The Harry Potter Tag

Posted in Tags by TheQuirkyBookNerd

I was tagged to do the Harry Potter Tag by the lovely Kai from Black Cat Kai. Thank you so much for the tag, Kai! Make sure to stop by and check out her blog! 😀

This awesome tag and all of the corresponding art was created by two fantastic book bloggers—Lashaan and Trang from Bookidote. The only rule of the tag: you cannot use Harry Potter books for any of your answers.

Let’s get this tag started!

A book where you found the theme interesting, but you’d like to rewrite it.

The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin

The concept of the novel was incredibly interesting—it was intended to be formatted in a way that was sort of like found footage movies, but in book form. That style, along with a plot focusing on a murder mystery while making a commentary on celebrity culture, should have theoretically made for a great novel. However, there was no mystery, the characters felt too much like stereotypical caricatures, and the text itself was like reading paperwork. I’d definitely rewrite this to fix those elements. Click here to check out my full review of The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone!

The first book in a series that got you hooked.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I haven’t read all that many series so far in my life, and since I can’t use Harry Potter here, that narrows my list even further! However, The Hunger Games immediately comes to mind here because it was the first series I really got excited about after Harry Potter ended. I absolutely devoured this book, and it quickly made this one of my all-time favorite trilogies!

A book you wish you could have right now.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

I can’t decide between the two—I’m so excited for both. Not only are these books by two of my auto-buy authors, the stories themselves sound absolutely fantastic. I need them in my hands ASAP!

A killer book. Both senses. Take it as you like.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Well, doesn’t this just fit here perfectly! Seriously, this book is killer. It’s by far the most captivating, well-written, and brilliantly plotted book I’ve ever read. Click here to check out my full review of Gone Girl!

A book that you found really confusing.

The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

I read this a couple of years ago and to this day I’m still not certain how I felt about it. The concept for the plot was intriguing, but the actual execution of it was not the smoothest. I found that the story jumped around far too much, making it choppy and hard to follow. On top of that, it at times felt like the author was unsure of where he wanted the story to go. Overall, it unfortunately ended up being a jumbled and unsatisfying read.

Your spirit animal book.

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

Is anyone surprised by this? 😀 My brain is essentially solely comprised of superheroes and supervillains, so this book is everything a nerd like me ever wanted and more. Morally ambiguous characters are my favorite to both read and write about, as well as the intriguing psychology elements that inevitably come into a plot along with them. Between the vivid characters, fascinating storyline, and stellar writing, there is no doubt in my mind that Vicious is my spirit animal! Click here to check out my full review of Vicious!

A dark, twisted book.

Alice by Christina Henry

I absolutely love reading dark stories and have read tons over the years, but this is definitely the darkest and most twisted one I’ve come across so far. If you enjoy those kinds of book though, I would highly recommend it because it was fantastic! I will actually have a full review of this up on here one day, I promise!

A book that surprised you in a great way, reveals to be more than it is.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Whenever I think of books that surprised me, this instantly comes to mind. I was expecting a much different type of story than what it turned out to be, and I think that made me love it even more. There are so many layers, so much complexity in what is an outwardly simple and straightforward story. It is a remarkably beautiful piece of literature. Click here to check out my full review of A Monster Calls!

Heather @ The Sassy Book Geek

Anna @ My Bookish Dream

Ashleigh @ A Frolic Through Fiction

Jessica @ The Awkward Book Blogger

Yasmin and Paige @ The Wild Readers

Kayla @ Bookedsolid1989

The Orang-utan Librarian

Emma @ The Terror of Knowing

Michelle @ The Sapphire

20Apr2016

Top 5 Wednesday – April 20th, 2016

Posted in Top 5 Wednesday by TheQuirkyBookNerd

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at Gingerreadslainey. Every week, book reviewers all over the world are given a bookish topic and respond with their top 5 books (or elements of books) that relate to that topic. Click here for the Goodreads group if you would like to learn more about Top 5 Wednesday and join in!

This week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is the top five books that you’re intimidated by. Though I am an avid reader that will gladly read (almost) anything you hand to me, I get intimidated by books fairly easily. This never prevents me from picking up the books and giving them a go, it just makes me put them off for ages. Most times, my fear is caused by the length of the novel. I’m a relatively slow reader who loves fantasy and sci-fi, which can by a problematic combination, at least for me! Hype surrounding novels can also make me nervous, and since I take forever to get around to popular series, this is a major issue for me as well. And of course, let’s not forget about the potential of massive quantities of feels…

Okay, let’s get into that list! 😀

5. Under the Dome by Stephen King

Two words: Page. Count. 1000+ pages definitely freaks me out, even if it is a book by an author I love. Also, the copy I have to read is my dad’s hardcover edition, which (probably due to the troubles I have lifting it up!) is psyching me out even more. I’m very interested in both this novel and the television series, having heard fantastic things about both. I may have to get a copy on Kindle—that might help…

4. The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I find the entire Mistborn series pretty daunting, but actually less so than the other series I have on this list. This intimidation comes purely from page count. Based on what I know about these novels, I have a feeling that I will not have a difficult time actually getting into the story and the writing. I am determined to get through at least this first book before the end of the year. Now if I can just find the time…

3. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

Once again, I must address my shame at never having read any Tolkien books or seen any of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit films. I intend to finally fix the film part this year, as well begin reading the LOTR trilogy, but I definitely feel intimidated. I’m certain that I will love it—I can’t imagine not adoring these stories! But I still feel pressure since these are such well-loved classics. To be honest, I’m also pretty nervous about trying to remember everyone’s names as well!

2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

All right, so I’m intimidated by this entire series, but I’ll just stick with the first one for now since I haven’t even gotten through that yet! I’ve already started watching the television show (which I know is a bad book nerd move!), and I absolutely love it, so I’m sure that I will enjoy these books. They are definitely worth the time and effort…but that page quantity though. Since I’ll be traveling a bit this summer, I figured that might be a good time to get started. I am going to feel so accomplished when I finally finish this series (or at least what’s been released)!

1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This is right up my alley in terms of subject matter, but holy page count, Batman! My main concern is that this novel might be hard to get into, which is more likely to discourage me with a book this size. Nevertheless, if everything I have heard about this book is true, it is certainly worth the read!

What are some books that have intimidated you guys? Do we have any in common? Are there any books that you were nervous to pick up but ended up loving? Let me know down in the comments!

-Ariana

13Apr2016

The Versatile Blogger Award #2

Posted in Awards by TheQuirkyBookNerd

I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Mariana over at Book is Glee and Becca over at Shih Tzu Book Reviews. Thank you both so much for the nominations! Make sure to stop by and check out both of their blogs.

Click here to check out the first part as well!

_________________________________________________________________________________

The Rules:

Show the award on your blog.

Thank the person that has nominated you.

Share 7 different facts about yourself.

Nominate a number of blogs of your choice.

Link your nominees and let them know they are nominated.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Random Facts About Me:

1. I absolutely adore recommending books (not surprisingly!) and buying books for my friends and family. Introducing people to new novels and sharing the joy of reading makes me incredibly happy!

2. I have a secret (not really 😛 ) desire to be a voice actor, particularly in video games.

3. My favorite movie of all time is The Birdcage. No matter how many times I watch this movie, I never get tired of it and it never fails to make me laugh my butt off. It’s also my favorite movie to quote, probably because I’ve basically memorized the entire script at this point.

4. I am a total gamer…not necessarily a good one…but definitely one.

5. I play a huge variety of video games, my favorite kind being open world RPGs like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, but I also enjoy a good adventure/puzzle game now and then. I love the Nancy Drew video games—it is one of my favorite series of all time. My dad got one for me and my mom to play together when I was about eight years old and I’ve been playing them ever since.

6. I never watch anything actually on television anymore—I watch everything on Netflix, Amazon, etc. Because of this, I have completely lost every last bit of tolerance I ever had for commercial breaks.

7. No matter how in denial I am about it, I am not a coordinated human being…

I Nominate:

My nominees can be found at the end of the first part! 🙂

12Apr2016

April 2016 TBR

Posted in Wrap Ups And TBRs by TheQuirkyBookNerd

Happy April, everyone! I am quite late with my TBR and wrap-up this month—and it’s definitely going to be a bit of a shorter one than usual—but it’s finally here. If you read my update post last week, you’ll know that I had a bit of a difficult March. However, I am back and as quirky (and nerdy) as ever! Things are finally beginning to get back on track, and I am aiming to catch up on reading and blogging as much as possible in April. Thank you guys for all the love and support. Hopefully this month will be much better than the last! 🙂 ❤

April TBR

1. The Masterpiecers by Olivia Wildenstein

This is one of the books I have received for review, and it is what I am currently reading. I’m not too far into it yet, but at this point I’m enjoying it quite a bit. The writing style flows very well and the mystery in the premise has me very interested to see where the story goes. Dark, mysteries are a definite favorite of mine to read, so I’m hoping this plot will continue to remain strong.

2. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

This is one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I am beyond excited to read it. I’ve been hearing some mixed reviews, but that has not got me any less eager to dive into this novel!

3. The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith

This is another book that I was sent for review (thank you, David!). It is a retelling—or a continuation, rather—and a darker sounding one at that, which we all know is one of my favorite types of stories. I’m quite intrigued by the premise and I am really looking forward to seeing where he takes the idea. This should hopefully be my next read, in fact.

I will also be continuing to read The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates and The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Read in March

Not surprisingly, this was a bit of a rough reading month, but I did manage to get a few books finished.

1. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick – This was my first experience with Matthew Quick’s work and I’ll say it was definitely a solid one. It was a pretty enjoyable read overall, and it’s got me looking forward to reading his other novels. Full review coming soon!

2. The Haters by Jesse Andrews – I’m running a bit behind on my review for this book because I’m still trying to get my thoughts about it in order. It’s one of those books where I’m still not entirely sure how I felt about it and I need to let my brain do a bit more processing. Full review coming soon!

Anticipated Releases of April

Don’t Tell, Don’t Tell, Don’t Tell by Liane Shaw (April 5^th, 2016)
Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey (April 19^th, 2016)

What books do you want to read in April? Are you looking forward to any new releases this month? Let me know in the comments! 😀

-Ariana

6Apr2016

The Reader Problems Book Tag

Posted in Tags by TheQuirkyBookNerd

I was tagged to do the Reader Problems Tag by two lovely ladies—Heather from The Sassy Book Geek and Loreva from La Book Dreamer. They are both fantastic book bloggers so please make sure to swing by and check out their blogs!

1. You have 20,000 books on your TBR. How in the world do you decide what to read next?

Heh…it’s getting a bit too close to that for comfort… 😛 When it comes to deciding what to read, no matter what size my TBR, it never really becomes any harder or easier. I am, through and through, a mood reader. And though I can get kind of overwhelmed by a massive TBR, I always go with my heart and read whatever is calling to me in the moment.

2. You’re halfway through a book and you’re just not loving it. Do you quit or are you committed?

I’m definitely committed. I have the hardest time stopping in the middle of books or series, even if I’m not really enjoying them. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of books I’ve left unfinished in my life so far. Typically, once I start reading a story, I’m in it for the long haul, no matter how painful it gets!

3. The end of the year is coming and you’re so close, but so far away on your Goodreads reading challenge. Do you try to catch up and how?

Yeah, that’s pretty much how it goes for me every year! I always try to catch up though. I know it’s just a personal challenge, but I absolutely refuse to give up on it. I usually catch up by reading some of the shorter or easier reads on my TBR. I’ll do some middle grade novels, some books under 300 pages. Short story collections are generally pretty good for this as well.

4. The covers of a series you love do. not. match. How do you cope?

I don’t.

Just kidding! Despite the fact that I am incredibly particular about the editions I get and the covers of series matching, I actually don’t go to pieces over this. It is extremely annoying, but in the end, when it comes to good books, I don’t really care what the covers look like—the only thing I care about is what’s on the inside.

5. Every one and their mother loves a book you really don’t like. Who do you bond with over shared feelings?

A lot of my friends and family are fellow book nerds, and we tend to share opinions about books most of the time. My best friend is definitely my go-to person for bonding over shared feelings about books. I’d also look to my blog or Goodreads—I can usually find someone to rant…I mean…calmly discuss with. 😀

6. You’re reading a book and you are about to start crying in public. How do you deal?

I actually very rarely cry during books, so I’m not quite sure how I would cope with this situation if it happened! To be honest, I know I would probably be slightly embarrassed about it, but I think I’d just go ahead and cry. I absolutely hate crying in front of people, but if it happened in front of a bunch of strangers, I don’t think I’d really care. I am going to own those bookish feels no matter where I am!

7. A sequel of a book you loved just came out, but you’ve forgotten a lot from the prior novel. Will you re-read the book? Skip the sequel? Try to find a synopsis on Goodreads? Cry in frustration?!?!?!

This is a very common problem for me—I have the worst memory! I’d usually prefer to re-read the book, but I don’t always have the time for that. Typically, I’ll remain calm and find a synopsis somewhere online. But on the inside…cry in frustration! Why does my brain only have room for pointless facts that I’ll never need to know and song lyrics?! 😛

8. Reading ADD. You’ve picked up and put down 5 books in the last month. How do you get over your reading slump?

Unfortunately, this has happened to me a lot lately. To be honest, I’m pretty terrible at getting out of reading slumps—I’ll just try my best to push through them. Sometimes picking up an old favorite can get me back in action, or reading a particularly fast-paced novel. Graphic novels work occasionally. Definitely let me know if you guys have any suggestions. I really need some tips!

9. There are so many new books coming out that you’re dying to read! How many do you actually buy?

I’m actually surprisingly restrained when it comes to buying new releases—I tend to get a lot of them out of the library instead. Usually, I’ll only buy books that I am certain I’ll want in my permanent collection or ones that aren’t available at my library. Just because I’m dying to read a book does not mean I’m going to enjoy it, so many times I prefer waiting to see if I like it before spending the money.

10. After you’ve bought the new books you can’t wait to get to, how long do they sit on your shelf before you get to them?

Haha umm…well…*shuffles away awkwardly*

I tag everyone! If you do this tag or have done it, make sure to link it in the comments so I can come check out your post. 🙂

5Apr2016

Quick Update!

Posted in Uncategorized by TheQuirkyBookNerd

Hi guys!

Just wanted to put up a quick update post to say that I promise I have not fallen off the face of the planet! To be honest, I’ve been going through a bit of an everything slump for the last few weeks, and have been feeling a bit down and unmotivated, which has affected my reading and writing. But I am still here and starting to feel better, and there will be an actual new post coming later tonight. I’ll be catching up on commenting and posting, and be getting back to a more regular schedule; I have a bunch of awesome posts planned for this month that I can’t wait to share with you all! 😀

Thank you for being patient with me! You guys are the best! ❤

-Ariana