I'm Putting the Library on Hold

From the wonderful minds of The Emerald City Review and Lark Writes...On Books and Life

Details HERE |Start Date: 1/1/2015 | End Date: 1/31/2015

For one whole month (January 2015) I will ONLY be reading books that I already own. I will NOT be getting books from the library, or if I do I won't be reading them. I am always gathering piles and piles of books from the library to read and their ever looming due dates always make me lean towards reading them before my own. I am addicted to the library and it doesn't help that I work at one. Therefore, I hope that I can start the year off on the right foot by reading some of my own books from my TBR pile instead of just library books.

Without further ado... here are some of the books I own and still need/want to read. Perfect choices for this challenge.

1. The Arrivals by: Melissa Marr

2. The Burning Sky by: Sherry Thomas

3. Landry Park by: Bethany Hagen

4. Uninvited by: Sophie Jordan

5. Premeditated by: Josin L. McQuein

6. Torn Away by: Jennifer Brown

7. The 19th Wife by:David Ebershoff

8. Hemingway's Girl by: Erika Robuck

9. Legacy by: C.J. Daugherty

10. Undead With Benefits by: Jeff Hart

11. Every Breath by: Ellie Marney

12. American Gods by: Neil Gaiman

13. Hit by: Lorie Ann Grover

14. Compulsion by: Martina Boone

15. The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry by:Gabrielle Zevin

16. Blonde Ops by: Charlotte Bennardo, Natalie Zaman

17. The Accidental Assassin by: Nichole Chase

18. Withering Hope by: Layla Hagen

FINAL UPDATE

Put The Library on Hold was a success!!! I only read books that I already owned for the entire month of January. Although it was rather hard not to get books and read them from the library for a whole month, especially since I work at one, I don't regret participating in this challenge. I read nine of my own books that I have been meaning to read for some time. I feel accomplished. I think I shall be doing this every year. It was a good way to start of my 2015 bookish year.

It's a Book Life's First Ever Book Choice Awards - Best of 2014

There are a whole bunch of end of the year surveys and top ten lists going around that focuses on everyone's favorite reads of 2014. I decided to kind of do a combo of all of those and just like The Book Shimmy Awards and the Goodreads Choice Awards I kind of made my own awards... except the only person that voted on these books was me. So here is a look at my favorite reads of 2014. Did any of your favorites make the cut?

The Hype Was Well Deserved

The Best YA Romance

The Best YA Fantasy

The Biggest Surprise Twist

The Most Fun

The Beginning of Something Amazing

The Best Couple

The Best Series Finish

The Best Adult Fantasy

The Best Adult Book (All Genres Except Fantasy)

Best Cover Typography

The Most Charming Cover

The Best Use of Nature On a Cover

The Best Use of Characters On a Cover

The Best Cover Overall

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

TTT #30: Top Ten Books Santa Should Bring Me

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

I love this week's topic. Some of these books on my list were ones I actually put on my Christmas list to my parents and some of these are ones I just now thought of and wish I would have put on my list. I may have to do a Christmas loot post when I get back from vacation if I get enough bookish goodies to share with you all. *The titles are linked up to goodreads if you would like to find out more about each book.

The Young Adult Books I Would Advise Santa to Bring Me
1. Compulsion by Martina Boone sounds like a Gothic young adult novel I don't want to miss.
2. H20 (The Rain) by Virginia Bergin - What if rain was deadly? I want to know.
3. Every Breath by Ellie Marney - I must read this Sherlock book. 
4. So far I have only heard good things about Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay.
5. I'm too intrigued to pass up on reading Hit by Lorie Ann Grover.

The Adult Books Santa Should Really Bring Me
6. I need to read a Neil Gaiman book and since American Gods is the most read book in my state I'm going to start there.
7. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin is supposed to be incredibly good with the MC's love of books at its core.
8.  I fell in love with the hilarious Amy Poehler when I started watching Parks and Recreation. Now I can't wait to read her book Yes Please.

These Two Very Special Books Would Make Great Gifts... Just Saying.
9. I only own a not so pretty version of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and I would love to own the beautiful version below instead.
10. I would love to receive Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan for Christmas.

I would love to see what books are on your wish list this year so please share below. I hope you all have a Very Merry Bookish Christmas!

I Feel Like Gabbing Today

THIS POST WAS INSPIRED BY BOOKISH (AND NOT SO BOOKISH THOUGHTS) @BOOKISHLY BOISTEROUS

AND THOUGHTS FOR THURSDAY @THE QUIET CONCERT.

**I have no idea how often I will have this post or when exactly I'm going to post it. This is a work in progress. I do however know that I want to share my very random thoughts that pop into my head with you. Many are bookish thoughts and many are not. Sometimes these posts will be one topic and sometimes just a list of random ideas, who knows. This week it is a list. I feel like I don't have enough discussion type posts on the blog so I am giving this a whirl.

1. I had this really nasty cold two weeks ago that just wouldn't let up. It was very frustrating. I can finally say that after three whole weeks I am finally 100% better!

2. I yet again have a million reviews to write... and I'm just not.

3. I will be gone on vacation (to Colorado) for a few days this week to visit family for the holidays so I won't really be around blogging until next week. I'm sure I won't be the only person that is just a little busy this week.

4. Packing for a trip is fun and yet also frustrating.

5. I have so many half written blog posts for end of the year stuff... I really hope I can get it together and get them all up by the time I want them to be posted.

6. One of my very close book blogger friends, Nicole, sent me a surprise present in the mail for Christmas! Best. Surprise. Ever.

7. I hate when it takes me forever to read one book not because it is bad, but because for whatever reason I'm just not making time to read. I don't think it is a sign of a slump so much as just not being in the mood. Wait... is that the same thing? lol

8. I've been in a Christmas movie watching funk lately. I enjoyed the ones I watch every year, Love Actually and The Holiday, along with many others. Then I decided to give this Hallmark Christmas movie (A Very Merry Mix-Up) a chance... it was too corny, too blah, too unbelievable, and I couldn't stand the characters. I hate to say this but I actually regret watching this Christmas movie. I usually don't mind corny. I'm a big fan of the ABC Family Christmas movies, but this one just wasn't doing it for me. I was very disappointed.

9. I hope everyone has a wonderful (and hopefully bookish) holiday! :D

The Bookish Report

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness.Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

News

Thiswill make you smile.

I know we don't need any reasons, but this list of 15 reasons why books make the best gifts is funny and absolutely true.

This slideshow and information about Americans and their books is interesting.

Norman Bridwell, the creator of the Clifford The Big Red dogs books, has passed away. May he R.I.P.

Fellow Book Blogger Posts

Of Spectacles and Books - Age Differences in the Blogging World

The Quiet Concert - Bookish Gifts I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

A Novel Challengeis a life saver for all those out there trying to decide which reading/book challenges you want to participate in next year.

I Can't Wait

I'm Confused

Review: Through the Woods by: Emily Carroll

Through the Woods by: Emily Carroll
208 pages
Genre: Graphic Novel/Horror
Publisher:Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: The Library
Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: 'It came from the woods. Most strange things do.'

Five mysterious, spine-tingling stories follow journeys into (and out of?) the eerie abyss.
These chilling tales spring from the macabre imagination of acclaimed and award-winning comic creator Emily Carroll.

Come take a walk in the woods and see what awaits you there...

My Review

Are you looking for something dark to read? How about creepy? What about some fairy tales that are pure frightening?

Through the Woods is really my first dabble into the world of graphic novels, and it won't be my last. I heard a lot of good things about Emily Carroll so I gave Through the Woods a chance. I'm sure glad I didn't read this right before bed.

The Graphics
Holy crap. I was blown away by the vivid images and wonderful use of color in Through The Woods. It wasn't necessarily the stories that just creeped me out, but the pure eerieness of the drawings.

The Stories
I can't say I will be forgetting them any time soon. They put me on edge, exactly what I think they were supposed to do. These stories are not for the faint of heart, they are very dark tales. One of my favorite things about the stories were their endings, they were written so you had to draw your own spine tingling conclusions.

The Bottom Line
Give this one a try. It won't take but a short amount of time to read, but you will be scared all the same. I don't usually like to be scared, but I sure did enjoy Through the Woods. I will be giving graphic novels more of a chance in the future. I don't think they will ever be my book of choice, but it is nice to change it up here and there. Not to mention that the short read boosts my goodreads challenge count. ;)

The Outlander Series 2015 Reading Challenge Details & Sign Up

Why am I hosting this challenge?
A while ago I read the first book in this series and never got around to reading the rest. Then I watched the television show this past year and realized that I wanted to read this series now more than ever. Therefore, I decided to challenge myself to finally read all eight Outlander books by Diana Gabaldon, and I didn't want to do it alone. I really couldn't find any other challenges out there this specific so I decided to create one. (I know this is kind of like a read-a-long but these books are so big I feel like it is more of a challenge.) **This is my first time hosting a challenge so hang in there.

Who can join?
Anyone and everyone is welcome to join the challenge. It doesn't matter if you have read the books before and just want to re-read them or if this is your first time digging in.

How long does this challenge last?
The challenge runs from Feb. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2015.Why those months? Those months seem to be the least hectic for everyone. Also, I wanted to aim for reading a book a month.

The Reading Schedule (The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon in Order)
February - Outlander
March - Dragonfly in Ember
April - Voyager
May - Drums of Autumn
June -The Fiery Cross
July - A Breathe of Snow and Ashes
August - An Echo in the Bone
September - Written in My Own Hearts Blood
** If you get behind or ahead in the reading schedule that is totally fine. The goal is just to read all eight books by the end of September.
Bonus Reads
The Exile - A Graphic Novel
Lord John Grey Series
- Lord John and the Private Matter
- Lord John and the Hand of Devils
- Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
- Scottish Prisoner

Will there be a giveaway?
If at least 10 lovely people sign up for this challenge I will host a giveaway at the end as a reward for all of those who participated, whether you read one or all eight books. There will be a chance for extra entries if you read any of the bonus books on this list.

How do you keep track and share what you have read?
Head on over to the review link up post (COMING SOON!) to share your reviews on the books! If you don't have a blog you can always just post a link to your review on goodreads or simply share in the comments what book you finished reading and what you thought.

How do you join?
Sign up below with the linky anytime! All you have to do is share the link to the blog post, twitter, goodreads shelf, or whatever way you want, stating that you are going to participate in the challenge. Please link back to this page so others can join the challenge as well and see what it is all about. Feel free to use the challenge banner below in your post.

Sign Up Here!!!

Do you have any more questions?
Ask away in the comments below!

Holiday Review: My True Love Gave to Me

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by: Various Authors (Oct. 2014)

320 pages

Genre: Holiday/Romance/Cheer

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Source: The library.

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon

Goodreads Summary: If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: TWELVE HOLIDAY STORIES by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins.

My Review

If you are in the mood for a holiday read I suggest you give My True Love Gave to Me a chance. It contains 12 charming stories written by some of everyone's favorite young adult authors. It was too difficult to summarize the book as a whole so I'm going to break it down into 12 very tiny reviews. Here is the list of the stories and their authors along with each story’s individual star rating.

Midnights by: Rainbow Rowell – Full of Rowell adorableness, this story is all about love on New Year’s Eve. (5 stars)

The Lady and The Fox by: Kelly Link – This is a mysterious folklore type story full of snow and Christmas. (3 stars)

Angels In The Snow by: Matt De La Pena – I deem this to be the one that left me the most unsatisfied. (4 stars)

Polaris is Where You’ll Find Me by: Jenny Han – I want more! This story was cute, funny, and unique. (4 stars)

It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by: Stephanie Perkins – This was all smiles. I loved the characters. Perkins didn’t disappoint. (5 stars)

Your Temporary Santa by: David Levithan – A much deeper/emotional read, but still funny. (4 stars)

Krampuslauf by: Holly Black – Almost a little too weird for me, but it was still good. (3 stars)

What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth?by: Gayle Forman – Downright heartwarming and fun. (5 stars)

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by: Myra McEntire – This was a very basic and typical holiday story. (3 stars)

Welcome to Christmas, CA by: Kiersten White – This could be a Hallmark Christmas movie and I would love it. This embodies Christmas Spirit, just look at the title! (4 stars)

Star of Bethlehem by: Ally Carter – I give this one points for being different, but take away points for being a tiny bit boring. (4 stars)

The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer by: Laini Taylor – This was a good way to end the book, full of hope and uniqueness. (5 stars)

The Bottom Line: This is a wonderful read that will get you in the holiday spirit. I'm not a big reader of short stories, but I had no issue enjoying these.

The Bookish Report

Here are all of the top bookish stories, blog posts, pictures, and videos I found this past week. I put this post up every Sunday so come back again next week for more bookish awesomeness.Click away and enjoy your Sunday!

News

The Book Shimmy Awards has announced its winners! Goodreads also announced the final winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards!

Need help finding the perfect book for your sister, friend, mom, significant other, neighbor or anyone else on your gift buying list? The Penguin Hotline can help you with that.

James Patterson created a petition for President Obama as part of the #SaveOurBooks campaign. It's a really cool idea!

Who hasn't damaged a paperback book before? When I was a kid I was guilty of a lot of these and wish I would have had this helpful list.

Fellow Book Blogger Posts

The Novel Hermit - Holiday Gifts for Typography Lovers- I want them all.

The Book Addict's Guide - Holiday Gift Guide for Book Addicts- Again, I want them all.

The Perpetual Page Turner.- 5th Annual End of Year Book Survey 2014- I figured you may want to know about this. I usually participate, but I have a little something different in the works this year.

Reviews from a Bookworm - Paperback vs. Hardback- Both.

The Quiet Concert - What Are Your Book Preferences?- Love this topic. I am in the take off the book jacket club.

Caffenated Book Reviewer - 21 Gadgets and Apps for Book Lovers - I gotta try these!

True & Funny Photo

Review: Pretending Hearts by: Heather Topham Wood

Pretending Hearts (Falling for Autumn #2) by: Heather Topham Wood (Nov. 2014)

218 e-book pages

Genre: Romance/New Adult

Source: I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Heather!

Purchase: Amazon| Barnes and Noble

Goodreads Summary: Delia Bridges is done living in the shadows cast by her ex-convict father and her football star brother. Attending Cook University will finally give her the chance to be her own person and hopefully find love at the same time. When she meets Wyatt Johnston, she knows immediately he’s the one.

Wyatt fulfills all of Delia’s requirements for the perfect man: he’s rich, handsome, and a talented forward for Cook’s soccer team. However, Wyatt turns out not to be the man she thought. When he dumps her and simultaneously ruins her reputation, she has to start over once again.

Levi Caldwell has every quality Delia doesn’t want in a boyfriend. He has no money, works for the maintenance staff at Cook, and has no problem sharing his judgmental opinions about how Delia is living her life. Despite her growing attraction for the tattooed drummer, Delia tries to avoid Levi. But when a new crisis threatens to destroy all she has rebuilt, she finds Levi is the only person she can trust.

***Standalone New Adult Romance-Ages 17+ Due to Strong Language and Sexual Situations***

My Review

Pretending Hearts is the first novel I’ve read by Wood that wasn’t part of her Second Sight series. I don't know why I waited so long to read more of her books. Pretending Hearts turned out to be precisely what I needed to read while I was stuck inside on a cold winter day.While reading Pretending Hearts I could see that Wood has grown as an author since her first books, thus making me only that much more excited to read all of her books at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later.

I do want to state that I did not read the first book, Falling for Autumn, before reading this one. This didn’t affect me at all since Pretending Hearts can be read as a stand-alone novel. With that being said, I do plan on going back and reading the first one because I enjoyed this book a great deal and want to read Blake and Autumn’s story for myself.

Pretending Hearts read like a real life college story, and I liked that. I felt like I was back at college. It’s always nice to reminisce now and again.

Delia, the main character, may not begin as my favorite character, but she warmed up to me. She is a little frustrating at first and kind of childish, but she does have some nice character development so I didn’t have to worry about those unlikable qualities the whole time I was reading. As for Delia's first love interest, I didn’t like Wyatt at all. I knew right away he was going to be bad news, and this kept me from becoming invested in the book until a handful of chapters later when we meet Levi. I did LOVE Levi right away. He is a genuine nice guy (also very attractive and a drummer) and I really think Delia deserves him. Not to mention that since she makes Levi happy as well I feel like the relationship is well rounded, if that makes sense. I liked their chemistry and would even read another book just about them. Not only do they have their cute moments, but they have their steamy moments as well.

Although this book had a more depressing plot line full of adult responsibilities and harsh gossip among other things, there were still some light-hearted moments that made me laugh. One more thing that I also think it is important to tell you about this book is that there was the perfect amount of drama. A lot of times new adult romances have way too much drama in them, but I don’t think that line was crossed in this instance.

Pretending Hearts is a quick and enjoyable read. It is a semi-typical new adult novel, but with a romance I actually cared about and a good group of minor characters I thought it was very good.

Library Loot #28

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire fromThe Captive Readerand Linda fromSilly Little Mischiefthat encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

** I didn't get any books from the library last month! What a shame. NaNoWriMo took over my life. BUT I recently grabbed a few books after one of my shifts and I'm glad I did.

My Library Loot

1. I now have all three of these books from the library and I'm ready to read them!

2. One more holiday read for when the mood hits me.

3. I'm willing to give this stand-alone novel a chance.

4. & 5. My (non-holiday) adult picks this trip.

6. I can never say no to a book with a MC who has memory loss.

TTT #29 - Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

I may have went a little crazy with this week's topic. Here are my top ten 15 books I'm looking forward to in 2015. It's going to be a good bookish year.

1.Untitled (Throne of Glass #4) by: Sarah J. Maas

2. Salt & Stone by: Victoria Scott

3. Half Wild by: Sally Green
4. The Winner's Crime by: Marie Rutkoski

5. Invaded by: Melissa Landers

6. The Sword of Summer by: Rick Riordan

7. The Fill-In Boyfriend by: Kasie West

8. A Court of Thorns and Roses by: Sarah J. Maas

9. A Darker Shade of Magic by: V.E. Schwab

10. Royal Wedding: A Princess Diaries Novel by: Meg Cabot

11. The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by: Stephanie Oakes

12. An Ember in the Ashes by: Sabaa Tahir
13.Things We Know by Heart by: Jessi Kirby
14. Seriously Wicked by: Tina Connolly
15. Hold Me Like a Breath by: Tiffany Schmidt

What books are you looking forward to in 2015? Tell me in the comments below!