Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books of 2013

Where does the time go? The Broke and the Bookish are asking us to look ahead to 2013! I don’t know why this is so shocking. I have been dreaming about some of these books for ages already. This was one of the easiest TTT lists to whip up in a long time. And of course, it was impossible to pick just ten books that I am excited about. So here are 13 for ’13!

1.Just One Day by Gayle Forman January 8, 2013

2. Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu January 29, 2013

3. Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer February 5, 2013

4. Mind Games (Mind Games #1) by Kiersten White February 19, 2013

5. The Madness Underneath (Shades of London #2) by Maureen Johnson  February 26, 2013

6. Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare March 19, 2013

7 & 8. Light (Gone #6) by Michael Grant April 2, 2013 and BZRK #2 October 8, 2013

 

9. Game (Jasper Dent #2) by Barry Lyga April 23, 2013

No cover yet.

10. The Regency Witches by Alyxandra Harvey May 9, 2013

No cover yet.

11. Spirit and Dust (Goodnights #2) by Rosemary Clement-Moore May 14, 2013

12. Infinityglass (Hourglass #3) by Myra McEntire June 25, 2013

No cover yet.

13. House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4) by Rick Riordan October 2013

no cover yet

What are you excited to read in 2013?

Happy Reading!

˜Megan

Top Ten Tuesday: Books and Authors I am Thankful For

This week The Broke and the Bookish is giving thanks and so am I. I am so thankful to be going on vacation. I am also thankful that I have a Nook loaded with books. And of course, there a so many authors and books that I am thankful for that a Top Ten list is nearly impossible! But, I’ll give it my best shot.

1. J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter. I will always be thankful for these books. For many years they were the only thing I had in common with my youngest brother. A thirteen year age gap is pretty big when you are 10 and 23! We read all the books together and saw all the movies. I will even admit to crying in the parking lot after seeing the last movie-not because of the film, but because it was the last one and end to a favorite tradition.

That’s my one heart-warming book related story. Everything is else is based on pure awesomeness.

2. Scott Westerfeld. Uglies was the first YA book that I read as an adult in library school. What an awesome way to get started in the wonderful world of YA! The only drawback is that often find myself thinking/saying things like “kids today have it so good, they don’t even know…” I mean, it’s true, but when did I become that old lady?

3. Carrie Ryan. I may never have discovered that I love zombies had it not been for The Forest of Hands and Teeth!

4. John Flanagan and The Ranger’s Apprentice. This series is so awesome and I am personally thankful for Halt and Tug. I love those guys! Even better? Last week my road-trip loving library pals and I took a little trip to Columbus to see him. And my collection of signed books grows…YAY.

5. Kiersten White. I loved Paranormalcy and can’t wait to read more from her. Also, her blog is lots of fun.

6. Libba Bray. I am so thankful for the awesome variety of books she writes. Gemma Doyle? Awesome. Going Bovine? Weird and awesome. Beauty Queens? Hilarious and awesome. The Diviners? My most favoritest of all! Creepy and awesome. And of course, she is a hilarious delight in person.

7. L.A. Meyer. A TTT list would not be complete without a shout out to my favorite sea-faring orpah, Jacky Faber!

How about some non-YA thanks?

8. Sarah Addison Allen. I am so thankful for her lovely, magical books.

9. Lisa Lutz. How much do I love the Spellmans? So. Freaking. Much. More, please!

10. Bill Willingham. I am thankful to my co-worker for recommending Fables as my introduction to the wonderful world of graphic novels!

So I kept it to ten, but I just realized it’s been a while since I gushed about Michael Grant, Ally Carter, Rick Riordan, or Antony John in a Top Ten Tuesday! Weird. Still totally thankful for these guys.

Happy Reading!

˜Megan

Mondays With Megan-Vacation Starts Tomorrow. My Brain Left Today.

Seriously. No. Focus. At this time tomorrow I will be at the airport waiting to board a plane that will take me to Montana and I am so flipping excited. My suitcase isn’t packed, but my Nook is all loaded and ready to go! But I will get to that in a minute. For the past few days I have been wracking my brain, trying to figure out how it has taken me ten years to watch Firefly. Well, I finally drank the Kool-Aid and all I can say is mmmmmmmm….grape. I mean, shiny. I mean, Nathan Fillion. *Sigh* This is my brain right now. Montana and Mal. That’s it. No room for anything else.

You’re welcome. Now, if I you can tear myself yourself away, let’s do It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? Brought to you by Book Journey and Teach Mentor Texts.

Finished:

My Vacation Plan:

I am sitting out on the skiing this trip (one skiing related torn ACL is totally enough for me) and plan to hang at the lodge and read. We’ll see how much I get through, but I really want to finish A Dance With Dragons. I have to get on my with my life!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

˜Megan

Rebel Heart by Moira Young Review

I meant to get this review up a couple of weeks ago, but, well, Sandy…ugh.Anyway. It was a happy, happy day at my house when I discovered an advanced reader copy of Rebel Heart, book 2 in The Dust Lands Trilogy, mysteriously arrived at my door. Let me take a moment to remind you that I LOVED Blood Red Road and I recommend it every chance I get. Now, on to book 2. It might get a little spoiler-y here. Read on at your own risk.

Rebel Heart (Dust Land #2) by Moira Young
Simon & Schuster
October, 2012
448 pgs

The story picks up where Blood Red Road leaves off. Saba’s family has been reunited and they are making their way west, in search of both Jack and a better life. Sadly, all is not well. Haunted by the events of the past and hunted by a surprising new enemy, Saba struggles to reconnect with Lugh, who is practically unrecognizable. When disturbing news about Jack reaches her, Saba decides to follow her heart and search for the man she loves. Her journey is difficult, but she knows the truth is out there and her heart stone will lead the way.

So much has changed since I last met these characters. While they may have escaped with their lives, no one escaped untouched by the events of Blood Red Road and the damage is painfully clear. Saba has always been a difficult character to like, but she continues to grow and develop. Talk about transformations! Gone is the Angel of Death and in her place is a shell, a shadow of her former self. She is often overly emotional and makes a number of questionable decisions, but I don’t think that any of these changes are unrealistic. I am perfectly willing to cut the girl some slack. I mean, how can you see what she saw, do what she did, and not be at least a little bit damaged? Saba picks up some fantastic new companions on her journey. Slim is great guy and offers a needed bit of comic relief to an otherwise grim story. This story had so many shocking twists and turns that I am still recovering from the whiplash. I can’t even begin to imagine what is in store for Saba and her crew. All I can do now is begin the long and painful wait. And possibly reread. This was a great second novel and I am eager for more.

Readalikes: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Divergent by Veronica Roth, and Legend by Marie Lu.

Happy Reading!

˜Megan

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I’d Want on a Deserted Island

Real quick, two things. 1. Thanks a lot The Broke and the Bookish for getting the Gilligan’s Island theme song stuck in my head. Yeah, I blame you. And, 2. Love the new look. So this week’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about books we would want with us if we here stuck on a deserted island. As I sat down to list the ten books that I would be happy to read over and over, I started to obsess about the deserted island thing. Why was I there? That would totally determine the ten books that I would just happen to have with me. I really can’t think of many scenarios that would have me carrying my favorites around. The more likely situation is that I am on a vacation that went horribly, horrible wrong. In which case, I would have ten books that I have been planning to read with me. So I am going with that scenario. My TTTs always highlight my favs, it’s time to ‘fess up about the books I keep meaning to read.

1. Across the Universe by Beth Revis.

2. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin. Everyone loved this one. It’s amazing, blah, blah, blah. I know. I just can’t read everything. It’s on the list.

3. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty. I own these for Pete’s sake!

4. Ashfall by Mike Mullin. I like the cover for the sequel better, but I have heard great things about this debut. I am totally going to read it. I swear.

5. Graceling by Kristin Cashore. I have been saying that I am going to read this book for years. Years, people. In fact, it may take getting stranded for me to actually get to this.

6. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. True confession time. I just bought the book on CD for the library so I could listen to it. I love my job 🙂 Look at the cover! A dragon!

7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I know.

8. Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. Been meaning to read this one. I actually bought it for my Nook, so maybe while I am on vacation next week…

9. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta. Again, heard good things…

10. The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey. And again…

There are a few non-YA books that I have been eyeballing for ages too. I might just happen to have an eleventh and twelfth book tucked away somewhere. That would totally be like me. They would probably be:

12 & 13. Outlander by Diane Gabaldon and The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma.

I would get so much reading done if I was stranded on an island!

Happy Reading!

˜Megan

Mondays With Megan *Insert Catchy Title Here* and What are You Reading?

The creative juices are just not flowing this morning. No catchy title for me, sorry! I had a nice relaxing weekend and got to enjoy what could be the last bit of nice warm weather here in Cleveland. On Friday I saw The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I read the book a couple of years ago and found it to be a bit…much. I mean, I enjoy an “issues” book (except for the cancer ones, those are too hard for me), but this one was overwhelming with the sheer number of issues. But that is not the point here. I liked the movie. I loved Emma Watson and Ezra Miller (what a cutie and great in Beware the Gonzo). The book translated well to the big screen-it was intense and moving and hopeful and I hope that the film’s target audience truly get the point. It does get better. Also, it made me a little nostalgic for the days of mixed tapes. Anyone else remember those?

On to the books! Time to check in with Book Journey and Teach Mentor Texts for It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

I am mostly still plugging away at the same things I was reading last week…

I was listening to Stay Close by Harlan Coben on Playaway, but about half way through the darn thing malfunctioned so I had to pick something new. I will probably go back and finish it eventually. It was just getting good too! Anyway, my new pick is This Is How by Augusten Burroughs.

I am also rereading Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld for my book club this week. I originally listened to this one and Alan Cumming was a brilliant reader, but I am actually liking the book better now that I am reading it myself. I love the illustrations so much.

I also read iZombie volumes 2 and 3 by Chris Roberson. The story has been moving at a snail’s pace, but things have finally picked up and really hooked me. Which means I am now back to waiting for vol. 4. At least I have the newest The Walking Dead waiting for me!

Happy Reading!

˜Megan

Top Ten Tuesday Freebie: Books That Surprised Me

Today the folks at The Broke and the Bookish have given us a freebie Top Ten Tuesday and it is totally taxing my poor brain. But then! Eureka! An idea! You know how you have your absolute favorite authors and you know that whatever they give you will be brilliant and perfect and pure bliss? I love that. But not every author can be that author. So as a reader, you have to take some risks. Try new things. Be open-minded. And sometimes things work out in the end and you discover a new favorite. That has happened to me a lot this year. Here are ten books that surprised me with their awesomeness. Not that I thought they would be bad. More like I was surprised by just how good they were. Make sense?

1. Mothership by Martin Leicht.  Hilarious. Totally off-the-wall goofy. I loved it.

2. My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. I will admit, I tried to nit-pick this debut romance. I don’t know why. But really, do you know any teenaged Nans? I don’t know what my problem is, but thankfully I had someone to talk me down from the ledge and convince me to just ignore all the little things I wanted to pick at. Thank you, my friend. This book was wonderful. It is sweet and charming and I read it in a day.

3. 11/22/63 by Stephen King. This is not your typical Stephen King horror story. This book is a masterpiece. I listened to the audio in my car. This bad boy was over 30 hours long and when it ended I wanted more.

4. Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt. This book was an emotional roller coaster. I only picked it up because of all the Newbery Award hubbub, not because I wanted to read a book about the new kid in town discovering the drawings of Audubon at the local library. Turns out that I love Doug Swieteck.

5. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly. This one came recommended by a coworker. Despite not really knowing much/being interested in The French Revolution, I gave it a go. Huzzah! Awesomeness. A welcome addition to my ever-expanding historical fiction list. You guys, I think I like HFIC!

6. Ashes by Ilsa Bick. I picked this up expecting just another crazy teen dystopian story.  It is so much more! My fingers are all twitchy waiting my turn for Shadows.

7. Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick. Here’s the deal with this one. It was on the chopping block, destined to be weeded from the library’s shelves, but I felt guilty just tossing it without knowing anything about it, so I took it home. I really loved it, in all it’s feel-good glory. Amber Appleton is totally rock-star and we should all be more like her.

8. Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King. You guys, John Green is not the only one who can do teen angst. This one is totally Printz Award worthy. Moving and suspenseful. Heartbreaking and heartwarming. Loved every minute of it.

9. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Ok, so everyone else knew that this one was amazing, but I was skeptical. In fact, I took it home, started it and abandoned it. I am so happy that I gave it a second chance on audio.

10. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater.  I had very strong and very negative feelings about a certain werewolf trilogy, so I was not even sure that I was going to read this one. Well, I am easily swayed by peer pressure very reasonable and willing to give people a second chance. Thank god. Man, this book is great!

So there you have it, my year of pleasant surprises.

Happy Reading!

˜Megan

 

Mondays With Megan-I Have Dragons On My Mind!

Happy Monday! My Hurricane Sandy clean-up is almost complete. Now, if I could just get a sunny, dry day to do some yard work…Waiting for things to dry out is a great excuse to read. Like I need an excuse to ignore housework in order to read…

I have finally made it to A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin, so you know that is just about the only thing I am reading. And thinking about. But I do have a few things to report, because it’s Monday and Book Journey and Teach Mentor Texts want to know what I am reading.

First a confession. I abandoned a book this week. I gave up on listening to A Wrinkle in Time, read by Madeleine L’Engle herself! I clearly remember loving this book as a kid. As an adult I found it to be a pretentious snooze-fest. Yikes! I gave it up so that I can continue to love it through child-like glasses (a distant cousin of both rose-colored glasses and the black sheep of the family, beer goggles). Meg Murray, I loved you once and will treasure your memory, but we don’t really need to keep in touch.

Finished:

 

Currently Reading:

Currently Listening To:

I am still of pace to meet my Goodreads goal, so I may try to sneak some more graphic novels in this week and Dragons is going much quicker than I had expected so I am still hopeful that I will make my goal. What are you working on this week?

Happy Reading!

˜Megan