Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Was “Forced” to Read

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Note: I’m going to run this post by Grammarly for proofreading, just to make sure those pesky apostrophe fairies didn’t sneak in behind my back and rearrange my punctuation marks. ~~There~~ ~~Their~~ They’re so annoying when they do that — ~~its~~ it’s almost impossible to cope!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. According to the description at The Broke and the Bookish, this week’s topic is:

Top Ten Books I Was “Forced” to Read (either by teachers, friends, other bloggers, book club) — doesn’t necessarily have to be a BAD thing. Could be required reading, yes, but also book club, or just super enthusiastic friends “making” you read something!

Based on that, my list mostly consists of books I’m glad to have read, even though I might not have read them on my own without a few nudges and pushes.

1) Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare: This was the first book on the syllabus for my Shakespearean tragedy class in college, and to tell the truth, it kind of cracked me up! If this were a modern-day thriller, probably everyone would think it was completely over the top, what with hands being cut off, tongues cut out, people baked into pies and served to their parents… I probably never would have read this on my own, but for the sake of rounding out my knowledge of Shakespeare, I guess I’m glad it was required reading!

2) Letters from Thailand by Botan: I wasn’t “forced” into this one so much as emotionally compelled. It’s a wonderful book, and kind of a romantic story (which I wrote about here) as to why I had to read it.

3) The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks: My good friend insisted to me that I *had* to read this book. I finally did, and thought it was awful. (Sorry, all you Sparks fans!) When I saw my friend again, I said to her, “I hate to tell you, but I really thought The Notebook was terrible”. Her response? “I know! I couldn’t believe it — that’s why I wanted you to check it out!” I think that’s the book equivalent of someone giving you a bite of their food and saying, “Here, taste this! It’s so gross!”

4) A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: An old boyfriend insisted this was the best book ever. So I had to read it. And disagreed. I think it’s a guy thing, actually. Of the people I know who’ve read it, the males seem to think it’s brilliant and the females seem to think it’s dumb. So there, old boyfriend!

5) The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce: My daughter is an avid bookworm (like mother, like daugher!), and when she was a pre-teen, this book series was her absolute favorite… and I just had to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out, I ended up really liking the Alanna books too — perhaps a bit more bed-hopping than I would have wanted her to read at that age, but on the other hand, this series about a girl growing up to be a knight had all sorts of great grrl-power messaging in it as well.

6) Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James: Mock these books all you want to (hey, I’ve done my share!), but admit it — they’re addictive. I thought the writing and plot of the first book were laughable… but I still had to keep reading to see how it would all turn out.

7) Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellow: This is yet another book that my husband used to rave about, so finally I had to read it just to prove that I listen to him sometimes! And I liked it quite a bit.

8) Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth: My 11th grade high school teacher recommended this book to me for an assignment… and it was so inappropriate! I think he recommended it solely based on the fact that I’m Jewish — so, hey! Try some Philip Roth! My guess it that he hadn’t actually read it himself, although if he had, then wow, what a creepy recommendation to make to a 15-year-old girl. I was so excruciatingly embarrassed to read this book at that age. Perhaps as an adult reader, I’d be able to see literary value in it, but at that age? Just awful.

And wrapping it all up with a couple of childhood favorites

9 & 10) Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare: These were both required reading at some point while I was in school… and boy, did I love them. In fact, I think I’m overdue for a re-read of both!

What books were you forced to read? And are you glad or mad about it?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

8Oct2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Best/Worst Series Enders

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

For this week’s topic, I have some books that are definitely “best”, one that I’d consider “worst”, and a few that are problematic yet utterly memorable, so I’ve added a best/worst category:

BEST:

1) First Lord’s Fury by Jim Butcher (Codex Alera). I love the seemingly never-ending Dresden Files series, but with Codex Alera, Jim Butcher shows that he knows how to wrap up a story with style. Totally terrific.

2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (Harry Potter series). Even though the whole Elder Wand business was a bit more convoluted than seemed necessary… and I thought they’d never get out of that tent… by the end, I was satisfied and uplifted by this dramatic, emotional, and sharply delivered finale.

3) Timeless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate series). Loved.

4) Tempest Reborn by Nicole Peeler (Jane True series). Loved this one too.

5) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games). I could quibble about minor details, but why bother? Mockingjay is powerful and painful, as is fitting for this brutal series.

6) Y: The Last Man, volume 10: Whys and Wherefores by Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man). Not that the final volume is somehow more spectacular than the series as a whole. This is just my way of paying tribute to a graphic novel series that’s simply excellent from start to finish.

Best/Worst:

All of these are problematic for me, in one way or another, and yet each totally works as the conclusion to a series.

7) The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials). I love this trilogy as a whole, but I did find parts of The Amber Spyglass a bit too full of mumbo-jumbo for my liking. (How’s that for vague?) Still, the end of the story for Lyra and Will is so heart-breaking — and yet so perfect in its own way — that I’ve never really gotten over it. Something that leaves such an indelible impression belongs on a top 10 list for sure!

8) Them or Us by David Moody (Hater series). This entire series is so bloody and disturbing that I don’t quite know what to do with it. It’s certainly powerful and hard to put down, but seriously upsetting to nth degree. This 3rd book provides a convincing conclusion to the trilogy — but it’s hard for me to just put it on my “best” list, simply because it’s in no way an enjoyable reading experience.

9) Specials by Scott Westerfeld (Uglies). Okay, I know that there is actually a fourth book in the series (Extras) — but I never felt the need to read it, since it seems like an addendum rather than flowing with the story of the first three books. I liked the Uglies series quite a bit, but felt that each book was a little less intriguing than the previous one. Overall, though, it’s a terrific trilogy (like I said, for me, it’s a trilogy!), and I thought Specials really tied it up very well.

Worst:

10) Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse). This is a series that should have ended several books before it did, and it shows in the finale. Nothing much of any import actually happens. An epilogue in an earlier book would have sufficed, really, to let us know what ended up happening with all of the characters. If we still cared. Which I mostly didn’t.

What series do you think ended spectacularly? And which ones were a total bomb? Let me know, and leave me your links so I can check out your top 10!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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30Sep2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Book Turn-Offs

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Book Turn-Offs. A few months ago, I wrote a list of the Top 10 Words/Topics That Make Me Run For The Hills, which focused on all the reasons why I wouldn’t pick up a book in the first place. This week’s theme is a bit different: There you are, happily reading a book, when — boom! — you come across a topic, a character, a situation that is just a total turn-off, and turns a decent reading experience into a big “ugh”, “argh!”, or “oh, yuck”. (I have the vocabulary of a four-year-old, it would seem).

My top 10 book turn-offs are:

1) Designer name-dropping: When the labels on the characters’ clothing become more important than the plot, I’m out.

2) Magic in a non-magical world: More specifically, magicians. Magicians drive me batty. I love magical/fantasy worlds, with great world-building and where the magical elements have rules and make sense. I can’t stand books set in our world that feature magicians who can just do… whatever it is that they can do. Magicians in non-magical worlds always leave me feeling that all stakes have been removed — since the magician can do anything, then nothing is really a risk and there’s no situation that someone can’t escape from… BY MAGIC. Just no.

3) Unnecessary grossness: Okay, I’ll read a good thriller or horror story, but that’s not the kind of grossness I mean here. Here’s a recent example: In a book that I enjoyed recently, I almost walked away early on after reading a scene in which the main character not only has a horrible hangover and is quite sick, but in which the author seems to feel the need to describe quite vividly what that being sick looks like. Yuck. (It was a good book and I’m glad I continued, but still. Yuck.)

4) “Successful” people who do stupid things: I just don’t buy it when a billionaire CEO sends inappropriate emails, repeatedly, without more than a passing concern that it’s maybe not a good idea to carry on that way. (See: Every single email sent by Christian Grey in 50 Shades.) (Yes, I read 50 Shades. And yeah, maybe it’s a bit weird that it’s the emails that bothered me, out of everything in the book. But this is my list, and I’m sticking with it.)

5) Stalkerish/controlling behavior presented as romance: I’m sure we can all come up with examples of this. A guy who shows up uninvited in your bedroom, has to know who you’re with 24 hours a day, makes decisions for you to keep you “safe” without your consent — that’s not romance, and I’m sick of books — particularly YA books — pretending that this is somehow ideal, swoon-worthy male behavior. It’s not.

6) Too many characters introduced at once: This is a pet peeve of mine. Give me a chance to get to know who all these people are! When a group of friends or family members is introduced at the same time — on the same page or even in the same paragraph — it becomes difficult (sometimes impossible) to keep them all straight, and I find myself having to constantly go back to try to figure it out. Having to ask “wait, which one was that again?” while reading is not a good thing.

7) Not finding out until the end of the book that it’s part of a series: Those dreaded words: “To Be Continued”. This makes me so mad. If the book isn’t going to be complete in and of itself — you know, with a beginning, middle, and end in between two covers — then I want to know about it up front. There’s nothing worse than getting to the last 20 pages or so of a book and realizing, “Wait a minute! How can the author possibly wrap this all up in the amount of space left?” — and having to face the fact that you’ll be left hanging until the sequel comes out.

8) Coincidences that are just unbelievable: Tons of fiction plots are driven by coincidences — but they have to be more than just slightly plausible in order for the story to work. I read a novel last year in which one woman kills another in a car accident on a deserted country road — and it turned out that they were both from the same town, hundreds of miles away, and both just happened to be on this particular road in the middle of nowhere at the very same time. I didn’t buy it for a second, and it totally detracted from the impact of the story.

9) Unnecessary love triangles: Love stories can work without a third wheel. I was so thrilled recently while reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (great book!), when what I thought was being set up as a love triangle turned out not to be, at all.

10) Too many or too right-now pop culture shout-outs: It can be cute when current TV shows, movies, or bands get mentioned in fiction, if the reference feels appropriate to the story — but sometimes the reference feels so NOW that you just know it’ll come across as totally dated within five or ten years. For example, I’m reading a book in which a character is described as looking like Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy. Okay, that totally appeals to me — but will someone reading this book in 10 or 15 years get that at all?

What turns you off in a book? Have you ever completely walked away mid-book because of one of your reading turn-offs?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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23Sep2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Best Sequels

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Best Sequels Ever. According to the nice folks at Dictionary.com, a sequel is:

a literary work, movie, etc., that is complete in itself but continues the narrative of a preceding work

Well, that makes it tough. Do books in an ongoing series count? Some would, I suppose, although there are many that I wouldn’t call complete in themselves. I had originally thought to write a list of two book duos (duologies), but my brain came up short. So… giving it my best shot, here are my choices for the top 10 books that “continue the narrative of a preceding work” yet are complete in themselves as well. Or something along those lines.

1) Doctor Sleep by Stephen King: Cheating a bit here! I haven’t read it, obviously, since today (Tuesday) is the release date… but I’m excited to read this sequel to The Shining — and I’m so sure that it’ll be awesome, I’m making it #1 on my list!

2) You Suck and Bite Me by Christopher Moore. Well, I’ve never read a Christopher Moore book that I haven’t enjoyed (yup, I even like Island of the Sequined Love Nun!), but these two follow-ups to Bloodsucking Fiends are both funny and take the original story in all sorts of goofy directions.

3) War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk. On a more serious note, Herman Wouk’s The Winds of War is powerful on its own, but put it together with its sequel, War and Remembrance, and you have a devastating pair of novels that convey the terror and sorrow of the Holocaust through the experiences of one family. Unforgettable.

4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling. I love the entire series, but I’ve always felt that GoF has its own powerful adventure/thriller story to tell that makes it a tremendous read on its own. The TriWizard Tournament gives GoF a framework that functions beautifully in a way that makes this book less episodic than some of the others and more of a unified whole.

5) The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. Published nine years after Interview With The Vampire, The Vampire Lestat brought vampires back into pop culture in a big way, and kickstarted Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series. By shifting the focus from Louis to Lestat, Rice added an element of fun — and rock-star glamour — that made The Vampire Lestat a must-read and really took the lead in making vampires sexy once again.

6) The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. When I read Oryx and Crake, I never expected the story to continue… so I was thrilled when I found out about The Year of the Flood, which is both sequel and companion to Oryx and Crake. Likewise, when I read The Year of the Flood, I had no idea that a 3rd book was in the works… and now I have MaddAddam waiting to be read!

7) Changes by Jim Butcher. The Dresden Files series is huge at this point (14 books and counting), so it’s hard to pick any one volume to single out as a great sequel. But, I’m including Changes here because it really is one of the most memorable of the series, an incredibly suspenseful and thrilling installment that lives up to its title completely by serving as a total game-changer for all of the major characters. For me, Changes breathed fresh life into the series just when it needed it most, making it exciting and shocking all over again.

8) Talulla Rising by Glen Duncan. This sequel to The Last Werewolf shifts the story to a new narrator in a continuation that’s just as gory, thoughtful, and mind-boggling as the first book.

9) Dreamquake by Elizabeth Knox. I am so fond of this duology, which does not appear to be as well known as it should be. Dream Hunters introduces us to a world in which dreams are performed by super-stars in lavish opera halls. In Dreamquake, we learn more about the origins of these dreams and find the keys to understanding how and why this all came about. This is a powerful story, masterfully told in two compelling novels.

10) Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler. Parable of the Sower introduces us to a not-too-distant future that’s horribly familiar, and Parable of the Talents takes that world and makes it even more awful. The characters are unforgettable, and in Parable of the Talents, we get a sequel just as moving and painful as the first book — if not more so.

What are your favorite sequels? Which are the best of the best?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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16Sep2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR List

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR List. My to-be-read list is out of control right now. I keep buying books, and I keep requesting ARCs, and then they all just sit there, practically mocking me, clamoring to be read RIGHT NOW! Sigh. Narrowing it down to just ten is hard, but here are the top 10 books that I swear — really, I swear! — I’m going to make time for this fall:

New releases:

1) Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

2) Shadows by Robin McKinley

3) The Abominable by Dan Simmons

4) Just One Year by Gayle Forman

5) Dangerous Women edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (includes “Virgins”, a new novella by Diana Gabaldon)

Books that I own, but still need to read:

6) The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

7) Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

8) The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley

9) Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

10) Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

This is just the tip of the iceberg… and I’m conveniently ignoring all the Kindle books that I haven’t started yet. So many books, so little time…

Do we have any TBR books in common? What are you dying to read this fall?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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9Sep2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I’d Love To See As Movies or TV Shows

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Books I’d Love To See As a Movie or TV Show (set in a perfect world… in which movies don’t butcher the books we love). It seems that every book gets gobbled up by Hollywood these days, so it’s a challenge to come up with ten that aren’t movies and most likely never will be movies… but heck yeah, I’d love to see a really wonderful and faithful movie adaptation of each one! Of course, as one of the pins I keep seeing on Pinterest says, in order to please me, the movie version would have to be 17 hours long and not leave out a single detail.

My top 10 choices for books that I’d love to see made into movies (but it’ll probably never happen) are:

1) The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell: This book makes just about every one of my top 10 lists for one reason or another — and that’s because I love it so. I know it’s been optioned for film many a time (including a pick-up by Brad Pitt years ago), but it’s just never worked out. I think the author has now regained the movie rights and has worked on a screenplay, but it does seem unlikely that this beautiful book will ever make it to the big screen.

2) The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan: The writing in this gory, violent book is intense and highly literate, and the entire book is at once a bloodfest and a cerebral, existential examination of life. I can’t imagine all of that translating well into a 2-hour movie and retaining any of its truly unique flavor.

3) Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. This book just cracked me up, and I think it would make an awesome movie! Teen beauty queens stranded on a desert island and having to figure out how to survive — while keeping their talent sharp just in case? Fantastic.

4) Codex Alera by Jim Butcher. The Codex Alera series is high fantasy with big splashes of humor, political infighting, and even some good love stories. I think it would make an epic TV series à la Games of Thrones.

5) A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I’m not sure that a movie could truly capture the significance of the ancient documents and secret alchemical manuscripts — but I am sure that with the right casting, Matthew’s hotness would at least be true to the books.

6) The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger. Wouldn’t you just love to see the dirigibles, the lethal parasols, and the hats? I think this series would be amazing as either a series of movies or as an ongoing TV show. The costumes alone would make it spectacular!

7) The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley. This young adult masterpiece feels so cinematic to me, with dramatic sand dunes, horse chases, sword fights, and plenty of swoony love scenes as well. Please?

8) The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman. Hoffman’s retelling of the Masada story focuses on the women, and I could see it as a stunning showcase for four strong, talented actresses. Plus, beautiful scenery and tons of action sequences!

9) Breathers by S. G. Browne. Yes, I know zombies are everywhere these days, but this book manages to make zombies funny, sympathetic, and touching. I could see it working as a movie, provided that audiences aren’t completely burned out on the subject by now.

10) The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Okay, technically speaking, this one shouldn’t count, as there’s already been a movie. But what I want is a GOOD version of this book, one that really captures all the dynamics and nuances, not just a surface-level treatment that tries too hard to be accessible to children. Perhaps a six-part BBC mini-series that includes all three books? One can only hope.

Of course, if I really get going with books that need BETTER movie versions, there’d be no stopping me. And I suppose that would make its own great top 10 topic: the top 10 books that already have movie versions — but which deserve better!

What’s on your list this week?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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Do you host a blog hop or book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

26Aug2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters. Sometimes we love a book for the dashing heroes, the leading love interest, the grand adventurer. And sometimes it’s the people in the background who really bring a book to life and give it depth, filling out an entire community even while they’re not the main focus. So here’s a salute to all those amazing characters who may not have their own books (yet!), but who make such an impact on us as readers.

Actually, my first thought with this week’s list was to fill up my 10 choices with just Harry Potter characters, which — believe me — wouldn’t be hard at all to do. But in the interest of diversity, I’m branching out and limiting myself to just one from Harry’s world, which is:

1) Dobby, Harry Potter series: We met him as an annoying little creature causing Harry all sorts of woe in book 2 — but by the 7th book, it’s clear that Dobby is one of the unsung heroes of the series. “Dobby is a free elf!” If you didn’t leave the first Deathly Hallows movies in tears, then I’m sorry, my friend, but your heart is made of stone.

2) Ian Murray (“Young Ian”), Outlander series. Ian always reminds me of an overgrown puppy, especially when he makes his first appearance in Voyager. But from a skinny, gawky, always-in-trouble 14-year-old, Ian grows into a strong, brave young man who has survived more than his share of heartbreak and impossible challenges. And always with so much love for his family, and so much devotion and loyalty!

3) Samwise Gamgee, Lord of the Rings trilogy: Is there a better friend than Sam? He doesn’t get the glory, but without him, Frodo never would have made it to Mordor.

4) Reepicheep, Narnia series: A fearless soldier devoted to honor and adventure, who also happens to be a two-foot high mouse. Reep rules.

5) Claudia, Interview With The Vampire: Back before the flood of vampire books, there was Interview… and Interview introduces us to one of the most shocking vampire characters of all time: Claudia, turned as a little girl, destined to always be trapped in a girl’s body even after decades of life. She’s a killer, she’s wanton, and she’s utterly tragic.

6) Ivy Hisselpenny, The Parasol Protectorate series: Never underestimate the power of an atrocious hat! Ivy is the best friend of main character Alexia, and keeps Alexia amused and informed with her never-ending gossip, chit-chat and fashion missteps. Ivy goes from mere sidekick to a more active figure as the series progresses, but never loses her humor or her awful hats.

7) Dee, Just One Day: Gayle Forman’s Just One Day has at its center a love story and a girl’s personal growth and transformation — but a key part of Allyson’s development happens in college once she meets Dee, the outspoken boy from her Shakespeare class who convinces Allyson to break out of her shell and take some chances.

8) Charlotte Lucas, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Charlotte Lucas, best friend of Elizabeth Bennett, is kind of bland and unremarkable in Pride and Prejudice. But in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, as one of the afflicted, Charlotte is one of the funniest (and grossest) parts of the book. It’s kind of a riot to watch her slowly turning into a zombie while everyone around her is too well-mannered to mention her little problem.

9) Go, Gone Girl: Margo, twin sister of main character Nick, loves him and supports him, but is no push-over. She doesn’t have a central role, but I did always enjoy it when Go would show up in a scene.

10) Lou Carmody, NOS4A2: I absolutely loved the character Lou in Joe Hill’s super-creepy NOS4A2. As I wrote in my review: “Lou is terribly overweight and not very healthy, but has a heart of gold, the soul of a hero, and is a geeky fanboy through and through, as well as one hell of a mechanic.” Lou loves with all his heart, and does wonderful things because of that love.

So, sorry Fred and George, Lupin and Tonks, and the rest of the HP gang, but there just wasn’t room for everyone this week!

Who made your list this week?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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19Aug2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Things That Make My Reading & Blogging Life Easier

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Things That Make Your Life as a Reader/Book Blogger Easier. This is a toughie. Can I get to ten?

1) Goodreads: What is there to say? I love being able to keep track of my reading, love seeing what my friends are reading, love the great resources. One nifty aspect (yes, I used the word “nifty”) is being able to access so many cool stats about my reading. Author I’ve read the most? Check. All books I’ve rated 5-stars in 2013? Check. No end to the awesomeness of Goodreads.

2) The public library. I love my neighborhood branch. It’s clean, it’s bright, it has views of the ocean, and it has everything I could possibly want! I especially love being able to put in requests and have books transferred to my branch.

My library. I love it so.

3) Good book sections in the newspaper: My local newspaper has an excellent Sunday book section. In addition, a couple of years ago I treated myself to a mail subscription to the Book Review section of the Sunday New York Times. Both are wonderful resources for me to use to stay current on new releases, see what’s being promoted and what’s coming up, and keep up with all the various bestseller charts. Maybe (okay, more than likely) I’m a dinosaur for continuing to rely on paper resources, but I do find these invaluable.

4) NetGalley: A huge and heart-felt THANK YOU to NetGalley for providing access to all those wonderful pre-release review copies. Even though I don’t always get approved for the books I want, I get approved for a lot — and have read and reviewed some wonderful books thanks to this terrific resource. Plus, their Wellness Challenge earlier this year was so helpful!

5) Other bloggers: Oh, you guys! You rock! It’s such a thrill to interact on a regular basis with so many smart, funny, insightful people. I’ve found the book blogging community to be so warm and supportive in the 1+ year I’ve been blogging. Couldn’t do it without y’all!

6) Free tools: How I love the free stuff! My superstar go-to resources right now are Pixabay for free public domain images and Picmonkey for awesome photo editing tools. Of course, every once in a while, I’ve wanted a special something that I couldn’t find via a public domain image library — and I’ve found some great items via IStockPhoto. The prices are reasonable, and the selection is terrific!

7) Social media: For keeping up to date, as well as heaping doses of pop culture wackiness and nerdgirl fun, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are endlessly helpful — and totally diverting, especially when a little procrastination is called for.

8) Post-It flags: Silly, right? But since I prefer to do my reading with physical books, and since I refuse to highlight or underline, these little flags are my go-to item for marking pages or passages that I want to find again. Especially for books I know I’ll be reviewing, they’re essential. (You should see my current book — it’s like a little rainbow flag all along the edge!)

I get a bit carried away sometimes.

9) Kindle/E-reader: I really do prefer physical books, but most of my review copies are e-books. On the down side, the review copy formatting is often problematic. On the plus side, I do love Kindle’s highlighting feature, which makes it so easy to mark and return to passages of interest.

10) My family: Much as they may mock me at times (“Reading? Again???”), my loved ones are pretty good about giving me quiet time when I need it to read, to write, to edit… so long as I come back and play board games or otherwise make myself useful when I’m done.

Oh, and I guess I’ll add in a #11! This one occurred to me on the late side, and I don’t want to delete any of my first ten…

11) Authors who rock! I really, really appreciate the authors who take the time to answer questions, interact with readers on a regular basis, and respond with warmth and friendliness when contacted. And the authors who’ve appeared in my local bookstores, signing books, and even taking pictures with fan after fan? Priceless!

I guess getting to ten wasn’t that hard after all! What’s on your list this week?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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12Aug2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books With A Snowy Setting (brrrr!)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Favorite Books With X Setting. I always enjoy the topics that are a bit open-ended like this — it’s so much fun to see the creative ideas that bloggers come up with! I myself was feeling a bit less than creative… but for whatever weird reason, sitting here in the middle of summer, I started thinking about snow… and cold… and ice… and Antarctica. So for no very good reason, my theme this week is snowy settings — books that either take place entirely in a snowy or bitterly cold place, or have very memorable scenes that take place someplace full of snow and ice.

(A note about me: I HATE being cold. So this is a weird choice for me. Still. Here we go.)

The Snow Child A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) The Silent Land The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #2) The Shining (The Shining, #1) The Long Winter (Little House, #6) Life As We Knew It (Last Survivors, #1) Midwives The Snowy Day

1) The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey: This magical story of a childless couple who may (or may not) have made a snow child that comes to life is full of bone-chilling descriptions of life on an Alaskan homestead.

2) A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin: The Wall! A giant wall made of ice! Need I say more?

3) The Silent Land by Graham Joyce: Honestly, one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read, set in and around a ski resort in the Pyrenees during an avalanche. Snow everywhere!

4)The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman: I just love the armored bears (hurray for Iorek Byrnison!) and the gloom and mystery of the Far North.

5) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis: The White Witch has condemned Narnia to a never-ending winter. Snow, snow, everywhere! It actually looks lovely, but all the talking animals seem to want spring to arrive.

6) The Shining by Stephen King: A family spending the winter snowed in at a creepy mountainside hotel? Now there’s a recipe for a relaxing vacation!

7) The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Those blizzards scared the heck out of me at a young age.

8) Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer: An intense world-wide winter brought on by global natural disaster. Let this be a lesson to all of us: Keep canned food on hand at all times.

9) Midwives by Chris Bohjalian: Or, the perils of a home birth in the middle of winter in Vermont. Just saying.

10) The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: A perfect picture of all the ways a kid can have fun on a day full of snow. Because I really should end this list on a cheery note, don’t you think?

I thought I’d have a hard time coming up with ten — but as it turns out, I could have kept going! So I’ll give “honorable mention” to a few more books set in the ice or snow, best read with a warm quilt and a cup of hot chocolate:

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple (for the Antarctica scenes)
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Ice Bound by Dr. Jerri Nielsen
Mrs. Mike by Benedict & Nancy Freedman
Odd & The Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater
The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin
The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

See, I don’t compulsively include the same books every week! Look, I made it through a whole top 10 list without mentioning Harry Potter, The Sparrow, or Outlander… oops.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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5Aug2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wish Had Sequels (so I could stay in those worlds just a little bit longer…)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week.

This week’s theme is Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Had Sequels. According to the description, the point here is to identify books or series that are complete (i.e., not open-ended or on-going) — but where you want more anyway! That sounds easy to me. How many times have I finished a book or series with tears — not because of the actual plot developments, but because I just didn’t want to leave that world? Here are my top 10 choices for fictional worlds I want to live in forever:

I never did get my acceptance letter…

1) Harry Potter: Well, obviously! J. K. Rowling may think she’s written all she needs to about Harry and friends, but I beg to disagree! I’d read about Harry and the gang any time, any place. They can be grown-up, middle-aged, and dealing with their mortgages — I don’t care. Take me back to Hogwarts, please! Don’t abandon me to the Muggle world just yet…

2) Lord of the Rings: I guess it’s clear that I belong in a fantasy world. I know there’s a lot of additional material available regarding Middle Earth, but I want more of THIS story. Tell me what Aragorn did once he was king! How did Frodo make out after he sailed away? I love the characters in LOTR so much, and I want to know what happened with the rest of their lives, even if they mostly sat around singing songs and smoking their pipes!

3) The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell: Children of God is the sequel to The Sparrow, and the story is certainly complete after the second book. Still, I’d like to know what happened to the children and descendants of the main characters, and how society developed back on the planet of Rakhat after all these events took place.

4) All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen: Here’s a book that just cries out for a sequel… and I believe the author still hopes to write one. The world of All Men of Genius is original and engaging and just SO MUCH FUN. Please, please, please do more!

5) The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley: I believe that the author has said that she’s written all that she intends to in this world — the kingdom of Damar — but I’d love to see another adventure involving the unforgettable Harry Crewe and King Corlath.

6) The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger: Again, this story had a very definitive ending, as it should have. And yet… I’d love to see TTW: The Next Generation. After all, there’s still Alba. What was her life like? How did she manage her gift? How was her experience impacted by the scientific discoveries brought about by Henry and his research? I’d really love to know.

7) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman: Just rip out my heart and leaving me hanging, why don’t you? I need more Lyra, I need more Will, I need to know that they find a way to see each other again!

8) Codex Alera by Jim Butcher: The series had a great ending — but I would have happily continued reading about Tavi, Kitai, and their realm.

9) Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell: Yes, I do know that there was an officially sanctioned sequel (Scarlett by Alexandra Ripley) — but it wasn’t written by Margaret Mitchell, so for me, it doesn’t count. I actually disliked Scarlett very, very much, and unless it came from the pen of Margaret Mitchell, I refuse to believe that that’s how Scarlett’s story was supposed to go. So there!

10) Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer: Because I want to know whether spending eternity with ~~your stalker~~ the guy you fell for in your teens — with everything about him always staying exactly, exactly the same — is really that great a life. And just how many times can you sit through high school?

I’m sure there are plenty of book worlds that I’d love to go back to. Which obvious ones did I miss? What books do you think would be even more perfect with a sequel or two? And seriously, can someone please convince JKR to write another HP book or seven?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

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