Top 20 Reads of 2013

Those of us on the west coast are still waiting for 2014 to ring in. And as I wait, I will quickly finish up this post I've been meaning to put up for the past several days. Let's hope next year involves less procrastination, yeah?

If you read my very-detailed post on everything I read in 2013, then you'll remember that I read nearly 130 books. Because of this relativity large quantity, I'm allowing 20 books to be chosen in this list of Favorite Reads of 2013.

Some notes on this post before I dive in:

• only new reads of 2013 will be included (this will keep all-time favorites from reappearing on every list)
• favorites will be split into categories based on genre
• other than the genre categories, the list is completely at random (i.e. I don't want to make the difficult decision of listing in any other order)

I love making lists such as these. So I hope you enjoy.


**all book cover photos are courtesty of Goodreads

2014 Book Releases I'm Excited For

While I love reading classics alongside tried-and-true favorites, it's always enjoyable to keep up with what's new in the book world. So rather than do what I did last year and provide a dry list of books I want to read in the upcoming year, I'm going to list new 2014 book releases that I'm excited for.

Some of the following books are sequels to ones I haven't even read the first installments of. That aside, sometimes I like putting off books until the release date of its sequel is nearer so I don't have to wait. So, in my mind, it's still exciting to remember these dates.

As I'm aware I have the tendency to ramble on, I'll stop here.

Links are provided (as usual). All photos are courtesy of Goodreads. Some books I mention don't have their covers and/or titles released yet.

And finally, here is my list of most highly anticipated book releases of 2014, ordered by release dates.

Book Haul: June 2013

I love book hauls, don't you? The feeling of a new book joining the family. The crisp clean pages and fingerprint-less covers. It's a beautiful thing.

 The library has been a great resource lately,
which has fortunately been subduing my need for purchasing new books. However, if I come across a book I know I'll want to own, the book hoarder in me prefers to purchase it immediately.

As usual, this months haul is filled with books I see myself wanting to read in the future (whether near or far).

 I'll do my usual thing of stating where I bought each and why I chose to purchase these specific books.

Now let's get into the haul.

I included a cover shot of the entire haul so you could get a look at all the pretty covers.

Ruby Oliver Quartet: A Book Series Review

This review contains NO SPOILERS. Enjoy! (:

Today I have for you my first series book review for E. Lockhart's Ruby Oliver Series.
I believe that I first heard about this series through John Green. He mentioned in passing, either in a video, on twitter, or someone other way in which I follow that man. I added it to my "saved items" in my Amazon cart, and there it sat for probably 6+ months. I finally bought it near the beginning of 2013 and read each subsequent book in the series in the following months.

Series: Ruby Oliver Series
Author: E. Lockhart
Book #1: The Boyfriend List
Book #2: The Boy Book
Book #3: The Treasure Map of Boys
Book #4: Real Live Boyfriends
Genre: YA Contemporary/Chick-Lit
Published: 2005-2009
Link: Goodreads








Here's the formatting of this review:

1. Introductory Comments
2. Mini reviews for each book (all spoiler-free)
3. Book standings
4. Final verdict

So, without further ado, let's get on with this review.

Book Haul: May 2013

If you read my April Reading Update and remember how I said I would go all of May without purchasing a book, you're probably wondering why I'm posting a haul.

All these books listed are books I purchased within the last week (to week and a half) of April. However, as online purchases usually go, some orders took a while to arrive at my doorstep.

Some purchases are still not scheduled to arrive for a few weeks. But I figured I'd get on with the haul anyway since a significant percentage of them have showed up and I am eager to dive in.

Judging by the pile you can see why I am trying to go all of May without any new purchases (aside from one new release that would only be painful to put off). I have a book buying problem.

Like I did with my April Book Haul, I'll include a photos of the books so you can see their covers as well. I recommend enlarging the photo since there was quite a large number of books to fit in one photo...

April 2013 Reading Update

Hi everyone.
Another month gone by, another pile of books read.

I always enjoy drawing some sort of theme with monthly reads, but I can't think of much for April.

I did read two books with two individual friends in the book club spirit (a first for me). I've never imagined being able to be part of a book club since my reading can be rather spontaneous and random depending on my mood, but that experience was rather enjoyable. So maybe a theme about sharing experiences...or....yeah I got nothing. Let's just get on with the update.

As usual, I'll list the books in the order finished, followed by my reaction and links if you're interested to learn more. Enjoy!

March 2013 Reading Update

March was another good month for books. I found I had more free time to read than February, and got to make it through many books. My overall reading list remains infinite, but I'm happy with my progress. Every month should be like this.

If February was the month of new beginnings, I'm not quite sure what March is. I continued 3 series (Gone, Delirium, Ruby Oliver), and returned to adored authors (Austen, Green, Valente). Maybe it'll be the month of comfort and familiarity.
Instead of new beginnings it's like an old friend.

As usual, I'll list the books in the order finished, followed by a few sentences on my feelings toward each book. I won't summarize all of them, since that will take up a lot of time. So, instead, I provided links for you to read the summaries yourself in you're interested.

And without further ado, here is my reading update for March!

Fly On the Wall: A Book Review

This book review contains NO SPOILERS. Enjoy! (:

Today's book review is for a book I discovered while reading E. Lockhart's The Boy Book, the second installment in the Ruby Oliver Quartet. I got to the end and saw the cover for Fly On the Wall (the cover depicted below), with the headline that this was a "hilarious novel." I like hilarious novels. I turned the page, and as if I wasn't already sold from the comic-book style drawn cover and the notion of the book's hilarity, there was a blurb written by John Green on the following page essentially saying that the novel was brilliant, smart, hilarious, and amazing. I like hilarious novels. I trust John's opinion on books. Why not? So I picked up my copy (unfortunately I didn't get a copy with the same cover, but I was looking to buy the cheapest copy from the cheapest seller and didn't have room to be picky). Keep reading for my thoughts and see how it met my high expectations!

(photo source)

Title: Fly On the Wall
Author: E. Lockhart
Genre: YA (w/ a slight hint of fantasy)
Pages: 192
Release date: November 13, 2007
Links: Amazon | Goodreads





"I don't have a social life. I've got to have reading material." -Gretchen Yee










Back-cover description: 

"At the Manhattan High School for the Arts, where everyone is "different" and everyone is "special," Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. She's the kind of girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of Spider-Man, so that she won't have to talk to anyone; who has a crush on Titus but won't do anything about it; who has no one to hang out with when her best (and only real) friend, Katya, is busy.

One day, Gretchen wishes that she could be a fly on the wall in the boys' locker room-just to learn more about guys. What are they really like? What do they really talk about? Are they really cretins most of the time?

Fly on the Wall is the story of how that wish comes true. "

January 2013 Reading Update

Hey everyone!

I originally noted in my 2013 Reading List post that I would do quarterly reading updates, but as you can guess from the title of this post, I decided to change it to monthly. My decision to do this stemmed primarily from the desire to proclaim a "favorite book of the month." I found that I was reading at a decent pace and came to the conclusion that if I didn't update until the end of March, it would be difficult to give a fair amount of the books any spotlight. Even doing weekly book reviews can't accommodate for all the books I want to talk about. So, without further ado, I want to get into what books I read in January, which book was my favorite, and possibly some books that I wanted to add onto my reading list.

This post would turn into a painfully long read if I tried to do a mini-review on every book so I'll allow myself a maximum of 4 sentences on each.

Also, I won't be posting full book reviews on all these books (simply because there are still so many books I read last year that I want to do reviews for as well), so as you're reading through this post, if you come across a book you would like me to do a complete review on, then request it and it shall be done!

And without further ado, here are the books I have read so far in January 2013, in the order completed: