BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 7: Favorite/Least Favorite Things To Read About

Today's Topic: Favorite/Least Favorite Things To Read About.


You know, I actually don't really know what to write for this!  Honestly, I read just about anything.  Hmm, maybe I'll talk about my love-hate relationship with different topics in books.


1.  Main character death.  So I recently have read a couple of books where the main character dies.  In all fairness, it was a perfect fit for their characters and a great fit for the story.  It doesn't mean I love reading about it though.  I find that to be one of the most heart-wrenching things when a main character dies.  Even when a supporting character dies.  I love that the author is courageous enough to basically kill off a part of themselves in their writing to stay true to the characters but it just tears my heart out!

2.  The classic science-fiction/fantasy storyline.  Okay, maybe this is just me but it seems like 50% of the science-fiction/fantasy books I read follow a very similar storyline.  Let me lay it out for you:

Girl in regular world meets 'different' guy.
Guy ends up being from supernatural world.
Girl ends up being the 'chosen one' or the 'special one'.
Guy introduces Girl to the new world.
Girl falls in love with Guy.
Dramatic things occur.
Girl and Guy end up together in a happily ever after.

It just annoys me!  And what annoys me even more is that in NaNoWriMo, that's pretty much exactly what I'm doing!  I don't know, maybe it's like the universal Hero's Journey and it's inevitable but I really hate reading books with the same storyline.

3.  Books with ever-changing rules.  I just don't like this at all but I totally understand how it happens.  You're writing a fantasy or science-fiction novel and all of a sudden, your characters are in a tough spot and you have absolutely no idea how to save them but it's vital that you do.  The solution?  Add new capabilities to a hero's weapon that weren't there before and were simply 'hidden' or 'didn't have enough power to work'.  Just define what a weapon or item does and leave it at that!

4.  The larger topic of aliens in general.  Honestly, I have a weird relationship with books with aliens in them.  On one hand, nothing ever seems original in them.  On the other hand, it's really cool to read about other beings from other planets and there's only so much you can do with it.  This is a genre that can go both ways for me but because of that, I'm always leery of it.

5.  Realistic Fiction.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  This is a genre that I love from the bottom of my heart but I also hate.  Mostly I hate the fact that a lot of realistic fiction I read centers around romance.  It's like there's no other topic worth exploring in the world!  If you know any good realistic fiction books that aren't solely about romance, please let me know the titles because it's driving me insane!  I really love all the books I read from this genre (for the most part) but sometimes it just gets so repetitive and boring!


I'd better cut it off there before it gets too long!  Maybe I'll think about this topic a little more and do a discussion post later.  What are some topics in books that you have a love-hate relationship with?

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 6: Favorite Book Quotes

Today's Topic is: Favorite Book Quotes!

Oh my this is a hard one.  I have so many!  I'll do my most recent favorite quotes because otherwise this post could get really long really fast.  If you'd like to see the full list, click HERE.

“But I will not tell you how long or short the way will be; only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great Bridge Builder.” 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis

“Caymen?”

“Yes?”

“You look terrified. Does this scare you?”

“More than anything.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t bring my mints.”

“And now the real answer . . .”

“Because I’m afraid that once you catch me, the game’s over.” 

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

“You make me feel three times the rush of skydiving or bungee jumping... I felt the biggest rush of my life when you said you love me.” 

Breathe, Annie, Breathe - Miranda Kennally

“My sparrow, she flickers and wakes and sings and sings. ” 

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell

“Day, the champion of the people, the one who can't bear to see those around him suffer on his behalf, who would gladly give his life for those he loves.”

Champion - Marie Lu

“So the good prince was a murderer and the evil queen wasn't a witch after all.” 

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

“Oh, I'm sorry," Chubs said, 'apparently the middle of my sentence interrupted the beginning of yours. Do continue.” 

Never Fade - Alexandra Bracken

“Hello," Lilly said."Movie. Of your life.You were portrayed as shy and awkward."
"I am shy and awkward," I reminded her.
"They made your grandmother all kindly and sympathetic to your plight," Lilly said."It was the grossest mischaracterization I've seen since Shakespeare in Love tried to pass off the Bard as a hottie with a six-pack and a full set of teeth.” 

Princess In Waiting - Meg Cabot

“But—I’m leaving.”
Not without me.” 

Trial by Fire - Josephine Angelini

“Names made a thing real.” 

The Invasion of the Tearling - Erika Johansen

"Pain only disables the weak."

The Invasion of the Tearling - Erika Johansen

“I walked over to Osten, who looked like he was itching to climb on something.
“What are you up to today?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Go find the Selected guys and ask them awkward questions. Report back.”
He laughed and went running.
“Where’s he off to?” Dad asked quietly.“Nowhere.” 

The Heir - Kiera Cass

“Maybe the princess could save herself."
"That sounds like a pretty good story too.”

Fairest - Marissa Meyer

That's all I'm going to include in this post!  There are only quotes for the books I've posted reviews for because I always go through and like quotes while I'm writing my review.  So no Queen of Shadows yet (the review is taking so long to write!) but soon!

What are some of your favorite quotes?

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 5: #ThrowbackThursday - Favorite Childhood Books

Today's Topic is: #ThrowbackThursday - Favorite Childhood Books.

Haha I have so many of these!  I suppose I'll define childhood as up to age 13.  Here's a list of some of my favorite books from back in the day!

Percy Jackson and the Olympian's series by Rick Riordan

The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry

The Heartland series by Lauren Brooke

Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss

I loved a lot of Dr. Seuss books but this one was by far my favorite!

The Animal Ark series by Ben M. Baglio

The Chestnut Hill series by Lauren Brooke

The Dog with Golden Eyes by Frances Wilbur

Phantom Stallion: Mustang Moon by Terri Farley

Wild Horse Summer by Hope Ryden

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

Thunder From The Sea by Joan Hiatt Harlow

A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray by Ann M. Martin

Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

Santa Paws, Our Hero by Nicholas Edwards

There you have it!  As you can probably tell, I was obsessed with animals and loved books that centered around animals.

Have you read any of these books?  What were some of your favorite childhood books?

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 4: Why Do You Read?

Today's Topic is: Why Do You Read?

Well this will be a relatively short answer but I'll see if I can lengthen it a bit!

I read mostly because it allows to me escape my life for a bit and visit other places that may or may not exist.  When I read, I become so engrossed that everything in the book feels real to me (well, in good books).  Have you ever had those bad days where you come home and all you really want to do is sleep but you still have a ton of work to get done?  Whenever that happens to me, I just grab a book that I've been enjoying and read a couple chapters.  Then, I'm ready to take on anything!

Sort of connected with that is that I love learning new things.  Books can teach you so much if you're just willing to give them a few hours of your time.  I love expanding my vocabulary, learning about new things, and gaining new perspectives.

I suppose one of the many upsides of being a bookworm is that you have a wonderful community of book lovers that are all so supportive and nice.  It's like having an extended bookish family!

Why do you read?

Review Tuesday: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

Amazon  Goodreads  Book Depository  Barnes and Noble

The Chronicles of Narnia Chronological Order #5

Goodreads Blurb:

"Lucy and Edmund, with their dreadful cousin Eustace, get magically pulled into a painting of a ship at sea. That ship is the Dawn Treader, and on board is Caspian, King of Narnia. He and his companions, including Reepicheep, the valiant warrior mouse, are searching for seven lost lords of Narnia, and their voyage will take them to the edge of the world. Their adventures include being captured by slave traders, a much-too-close encounter with a dragon, and visits to many enchanted islands, including the place where dreams come true."

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 3: What Do You Read?

Today's Topic is: What Do You Read?

The true is, I'll read just about anything although I do tend to stay away from erotica and nonfiction.  Erotica is just not my cup of tea and while nonfiction is great, I just can't read it all the time.

Otherwise, anything goes!  I'm all about experiencing new things and reading about them is one of the best ways to get a picture!

As I've mentioned before, I do hold a special love of fantasy.  Something about the different worlds with different rules speaks to me you know?

I do also really love reading about different myths.  At the moment, in my English class, we're studying myths from around the world and my group is studying Celtic myths in depth.  I already know a lot about Greek and Roman (as do you all, I'm sure) so it's really cool to be able to study a different set of beliefs.  I also know a smidgen about Japanese and Norse mythology.  Myths are just so cool to me.  How whole cultures believed in these stories for hundreds of years as their religion.  We've also been studying the similarities between myths and religions and really, religions are just another sort of myth.  It's really interesting to think about!

And now I've gone off on a tangent!  Back on topic!

The majority of my shelf space is taken up by fantasy books although I do own a few realistic fiction books.

As for authors, I try not to have 'auto-buy' authors but there are some authors that I've loved their books.  For example, Sarah J. Maas (Throne of Glass series and A Court of Thorns and Roses series), Kristin Cashore (Graceling series), Josephine Angelini (Starcrossed series and The Worldwalker series), Lois Lowry (The Giver Quartet), J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter series), Julie Kagawa (even though Talon was a flop for me) (The Immortal Rules series, The Iron Fey series, The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten series, Talon series), and Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson series, The Kane Chronicles, The Heroes of Olympus).  Just take a look at my favorites list for the whole selection!



What do you read?  Any favorite genres, books, or authors?

BookBlogWriMo 2015: Day 2: The Blogger Behind the Blog

For Day 2 of BookBlogWriMo, we have the topic The Blogger Behind The Blog.

Hmmmm there's so much I could write for this prompt!

I suppose I'll start with the basics.  My name is Laura and I love to read!  I started this blog back in April of 2014 and was a part of Goodreads a little while before that.  I had never heard of a site where you could keep track of what you read before I found Goodreads so that was a really cool day when I made my account.  Then I set up a Gmail and found this awesome thing called Blogger!  I thought 'why not?' and the rest is history!

My love of books has kept me sane for so many years!  Whenever I'm stressed or just need a break from life, books are there to take me away.  My life definitely wouldn't be complete without them.

What's some other stuff about me...

I suppose you've already guessed but my favorite color is, in fact, blue.  My eyes are also blue (what a coincidence!).  I have two cats named Tiger and Smokey and they are the most loyal and hilarious cats!

I have an addictive need for any kind of chocolate: dark, milk, white, melted, solid, and especially in drink form!  My favorite beverage is by far hot chocolate!  Surprisingly, what I don't like is chocolate ice cream.  It's just way to sweet for me.

I'm an avid tennis player although I'm by no means a professional.

I love to knit and watch movies late at night and rereading books/taking notes on books while listening to movies that have great soundtracks.

I have blonde hair that's slowly, sadly, turning brown.  I have a deep love for animals, the arts, and the beauty of the human being.  I can alternate between really deep conversations and really shallow conversations at the flick of a switch.

I don't really have a favorite genre of books although I do have a special place in my heart for fantasy!

I also really love music and play the clarinet, piano, and saxophone.  I also really love to sing although I've never had the time to join a choir.  Listening to all kinds of music is one of my favorite things to do although whenever I do listen to music, I can't be doing anything that requires my full attention because I'll always want to sing along!

I've never been able to wear makeup because it always irritates my eyes or clogs my pores.  I applaud people who can put it on correctly and be able to wear it all day!  I just can't have stuff that isn't my skin touching my face all the time.

I write reviews about every book I read until I read it for academic reasons and wasn't keeping track of how I actually felt about the book.  You know, those classes where you're supposed to be putting together themes or something so you don't actually pay attention to the things that matter in a review (or at least, the kinds of reviews I write).

I think that's about it!