top ten books i've read so far in 2015

Happy Tuesday, all! Today I'm preparing for a bit of a fail, since I honestly don't think I've read ten books yet this year that I've loved. Might have something to do with the fact that I've been super busy since I got out of school  a couple months ago, but maybe I've just had bad luck. We'll see how many we can get to! As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. 

out of the loop

I feel like as a book blogger, I need to be in on all these series and even standalones that are so famous throughout the world of YA. The ones that everyone else has read and obsessed over forever, the ones that are quite literally impossible to avoid in any book-related environment. This summer I'm planning on doing a lot of reading, and my goal is to get caught up on all (or most) of the hyped books and authors I've been out of the loop about for so long! Obviously, there's a lot more to read than I'm putting on this little list, but here's just a taste of what I'm missing out on.

on movie covers

Hi all! Today I'm going to be sharing with you a little anecdote from my own life, and we'll see where it goes from there.

So, as I've mentioned before, I am part of a small book club that reads a different book each month (as book clubs do). The book we're currently reading is Jesse Andrews' Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, which is also currently in theatres. The other day, my friend Gini texts me saying that she got a copy of the book and was about to start reading it. All is well.

bbbreadathon update #1

Hey guys, so I figured it was time for a little bit of an update. We're two days into the readathon and so far, I've completed one book and am about 50 pages into my second. Off to a good start! 

Last night, I finished Extraordinary Means and I have to say, Robyn Schneider knows what's up. I loved her other book (The Beginning of Everything, if you weren't aware), and so far she's 2 for 2 with me. A full review will follow because I just have too many feelings to squish into this tiny blog post. 

I also started reading Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass, and I swear I got to page 34 and promptly went to the Chapters website and ordered every other book by her. I kid you not. It's going to be a struggle to tear myself away from the series in order to complete the readathon, if we're being honest! 

Well, that's all for today! I'll keep doing updates every couple of days or so until July 5, so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Also, if you're reading this and you happen to be the two lovely ladies who stopped by my work today, hi! 

Have a great day, everyone. :) 

my ten favourite top ten tuesday topics from the last 5 years

Hi all, and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! If you're familiar with the world of book blogging, I'm sure you know what this is all about - for those of you who are new, Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish every week. Now, this week is a special one because it's the 5th anniversary of Top Ten Tuesday! So, in celebration, we're going to be talking about our favourite topics from the last 5 years. 

Just a disclaimer: I haven't been blogging for very long at all and I'm pretty sure that this is actually my tenth time doing Top Ten Tuesday. So, I'm just going through their list of past topics and picking the ones that look most fun to me. In no particular order. :) 

1. Top Ten Favourite Book Quotes

2. Top Ten WOW Endings

3. Top Ten Most Frustrating Characters

4. Top Ten Best/Worst Movie Adaptations 

5. Top Ten Books I HAD to Buy But Still Haven't Read

6. Top Ten Characters I Would Crush on if I Were Also a Fictional Character

7. Top Ten Best Bookish Memories

8. Top Ten Minor Characters

9. Top Ten Fictional BFFs

10. Top Ten Books I'd Quickly Save if My House Was Going to be Abducted by Aliens (or any other natural disaster) 

I'm kind of considering doing these ones sporadically over the next little while, or at least a couple of them. They just look so fun! Could be a good idea for the times when I want to write but have no ideas. What do you guys think? 

#bbbreadathon tbr!

Hi, guys! So this summer, I've decided that one of my goals is going to be to read. A lot. Like, an obscure amount. Like, hey-psycho-get-your-nose-out-of-that-book-for-five-seconds-so-I-can-look-into-your-eyes. 

That much. 

Naturally, a good way to get a lot of books off the tbr pile is to take part in a readathon, which is what this is going to be all about. So, the Bookish Beauties Book Club, also known as bbbgirlies on Instagram, is hosting a readathon from June 25 to July 5. Hopefully a few of you guys will participate as well! Here are the categories, and my tbr:

1. Book that's been on your tbr for a year.

2. Book where the first letter of the main character's name is the same as yours.

3. Standalone you've been iffy about.

4. Book from your least read genre.

5. Book from an author you've never read.

6. A book that's your favourite colour.

Clearly, this is also going to be an awesome opportunity to get caught up on a ton of hyped books that I haven't read yet. Are you guys going to be participating in the readathon? What's on your tbr?

Talk to you soon! 

waiting on wednesday - everything, everything

Happy Wednesday, all! Today is going to be my first Waiting on Wednesday in almost a year. As you probably know, it's a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, and it's all about the books we just can't wait to get our paws on. This week, my pick is.... 

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon 

307 pages

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Publication date: September 1, 2015 

from Goodreads: 

This innovative, heartfelt debut novel tells the story of a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world. When a new family moves in next door, she begins a complicated romance that challenges everything she’s ever known. The narrative unfolds via vignettes, diary entries, texts, charts, lists, illustrations, and more.
My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.
But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.
Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Why I'm Waiting: 

It's not too often I get this excited about a debut release, but the premise for this one just sounds astounding. I know the whole "YA romance, one or both of them have some crazy disease" thing is a little overplayed at this point, but I've never read anything about this particular disease. I'm fascinated to see what the author does with it - not only how she approaches the romance aspect of it, but how she deals with the actual disease itself, its effects on the protagonist's mindset and all that cool stuff. And judging from the reviews of ARCs I've seen so far, it's going to be a good one! 

What are you anticipating in the coming months? Sound off in the comments! 

book club babble #1: aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe

Hello all, and welcome to the first instalment of book club babble! If you didn't see my last post, I briefly introduced you to the tiny book club I'm a part of, and now I'm back to discuss the book, as you do. What I forgot to mention in the last post was the journal the three of us are using as a sort of guide to our reading and discussion - Well-Read Women: A Reader's Journal. It really is a gorgeous little book and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes to keep track of their thoughts and favourite quotes while reading. 

Our first read was the highly acclaimed Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. If you haven't heard of this book, here's the synopsis from Goodreads: 

Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

new series | book club babble

Hi all! 

So, recently I, along with two of my best friends,  have embarked on a magnificent and wondrous journey: a book club. Granted, it probably is the tiniest book club in the world, but I love it. Each month, we collaboratively choose a book to read and do so at our own pace. So far we've all completed one book and are working through the second. 

My goal here is to start a new kind of series on this blog, tentatively titled book club babble because how adorable is that? Basically, this is just my chance to revisit my thoughts for each of the books we've read and share them with anyone who is interested. One of the other members of the book club, Gini, also has a blog where she will be doing similar monthly updates on what we're reading. 

My first post/review on our first group read will be coming up very shortly, so keep your eyes peeled!