Monday, June 3, 2013

June To Be Read Pile and A New Project

Ah, it was nice to have a couple of days off of blogging after the crazy that was Blog Everyday in May.

Speaking of, be sure you stop by Jenni's blog. She was the one who thought of the idea and created all of the prompts. Thanks for the great idea!

Although, here I am again. Back at the laptop and writing. In advance even! I'm writing this Sunday afternoon while watching Down With Love. Look at me, acting like one of the "cool" bloggers.

Anyways.

While blogging took up most of my time in May - so did something else.

A Storm of Swords  (the third Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire book). With over 1000 pages and drama galore, I was slightly consumed for the last few weeks in George RR Martin's world.

This means I didn't have much time to read much else. I need to catch up!

Here are some of my reading goals for June:



City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare, the fifth book in The Mortal Instruments Series.

Last year I began reading The Mortal Instruments  and I'm completely hooked. I love the combining of the fantasy/sci-fi world with modern New York and the twists she brings to werewolves and vampires. I have to say, after the third book I wasn't sure how much longer the series would go on- I thought it had wrapped up. I was wrong! (Thankfully.) A few months ago, all of the Mortal Instruments books as well as the spin off trilogy, The Infernal Devices, were on sale for a million percent off for Nook so I couldn't resist downloading all of them. Especially since the movie is coming out this year.

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs.

This is the second installment in the Mercy Thompson series (more werewolves and vampires, but not in NYC and she's a mechanic) and a friend of mine has been letting me borrow this book for forever. Its time I got going on it.



Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves.

The same friend is also letting me borrow this book. I have no idea what it's about. All I know is that my friend placed it in my hands and said "This book is... interesting. Read it and I want to hear what you think."

So... we'll see how that goes.


Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier.

This book is at the end of my list for "just in case I have extra time." It's been sitting on my self since January and I haven't been able to get started yet. It's about a girl who comes from a family of time travelers, and typically it skips a generation. But not in her case. This one should be fun and if I can't get to it in June I'll put it on my July list.

And now... for my newest reading project!

A while ago I randomly texted several of my close friends asking what their favorite book was and I've been making a list. I want to read my friends and family's favorite books. I've already read Thr3e by Ted Dekker (Ginny's request), and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (Steve's request). This month, I am tackling The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Matt, aka "G's" request).


I'm really excited about this project! I feel like you can learn a lot about a person based on their favorite book. Just like how you can learn about someone from their tastes in music, movies, and TV shows. Also, I can read books that maybe I normally wouldn't pick up.

I'd like to take your requests too! (Because you know, my to-be-read pile isn't big enough.) If you want me to read your favorite book, let me know. Here's some guidelines.

- This isn't a book recommendation list. I don't want a book you think I'll enjoy - I want YOUR favorite book. Now, if the book you tell me happens to be one that I would like, that's great. But don't pick according to my taste, pick according to your taste. See the difference?

- Choose a book that can stand alone. A bad example of what to recommend : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This book is wonderful, fantastic, etc. However- in order to appreciate it fully I would need to read all 7 Harry Potter books, or at least the three leading up to it.

- There can be sequels to the book you recommend or it can be connected to others, but still stand alone. A great example would be Interview with the Vampire. There are several Vampire Chronicle books and they are all connected, but each one can still stand alone. I can read Interview without having to read any others.

- It doesn't matter what genre. Fiction, non-fiction, childrens, young adult, historical, etc. Whatever!

I'm in the process of making a page for this project that you can link to so you can see what books are already on the list and the one's I've read.

If you want to read my favorite (stand alone) books, they are: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick.

You can also follow me on GoodReads to see where I am in all of my reading adventures.

What books are you working on this month?

Also- now that Google Reader really IS gone, I'm liking up with I <3 bloglovin="" help="" p="" to="" transition="" us="">

 

14 comments:

  1. I would normally suggest "Redeeming Love," as that is one of my absolute favorites, but I stalked your Goodreads and, as suspected, you've already read it.

    So my next recommendation is "The Flames of Rome" by Paul Maier. I read it in high school and absolutely loved it. Absurdly accurate historical fiction. 1st century Rome under Nero.

    Also, "Til We Have Faces" by C.S. Lewis. It's a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Soooo good.

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    1. I LOVE Redeeming Love!

      And I'll add those other two to my list. They sound really good!

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  2. I have so many many favorite books. A book that I have read at least once a year is "Jupiter's Travels" by Ted Simon. It is totally out of your genre choices, but very well written and I think very interesting, especially as he did the same trip 40 years later and wrote another book detailing the changes in the world "Dreaming of Jupiter". Other books that I have read many times and would be part of my top five favorites are: Worldwalk by Steven Newman; Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, and A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle. Sorry, no vampires or werewolves.....

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    1. As I said in the post- don't worry about what you assume is my typical genres. And while this month's TBR pile might tell you otherwise, I read more than just about vampires and werewolves. ;) Pride and Prejudice is one of my all time favorites!

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  3. I have a ton of favourites, but one that really stuck with me most recently was Me Before You by JoJo Moyes. I couldn't put it down, and I cried my eyes out! I've been wanting to read The Night Circus for a while so seeing that it's one of your favourites makes me want to even more!

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    1. Ah! Go read the Night Circus right now!!!!!!!

      And I'll add Me Before You to my list! Thanks!

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  4. I'm actually searching for a "feel good" book. Things have been a bit heavy and crazy with the school year ending, so I'm looking for a good summer book! Any suggestions?

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    1. Well, The Night Circus of course if you haven't read it yet. But the first one that popped into my head was one I read on the plan to and from Orlando in January. "Anna and the French Kiss" y It's a YA romance, but it is SO SO SO cute! It made me all smiley and happy.

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  5. There are 44 books on my Favorites list on Goodreads, so it's a little hard to narrow down, but I'm going to recommend The Time Traveler's Wife, which it doesn't look like you've read. If you want non-fiction, I recommend The Gift of Fear.

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    1. Haha I totally understand needing to narrow it down! I've heard a lot about The Time Traveler's Wife and have been meaning to read it. This just gives me more motivation!

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  6. Hi! Stopping by from the Monday Mingle!

    I'm a huge reader and it is so hard to narrow down favorites.. Life of Pi is amazing,so is The Kite Runner, The Poisionwood Bible, and a hundred others I cant think of at the moment...
    xo
    jaime
    livelovereno.com

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    1. I read Life of Pi a couple of months ago. Really good! I've heard a lot of good things about The Kite Runner and The Poisonwood Bible as well.

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  7. Well, my favorite book is Gone With the Wind, but your Goodreads shows that you've already read that! And also The Perks of Being a Wallflower. So I'm just picking a few that have 5 star ratings on my own GR account!

    -What Southern Women Know about Faith: Celebrating a Heritage of Grace and Strength by Ronda Rich
    -Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison

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    1. Haha. Looks like we have similar tastes! I read Gone With the Wind FOREVER ago and one of these days I should probably read it again. It's also my moms favorite book. :)

      I'll add the other two to my list though!

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