Woo-hoo!
Also, yes, it's a bit beyond mid-year, but that's okay. As my Vegan friend who ate chocolate chip cookies always said, "I'm not doing this to impress anyone else, so I can make my own rules."
I got this brilliant idea from Cynthia at Bingeing on Books. I'm unable to choose just one for most categories, but I'm trying very hard to not freak out about all the books, so I capped most of them at two.
best sequel: Cress, by Marissa Meyer and The Reckoning, by Jane Casey. We all know how fantastic the Lunar Chronicles are, amirite? Casey's mystery series had a solid first book, but it was the second book that really impressed me. She moved away from relying on romance as the major subplot, and instead brought in some interesting storylines about female friendship and competition.
new release you want to read: There are so many good books I've never read that already exist, so I don't usually focus on new and upcoming releases. That being said, I picked up a copy of Gretchen McNeil's 3:59 at a local paperback store last week. I'd never heard of it, but it sounded so intriguing that I had to get it, even though it was at full price (their used books are all half off). It's described as Dr. Who meets Groundhog Day. I'm expecting a fun ride, not great prose, but it's totally what I'm in the mood for.
anticipated book for fall: Winter, by Marissa Meyers (have I mentioned how much I love the Lunar Chronicles?) and The Rest of Us Just Live Here, by Patrick Ness. I am purposely trying to avoid learning anything about what the latter is about, because that's how much I love Ness. Even his weird stuff is awesome. I don't need to know the premise before deciding if I'll read it.
biggest surprise: This would be the opposite of the previous category--a book I didn't expect much from that absolutely delighted me. I grabbed Gabi, A GIrl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, off the library shelf more or less at random. I thought the cover was ugly, but I'm always on the lookout for Latino/a YA and MG books, so I gave it a try. Gabi's voice and personality blew me away.


newest fictional crush: If crushing on Tyrion Lannister is sick and wrong, then I don't want to be healthy and right.
Favorite new character:
This guy::

Best book to film adaptation: N/A. I don't watch many movies. The best I could come up with is Maleficent.
Your favorite post: Top Ten: We Need Diversity, Books and My Big Sisters, I Read Banned Books (But Can I Let My Students Do the Same?)
Books to read by end of year: Brown Girl Dreaming, Night, Orphan Train, Legend, Storm of Swords




Are there any awards Brown Girl Dreaming has not won? I'm starting to get a complex about not having read it. Then again, I've been "wanting to read" Night for about ten years, and been "currently reading" it for about four months, so maybe I should save my angst for that. Orphan Train just looks good, and I recently got a copy of it for myself. Legend is one of those "super hyped but I haven't read it" books, and I just got a copy at the library. Storm of Swords will probably take me far longer than the first two books did, since I'm going back to work in a few days. Sigh. Still, I have to see how my sweetie Tyrion does with no nose.
Love your answers! I have not read The Scorpio Races, but I love Maggie Stiefvater so I really need to get on that. I am looking forward to The Rest of Us Just Live Here (and Winter of course!) too. I have never read Patrick Ness, but I have heard great things. Also, I LOVED the Legend series. Marie Lu is wonderful. I read Brown Girl Dreaming earlier this year and loved it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely about Patrick Ness- I don't read reviews about it, I just need to read it ASAP! ANd Challenger Deep was really, really good. Neal Shusterman is another author I adore. And WOW- 128 books already!? That is VERY impressive!
ReplyDeleteShannon @ It Starts At Midnight