Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books So Far This Year

The year is half over already! How does this happen! Today we are making a list of our favorite books so far this year. (Not necessarily published this year of course, but just read by me this year!)

These are the books I've given five stars to so far this year (not counting North and South, a re-read.)

1. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
2. Wonder by R. J. Palacio
3. These Broken Stars by Aime Kaufman and Megan Spooner
4. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkowski
5. Half Bad by Sally Green

And my favorite four stars:

6. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
7. Ignite by Sara B. Larson
8. The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West
9. Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan
10. Landline by Rainbow Rowell

I can't wait to see what other books will join this list before the year is over!

Link up your favorite books so far this year over at The Broke and the Bookish today!

Trip Books

Cool image of Europe!

Before heading out on the trip, I looked up some books that are set in some of the places we'll be travelling to. While I didn't have time to actually read these books, I added some to my hope to read someday list. I thought maybe you'd like to see the list. Some of these I have already read, and totally enjoyed.


Southern France

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Madam Will You Talk by Mary Stewart
Chocolat by Joanne Harris


Florence Italy

Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland
Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant
Galileo's' Daughter by Dava Sobel
The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone
The Light in the Piazza by Elizabeth Spencer

Rome

I, Claudius by Robert Graves
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough

Munich

The Book Thief!! (Guys I totally forgot this until... like... later. Gasp!)
Sophie Scholl and the White Rose by Annette Dumbach
The Dawn of Midnight by Trevor Scott
A Night of Long Knives by Rebecca Cantrell

Switzerland

Heidi by Johanna Spyri
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann
Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman

Venice

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwa
The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips
Salzburg/Austria

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, written by Maria von TrappThe Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey


Whew! And that's just a tiny tiny taste! Have you read any of these books? If so, which ones and did you love them or not?

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Best Top Ten Tuesday Topics Ever!

It's been five years since Top Ten Tuesday started! Happy Anniversary! I can't remember when I hopped on the wagon, but it wasn't too long after. Here are my favorite topics during that time:

My Top Ten Favorite Top Ten Topics!

1. Favorite Couples
2. Crushes
3. Favorite Authors
4. Childhood Favorites
5. Books for Non-Readers
6. Favorite Book Quotes
7. Favorite Settings
8. Favorite Character Names
9. Swoony Books
10. Books that Broke My Heart

I'm thinking I should link to my lists for these topics. Yes? Okay fine.

What are your favorites from over the years? Find the link up at The Broke and the Bookish!

Instagram You're On!

My Instagram profile pic,
which might look a little different from what you're
familiar with around here!

When this post is published I'll be experiencing the first full day of our current European adventure. Which means the blog will be taking a bit of a beak for the next few weeks. I have scheduled a few Top Ten posts and a couple of other random things, but for the most part, it'll be quiet around here. 

But, I'll be in full swing over on Instagram! So if you would find it fun to follow the adventure through pictures, do come and follow me there! I hope to have a blast this time around sharing whatever crazy things happen, the fun places we find, some famous places, some out the way spots, food adventures, practicing selfies (did I say how much I hate selfies?) and anything else that seems at all interesting. 

Click here to find my profile on the computer or search for sueysays on your Instagram app. See you in Europe!

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my TBR This Summer

.... or books on my Kindle that I plan to read while on vacation, which starts today! I'm taking my Kindle of course and I hope to read at least four or so from this list:


1. Cress by Marissa Meyer
2. The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
3. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
4. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
5. Mania by J.R. Johansson
6. Miramonts Ghost by Elizabeth Hall
7. Feed by M.T. Anderson
8. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
9. Insignia by S.J. Kincaid
10. Arson by Estevan Vega

Just to name a few!!

Which ones from this list do you think I simply MUST read before this summer is over?

What books do you plan to read this summer? Link up over at The Broke and the Bookish!

Currently. . . A Day Late.

Listening: The Piano Guys  (first the Jurassic Park one.. and now it's switched to... I don't even know what, but it's dang cool.)

Watching: NOTHING! Gasp. How can this be? Wait, I did watch Jess's first episode on Gilmore Girls the other day. I wonder how many times I've see that now....

Reading: I read half of Clockwork Angel, but then got sidetracked by This Shattered World that I grabbed from the library. And now I have two half finished books.

Blogging: We've just come down from a quite and simple Bloggiesta. Thanks to all of who participated. We'll have a "normal" one in September. Stay tuned. I've scheduled a few blog posts to go up while I'm gone, but for the most part, it's going to be pretty quite around here. You can still talk to me though. I won't be completely off grid!

Writing: I managed to do first (or is it second) edits for another chapter. I was hoping to get through the whole rest of my story this week, but there wasn't enough time. Soon, very soon, I hope to have gone through it all, then go through it all again, and then see if I can get a few beta readers! SCARY!

Planning: It's been all trip stuff for weeks. And we have one more day and then OUTA HERE!  The anticipation is pretty much going to kill me. I'm not kidding.

Health Watch: I did the military diet with my sister. That was interesting. I got on the scale BEFORE the diet started and the scale finally FINALLY said that six pounds were gone! That was baffling and unexpected. I haven't got on it again but I wonder if all the anxiety of this past week has made me lose a couple more. Because anxiety, I've found, is the best way to lose weight. :)

MISC:

• Went to the city's summer parade and fireworks this past week. Tradition!
• Hosted a dinner for the family Sunday. Goodbye to them!
• Daughter made it home from her adventure. Yay!
• Summer arrived! Hot!

That's about it from here. Happy new week!

Launch Party: Ink and Ashes by Valynne Maetani

And then we went to another launch party!

Valynne dressed in her finest!

 She told an awesome story about how her book got published. It was written for her sister, just for fun, for her graduation. And then she revised it for a contest. And she thought there was no way she would win. But she did. And then she had to revise it a lot and she wanted to write the whole thing over again, it was all crazy and stressful and wonderful! (That, my friends, is what you call an extremely shortened version!)

And there we all are again!
And even Jenny too!
The King's English should TOTALLY love us this year!!!

My signed copy!

This is going in my stack of Utah authors to read for Utah Book Month in August. The stack is huge people. Huge. And I'm excited and overwhelmed.

Book Review Discussion: Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

Book: Waiting For Normal by Leslie Connor
Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Book Club
From: The Library

Short Synopsis: Addie is living with all the twists and turns that her mom creates in her life. And all she really wants is to live normal. Meanwhile, while she's waiting, she takes care of herself in their new (old) trailer when her mom disappears for days on end. She hangs out at the mini mart, she practices her flute and feeds her hamster. She's loves to visit her step dad and her half sisters, but really, it just makes her sad to see their normal that she doesn't get to have. The one day something happens that changes everything.

My Response: Addie is a great character and one you can't help but care about. It's quite the sad story and I especially feel for the adults in this story... they want to help but aren't sure how, or what their place is. The step dad is awesome I wanted so bad for him to save the day. There were a few times that it made me a little weepy, mostly when the step dad wanted to do something but felt his hands were tied. Anyway, all that being said, it did have a particularly nice wrapped up ending. And while that made me happy I know a story like this in real life could have never been quite so neat.

Bottom Line: A sad, heart felt look into the life a neglected kid and who so happily deals with it.

Let's Talk About: What do you think about convenient endings? I mean, I WANTED it to end the way it did. But was it too easy? And if it was, does that make the whole book feel like a let down or something? What do you think?

Other Reviews:

Yet somehow, Addie’s earnest tenacity is an inspiration to readers as she keeps on going, just doing the very best she can, waiting and hoping for normal. From Book Aunt

Despite the heavy undertones and subject matter it remains a positive, upbeat and optimistic book. From Alternate Readality

The best word to describe this book is bittersweet. From One Librarian's Book Reviews

For those looking to read a book with a main character you'll love to get to know and a handful of interesting secondary characters, this book entirely fits the bill. From Abby the Libarian

Book Review Discussion: Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt

Book: Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
Genre: MG Historical Fiction
Rating:★★★★★
For: Fun
From: probably Amazon a few years ago

Short Synopsis: This follows the story of Doug Swieteck, who was featured a bit in the book The Wednesday Wars, if you'll remember. This book opens when his family moves to a new city and he has to get used to everything all over again. He meets a cute girl, he gets a little delivery job at her dad's deli, he starts to make friends with people, but especially, he likes the librarian guy who shows him some cool bird pictures and teaches him how to draw them. These birds feature heavily in the book and are symbols for what's going on in Doug's life. He has to deal with his crazy brother, his abusive dad, his older brother who comes home injured from Vietnam (yes this is a 60s book) and some mean teachers at school. But in the end, he overcomes all and is basically, okay for now.

My Response: Once again, this author nails it, capturing perfectly a moment in time during the 60s and what one normal kid might have been experiencing then. The voice is spot on and I loved it. He (this character) reminded me a bit of a young and less bitter Holden Caulfield, always saying things like "I'm not lying" and "stupid this and stupid that" and "do you know how that feels?"  And yet, despite the edginess, he is as endearing as they come. You'll be rooting for this kid from page one.

Bottom Line: Not an earth shattering type of book, but all kinds of heart warming and feeling goodness and just so real. I loved it.

Let's Talk About: How are you with middle grade books? You know, some of them are pretty boring for me, but then again, some of the best books I've read are MG. They seem such a hit and miss. This one is a hit for sure. This author is a hit. If you haven't read one of his books, it's time to give him a try now!

Other Reviews:

Okay for Now is a coming of age story and a window into a pivotal time in US history. But more than that, Okay for Now is a flawless character study. From Jen Robinson's Book Page

I shed many a tear while reading about his life. I shed happy tears, too, over the grace extended to Doug by several compassionate adults. From Worthwhile Books

Okay For Now is a beautiful story about a boy, and it’s a story that will resonate with anyone, whether they remember what it was like to be 15 or not. From Attack of the Books

Dysfunctional family, war, conservation, small-town politics, love, and so much more: it’s all here. But Schmidt never lets it sound contrived or over-the-top. From The Reading Zone

Review: Marvel's Daredevil Season 1

I know that it's sort of a thing now for Netflix to create and produce their own TV shows. I find it a strange and cool movement in the TV world. Until now, I hadn't watched any of their shows. They tend to be a bit rough for my taste. So I haven't had an opinion on the whole Netflix making TV shows thing.

But as you know, I have a soft spot for superheroes. I have no idea why. I never read the comics. But I find the whole pattern and cycle of the lowly kid (usually) rising to some sort of power and strength to fight the bad guys endearing and cool.

Which is why I decided to give Daredevil a try. That, and the fact that a ton of people were raving about it.

So these past few weeks I've watched all 13 episodes and here are my thoughts and observances about the experience:

• Yes, it's dark. Yes, it's violent. But I figured if I could handle The Walking Dead, I could handle this. Which turned out true for the most part. There were a few times I had to close my eyes, I admit. But just a few...
• Charlie Cox is awesome perfect for this role. How he can play a blind guy so perfect, I have no idea. I watched an interview where he said he followed a blind guy around for days and paid special attention to what he did with his eyes. And let me just say, he's figured it out. 
• And then there's the fighting and cool parkour type scenes, I'm wondering how much of this Charlie does on his own. But my guess is a lot. So cool.
• And then there's the typical sidekick character that somehow ends up stealing the scene more often that not. It seems all these shows have them. Foggy (played by Eldon Hensen) is wonderful and endearing and funny and perfect.
• What I especially love about these shows is the how they give the villain such a back story that makes you think, even for a split second, that he is justified in his actions. The villain in this show is ruthless (it's his scenes where I have to close my eyes most of the time!) and yet. His back story will rip your heart out.
• Backstories for the Daredevil himself, Matthew Murdock, are also especially rough. I've really learned the power of backstories from this show.
• And also the power of vulnerability. That's the bottom line thing I think that turns me onto shows like this. How vulnerable the characters are. Powerful, yet vulnerable. I love it. 
• I'm so happy that the news is out that there will be a season 2. Yes!
• And let's hope they have Matt smile a lot during this season. Swoon!

A smiling Matthew Murdock.

Let me know if you've watched it and what you think. Or if you decide to give it a try and what you think. All I know is, it's been a week since I watched the last episode and I miss these characters and keep thinking about them. It's going to be a long wait until they are back again!

Here's the trailer if you're interested:

Book Review Discussion: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Book Review Discussion: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Genre: YA SciFi
Rating:★★★★★
For: Fun
From: Bought with a gift card awhile back at Barnes and Noble.. .I think

Short Synopsis: We have Traver, who's a sort of war hero, who is flying home? (or somewhere) on this huge massive spaceship. As the book starts, he notices Lilac and is interested. What he doesn't know is that she is the daughter of the guy who owns the spaceship and practically the whole galaxy. She blows him off, for reasons, and then shortly after that they find they are in the same life "boat" (ship) while this the huge main air craft goes down and crashes. They are now marooned on a strange planet, trying to survive and get a signal to their people to come rescue them. They act like they can't stand each other, but of course, we know better. Also, there's some really strange stuff going down on this planet.

My Response: LOVED IT! I seriously could not put this one down. I was so into the romance, and these characters and the survival story ( I seem to be a sucker for those) and the weird scifi stuff going on that I just couldn't breathe and until it was all over. Sadly. It had to end and be over. (Though I understand there's more... is it a trilogy? I don't know! P.S. Yes, yes it is.) I loved the tension, the banter, the quirky characters and the setting. I loved it all. Perfect summertime book to get all caught up in!

Bottom Line: Romantic swoony science fiction. You can't get much better than that! This! THIS is the kind of book I want to figure out how to write! Sigh. Anyway, I'm pretty sure this one will end up on my end of the year favorites list.

Let's Talk About: Loving books. What do you do? How do you let all that emotion out? Do you instantly tweet? (I did.) Do you writing a gushing blog post? (I'm trying.) Do you tell people in your real life. (I think I did a little, but it was very subdued.) I seriously want to shout to the rooftops... "Have you read this book? If not, do it now!" (P.S. That is, only if you love romantic swoony science fiction survival stories! LOL!)

Other Reviews:

Finally. FINALLY a YA book that doesn't fall victim to all the annoying YA tropes. From Small Review

I was besotted with this novel from the first chapter itself. From Ivy Book Bindings

These Broken Stars is fast-paced, adventure filled book that you want to read ASAP. Set down and buckle yourself in, your in for a ride of a lifetime! From Books With Bite

For me this book was just perfection. It was everything I love in a book: space, new worlds, a bit of mystery, beautiful descriptions, and a really great love story. From Such a Novel Idea

Summer Mini Bloggiesta To Do List

It's time for another Bloggiesta! We'll be working on our blogs this coming weekend, June 13 and 14, and here's what I'm planning to do:

• write some posts to schedule while I'm gone on vacation
• catch up on reviews
• catch up the review archive
• pin reviews
• host the Bloggiesta Twitter chat (Join me for that on Sunday June 14 at 3:00 pm Eastern!)

Very small, very basic. But that's the theme for this Bloggiesta! 

If you want to participate, be sure to write up a To Do List pot and link up over at the Bloggiesta main page!

Book Review Discussion: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Book: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Genre: YA Romance
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Fun
From: Long time resident of my TBR shelf such that I have no idea where it came from! Probably Borders back in the day.

Short Synopsis: Anna has always been in love with her best friend's brother. And just when they were both (Anna and the brother) finally admitting to this, he was killed in a car accident. Now both she and her friend Frankie are trying to cope. The summer after the accident they head off to the beach together to try and forget.  Frankie comes up with a brilliant plan to connect with 20 different boys while they are on vacation. Of course, Anna fails miserably. But she does manage to come to terms with herself and the death. Or at least start to.

My Response: I loved the writing and the highly emotional subject and scenes. I loved the flashbacks with the brother and was sad throughout the whole book that his character wasn't more a part of the story. The whole dealing with death thing seems to be a big overused trope I'm noticing a lot these days. Or I just seem to be picking up a lot of books about this. I guess it makes for an easy emotional ride. I didn't like some of the decisions these characters made and it frustrated me. I think sometimes this too is an easy out for YA books.

Bottom Line: But that being said, I really enjoyed this book and was invested from the first page. Hard to put down and very heart wrenching.

Let's Talk About: I know this is an older book (about six years I think?) but what do you think about the themes and subject matter that is used over and over and over again? Does it make you crazy or are you okay with it as long as it's done with a twist and unique flair?

Other Reviews:

It covers friendship, trust, truth, death, grief, secrets, forgiveness, family, swimsuits, sunburns, sneaking out, virginity, and the fact that no matter how hard you try you can’t make someone else okay—they have to do that for themselves. From The Book Bundle

It's thought-provoking and beautiful and heart-breaking. From Words on Paper

She created very lifelike scenes and the beach town she created was so real that I could almost feel the sand between my toes. From And Another Book Read

The emotional ups and downs of their grief and anger, expressed in myriad ways by the different characters, are a revelation of creative writing and psychological insight. From Rhapsody in Books

Dune Mini Series "Watch Along"

As you know (I think most of you do anyway), we had a fun read along of Dune this past month. To top off the experience some of us were able to watch the 2000 mini series together. We hoped it would be a better adaptation than we knew the 1984 movie to be.

It was not.

In fact, some of us deemed it worse!

And yet, we lasted the whole time. All five (or so?) hours of it!

We managed to sit there through:

• terrible acting
• boring music
• awful special effects
• unbelievable out of control costumes
• weird glowing blue eyes
• added unnecessary graphic content
• unemotional scenes
• dramatic scenes were the drama was left out
• a claymation mouse
• the strangest use of lighting I've ever seen
• and I can't remember what else!

It was pretty bad. It was done in 2000 which you'd think was recent enough to make it possible to get the effects at least decent. But. Yeah. No.

Anyway. We had fun nevertheless! 

These guys were our favorites. Not!

The weird blue eye glow.

Riding the worm should have been epic.
But they missed the mark.

An example of weird lighting and costumes.

And here's a scene if you want to see for yourself! Gah!


Anyway, here's hoping someone some day some time can get this movie right! I know they can do it and when it happens, it really will be awesome.

Book Review Discussion: Saga Volume 1 by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Book: Saga Volume 1 by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Genre: Graphic novel, SciFi
Rating:★★☆☆☆
For: Fun
From: The library

Short Synopsis: This is the story of two people in love, both from different sides of an intergalactic war who just want to find peace. Their baby is being born when the story opens and it's this baby that narrates the tale. We follow them as they try to escape, take on a nanny who's a mutilated ghost, fight off lots of bad guys and find the most amazing star ship ever. We also follow another guy who appears to be a bad guy but in reality seems to have a surprisingly soft heart. (Not sure what's up with him yet, not enough of the story in this first volume!)

My Response: Well. How to say this!? I've heard so much about this one and felt the need to find out for myself what I thought, though I had a sneaking suspicion that it was going to be a bit much for me. I was right. Though I could totally get into the story and characters without a problem, the content and images are, shall we say, too adult for me! (I hate that term, but there you go.) I loved the snarkiness of the characters. I loved the main dude (Marco, was it?) because he seems so sweet, mostly. The girl rubbed me the wrong way a bit. The baby narrating was hilarious, and I was totally intrigued by the guy that appears bad but is really good. Oh, and the nanny was a riot.

But the F bombs were way over the top and more than I can take (I guess I have a threshold after all!) and some of the pictures were, shall we say, a little indecent. Ha. But at least now I know and even though I kind a feel sad not knowing the rest of the story, I'll probably pass on the others.

Bottom Line: Great science fiction story (very weird though) if you love that stuff but told in a over the top gritty way.

Let's Talk About: How do you feel when you want to try something that so many other people love but then when you try it you know you aren't going to love it? I feel disappointment pretty bad, but it doesn't happen very often so I think I'll be okay when it does.

Other Reviews:

Saga is at turns, and sometimes at once, beautiful and horrifying. From Fantasy Book Critic

What a ride! From 1330v: Thoughts of an Eclectic Reader

The dialogue is snappy and brings the characters to life incredibly easy. From SFF Book Reviews

Saga brings us non-stop action in a world filled with war, but it also brings us love and laughter. From Tif Talks Books

Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Books I've Read That Should be Movies!

This is a topic that comes up a lot so for this list I'm thinking of books I've read recently that I think would make awesome movies.

1. These Broken Stars by Aime Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: I just finished this and instantly thought... wouldn't this be a great movie? Yes. I think so.

2. The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkowski. But I think we'd all leave feeling sad.

3. The Shatter Me books by Tahereh Mafi. Intense and nail biting and steamy.

4. All the Stephanie Perkins books beginning with Anna and the French Kiss, filmed on location in Paris of course.

5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater. All the boys, live and in person. :) But they'd totally have to get it right or else it would be terrible.

6. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, also filmed on location in Prague. Oh my word, this would make a crazy intense movie. Someone please make it happen.

7. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, though I doubt anyone could pull it off. It would be fun to see them try though!

8. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson would make a fun regency romance movie. I would totally go to see it!

9. The Finnikin books by Melina Marcetta. Gah. That would be so awesome!

10. And finally, I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Done right. Of course.


I pretty much feel like all my lists are listing the same books. Do you notice this at all or is it just me? Basically, you should read these books!

What books have you read recently that really really need to be movies? Check out everyone's lists at The Broke and the Bookish.

May 2015 Reading Recap

A favorite picture from the month of May:
A picture of both rain and sun at the same time.
It has rained all month long here!
How awesome is that!!

I read some lovely lovely books this month! What a fun time reading time it was.

Here's my list:

Not in the Script by Amy Finnegan: What happens when the guy you've crushed on for years is suddenly your co-star? And what happens if he doesn't turn out to be at all what you thought he was? 

The Fill-in Boyfriend by Kasie West: If your boyfriend breaks up with you on the night of prom, you might as well as the guy sitting in the car right there to fill in. Right?

Dune by Frank Herbert: An epic sweeping story of two powerful houses trying to get control of spice which is only found on harsh planet of Dune.

Erasing Time by C.J. Hill: Twin sisters are suddenly swept through a time vortex and find themselves hundreds of years in the future.

Paranoia by J.R. Johansson: The continuation of Parker's story where he finds out much more about his Nightwalking powers and what actually happened to his dad all those years ago.

Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples: The beginning of an epic and irreverent story of two people from the opposite sides of a war tying to escape to find a normal life.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler: After the love of her life dies, Anna tries to find peace again and forget him. She and her best friend are spending the summer together and hope to connect with twenty different guys

These Broken Stars by Aime Kaufman and Meagan Spooner: After a space ship wreck, Tarver and Lilac find themselves castaways on an abandoned planet that holds some pretty crazy secrets.

I have some review catching up to do!

Favorites of the month: These Broken Stars by far! Oh. My. Word. Loved it! For the pure fun factor, I also loved Not in the Script and The Fill-in Boyfriend. 

Plans for June:

• finish Okay for Now.
• read Waiting for Normal for book club
• over all plans: read stuff that's been on my shelf forever like:
• The Clockwork Angel
• The Gray Wolf Throne
• Chasing the Sun
• Magic Study (that is the second one right Kami?)
• just to name a few
• when the trip starts I want to read some Kindle books like:
• Snow Like Ashes
• Station 11
• Cress
• But that will be a post for another day!

What books did you love and enjoy this month?