Top 10 Tuesday – March 15th, 2016

Posted in Top 10 Tuesday by TheQuirkyBookNerd

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It’s time for another Top 10 Tuesday list. This is an original weekly blog meme created over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there is a new bookish topic for bloggers to create a list about. If you want to know more about Top 10 Tuesday, click here!

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is the top ten books on your spring TBR. As always, the gigantic general TBR that I have makes this a very easy list to come up with books for! I’ve been picking up a lot of new books lately, so this spring I’d really like to focus a bit more on some of the novels I’ve had sitting on my TBR for a while as well.

Let’s do this spring thing! 😀 (yes…I’m lame 😛 )

1. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – I read my first V.E. Schwab novel—Vicious—at the end of last year, and since then, I have been dying to read more of her work. This trilogy is the most appealing to me right now as I’m really in the mood for some magic and parallel worlds. I absolutely can’t wait to dive into the story—and to get more awesome V.E. Schwab-ness in my life!

2. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn – My explanation for this choice can be summed up in two words—Gillian Flynn. The only reason I have been putting this one off is due to the fact that I want to make sure I’m reading it during a time where I can give it 110% of my attention. Now that I have emerged from my slumpishness at the beginning of the year, I’m ready to devour the crap out of this novel! Also, I’m fairly certain Gillian Flynn is my spirit animal. Just saying… 🙂

3. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness – I just wrote a review for A Monster Calls last week, and now I’ve got a massive urge to read more Patrick Ness. Back when I read A Monster Calls for the first time, I adored it so much that I immediately went out and bought almost every Patrick Ness novel in existence, which included the entire Chaos Walking trilogy. I’m hoping I can finish the entire thing before the end of the year, so it’s about time I get on it! On a side note, I also partially blame Heather from The Sassy Book Geek for reminding me the other day that I still need to read this trilogy! 😛

4. More Than This by Patrick Ness – Speaking of Patrick Ness… Look, sometimes you just need to go on a Patrick Ness binge, you know?

5. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – I picked up a copy of this novel last year right when it came out (and when I saw those black pages, to be completely honest!). Since then, I have heard nothing but fantastic things about it, so I’m really looking forward to seeing what I think. I’ve also had Leigh Bardugo’s books on my radar for quite a while now, and this series definitely seems the most like my type of story. It sounds absolutely awesome!

6. Beastly Bones by William Ritter – I read and really loved Jackaby at the beginning of last year, so I’m excited to continue on with these books. This series is hilarious, creative, and honestly just plain fun—it should hopefully be a nice, chill read, which is something I’ve been really needing lately. On top of that, the next book in the series is coming out this summer, so I need to catch up ASAP!

7. Doctor Who: Borrowed Time by Naomi Alderman – A bit of a random choice, yes, but we all know about my love (*cough*obsession*cough*) of everything Doctor Who. There are a number of these novels on my TBR at the moment and I want to start making my way through them. They are nice for a entertaining, quick read each month, and this is the one I’m most in the mood to read next. Also…Doctor Who… ❤

8. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton – This is one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and is going to be one of the next books I read. Yes, I know I said at the beginning of this post that I’ve been getting too distracted by new releases lately, but I just can’t wait for this one! And…you know…one more can’t hurt, right? We’ll just keep this between us… 😛

9. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken – Another one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and a book I’ve had on my TBR since January. I’ve had to keep putting it off each month, so I’m determined to finally get to it soon. Last week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic also made me realize that, though I completely love stories about time travel, I’ve not actually read all that many. Clearly, this is something I need to fix, and what better way to get started?

10. Love, Lies, and Spies by Cindy Anstey – I just recently discovered this one and am definitely intrigued. It sounds like it might be a fun read, but I will say, I am slightly iffy about it because it sounds like it will be a little more focused on romance than my typical reads. I feel like this might be a novel that I’m either really going to love or just not be able to get into, but I’m interested to see what I think!

What are some of the books on your spring TBR? Do we have any in common? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

13Mar2016

The Inside Out Book Tag

Posted in Tags by TheQuirkyBookNerd

I’m embarrassed to say, I’ve actually not yet watched this movie even though I’ve been wanting to for ages. I never got a chance to see it while it was in theaters, and I still haven’t gotten around to it. I’m definitely going to have to get on that now! I was tagged to do the Inside Out Book Tag by Michelle from Book Adventures. Thank you so much for the tag, Michelle! Please make sure to stop by and check out her blog—she is a great book blogger. 😀

Joy – A book that brings you joy.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Is anyone surprised at this point? …No? I’m definitely becoming quite predictable, but how could I not pick my favorite book of all time for this one? This is a sad story in many ways, but it is extremely heartwarming as well. Both the message and the actual text itself are truly beautiful. It also brings me joy due to the massive impact that it has had on my life. This novel, and its film for that matter, have inspired me in countless ways—more than I could have ever imagined. It makes me feel so good to read this story, no matter how many times I do so.

Sadness – A book that made you sad.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

I’m definitely finding that the older I get, the more frequently I cry during books and movies. However, for the longest time I rarely ever did. A Monster Calls was one of the first novels to really make me cry…and oh boy did I cry during this story. This is an incredibly sad but very beautiful and rewarding read—I cannot recommend it highly enough if you have not yet picked it up. Click here to read my full review of A Monster Calls!

Fear – A book that has truly scared you.

The Shining by Stephen King

I’m going to have to agree with Michelle on this one and say The Shining. Even though I tend to think of myself as being super jumpy, I have never actually been scared by any books, movies, video games, etc. Despite that, I still absolutely love anything that falls into the thriller or horror categories, so my library of “scary” books is quite large. The Shining has come the closest by far to actually frightening me. It is an intriguing and incredibly chilling story that I highly recommend—Stephen King is an absolute master of the horror genre.

Disgust – A book that disgusted you.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

I can’t really think of any novels that I’ve read that have made me feel disgusted. So I’m going to have to fudge this one a little bit and choose a novel I have never—and absolutely will never—read. I’ve heard people read little excerpts from this series and I just don’t think I could ever stomach any part of this story.

Anger – A book that makes you angry.

Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

This book…just…no. I’ve talked before about my tendency to go into the library and pick up books at random, and how sometimes I have found some new favorites. This was not one of those times. The idea of the plot could have made a fantastic story, but instead it was just a giant mess of clichés and annoying characters. The ending, which had the potential to be slightly redeeming for the plot as a whole, turned out to be just as predictable as the rest of the novel. On top of this, the writing itself felt as if it had never even been edited, and the author frequently used the same descriptions and phrases repeatedly within, at most, a page of each other. It was quite a frustrating read to say the least.

I Tag:

Heather @ The Sassy Book Geek

Umbreen @ Read by Umbreen

Bree @ The Literary Hellion

T.K. @ Read It or Not Reviews

Ashleigh @ A Frolic Through Fiction

Trisha @ The Bookgasm

8Mar2016

Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Posted in Book Reviews by TheQuirkyBookNerd

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

My Rating: 5/5 TARDISes

Series: Standalone

Date Published: May 5^th, 2011

Publisher: Walker Books

Pages: 215 pages

Source: Library

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Synopsis: The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

____________________________________________________________________

This is a spoiler-free review.

No matter how hard I try, I am never going to be able to sufficiently capture my love for this book in words. Simply put, this novel is completely and utterly beautiful. It was not at all what I was expecting when I picked it up, but it took me completely by surprise in the best of ways. It is a novel that is intensely thought-provoking and unexpectedly haunting. Heartbreaking and deeply moving, A Monster Calls is a captivating picture of love, loss and, ultimately, hope.

In this novel, we follow a young boy named Conor, who wakes from his recurring nightmare one evening to discover a monster at his window—not the one from his nightmares, but the yew tree from the backyard. He faces it with bravery, as he has far more frightening things in his life vying for his attention. But this monster is persistent, returning to him multiple times, bringing a new story with each visit and only hoping to yield one thing. The monster knows Conor is hiding something from everyone and expects him to be the one to tell the last story, finally revealing the truth he is so desperate to avoid.

As I have said, the story ended up being far different than what I had originally been anticipating when I discovered this novel—and I am so glad that it was. It was chilling in unique and unexpected ways that had me glued to every page. The narrative is rooted in an intriguing combination of psychological and supernatural elements, while also maintaining a great deal of realism.

The plot, first and foremost, consists of the monster’s visitations and the discussions he and Conor have. Given the realistic nature of the setting and other scenes, with any other novel, a reader might be inclined to immediately dismiss these occurrences as delusions. However, the way Ness writes this aspect of the story is extremely clever—there is a great deal of believability to it. After each encounter, we are left wondering about the actuality of this monster. It is a question that adds great complexity to the plot, and haunts until the final pages.

Ness uses a seemingly paranormal experience to portray the real-life struggle that Conor is going through. He pays homage to the tangibility of grief—how, many times, grief can feel like a concrete, physical being. He also touches on the sort of surreal façade life seems to put on in the midst of pain and sadness. We get to see how a shared pain manifests in different people, demonstrating the similarities and dissimilarities in the way human beings experience and handle a common emotion.

This psychological aspect of the story is what impacted me the most. We have all faced that moment in our lives when we realize that monsters exist in our world, though not in the forms we believed them to take when we were children. We can even feel like monsters are living inside of us when pain controls our thoughts, or possibly when light is shed on the truths we try so hard to conceal. The truth can make us question our morality, our humanity. Conor is being thrust into this awareness at such a young age and this, along with the reason for it, makes the story all the more poignant.

This novel holds some of the most stellar writing that I have ever come across—Patrick Ness is a true master of the written word. His prose is full of such exceptional beauty, and flows fluidly and poetically all the way through. Everything about his writing is enormously compelling. It is simple, yet vivid, forceful, and most importantly, highly effective and engaging. I devoured every word.

Ness makes you think sincerely about your own life, the grief you have experienced and the way you dealt with it. He has a knack for evoking strong emotions and making the reader feel utterly vulnerable and completely human. He also does justice to the complexities of profound sadness with the candor of his writing, never once letting the text feel emotionally manipulative and thus taking away from the earnestness of the story. This novel touched me in a greater way than any other novel ever has.

Jim Kay’s illustrations are done to perfection, and further add a vast amount of depth and life to the narrative. They weave seamlessly with the text and assist in setting the eerie and unnerving tone. Though the palette is simple—consisting of blacks, whites, and grays—the effect it creates is anything but. The stark contrast between light and dark gives the images a penetratingly bleak feel. The surreal and sketch-like design contributes to the frightening atmosphere, particularly when the realistic is juxtaposed with the bizarre. As a whole, the end result is unbelievably powerful.

A Monster Calls is an enthralling story that packs an emotional punch and does not disappoint. This novel has become one of my favorites of all time, and has placed Patrick Ness solidly among my favorite authors as well. The plot and the characters stick with you, making this a difficult story to get off your mind when coupled with the already mentally stimulating nature of the themes and text itself.

It is a dark and incredibly heartbreaking story, but also very touching in many ways—Ness completely nails that balance. I genuinely cannot think of any issues that I had with it—it was a true five star read for me. He has created an absolute masterpiece that delves skillfully into one of the most relatable aspects of human life. If you have not picked it up yet, please do. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough.

6Mar2016

200 Followers!

Posted in Miscellaneous by TheQuirkyBookNerd

Holy 200 followers, Batman!!!!

To be honest, words are completely failing me right now. I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am for all of you. I was nervous about beginning this blog, but it has quickly become the brightest spot in my life. And that is entirely thanks to you guys!

This blog has been a huge source of much needed positivity during a rather difficult period for me. It has touched my life in more ways than I could have imagined when I first began it. You are all an extremely essential part of that—your support reaches farther than you know.

The community here is wonderful—I have met so many lovely people, fellow book nerds from all over the world. I truly look forward to logging on each day to chat with you all here and to read all of your fantastic blog posts as well!

This doesn’t even begin to do how I am feeling justice, but please know how much I appreciate all of you. Thank you all so much for all of the love, support, and awesomeness! Thank you for all the likes, comments, and follows. Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by here and read my posts. You are all absolutely incredible—every single one of you! ❤

-Ariana

4Mar2016

Top 5 Anticipated Releases of Spring 2016

Posted in Miscellaneous by TheQuirkyBookNerd

The weather is (slowly) beginning to get warmer and spring is rapidly approaching. Winter here has actually not been all that intense this year, but I am definitely still looking forward to nicer temperatures. Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy snow to some extent, but one massive storm is enough for me! 😛

This season brings new life into both the outside world and the book world—and there is a pile of fantastic looking releases coming over these next few months. I am particularly looking forward to this book release season. Excitingly enough, I have ARC copies of a number of new releases, so expect to see some early (spoiler-free!) reviews up on here in the coming weeks! 😀

Here are the top five spring releases that I am particularly looking forward to getting my hands on!

1. Love, Lies, and Spies by Cindy Anstey (April, 19^th, 2016)

Juliana Telford is not your average nineteenth-century young lady. She’s much more interested in researching ladybugs than marriage, fashionable dresses, or dances. So when her father sends her to London for a season, she’s determined not to form any attachments. Instead, she plans to secretly publish their research.

Spencer Northam is not the average young gentleman of leisure he appears. He is actually a spy for the War Office, and is more focused on acing his first mission than meeting eligible ladies. Fortunately, Juliana feels the same, and they agree to pretend to fall for each other. Spencer can finally focus, until he is tasked with observing Juliana’s traveling companions…and Juliana herself.

2. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (May 3^rd, 2016)

How do you punish an immortal?

By making him human.

After angering his father Zeus, the god Apollo is cast down from Olympus. Weak and disorientated, he lands in New York City as a regular teenage boy. Now, without his godly powers, the four-thousand-year-old deity must learn to survive in the modern world until he can somehow find a way to regain Zeus’s favour.

But Apollo has many enemies—gods, monsters and mortals who would love to see the former Olympian permanently destroyed. Apollo needs help, and he can think of only one place to go…an enclave of modern demigods known as Camp Half-Blood.

3. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick (May 10^th, 2016)

Nanette O’Hare is an unassuming teen who has played the role of dutiful daughter, hard-working student, and star athlete for as long as she can remember. But when a beloved teacher gives her his worn copy of The Bubblegum Reaper—the mysterious, out-of-print cult-classic—the rebel within Nanette awakens.

As she befriends the reclusive author, falls in love with a young but troubled poet, and attempts to insert her true self into the world with wild abandon, Nanette learns the hard way that sometimes rebellion comes at a high price.

A celebration of the self and the formidable power of story, Every Exquisite Thing is Matthew Quick at his finest.

4. Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black (May 17^th, 2016)

Blue Riley has wrestled with her own demons ever since the loss of her mother to cancer. But when she encounters a beautiful devil at her town crossroads, it’s her runaway sister’s soul she fights to save. The devil steals Blue’s voice—inherited from her musically gifted mother—in exchange for a single shot at finding Cass.

Armed with her mother’s guitar, a knapsack of cherished mementos, and a pair of magical boots, Blue journeys west in search of her sister. When the devil changes the terms of their deal, Blue must reevaluate her understanding of good and evil and open herself to finding family in unexpected places.

In Devil and the Bluebird, Jennifer Mason-Black delivers a heart-wrenching depiction of loss and hope.

5. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (June 7^th, 2016)

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from acclaimed author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books, This Savage Song is a must-have for fans of Holly Black, Maggie Stiefvater, and Laini Taylor.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives. In This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab creates a gritty, seething metropolis, one worthy of being compared to Gotham and to the four versions of London in her critically acclaimed fantasy for adults, A Darker Shade of Magic. Her heroes will face monsters intent on destroying them from every side—including the monsters within.

What new releases are you most looking forward to this spring? Let me know in the comments! 🙂

-Ariana

3Mar2016

March 2016 TBR

Posted in Wrap Ups And TBRs by TheQuirkyBookNerd

Happy March, everyone!

My second favorite season of the year is on its way, and I am really starting to look forward to the warmer weather! I’m still catching up on a few reads, so this month’s TBR is mainly going to consist of review copies that I need to work on. Also, I am hoping to begin getting reviews out a bit more frequently this month. I like writing a good variety of posts, and I feel like I want to be getting reviews out slightly more often than I have been. I tend to be too much of a perfectionist when it comes to my reviews (and I write way too much to begin with!), so that’s definitely been slowing me down quite a lot. My goal is to start trying to get out about two each week, so we’ll see how that ends up going! 🙂

March TBR

1. Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black

The synopsis for this novel has me extremely intrigued. It promises to have a mix of both fantasy and realism, which is a style that I always love. On top of that, there is going to be a musical element to it—that completely sells me on this! It seems like it will be an emotional read but an incredibly unique one, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what it’s all about.

2. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

I am so incredibly excited about reading this novel! In fact, I’ve already started it because I just couldn’t wait any longer, so this should be my first completed read for the month. I’ve not actually read a novel by Matthew Quick yet, though I have had a few on my TBR for a long time now. I can’t wait to finally give his work a go!

3. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

This is the one novel on this list that isn’t an ARC copy, but it is one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Since it isn’t a review copy, it’s not a top priority on my TBR, but I am still really hoping I’ll be able to get to it this month. I’m too excited to wait much longer!

4. The Haters by Jesse Andrews

As well as not having read any of Matthew Quick’s novels yet, I’ve also not yet read Jesse Andrew’s other novel—Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl—yet, though I have been meaning to for a while. I’ve heard a lot of mixed opinions about his work, specifically the humor that he uses in his stories, so I’m really interested to see where my opinion falls.

5. The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates

This is one final ARC that I need to review soon. I don’t intend to read the entire book this month, but I would like to get started reading some of these stories over the course of the next few weeks. I prefer reading collections of short stories in small bursts anyway—I think it’s more fun to spread them out as you read other novels, rather than rush through them all in one go!

Read in February

I’m still in the process of dealing with these migraines I’ve been getting, so my reading and reviewing pace is not quite up to snuff just yet. I definitely hope to pick up my normal speed again soon, as I begin to feel better. However, while this was a rather slow reading month for me, it was overall enjoyable, so I’m feeling good about it!

1. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer – It’s taken me forever, but I’ve finally started to continue on with this series and it’s so nice to dive back into this world. Full review coming soon!

2. Camp Midnight by Steven T. Seagle and Jason Katzenstein – I was in the mood for a new graphic novel this month. This one was an ARC that had been on my reading list for a little while, so I decided to give it a go—and I absolutely loved it! This was a quick, fun, and satisfying read with some wonderful artwork to boot. Click here to read my full review.

3. The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath by Ishbelle Bee – This was a novel that I had heard very little about, and picked up randomly a few months back. As I expected, it was an extremely unique, fantastical, and intriguing story. I will definitely be posting a more in depth review very soon! I’m looking forward to discussing this one.

4. Doctor Who: Deep Time by Trevor Baxendale – If you haven’t yet been able to tell, I love reading Doctor Who novels! This was another ARC that I had on my reading list for the month. There will be a full review of this coming very soon.

5. The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle – I (finally) began reading this at the end of the month, so it is technically rolling over onto my March TBR. As I said earlier, I like to take my time with short story collections, and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing with this one. But, whenever I do complete it, you can be certain that there will be a full (probably very fangirly) review! 😀

February Book Haul

Okay, so I may have gone mildly overboard with my book buying this month…But in my defense, I haven’t been buying all that many books lately. Also a few of these are ARCs as well…

Nope, still can’t justify this. I went overboard…but I’m a happy little book nerd. 😀 ❤

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer

The Haters by Jesse Andrews (ARC)

Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black (ARC)

These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin

Soulless by Gail Carriger

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick (ARC)

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

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

All right, no more book buying for me for a little while… 😛

What books do you have on your TBR for March? Are you looking forward to any new releases this month? Do any of you guys need to join me in my book buying ban? Let me know in the comments! 😀

-Ariana

28Feb2016

The Sunshine Blogger Award #2

Posted in Awards by TheQuirkyBookNerd

I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award by my lovely and awesometastic blogger friend Heather from The Sassy Book Geek. Thank you so much for the nomination, Heather! Heather is a fantastic book blogger, so please make sure you head over and check out her blog! 😀

Click here to check out part 1 with questions from Sarah!

____________________________________________________________________

The Rules:

-Thank whoever nominated you.

-Answer the questions they gave you.

-Pick five bloggers to answer your questions.

____________________________________________________________________

Heather’s Questions:

1. If you could put together a team of book characters to survive the zombie apocalypse with, who would you pick?

Let me just start off by saying my team is going to have to carry me during this because I would be absolutely useless in a zombie apocalypse! And now for my team! First of all, we’ve got to have Katniss. She’ll be great for shooting zombies in the head and potentially gathering food for our survival. Next, Sherlock Holmes. This might seem like a random choice, but hear me out. He is the master of observation and deduction, so he would be fantastic for his intelligence. And he could also prevent the rest of us from doing anything stupid!

Of course, I have to add in Watson. Not only can we not break up the duo, but we will also have a doctor. Finally, I would take Mitch from Vicious because he is just completely badass, and I think he would be invaluable in an apocalyptic situation! I was kind of tempted to add Victor and Sydney to this list as well, but that might be a little too OP. Anyway, no matter what, as long as I’m on the team…

2. Do you prefer to borrow books or buy them and why?

I know that, for the sake of my wallet and the limited space in my house, I should probably prefer to borrow books. And while I do frequent the library, I much prefer buying books. Part of it is a book nerd thing and part is just a weird Ari thing. I love the idea of amassing a huge personal library, and collecting books is just as much a hobby for me as reading them. And…now the weird Ari thing (to be honest, I’m just a weird Ari thing! 😛 ). I may or may not be a biiiittt of a germaphobe. So it makes me feel more comfortable having my own copies, though borrowing from friends and family is totally fine.

3. Would you rather read inside or outside?

I do love reading outside, particularly when it’s a nice day or when I’m at the beach. However, I would typically rather read inside. I can usually get more comfortable, and I get distracted less easily. Usually, I can keep up reading longer if I’m cozy inside—and then I’ll do it all day! …Actually, maybe I should try getting outside more often… 😛

4. Do you always read the book before seeing the movie adaptation?

Um…yeah, totally! *laughs nervously*…

Okay, so I don’t always read the book first. I know, I know. Bad book nerd! I do try my best, and I definitely prefer reading the book before seeing the movie whenever possible. But occasionally my urge to see the movie (especially when it’s in theaters) gets the better of me!

5. Have you ever liked a movie more than the book, if so which one(s)?

That is an incredibly rare occurrence for me—so much so that I can only think of one off the top of my head: Prince Caspian. The newer version. I have a handful of movies that I think are almost just as good as the books, but I typically will always say the book is better. Except Prince Caspian. Don’t get me wrong, I completely adore the entire Narnia series, but this is by far the weakest novel of all of them. In my opinion, it just ended up translating a bit better on screen than in text.

6. Coffee or tea?

This is a hard one because I absolutely love both. I think I’m going to have to go with tea because I do tend to drink that slightly more often. Especially lately (I’ve been on a bit of a tea binge!). Tea is so relaxing—something I’ve been needing a lot recently—and it goes perfectly with book reading. ❤

7. What is your most anticipated release for 2016?

Some of my previous most anticipated releases have already come out, such as A Gathering of Shadows and These Vicious Masks, so now I would have to say either Heartless by Marissa Meyer (because retellings) or This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (because Victoria Schwab). It is pretty much impossible for me to decide between the two because I am beyond excited to get my hands on both of them!

I Nominate:

Jen @ J.N. Cahill

DrAwkto @ The Inky Awkto

Angela @ The Geeky Auror

Victoria @ The Petite Book Blogger

Cinderzenablogs

My Questions:

1. If you could travel to any period in time, where would you go and why?

2. What is your favorite under-hyped novel?

3. What type of music do you enjoy listening to the most?

4. What are three books you absolutely refuse to read?

5. Do you prefer series or standalones?

6. What are your favorite and least favorite book to movie adaptations?

7. What is one food you never get tired of eating?

8. What are the most difficult and most rewarding things about blogging for you?

24Feb2016

Top 5 Wednesday – February 24th, 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 worst love interests (male or female). I don’t read many romance heavy stories, so I was unable to think up five love interests that I didn’t like. Instead, I’ve decided to go with last week’s Top 5 Wednesday topic since I was unable to do it on the day. Last week’s topic was the top five suggested books (books recommended to you) that you loved.

It goes without saying, if there are any books on this list that you haven’t read yet, I recommend them to you! 😀

5. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

I actually bought this one as a Christmas gift for my mom. She ended up loving it and immediately told me I needed to read it too. This story was everything I had hoped for—lovely, heartwarming, and with spectacular writing to boot. It was a wonderful read, and an absolutely perfect book for book lovers. I promise, I will have a review up for this one day!

4. Alice by Christina Henry

If there is one thing I like more than a retelling, it’s a dark retelling. This one was recommended to me by my friend Heather from The Sassy Book Geek. It was disturbing and twisted and creepy and fantastic—overall a fascinating and extremely creative reimagining of a classic and well-loved tale.

Full review coming very soon!

3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I’ve been a massive Neil Gaiman fan for a long time, so this was already on my radar. However, I read it when I did because my best friend had just finished it and kept going on about how good it was. Actually, I was over at her house and she handed me the book and told me to start reading right then and there; that’s definitely the sort of recommendation you know you can trust! Obviously, I ended up absolutely adoring this novel—in fact, I think this may be my favorite Neil Gaiman novel that I’ve read so far.

2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

This one will come as no surprise to anyone since I rave about it (and Gillian Flynn) way too much! On top of the entire world talking about this book, it was specifically recommended to me by both my best friend and my dad. My best friend and I have extremely similar reading tastes, so I always trust her recommendations—and she loves Gillian Flynn. A few months before I picked it up, my dad also read and loved this, so when I was out visiting my best friend at school, I began reading it. It rapidly became one of my favorite novels of all time, and made Gillian Flynn one of my favorite authors.

Click here to read my full review!

1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Though I had known about these novels for ages, this is another recommendation that I have to credit my mom for. If you’ve been around my blog for a while, you probably already know that this is one of my favorite novels of all time (and that it’s another one I talk about way too much!). I attempted reading my first Sherlock Holmes novel—The Hound of the Baskervilles—when I was far too young to really enjoy it, and thus, I assumed that I did not like Sherlock Holmes…oh boy was I wrong! I had to read The Speckled Band in class a few years later and enjoyed that, but it wasn’t until my mom gave this to me as a gift one holiday that the obsession truly began! ❤

Click here to read my full review!

What are some recommendations that you’ve received and ended up loving? Do you have any favorites you would like to recommend? Let me know in the comments!

-Ariana

23Feb2016

Top 10 Tuesday – February 23rd, 2016

Posted in Top 10 Tuesday by TheQuirkyBookNerd

This week’s Top 10 Tuesday topic is the top ten books you enjoyed recently (in the last yearish) that weren’t your typical genre/type of book (or that were out of your comfort zone). I’ve been on a bit of a sci-fi/fantasy binge for a while now (a.k.a. my comfort zone), so we’re going to have to go more toward the “ish” side of yearish. Also, to help myself come up with ten, I’ve split the list into two parts—five that I enjoyed and five that I did not. There is a little bit of a theme here, since the majority of this list are romance and contemporary novels.

This will probably come as no surprise to anyone, but I am and always have been a complete reading addict. I am someone that will read absolutely anything I can get my hands on, and I typically do stray out of my comfort zone a fair amount. In fact, I enjoy doing so, even if I end up not enjoying the novel I choose—it’s always fun to try new things no matter what, and you might end up finding a new favorite! I don’t regret trying any of these novels, I just definitely preferred some over others…

Liked

1. Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

Over the past few years, I have been making a point of trying to read a larger number of debut authors, and this is one that I picked up from the library for exactly that reason. This novel was pretty far outside of my comfort zone, but it ended up really taking me by surprise. It was very well written, with a sweet romance and a lovely message about the importance of love, friendship, and literature. Plus, there were tons of references to To Kill a Mockingbird in it! 😀

2. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

I picked up a copy of this back when it first came out (to be honest, I think this was a bit of a cover buy!), but had let it sit on my shelf for ages. I finally got around to reading it last year when I was looking for something a bit different from my normal type of read—and I actually ended up really enjoying it. This story had much more depth than I was expecting, and I thought the author’s writing style was great. It ended up being a quick and unexpectedly satisfying read, and I’m so glad I gave it a try.

3. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

This was not all that far out of my comfort zone, but it is still a contemporary romance novel, so it totally counts! I read this at the end of last year and absolutely loved it—this was a perfect way to wrap up my 2015 reads. It was hilarious, adorable, and made me feel all of the warm fuzzies I was hoping to feel. ❤

4. Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

I found this one while randomly browsing at the bookstore one day, and decided to add it to my debut author TBR. I absolutely did not expect to enjoy this novel as much as I did. This story had a fantastic amount of depth and I thought that the writing was stellar. The characters and all of their storylines were developed and presented well in the context of the plot, and I loved the unique choice of narrator. This was definitely a good impulse purchase!

5. The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

This was another one that I picked up from the library on a whim—mainly because I love reading novels in verse—and it’s another that ended up taking me completely by surprise. The plot is sort of a common contemporary novel premise, but it is still successfully unique. And when done well, like it is here, I usually really enjoy this type of story. The prose flowed beautifully, and I found the story itself to be quite captivating and thought-provoking. On top of this, I actually quite enjoyed the romance aspect—it was sweet, touching, and well-paced.

Didn’t Like

1. Dead Rules by Randy Russell

This book…just…nope. I grabbed this from the library for no particular reason. Couldn’t get into it. Didn’t actually finish it (which is insanely rare for me). In hindsight, that tagline should have told me to maybe skip over this one when I found it.

2. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Okay, so to be honest, this is probably another book that I maybe shouldn’t have attempted, but I still don’t regret it! I figured I would give it a go after all the incredible things I had heard about it—and I can definitely see why people enjoy this series. But I think I can finally confirm that supernatural romance just really isn’t my thing…

3. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

This novel caught my attention due to the creativity when it came to points of view. I figured this would be a really unique take on a typical contemporary romance novel, so I was more than happy to give it a go. Sadly, I just could not feel any connection at all between the romantic interests, and it was difficult to fully immerse myself in the plot due to the constantly changing viewpoints (as well as the quantity). I actually have a full review for this novel that I will be posting pretty soon, so I will go into a bit more detail then!

4. The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

This one was slightly closer to my comfort zone than some of these other novels. However, though it is a fantasy story, there is a much larger focus on romance than the typical fantasy novels I read. In fact, the romance ended up being pretty much the main focus of the story, which unfortunately did not serve it well in my opinion. It made sense, given the premise, that love would play a significant role in the plot, but the romance fell quite flat for me. Overall, the story was creative and incredibly unique, but I would have liked to see more attention paid to the fantasy aspect, and a much stronger and more well-developed setting and cast of characters.

5. Almost by Anne Eliot

I purchased this novel back when it first came out, but it sat on my kindle for a really long time. Honestly, I can’t recall why I bought it—but again, trying new things is always good. This was definitely my favorite from the “disliked” section of this list. I would mainly chalk my dislike of it up to unlikeable characters and slightly repetitive and frustrating plot progression. It was not a bad novel by any means, it was simply just not for me.

No matter what my feelings were, once again…

What are some books that you’ve read lately that were out of your comfort zone? How did you feel about them? Let me know in the comments! 🙂

-Ariana

19Feb2016

The Skyrim Book Tag (Original)

Posted in Tags by TheQuirkyBookNerd

Though I was incredibly late when it came to getting around to playing it for the first time, Skyrim is one of my absolute favorite games of all time. I’ve been playing quite a bit of it lately and of course, being the book nerd that I am, it got me started thinking about a Skyrim book tag. I was pretty certain there would already be one, but was surprised to see that one does not appear to exist yet. Obviously, I had to fix that! 😀

This is the first tag I’ve ever created, so bear with me!

Fus Ro Dah – A book that blew you away.

For this one, I’m going to have to go with a recent read—Vicious by V.E. Schwab. I feel like I can’t even begin to describe how much I adored this novel. Given my love of superheroes and supervillains, I was fairly certain I was going to enjoy it, but I still wasn’t at all prepared for how amazing it ended up being; it was everything I was hoping for and so much more. Victoria Schwab is a master at storytelling and character creation, bringing to life a unique plotline with a vivid and extremely complex cast of characters. It was exciting, fast-paced, and suspenseful, making it hard to put down and to get off my mind.

Dovahkiin – Favorite “chosen one” story.

Harry Potter. Hands down. Okay, so I admit that’s an obvious choice, but it’s the truth! 😀 To be honest, I don’t have a lot of “chosen one” stories that I really love. I do enjoy them from time to time, but I’m a bit picky because they can easily be too repetitive or over-the-top. It can be frustrating when they get too far into “special snowflake” or “deus ex machina” territory. The Hunger Games would be an extremely close second.

Thu’um – A book that got a verbal reaction out of you (good or bad).

Since I’m good at being indecisive, I’ll pick one for each!

Good – I would say anything by Gillian Flynn, but I have only read two of her stories, so Gone Girl and The Grownup. Never before have I read stories so brilliantly plotted and with such insane and surprising twists. I don’t think it will ever be possible for me to get through one of her novels without some sort of verbal outburst!

Bad – A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall. I know I shouldn’t have been surprised given the fact that contemporary romance novels and I don’t usually get along so well. The prospect of fourteen different points of view really caught my attention—I mean, two of them were a squirrel and a park bench! However, while it was a creative concept, this was one of the most frustrating stories I have ever read, and it had me shouting at the characters on many occasions. It was impossible to connect to any of the main characters with so many perspectives, and the progression of the romance faced so many near misses and setbacks that it became completely implausible.

Arrow to the Knee – A book or series that started out well but ended up being disappointing.

Again, since indecisiveness is my forte, I’ll pick one of each (kind of…)! 😛

Book – This was one that I was a bit conflicted on, but I would have to say Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. I loved the concept for this novel, and though I never really connected with the main character at any point, the story started out strong. Between the concept of the superpowers and Aveyard’s beautiful, vivid writing, I was completely hooked. But as the story went on, the focus turned away from the interesting and important aspects of the plot and more toward trivial things. On top of that, the ending was fairly predictable and a bit too sudden to be believable. I did not hate Red Queen by any means, and I will definitely be continuing on with this series at some point, but I found this first novel to be on the disappointing side.

Series – I have not yet finished the final book, but the Divergent trilogy was a series that I felt did not retain the same quality as it started out with. Divergent is fantastic, one of my favorite books, and it got my hopes up pretty high about the rest of the series. However, I just could not get into Insurgent, and found that it was missing a good amount of what I loved about the first novel. Unfortunately, the series as a whole ended up being rather disappointing.

Shadowmere – Favorite literary/fictional animal or pet.

My favorite literary/fictional animals in general—conveniently staying with the theme of Skyrim—are dragons. And though I would totally not mind having a dragon as a pet, I might have to choose a direwolves from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series for that favorite. I absolutely love wolves, and these intelligent and beautiful animals would make incredibly loyal companions.

Alduin – Most frightening literary/fictional animal.

Having just said how much I love wolves, I have to briefly contradict myself and choose the wolves of the White Witch’s secret police in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe—specifically Maugrim, the captain. I still generally adore wolves, but these ones completely freaked me out when I was younger (and still a bit today, if I’m honest)! I chalk part of my fear up to how insanely creepy they were in the old BBC film that I watched as a kid; I remember actually having to close my eyes through some of their scenes the first few times I watched it! However, they are also (understandably) presented as very frightening and vicious in the novel as well.

Companions Guild – Best literary friendship.

Though there are tons of amazing literary friendships that I love, I have to go with my all-time favorite one—Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. In my opinion, this is the most brilliant character pairing in literary history. They have a unique relationship that works so well in the context of the stories—they complement each other perfectly. This is truly a dynamic duo!

Dark Brotherhood – The darkest story you’ve ever read.

This would be a toss up between Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Alice by Christina Henry. My favorite types of stories—both to read and to write—are dark ones, and these two are by far the most intense and twisted novels I have ever read. They were both absolutely spectacular as well!

Thieves Guild – Favorite morally ambiguous character.

Okay, so I really want to choose Loki for this one, because he is my favorite of all-time. However, I did want to go with a book character, so I’ll choose one of my newest favorites—Victor Vale from Vicious by V.E. Schwab (goodness, there were a lot of “v’s” in that statement…). He is one of the best examples of an antihero that I have ever come across. I feel like I’ve said this a million times before, but he is totally that type of character that you hate to love and maybe even love to hate. He is so well-imagined and I absolutely adored reading about him.

Wuld Nah Kest (whirlwind sprint) – Your fastest read.

One of the fastest reads I’ve ever had was A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. This is not a long story, but the beautiful writing and skillful storytelling makes it fly by so much faster. It took me about two hours to read—and that’s even counting the extra time it took due to inability to see anything through my tears!

Tiid Klo Ul (slow time) – Your slowest read.

The slowest read I can remember ever having was Insurgent, which took me about three months to get through. I’m not the fastest reader in the world, but I usually get through most books in a reasonable amount of time. So taking three months to finish a book is quite a rare occurrence for me. Insurgent, unfortunately, really paled in comparison to Divergent, and I found it relatively difficult to get into. That, coupled with the fact that I was in a bit of a reading slump at the time, definitely took away from my motivation to read it.

Tamriel – Favorite fictional world.

It will come as absolutely no surprise to any of you who know me pretty well by know when I say Narnia. It is such a beautifully created world, full of magic, awesome mythical creatures and, the best part, talking animals! No matter what, there will always be a small part of me that keeps hoping I’ll find a doorway in the back of a wardrobe. 🙂

Bonus Question:

“Sworn to Carry Your Burdens” – The heaviest book you own.

By far, the heaviest book that I own is my leather bound edition of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It is also, coincidentally, one of my favorite books that I own as well! 🙂

I Tag:

Heather @ The Sassy Book Geek

Anna @ My Bookish Dream

Kayla @ Bookedsolid1989

Emma @ The Terror of Knowing

The Orang-utan Librarian

SSJTimeLord

Ashleigh @ A Frolic Through Fiction

Zezee @ Zezee with Books

Jessica @ The Awkward Book Blogger

Catia @ The Girl Who Read Too Much

Cristina @ My Tiny Obsessions

Yasmin and Paige @ The Wild Readers

Jesse @ Books at Dawn

Michelle @ Book Adventures

Liam @ Liam’s Library

Bookception21

…and anyone else who is interested in doing this tag! Also, to everyone I’ve tagged, there is absolutely no pressure to do this—only if you want to! 😀

Joy – A book that brings you joy.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Sadness – A book that made you sad.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Fear – A book that has truly scared you.

The Shining by Stephen King

Disgust – A book that disgusted you.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Anger – A book that makes you angry.

Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

I Tag:

Holy 200 followers, Batman!!!!

1. Love, Lies, and Spies by Cindy Anstey (April, 19th, 2016)

2. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (May 3rd, 2016)

3. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick (May 10th, 2016)

4. Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black (May 17th, 2016)

5. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (June 7th, 2016)

March TBR

1. Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black

2. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

3. These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

4. The Haters by Jesse Andrews

5. The Doll-Master and Other Tales of Terror by Joyce Carol Oates

Read in February

February Book Haul

The Rules:

Heather’s Questions:

1. If you could put together a team of book characters to survive the zombie apocalypse with, who would you pick?

2. Do you prefer to borrow books or buy them and why?

3. Would you rather read inside or outside?

4. Do you always read the book before seeing the movie adaptation?

5. Have you ever liked a movie more than the book, if so which one(s)?

6. Coffee or tea?

7. What is your most anticipated release for 2016?

My Questions:

5. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

4. Alice by Christina Henry

3. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Liked

1. Love and Other Unknown Variables by Shannon Lee Alexander

2. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

3. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

4. Falling into Place by Amy Zhang

5. The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Didn’t Like

1. Dead Rules by Randy Russell

2. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

3. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall

4. The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

5. Almost by Anne Eliot

Fus Ro Dah – A book that blew you away.

Dovahkiin – Favorite “chosen one” story.

Thu’um – A book that got a verbal reaction out of you (good or bad).

Arrow to the Knee – A book or series that started out well but ended up being disappointing.

Shadowmere – Favorite literary/fictional animal or pet.

Alduin – Most frightening literary/fictional animal.

Companions Guild – Best literary friendship.

Dark Brotherhood – The darkest story you’ve ever read.

Thieves Guild – Favorite morally ambiguous character.

Wuld Nah Kest (whirlwind sprint) – Your fastest read.

Tiid Klo Ul (slow time) – Your slowest read.

Tamriel – Favorite fictional world.

Bonus Question:

“Sworn to Carry Your Burdens” – The heaviest book you own.

I Tag:

1. Love, Lies, and Spies by Cindy Anstey (April, 19^th, 2016)

2. The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan (May 3^rd, 2016)

3. Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick (May 10^th, 2016)

4. Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black (May 17^th, 2016)

5. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab (June 7^th, 2016)