I’d seen it at my local library. So obviously that’s a sign?
5. The Memory Key by Liana Liu – March 3, 2015
6. The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord – March 31, 2015 – I really enjoyed Open Road Summer, and I recently read a great review by Awkwordly Emma.
7. Lies I Told (Lies I Told #1) by Michelle Zink – April 7, 2015
8. Becoming Jinn (Becoming Jinn #1) by Lori Goldstein – April 21, 2015 – Received a 4-star review from Taylor Lynn, and I’m looking forward to her review for her thoughts.
9. The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough – April 28, 2015
10. The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh – May 12, 2015
Have you read these novels? Share your thoughts! What books have you recently added to your TBR list?
I am NOT a rereader, but these are the books I lovingly pull out every now and then to skim and to dive back into my favorite scenes. I am quite happy to give them the recognition they deserve!
1. Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace – My grandmother gave me this book. 🙂
2. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
3. Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene – I’ve read every single one!
4. The Anybodies by N.E. Bode
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
6. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson – Fantastic prequel to Peter Pan.
7. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
8. Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer – The antagonist (villainous boy genius) becomes the protagonist, and it was great.
9. Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
10. Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter – Confirmed all my secret suspicions that I have what it takes to be a spy.
1. The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall – This book has all my favorite things – secret societies, conspiracy, romance 🙂
2. All Fall Down by Ally Carter – So excited for this new series by Ally Carter! I’m a huge Gallagher Girls fan, so I’m hoping I’ll fall in love with Grace’s story just as I did Cammie’s.
3. Fairest by Marissa Meyer – The surprise twist to the futuristic fairy-tale-retelling series? The villain’s story? Sign me up.
4. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
5. The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski – Currently reading! The Winner’s Curse was my first read of 2015, and it’s a new favorite.
6. Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins – April 7
7. Wrong About the Guy by Claire LaZebnik – April 21
8. Rogue by Julie Kagawa – April 28 – Just finished reading Talon, so I’m glad the wait for book 2 is short!
9. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir – April 28
10. Wild Hearts by Jessica Burkhart – May 5 – Looking forward to reading this ARC! I’ve really enjoyed the other books in the If Only series.
Have you read these books? Thoughts?? Reading recommendations to add to my ever-growing TBR pile?
As I could go ON and ON about my favorite heroines, I’ve chosen instead to keep it short and sweet. I will describe each of these impressive young ladies with just ONE WORD – GO!
1. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling) – INTELLIGENT.
2. Luxa (Gregor the Overlander series by Suzanne Collins) – BRAVE.
3. Tessa (Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare) – THOUGHTFUL.
4. Katsa (Graceling by Kristin Cashore) – SELFLESS.
5. Liesel (The Book Thief by Markus Zusak) – CLEVER.
6. Sydney Sage (Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead) – RESILIENT.
7. Cinder (Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer) – RESOURCEFUL.
8. Cress (Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer) – SWEET.
9. Blue Sargent (The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater) – LOYAL.
10. Celaena Sardothien (Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas) – FIERCE.
What words would you use to describe these heroines? Who are your favorite female characters?
Realistically, you have to get to know someone before you fall in love with them. It’s just unrealistic when two characters fall head-over-heels in love over the course of a day. I want to see the attraction build! I want to see the friendship grow into something more!
Ex.) Graceling by Kristin Cashore – Katsa & Po
2. Honesty / communication
I really appreciate it when characters communicate with one another, especially when they’re honest about their feelings. This is not to say they don’t have misunderstandings and get frustrated with one another, it’s just that their obstacles are not a result of miscommunication.
3. Witty banter
*SWOON.* I love the witty banter between love interests. I will actually giggle aloud when the back-and-forth begins.
Ex.) The Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices trilogy by Cassandra Clare (She is the master of witty banter)
4. Opposites attract
I think it’s adorable when characters balance each other out – their personalities are complementary. I’m not talking about characters that have nothing in common. I’m talking about characters who have something to learn from one another.
Ex.) Best example of this is Hermione & Ron (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)!
5. Love triangles
LET ME EXPLAIN! (If you scroll down you’ll see that I also have this listed as a ‘dislike.’) I don’t mind love triangles when they’re done right. I always think it’s interesting when a character thinks he/she is in love with someone, but realizes later they’ve actually fallen for someone else. I think love triangles work when the characters actually make a decision in the end – none of that indecisive stuff.
Ex.) Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas – Celaena & Chaol & Dorian
DISLIKES
6. Insta-love
I don’t even think this needs an explanation. But if you really want one, I encourage you to take a look at ANY other TTT post, because I assure you it’s there. 😉
7. Assumptions / excuses
Miscommunication, GAH! When a character sees his/her love interest in the school library whispering with someone else and thinks they’re cheating but refuses to talk to him/her about it. And then avoids love interest for a week and gives some dumb excuse. (Turns out it was actually the love interest’s COUSIN, who randomly arrived in town only minutes before.)
8. Author gimmicks
The characters have fallen in love and have expressed their feelings for one another – but there are still 30 pages left! And there must be one last obstacle – a reason they absolutely CAN’T be together! No. Please, no. This is just a gimmick.
9. Jealousy
Jealousy is a very common human emotion. Sometimes we just can’t help it. But it’s not attractive.
10. Love triangles
It can be tacky when it isn’t done well. When a character can’t make up his/her mind, I want to bang my head against the wall.
I am a huge fan of book clubs. A group of people coming together to read and discuss a novel? Sign me up. None of my close friends share my love of reading (sigh) and so that’s why I’ve joined the online community of book-lovers, to share my bookish thoughts and all the bottled-up feels. 😉
Without further ado, these are the books I’d love to read with my imaginary/fictional book club.
1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
3. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
4. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – WHODUNNIT?
5. Divergent by Veronica Roth
Books 1-5 feature powerful themes. These themes would make for really great discussions.
6. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
7. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
9. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
10. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Books 6-10 pull at the heart-strings. *Disclaimer: if you do not have a friend to discuss these books with, you might possibly be emotionally damaged for life.
(My mother is very familiar with these novels, though she’s never read them, because I gave her blow-by-blow accounts through my tears.)
Have you read these novels? Would you like to become a member of my imaginary book club? I’ll probably let you join.
This is the reading goal I’ll set through Goodreads. While I thought my goal of 50 books for 2014 would be a challenge, I blew past it! So we shall see what 2015 has in store for me, but I do believe 55 books is both challenging and attainable.
2. Write better book reviews
I am a huge procrastinator when it comes to writing reviews. I really need to be better at writing reviews as soon as I’ve finished reading, so I don’t move on to another book and forget the previous one!
3. Organize book club(s)
Last summer I created a book club for rising 6th grade girls. We read Cinder by Marissa Meyer and it was so, so fun. I’d like to do it again this summer, but I want to expand and host multiple book clubs. *Does anyone have suggestions for great middle grade books??
4. Attend BEA
This would be a dream come true. I’ll be out of school, and I have family in New York, so I really think it could work out this year. *Fingers crossed* And it looks as though many other bloggers have this same resolution, so I hope to see you all there!
BLOGGING
5. Posting consistently
I need to be consistent and stick to my Monday/Thursday schedule. If possible, I’d like to write posts in advance and have them scheduled on the blog so I’m not always scrambling to publish the posts at the last minute.
6. Using my own images
I’m excited to be getting better at photography and image editing, so I’d like to begin using my own images in posts. (This excludes the book cover images I use in my TTT posts, as I don’t always own the books I blog about).
7. Interviewing authors
As an avid reader AND writer, it’s always an incredible learning experience speaking to an author. I began contacting authors for interviews in 2013 but really slacked off in 2014 (authors are busy people!). So this year I’d like to interview an author at least once a month.
8. Guest posting
I think guest posting is a great way to put yourself out there and to connect with other bloggers. So not only would I like to guest post on other sites, but invite other bloggers to guest post here at Brooke Reviews.
9. Commenting
I follow many other book blogs but often forget to leave comments! I think it’s important to let other bloggers know they’re doing something right, so my goal is to get better at leaving positive/encouraging comments when I read posts I really like.
10. Social media
Again, I sort of fell off the bandwagon. At one point I was on Twitter at least once or twice a day, and then I abandoned it for several months. I miss all the bookish updates! I have felt so disconnected! Twitter, I shall return!
What are your bookish/blogging goals for the new year? What can I add to my list? Any suggestions for Brooke Reviews?
