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 Hidden Gems I’ve Read In The Last Year

I don’t think I talk about hidden gems/underrated books enough!  There are so many great books out there that deserve more attention, and these are my top ten!

1. Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older.  This is a really cool book, and I liked that people connecting with spirits through paintings, art and music was seen as a normal thing, and not something unusual or special or Other.
2. All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely.  I cannot talk about this book enough!  It is so deserving of so much more attention.
3. Gabi, A Girl In Pieces by Isabel Quintero.  If you like The Princess Diaries, you’ll really like this book.  Gabi is such a good character.

1. Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue.  I really loved how this book explored immigration and how the Great Recession changed everything for the two families we see in this book.
2. Where The Streets Had A Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah.  I think her books are under-rated (generally speaking) but this one in particular is a hidden gem because it’s a side of the Israel-Palestinian conflict you don’t see often.
3. A Criminal Magic by Lee Kelly.  For some reason, I thought a lot more people knew about this book…but it’s definitely a hidden gem!  It’s Prohibition, but with magic, and that’s one of my favorite things about it.
4. George by Alex Gino.  I know this book has popped up a lot lately on some of the TTT’s I’ve done, but I cannot recommend this book enough.

1. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.  This was one of my favorite books from last year, and it’s a sweeping book about one family, on two different sides of the slave trade.
2. Tumbling by Caela Carter.  I really liked My Best Friend, Maybe when I read that ages ago, and I really liked the behind-the-scenes drama in this book.
3. All The Ugly And Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood.  I think this book is the most known book on my list, but it was unusual and heartbreaking, and I feel like most people either love it or hate it.  The title is somehow appropriate and perfect for the book.

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 Best Books Of 2016

I always have a hard time with these kinds of lists, because it’s so hard to narrow it down.  This year, it was actually really easy because I read a lot of okay books.  That made it easy to pick the ten best…and there are a lot of books I really liked, but not enough to make a year-end favorites list.

1. When Reason Breaks by Cindy L. Rodriguez.  This book was hard to read, but I loved the portrayal of depression and how different it can be for different people.
2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.  I recommend this book to EVERYONE.  Please read it, it’s totally worth it.
3. And I Darken by Kiersten White.  I love that all of her books are so different from each other, but this one is amazing!  It’s a gender-bent Vlad Dracula, and it’s worth reading.  So worth reading.
4. Missoula: Rape And The Justice System In A College Town by Jon Krakauer.  This book is such an important read, and honestly, everyone needs to read it.  It’s a very good look at rape culture, and even though it contained things I already knew, I do not regret reading it.
5. George by Alex Gino.  I cannot recommend this book enough.  This probably isn’t going to be the last time I’ll talk about George, but it really is one of the best books I’ve read this year.
6. A Court Of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas.  A Court Of Thorns And Roses was really good too, but I thought this one was much better, and it’s making me so excited about the next book.
7. The Heart Of Betrayal/The Beauty Of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson.  Each book in this series is better than the one before, and I honestly couldn’t pick one or the other.  So I did both!
8. Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone.  I loved this book so much, and it’s because we actually see a character with OCD in therapy and getting treated for it.
9. All-American Boys by Jason Reynolds.  I know I’ve been talking about this book a lot lately, but that’s because this book deserves so much attention.  It really opened my eyes to things I had never thought about before, and I’m really glad I read it.
10. Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older.  I love the magic and normal it is for magic to exist in this world.

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 I Want Santa To Bring Me

There are so many books and bookish things I want!  How am I supposed to pick just 10?

Books:

1. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows.  I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time, and maybe buying it will get me to read it!
2. House Of Leaves by Mark Danielewski.  This is another book I’ve wanted to read for a long time, and I’m pretty sure I’d read it if mysteriously appeared under the tree.
3. The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick.  I loved The Boy Next Door and I can’t wait to read this follow-up that focuses on different characters.
4. Any of the King Arthur Flour cookbooks.  They are my go-to website when I’m looking for dessert recipes, and yet I have none of their cookbooks.  This must happen!
5. The Lunar Chronicles (including Fairest and Stars Above) by Marissa Meyer.  Even though I have all of them on my e-reader, I still want physical copies to look pretty on my shelves.
6. The Mouse Guard graphic novels.  Medieval mice who are knights.  They’re adorable!

Bookish Things:

1. The light switch plates that say Lumos and Nox.  I want one!
2. All of the literary wax melt scents!  Seriously, who wouldn’t want them?
3. All of the Hufflepuff things.  All of them!  Vague, I know, but if it’s Hufflepuff, I want it.
4. Really, anything Harry Potter will do.  I talk about it all the time, and if you don’t know this about me, well, we have a problem.

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 I’m Looking Forward To Reading In The First Half Of 2017

There are so many books I’m looking forward to reading next year when they come out.  Of course, most of them are coming out in the first half of the year, but these are the 10 I’m most excited about!

1. Now I Rise by Kiersten White.  And I Darken was completely amazing, and I really need to read the sequel.  I’m looking forward to it so much!
2. Legion by Julie Kagawa.  After the way Solider ended, I really need to know what happens!
3. Dawn Study by Maria V. Snyder.  It’s not funny how much I love this series, and I look forward to each new book a lot.  I just need to know how it’s all going to end.
4. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.  I am looking forward to reading this book so much, and based on some of the early reviews, it seems like the hype is definitely warranted.
5. Red Hot Rain by Rachel Caine.  I was so excited when I found out there was going to be another Weather Wardens book, and it’s one of my most anticipated books this year.
6. A Court Of Wings And Ruin by Sarah J. Maas.  It feels like the release date for this book is so far away, especially with how ACOMAF ended.  I’m not kidding when I say that I need to know what happens next.
7. The Crown’s Fate by Evelyn Sky.  I really liked The Crown’s Game, and so I am anxiously awaiting the release of The Crown’s Fate.
8. Empress Of A Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza.  A girl seeking vengeance and wanting to claim her rightful throne is enough to draw me in!
9. Flame In The Mist by Renee Ahdieh.  I still haven’t listened to the Wrath And The Dawn but I like the idea of an alchemist with a target on her back and a group of rebel bandits.
10. The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi.  This book is described as a Middle-Eastern, steampunk Jumanji.  Of course I’m going 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 New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2016

I’ve read over 100 books this year, and a lot of the authors were completely new to me.  Here are my top ten new favorite authors!

1. Daniel Jose Older.  I know the Book Riot podcast has mentioned him a few times, and I really liked Shadowshaper.  I really need to read his other books!
2. Jason Reynolds.  I loved All-American Boys, and I can’t recommend it enough.  I know I have at least one or two of his other books, and I really need to read them.
3. Tamara Ireland Stone.  Every Last Word was one of the few books I read this year that I was truly excited about.  That’s pretty much why she made this last.
4. Isabel Quintero.  I really liked Gabi, A Girl In Pieces, and if you love The Princess Diaries, this is a really good read-alike.
5. Bryn Greenwood.  All The Ugly And Wonderful Things was so good, and I wasn’t sure what to think, but it was totally worth reading.
6. Alex Gino.  If you haven’t read George, you really need to!  I’m looking forward to reading more books by Alex Gino!
7. Lee Kelly.  A Criminal Magic was great, and even though I ended up not finishing City Of Savages, I’d still pick up a book by her!
8. A. Cramton.  I love her books, and they really make me love contemporary romance!
9. Han Kang.  The Vegetarian is easily the most bizarre book I’ve read this year, but in a good way!  I am totally planning on reading more books by her!
10. Yaa Gyasi.  I recommend Homegoing, and it’s this really interesting and complex look at the slave trade and how different it was for the two families involved.

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 Things I’m Grateful For

I can’t believe that Thanksgiving is so soon!  I am looking forward to the food, though.  And the Macy’s Parade!  It’s not Thanksgiving otherwise.  Here are ten things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving.

1. Blogging!  It’s a really good outlet, and I get to talk about all of the books I’m reading.  Plus, I get to find out about other books (that I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise) from other people.
2. Friends!  I know some very cool people and I am very glad they are a part of my life.
3. My grandparents.  I’m really close to my grandma (and I was close to my grandpa before he passed away), and I’m glad I have such a good relationship with them.
4. A job I like.  I know a lot of people aren’t that lucky, but not only am I grateful that I have a job, but that I like what I do.
5. NaNoWriMo.  This is my 11th year doing it, and I love the community.  And I get to write something different every year- and it’s very different than what I write here on the blog.
6. Harry Potter.  I am eternally grateful for the world that J.K. Rowling created and it’s what got me into writing in the first place.
7. Coffee.  And tea, sometimes.  But mostly coffee.  I don’t think I could get through the day without coffee.
8. Crochet.  It’s fun!  And not stressful.  Except for when it is stressful.  Which isn’t often, thankfully.
9. Podcasts.  I like hearing people talk about their lives, and I like that there are so many different podcasts I could try.
10. Books!  Obviously, I like books since I talk about them a lot.  But they make me think and I can go somewhere without leaving my house and I can learn so many things from just a few hundred pages.  They are pretty awesome.