Monday, December 29, 2014

Top Ten Goals/Resolutions For 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog


I thought I would just list Blogging/Bookish goals for this post! :)

Top Ten Five Goals/Resolutions For 2015

1. Get More Posts Done in Advance
I need to work on this a lot.

2. Have More Author Interviews
I need to work up the courage to ask more authors for interviews.

3. Begin commenting on blogs again
I used to be better at this.

4. Get better at Writing reviews
Writing reviews not long after I finish the book, instead of a month later.

5. Read 12 Books and 12 Graphic Novels
A Goal I set for myself every year! :)

What are your goals for next year? :)

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!



Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, while remembering why we really celebrate this holiday! :)

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:10-11 NIV

Merry Christmas!!!!!!! :)

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Marvelous Musical Friday: 2014 Christmas Edition!


I did a Christmas music post last year, and I thought it would be fun to do another Christmas music post this year! (All the songs from last years list are favorites, too!) :)

And yes, I know it isn't Friday, but I didn't get the post done in time. But Christmas music is always good, isn't it? :)


I really love Pentatonix's Christmas album, here are three of my favorites from it!



Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by Pentatonix
I love their version of the song! :)


Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry, Be Happy by Pentatonix
Winter Wonderland is my Mom's favorite Christmas song, and we both love this version of it! :)


Mary, Did You Know? by Pentatonix
This is a favorite of mine, and I don't hear new versions of it that often. Theirs is very pretty! :)


This Christmas by Lady Antebellum
Love! :)


All I Want For Christmas is You by Idina Menzel
Very fun! :)


Believe by Josh Groban
A Favorite song from The Polar Express! :)


Carol of the Bells by Celtic Woman
Last year I featured BarlowGirl's version of this song, and this year I'm loving this version, too! :)

What is your favorite Christmas music? :)

And Merry Christmas! :)

Monday, December 22, 2014

Christmas Picture Books!


I thought it would be fun to write a post talking about a few of mine and my Mom's favorite books to read at Christmas! :)


Here are a few that have been favorites from when I was younger that we still love:



We have an edition of this book that we read every Christmas Eve,
The Night Before Christmas




And a few favorites we read for the first time in the past few years:













And one we read for the first time this year that we enjoyed a lot:




And one that we are going to read before Christmas this year!



What are a few of your favorite Christmas Picture Books? And Merry Christmas! :)

Thursday, December 18, 2014

End of Year Book Survey 2014


Thank you to Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner for Making The End of Year Survey again this year! This is only my second year participating in it, but I had a lot of fun last year and I know I'm going to have fun answering these questions again! :)

Here's the link to her blog post if you want to participate yourself! :)


Number of Books You Read: As of November 30th, around 55 Books, 27 Picture Books, and 123 Graphic Novels and Manga. (This is counting in re-reads.)
Number of Re-Reads: Um, I don't 100% know? Around 10 of the Books were probably re-reads and about half the Graphic Novels.
Genre You Read the Most From: I think Contemporary, with Fantasy just behind it.


1. Best Book You Read in 2014?
No way am I able to list just one book! Going to narrow it down by genre and age group. ( And I'm going to list more than just one book per genre!)


2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going to Love More But Didn't?
To be honest, the newest Amulet book. It's not that I didn't like it, I did. But I think I had my hopes up too high for it, and I was a little let down by it.

3. Most Surprising Book (In a Good or Bad Way) That You Read in 2014?
The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson was a very pleasant surprise for me! I didn't think I would like it that much (It just didn't sound like what I normally read.), but it ended up being one of my favorite books this year! :)

4. Book You "Pushed" the Most People to Read (And They  Did) in 2014?
I pushed a lot of books at people this year (Honestly, most of the books listed in the first answer fits this.). But the one I think I actually got people to read the most was the wonderful A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd! :)

5. Best Series You Started in 2014? Best Sequel in 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?
Best series I started: The Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend series by Katie Finn
Best sequel in 2014: Thursdays With the Crown (Castle Glower #3) by Jessica Day George
Best series ender: Moonkind (Winterling #3) by Sarah Prineas

6. Favorite New Author You Discovered in 2014?
This is almost impossible to narrow down to just one, but I did a TTT post about this about a week ago, and all of those authors are now favorites! :)

7. Best Book From a Genre You Don't Typically Read/Was Out of Your Comfort Zone?
Probably The Mark of the Dragonfly! I listed it in Fantasy, but I read that most people think of it as steampunk, which is a genre I think I have never read a book in before now.

8. Most Action-Packer/Thrilling/Unputdownable Book of the Year?
The Mark of the Dragonfly. :)

9. Book You Read in 2014 That You Are Most Likely to Re-Read Next Year?
All of the favorites this year are up for re-read next year, but I think A Snicker of Magic is the first one I'm going to re-read! :)

10. Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2014?
The Glass Sentence has a very neat looking cover, (That's what made me get it from the library in the first place!) but I don't think it comes across as well online as it does in person. (You all need to get it and see it in person!)


Two more that I like a lot are The Only Thing Worse Than Witches! I love how bright it is! :)


And Crushes, Codas, and Corsages, the 4th I heart Band book! I love how everything on the cover has to do with the book, down to the littlest thing! :)


11. Most Memorable Character From 2014?
Madeline Hatter from Ever After High is who I thought of first when I read this question! :)

12. Most Beautifully Written Book Read in 2014?
A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd. :)

13. Most Thought-Provoking/Life-Changing Book Read in 2014?
I'm not able to think of an answer to this question.

14. Book You Can't Believe You Waited UNTIL 2014 to Read?
All-American Girl by Meg Cabot.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote You Read From a Book in 2014?
My favorite quote this year is from A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd! I knew when I read this question it would be a quote from this book, I just didn't know what one. I decided on this one. :)


16. Shortest and Longest Book You Read in 2014?
According to Goodreads: Shortest: Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games, 64 pages.
Longest: The Glass Sentence, 493 pages.

17. Book That Shocked You the Most?
Because of the ending, Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn! :)

18. OTP of The Year?
Probably Macallan and Levi from Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg!

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship of the Year?
I love the family relationships I read this year! Ana's family in How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied by Jess Keating and Celie's in Thursdays With the Crown by Jessica Day George were both favorites! And one of my absolute favorite friendships is the one in the Kimi Ni Todoke GN's by Karuho Shiina, which I think just gets stronger every book! :)

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From an Author You've Read Previously?
Thursdays With the Crown by Jessica Day George! Love it!

21. Best Book You Read in 2014 Based SOLELY on a Recommendation From Somebody Else/ Peer Pressure?
Hmm, I tend to not read books based on just a recommendation (I usually have to already have an interest in it.), but because Summer from Blue Sky Bookshelf recommended me All-American Girl by Meg Cabot (My first YA Meg Cabot book.), I tried it and really enjoyed it! :)

22. Newest Fictional Crush From a Book You Read in 2014?
Josh from Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn! :)

23. Best 2014 Debut You Read?
Just one?! Hmm, I don't think I'm able to just list one... Here are a few (Alright, more than a few.) that I love! (By the way, a few of the books below authors have written Picture Books before Middle Grade, but I'm listing them anyway because they are debut MG books.)


24. Best World-Building/Most Vivid Setting You Read in 2014?
The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove had a fascinating world, and even though I had a hard time understanding how everything in that world works, I enjoyed it a lot and found it very interesting! :)

25. Book That Put a Smile on You Face/Was the Most FUN to Read?
A Snicker of Magic had me smiling throughout it (It's just one of those books that make you feel good while reading it!) and Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend was one of the most fun books to read! :)

26. Book That Made You Cry or Nearly Cry in 2014?
I'm not able to think of it right now.

27. Hidden Gem of the Year?
I was all prepared to list a bunch of books for this question (You're surprised, right?), But I decided to focus on a book that I truly had never heard of at all before I found it at the library, that was a very good book. Ship of Dolls by Shirley Parenteau was an interesting Historical book that was about something that I had never read about in books before, and it was just a good book in general. It's definitely a hidden gem that I would love if more people knew about! (And a lot of other books I read this year were hidden gems, too. Most of the ones I listed above. (; )

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
Didn't read one.

29. Most Unique Book You Read in 2014?
The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove.

30. Book That Made You the Most Mad (Doesn't Necessarily Mean You Didn't like It)?
Possibly the newest Amulet GN.


1. New Favorite Book Blog You Discovered in 2014?
I'm having trouble thinking of a new blog I discovered this year, I think most of the ones I read are ones discovered before this year. Hmm, need to look for more blogs to follow next year!

2. Favorite Review That You Wrote in 2014?
My review of A Snicker of Magic is one of my favorites, just because I loved that book a lot and think I got across in the review just how much I loved it! :)

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?
I always have a lot of fun with Top Ten Tuesday posts! :)

5. Best Moment of Book/blogging life in 2014?
Ohhh, just one?! Umm, I got to have a lot of good blogging moments this year! Like because of my blog getting to talk and get to know a lot of wonderful bloggers and authors. And getting to do my first author interview. And participating in events online. And more that I'm not going to list because this post is already longer than it's supposed to be and I'm not even done yet... ;)

7. Most Popular Post This Year on Your Blog (Whether It Be By Comments or Views)?
By views, 2015 Books I'm Looking Forward To got a lot of views! :)

8. Post You Wished Got a Little More Love?
Um, I'm pretty happy with how many views each post got. :)

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I know I have an answer to this question but my mind isn't thinking of it right now...

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I always set a goal of at least 12 Books, 12 Graphic Novels, and 12 Picture Books. I beat those this year! :) I did participate in a few challenges and failed at keeping up with them all...


1. One Book You Didn't Get to in 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?
Way too many to just list one.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating in 2015 (Non-Debut)?
Before I begin listing a lot of books, I'm just going to link to this TTT post I did to keep it from getting too long. ;)

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
Again, no way am I able to just list one. These are just a handful of debuts I'm anticipating. (If I listed all of them this would a post by itself.) (And I know there's a TTT in January for this topic and I'm probably going to list waaay more than ten.)


5; One Thing You Hope to Accomplish or Do In Your Book/Blogging Life in 2015?
I'm hoping to do more author interviews next year (Getting the courage to email authors and ask is hard!), but I'm also hoping to just keep having fun with blogging and enjoy it all! :)

6. A 2015 Release You've Already Read and Recommended to Everyone?
I haven't read any 2015 books yet. :)

Thank you again to Jamie for doing the Year End Survey again this year! :)

What were your favorite books this year? :)

Monday, December 15, 2014

Top Ten Books I Read In 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog


There is no way I'm able to list just ten books this TTT! This year was amazing for books! Every time I tried to narrow it down to ten, I kept going back and adding books because I just wasn't able to leave those books off, and before I knew it I was past ten. But I did manage to keep it at least near ten! And now here are my more than ten top books I read this year! (And wow, did I just write ten enough.) :)

All of the books below are ones that enjoyed a lot this year, and are books that I would love if everyone read! :)

Top Ten Fourteen Books I Read In 2014


A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd


How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied by Jess Keating


Thursdays With The Crown by Jessica Day George


Ever After High: A Wonderlandiful World by Shannon Hale


Moonkind by Sarah Prineas


The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson


Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend by Katie Finn


I Heart Band by Michelle Schusterman


At Your Service by Jen Malone


The Only Thing Worse Than Witches by Lauren Magaziner


Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood by Varsha Bajaj


Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg


Ship of Dolls by Shirley Parentau


My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

What are your favorite books from this year? :)

Monday, December 8, 2014

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog


I am extremely happy that I have gotten to read a lot of good books this year, and be introduced to many new authors that I think will be favorites for a long time! All of the authors below have written a book that I got to read for the first time this year and I'm very happy to write that I think I have found many new authors careers to follow, and a few that I plan on going and reading the earlier books they have published.

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014



Jess Keating
How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied was a very fun, entertaining debut and I'm looking forward to reading whatever else she writes in the future (Including the 2nd book in the Zoo series, How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel in January!)! :)


Michelle Scusterman
The I Heart Band series is wonderful and I'm looking forward to her next series that begins next year! :)


Lauren Magaziner
The Only Thing Worse Than Witches was darling and I look forward to her next book! :)


Jaleigh Johnson
The Mark of the Dragonfly was very good and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future! :)


S. E. Grove
The Glass Sentence was interesting book, with a fasinating world, and the sequel, The Golden Specific releases in July! :)


Katie Finn
Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend is a entertaining, enjoyable book that was just plain fun to read! I'm planning on going back and trying the authors previous books now, too! :)


Natalie Lloyd
A Snicker of Magic is the type of book that while reading it, just makes you feel good! I'm very much looking forward to whatever she writes next! :)


Varsha Bajaj
Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood was a fun read and I plan on trying whatever she writes next! :)


Cindy Callaghan
Lost in London and Lucky Me were both fun, and I already have multiple books by her on my TBR for next year! :)


Jen Malone
At Your Service was very fun book and I'm looking forward to reading her future books a lot! :)

What were your favorite new-to-you authors you read this year? :)

Monday, December 1, 2014

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish blog


Even though I would easily be able to list ten debut books I'm looking forward to, TTT is having Top Ten Debut Books in January (Which I know I'm going to list waaay more than just ten then!). Which is why I decided to just focus on books by authors who have at least one book published today.


Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015


I liked Lost in London and Lucky Me by this author a lot, and am looking forward to this new book by her, too! (And I'm looking forward to Lost in Rome by this author next year, too! I love the cover of it!) :)


How to Outswim a Shark Without a Snorkel by Jess Keating (Middle Grade)
The first book I love and this next book looks even better! :)


All Fall Down by Ally Carter (Young Adult)
It's an Ally Carter book! Want it! :)


The Golden Specific by S. E. Grove (Middle Grade)
The first book was interesting and I'm looking forward to reading where this next book goes! :)


Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold by Katie Finn (Young Adult)
Love the first book and after that ending I want this book majorly! :)


Colonial Madness by Jo Whittemore (Middle Grade)
This looks like fun! :)


The Penderwicks in Spring by Jeanne Birdsall (Middle Grade)
A NEW PENDERWICKS BOOK?! Need! These are honestly in my top books of all time list and I'm very excited for this new book! :)

And three that don't have covers yet, but that I'm looking forward to a lot, too! :)

This looks interesting! :)

Journey's End by Rachel Hawkins (Middle Grade)
This looks fun, too! :)

Map to the Stars by Jen Malone (Young Adult)
I love At Your Service, this authors Middle Grade book and am looking forward to reading her first YA book! :)

What books are you looking forward to next year? :)