Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Bookish People You Should Follow On Social Media

For some reason, I don’t follow a lot of bookish things on social media, but there are some awesome things on pinterest, and some really cool people on twitter.  Here are 10 people you should check out!

Pinterest:

I’m on Pinterest a lot.  Not really in the bookish sense, but it’s awesome for crochet and food stuff!  There are still some awesome bookish things on Pinterest though.  Besides, food and reading go hand-in-hand for me, so there’s that.  You can find me pinning under wingecreature!

• Kami Garcia.  She has tons of interesting pins, some about her books, others about writing.  You can find her here.
• Christy Nichols, The Reader Bee.  She has awesome pins.  You can find her here.
• I love this bookish pinterest board.
• And also this one.
• In general, I would recommend Book Riot (their podcasts and blog is pretty awesome) but their book fetish board on pinterest is so cool.  It makes me want all the things.

Twitter:

I’m not on twitter much- it’s mostly links to blog posts, and I randomly tweet during Walking Dead and Once Upon A Time…I guess I’m more of a follower but I do like seeing what other people are tweeting!  You can find me @wingedcreature!

• Nnedi Okorafor has some awesome tweets.
• Maureen Johnson.  She’s pretty awesome and she’s absolutely hysterical.
• Rainbow Rowell.  If you’re not following her on twtiter, you should be.
• Gail Carriger is also pretty awesome.
• Elizabeth Wein’s twitter is really interesting, but her website is even more interesting.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR

There are a lot of books I want to read this spring, and it was a little hard picking just ten.  These ten are the ones at the top of my list!

1. The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey.  The movie trailer really made me want to read the book!  Which has been sitting on my shelf for at least 2 or 3 years.  I am very determined to read it, and soon!
2. Among The Janeites by Deborah Yaffe.  This look at the Jane Austen fandom looks really cool!
3. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris.  I’m pretty sure I’ve read the first two or three Sookie Stackhouse books, but that was well before I started blogging, but I did buy the e-book on sale ages ago, and when I was randomly looking through my TBR on goodreads, I thought spring might be a good time to re-read it!
4. The Heart Of Betrayal by Mary Pearson.  Somehow, I never got around to reading it last year, and I really need to read it before the next book comes out!
5. Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott.  I’ve heard a lot about this book, and considering I really like history, this book seems up my alley!
6. Actually, pretty much any of the non-fiction I have on my shelves.  Why do I not read more non-fiction?
7. Night Study by Maria V. Snyder.  I can’t wait to see what’s going on with Yelena!
8. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera.  This book seems like a book I’d like- even though books about characters who are dealing with the suicide of a loved one are hit-or-miss for me, I’m still intrigued with this one.
9. Mouse Guard: Spring 1153 by David Petersen.  It’s warrior mice!  And the first two were absolutely adorable, and I just need to read this one.
10. A Court Of Thorns And Roses by Sarah J. Maas.  I really want to read it!  I’ve heard a lot about it, and I really liked Throne Of Glass, so I definitely need to read it!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Recent Books I Enjoyed That Weren’t My Typical Reads

Over the last year, I’ve made it a goal to read more books that aren’t in my usual comfort zone of YA (and reading more diversely in general, but particularly within YA).  It actually made hard and easy- easy, because I had a lot of books to choose from, but hard because of narrowing down the choices!  These were the ten that stood out the most!

1. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith.  Mysteries aren’t normally a genre I read, but since it’s written by J.K. Rowling herself, I figured I’d give it a try…and I really liked it!  She is really good with mysteries, which wasn’t a surprise, for some reason, but I definitely want to read her other ones.
2. The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.  I tend to stick to history when I read non-fiction, but I’m glad I heard about this one!  It is sort of historical, but it focuses more on science, which is something I don’t read a lot, but this book was worth it!
3. Fledgling by Octavia Butler.  I’ve wanted to read Octavia Butler for a while, and last year, I was really glad I listened to this one!  I know she’s big in sci-fi, and I can see why with this one!
4. The Martian by Andy Weir.  Again, I don’t read a lot of sci-fi, particularly adult sci-fi, but this was a book I heard a lot about last year, so I knew I had to pick it up.  It’s funny, and I kept rooting for Mark Watney.  I still need to see the movie (I sort of wish I had seen it in theaters, but that’s not going to stop me from watching it anyway), but it really was a great listen.
5. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor.  I really liked this post-apocalyptic book set in Africa!  It’s also inspired by African myths, and I really liked that, because it’s nice reading something not inspired by Greek myths.
6. Sorcerer’s & Secretaries by Amy Kim Kibushi.  Manga is something I want to read more, and Sorcerer’s & Secretaries is one of my favorites that I read last year.  I related a lot to Nicole (and I still like that we share a name), and it’s magical and whimsical, and we all need more magic and whimsy in our lives.
7. Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince.  I was really taken with this memoir, and how Michaela worked so hard to reach her dream of being a ballerina.  She never felt sorry for herself, and I really admire her determination.
8. Mouse Guard: Winter 1152 by David Petersen.  Mouse Guard is completely awesome, and so far, it’s the only graphic novel I’ve finished and really liked.  Plus, it’s adorable warrior mice, and you can’t go wrong with that.
9. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.  This book made me realize how lucky I am and how much I take for granted.  She told a completely brilliant story, and I have no idea why it’s taking me so long to read her other books.
10. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.  I know this is the second book from Okorafor that I’ve mentioned, but she really deserves it!  I love how she uses African myths in her books, and it makes me want to keep reading because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Top Ten Books To Read For Valentine’s Day

I can’t believe it’s almost Valentine’s Day!  I don’t have any big plans (like, no plans whatsoever) but maybe I should read one of the books on my list!

1. Anna And The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is the first book I thought of!  Seriously, it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day!
2. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.  I don’t know why I thought of this one, but I did.  Maybe it’s because Lena and Ethan go through so much to be together.
3. Ink And Bone by Rachel Caine.  This one is a great book for book lovers, and while it’s not a…more traditional choice, I still think it’s a good Valentine’s day read.
4. Ash by Malinda Lo.  I just love this Cinderella re-telling.  It’s completely amazing!
5. Isla And The Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins.  I couldn’t decided between this one and Anna, so I decided to go with both.  Also, it’s just perfect for Valentine’s Day!
6. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.  It’s a cute read, and there’s something romantic about writing love letters to boys you’ve had huge crushes on.
7. Anew by Chelsea Fine.  There is a very old, long-running romance in this paranormal series, and somehow, it fits perfectly for a Valentine’s Day read.
8. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han.  There is such a cute romance in the book, and there were times when I couldn’t make up my mind about who I wanted Belly to end up with.
9. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.  If you want your heart ripped to shreds this Valentine’s Day, this is probably the book for you.
10. Harry Potter.  No reason, other than I feel like it.  Harry Potter is perfect for any occasion.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely folks over at The Broke And The Bookish.  Every week, bloggers share their own bookish top ten lists based on the topic of the week.  You can check out Ten Tuesdays here.

Ten Books That Have Been On My TBR List For Too Long

This week is a freebie, which means we get to pick whatever topic we want!  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I got to thinking about the books that I’ve recently added to my TBR (because of the list from last week), and then I started thinking about the books that have been on my TBR for a really long time, and I decided that I need to do a list of ten books that have been on my TBR for way too long.  It’s very much slanted towards Tudor history, but these books are ones I should try to read (and soon, I hope, but I doubt that will actually happen).

1. Elizabeth’s Women: Friends, Rivals, And Foes Who Shaped The Virgin Queen by Tracy Borman.  I love Tudor history, and have wanted to read it for a long time, but I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.
2. Mary Tudor: Princess, Bastard, Queen by Anna Whitelock.  I don’t know a lot about her, and I want to know more.  She comes up a lot in Tudor history, and yet, I don’t actually take the time to read anything specifically about her.
3. Anne Boleyn: Henry VIII’s Obsession by Anne Norton.  It would be interesting to get a different perspective on her, and she’s just an interesting person in general.
4. Catherine De Medici: Renaissance Queen Of Medici by Leonie Frieda.  I didn’t realize she was a queen of France and the mother-in-law of Mary, Queen Of Scots until I started watching Reign, which lead to googling her, and then the History Chicks did an episode about Mary, Queen Of Scots, and for some reason, that makes me want to know more about her.
5. The Life And Death Of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives.  I tend to stick with Alison Weir (who I love) for anything Tudor-related, but at the same time, I really like the time period, and it’s always good to see what other people have written about the time period.
6. Catherine Of Aragon: The Spanish Queen Of Henry VIII by Giles Tremlett.  She’s the wife we probably know the most about, and yet, I haven’t read anything that tells just her story.  This one looks really good.
7. Lady Jane Grey: A Tudor Mystery by Eric Ives.  Her story is interesting, especially in relation to Elizabeth I’s story.
8. Stonewall by Martin Duberman.  I’ve heard of the Stonewall Riots, but I don’t know anything about them, and this book seems like a good place to start.
9. The Perils Of Pleasure by Julie Anne Long.  I’ve heard a lot of really good things about this series, and I’ve wanted to read it for years, and yet I never seem to actually read it.
10. It’s Kind Of A Funny Story by Ned Vizzini.  This book is another one I’ve wanted to read for a few years, and even though I have a copy, I still haven’t read it.