Tag Archives: top-ten-tuesday

Oct

Top Ten Tuesday – October 9, 2012: Top Ten Villains

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish!

This Week’s Topic is: a Top Ten Tuesday rewind!! So I went all the way back to 11/16/10 so I could talk about…. Villains/Criminals/and other Nasties!

Halloween is coming up (shamless plug for the Halloween event that Alyssa (Books Take You Places) and I are planning and want YOU to take part in…) and I want to go back through and talk about my favorite villains. Villains make for great Halloween costumes and go along with the perfectly wicked Halloween theme. Here are my choices (in no particular order):

1. Professor Severus Snape from the Harry Potter series: I have a love/hate relationship with Snape. He’s a great villain mostly because as the series progresses, he grows more and more dynamic and we see the good AND the bad side of him. Snape’s got sass and snark! Plus, Snape is mean with a vendetta, but not really malicious. Although this list is in no particular order, I still think Snape is my number one villain!

2. Prince Humperdinck from The Princess Bride: Oh Prince Humperdinck. You down-low dirty dog, you. Humperdinck is an EASY villain to hate. He’s a liar. A cheat. A con man. A murderer. He wants to marry the most beautiful girl in the world just so he can kill her – in order to start a war. What is with this guy? I’m saying antisocial personality disorder. I was also tipped off by the creepy-ass zoo that he keeps in the dungeon (yeah, that’s the book, not the movie. Go read it!!!!)

3. Housemaster Vaughn from the Chemical Garden trilogy: I don’t know why but this guy just creeps. me. out. I’m sure for most, he’s probably not one of the worst villains out there. For me? Totally. It was a combination of mad scientist, skeevy old guy, and sadistic prison guard. *shiver* He’s old-guy skeeving on Rhine like he’s nice but kind of hitting on her at the same time, and oh wait, we also want to dissect her body too! Ew.

4. The baddies in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Okay, if you’re one of the people who hasn’t read the book, just in case, I won’t spoil the end for you – but it’s no secret that the villains in this book are more than just villains. They’re MESSED. UP. The book was so good, but so bad at the same time – I loved it, but it was kind of like watching a horrible accident or something. I was horrified, but I couldn’t stop wanting and needing to know more. But don’t let the popular ratings fool you – It’s no feel-good book. There are some sick, sick sickos in this series.

5. “The Authority/Society” from any dystopian: One thing I love about dystopians is putting myself in a future world. The other thing is the classic story of hero/heroine vs the authority. It’s one of those things that are impossible to get away from. It’s all around you. All the time. And generally these are the people who have the power to track you down and make sure you succumb. Creepy.

6. Prentisstown in The Knife of Never Letting Go: Now, I’ve only finished the first book in this series so this is all I know so far, but man, those guys are creepy. There’s always something just off enough that you know something’s up but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Obviously these secrets are revealed later in the book (no spoilers), but I couldn’t help but just be freaked out by this weird town the whole book! Definitely creepy…… Especially Aaron.

7. President Snow from The Hunger Games series: Another seriously creepy old man/authority figure (do I have a problem with old people and/or authority? Maybe I do……) and why does he always use roses to cover up the fact that he smells like blood? And his mouth smells like blood. What is he doing?! Even though it’s not the case, I had the smallest thought of cannibalism which it the worst possible idea to pop into my head, and then I couldn’t shake it.

8. King Randa & King Leck from Graceling: Ugh, what creeps. I hate when villains make the characters do something totally against their will or blackmail. Ew. Not all of the kings are bad or corrupt in Graceling, but apparently a fair few of them are.

9. Dexter Morgan from the Dexter series: Okay, so I confess. I only read the first book in the actual series of books. It was too similar to the TV show (which I had already seen) and I was bored reading the book. Ahh, I hate to say it, but it’s true. Anyway, from what I know of the show, I love Dexter. This is one of the only times I’ve actually rooted for the bad guy! How did they do that? How did they make a serial loveable?

10. Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter series: I just had to include Bellatrix, and Helena Bonham Carter nailed this role in the movies! She’s bad and just deranged. I love it!

Okay, so those are my choices for my top villains. That was actually harder than I thought!

Like I mentioned above, Alyssa and I are putting together this series of Halloween posts starting probably next week sometime and ending on Halloween day. We want YOU guys to help us out. It’s not just us putting up the posts, but we’re sharing anything and everything we can collect from our fellow blogger friends and we’re putting in your thoughts, quotes, and opinions. Send us your favorite Halloween movies, TV episodes, villains; any real ghost stories you’ve experienced, creepy places you’ve been, true facts about Halloween, favorite villains, even guest posts if you have a great story or Halloween event – and of course, any Halloween related book reviews! Either leave me a comment or better yet, send me an email with your Halloween-related ideas! I can be reached at bookaddictsguide(at)gmail(dot)com. We look forward to your contributions!!!

Sep

Top Ten Tuesday – September 25, 2012: Top Ten Series I Haven’t Finished

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish!

This Week’s Topic is: Top Ten Series I Haven’t Finished (because either you didn’t like them, you just have procrastinated, etc.)

Yes! Okay, this is a great topic. Let’s talk about this – And once again, I’m cheating. Separated by reasons I haven’t finished:

I haven’t finished this series because… I love it and I’m stretching it out:

1. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich: I actually only started this series recently – during the great Groundhog’s Day blizzard in Chicago in 2011 – and I own the whole series (except for the one that JUST came out (because I own them all in paperback and I have to wait to buy that one so they’ll all be the same)) but I’m afraid once I catch up, it’ll leave a whole in my heart and then I’ll have to wait for more Stephanie, or God forbid the day when the series ends for good! Nope. I’m spacing them out. I think #14 is up next.

2. The In Death series by J.D. Robb: Okay, so there are TONS of books in this series. I have no idea how many by now, but I know it’s over 20, maybe even over 30? I’ve liked each and every one (some more than others), but I’m spacing them out in between my other reads because I’m in no hurry to catch up! The books are in the future so it’ll never be outdated 🙂

3. The Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampires series by Charlaine Harris: Just taking my time! I’m actually kind of reading them as the TV series comes out, unintentionally. It doesn’t really matter either way because it’s not like they’re even related anymore!

I haven’t finished this series because… I’m waiting for the rest to be published… ANXIOUSLY:

1. The Delirium trilogy by Lauren Oliver: Holy cow. After Pandemonium, I do NOT want to wait for Requiem to come out! But… Of course, I have to! I was in awe from Delirium and the ending of Pandemonium really just leads us right into the last book of the series.

2. The Chemical Garden trilogy by Lauren DeStefano: I’m not AS anxiously waiting for Sever, but I am still very excited for it! I really loved Wither and although Fever was a little less than what I’d hoped, I’m really looking forward to the last book to come out!

3. The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth: Okay, so I haven’t read Insurgent yet… But I can still anticipate the third book, right?

I haven’t finished this series because… I’m behind the times and I just started it!

1. The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead: I just finished book 3 (Shadow Kiss) and I am QUITE loving this series! I’m trying to catch up on it because I’m so wrapped up in it!!

2. The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness: Just finished the FIRST book in this series and it was so interesting!! I’ve heard that the second book is the best out of the three so I’m really excited to pick it up.

3. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare: I’ve only read book 1 so far and was mildly disappointed with it. I think I expected a lot more, but now that the world is established, I’m really hoping the story line will pick up in the following books.

4. The Maze Runner series by James Dashner: I’m actually reading the third book right now and I’ll get around to the prequel sometime eventually!

I haven’t finished this series because… I lost interest…

1. The Hannah Swensen mysteries by Joanne Fluke: I think I stopped on book 7 or 8 when the love triangle from book 1 STILL hadn’t resolved even a little bit. No progress at all. And I heard that it still doesn’t go anywhere in the rest of the books that are published. Sadly, I just couldn’t take it anymore.

2. The Jane Kelly mysteries by Nancy Bush: I accidentally read these out of order and read the second one first and the first one second (confused yet?). I actually really ended up liking the second book and so I grabbed the first to catch up and was just totally bored! I decided not to continue on.

3. The Wollie Shelley mystery series by Harley Jane Kozak: The first book was super cute and fun, but the second was just totally unrelated and not as interesting. I gave up on it fairly quickly since I had a growing pile of TBRs!

I haven’t finished this series because… I just didn’t care for the first book…

1. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi: Due to popular demand, I MAY try this one again, but I was in no good place to read it the first time around. We’ll see if maybe my opinion will change the second time around.

2. Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden: I don’t know why but this book just never really got going for me. I felt kind of lost throughout the whole thing and the exciting parts just weren’t that exciting. I was a little disappointed!

Okay, that’s WAY more than 10. So…. oops?

Sep

Top Ten Tuesday – September 18, 2012: Top Ten Bookish People I Want To Meet

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish!

This Week’s Topic is: Top Ten Bookish People You Want To Meet (Authors, Bloggers, etc.)

JUST TEN!? You have to be crazy. There are way more people I want to meet than just ten. So I’m going to cheat AGAIN and take 10 bloggers AND 10 authors.

Oh, and let’s have a great big blogger convention/party. Yes?

BLOGGERS:

1-5. My fellow Casting Call bloggers: You haven’t seen our Casting Call feature? Well check it out! Last Friday was the first day and we all picked the actors who we thought should play the characters in The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. I would absolutely love to meet and hang out with all of these awesome ladies because they’re an absolute blast to talk to! (And sorry I grouped you all together)

Tee @ YA Crush
Sandie @ Teen Lit Rocks
Dixie @ Gone Pecan
Maggie @ Gone Pecan
Candice @ The Grown-Up YA

6-10. Alyssa @ Books Take You Places, Alison @ The Cheap Reader, Elizabeth @ Don’t Take My Books Away, Amy @ Tripping Over Books, Vyki @ On the Shelf: Just so I don’t blab forever, sorry guys, I’m grouping you together too! Some more awesome bloggers who I love following and/or who have shown me a lot of support with my blog as well! I think (hope) we’d get along pretty great!

AUTHORS:

1. JK Rowling: Duh.

2. Wendy Higgins: I absolutely loved Sweet Evil (as you all know) and Wendy is so sweet! She’s one of the authors who always responds when I tweet her or comment on her blog or her Goodreads page. Thanks, Wendy! You’re an absolute delight.

3. Meg Cabot: Oh, Meg. I love you. Not to be creepy or anything… If Ms Meg Cabot is anything like the personalities in her novels, I don’t see how meeting her could be anything short of a blast!

4. Janet Evanovich: Same with JE. I’d love to meet the mind behind Stephanie Plum! Easily one of my favorite series – I think it would be great to meet Janet!

5. Lauren DeStefano: I loved Wither and Fever and I always see Lauren’s tweets, blog posts, Instagram photos. She just seems like a really fun person, totally care-free.

6. Richelle Mead: Don’t take this the wrong way, but since I just got done with Shadow Kiss, I want to meet Richelle Mead just to shake and say “WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME!?!?” Seriously. The endings of these books positively kill me!

7. Lauren Oliver: I would love to meet Lauren Oliver! She writes such beautiful books and they’ve been some of my favorites.

8. Gayle Forman: Same as above! 🙂

9. Stephenie Meyer: Yes, I do still love Twilight.

10. Suzanne Collins: And yes, I LOVE The Hunger Games.

Shout outs to authors I’ve already met (if only briefly): Anna Banks (I love her! She’s SO much fun), Leigh Bardugo (same – Leigh is a riot!), Jennifer Bosworth, Emmy Laybourne, Dan Krokos, Veronia Roth, Susan Dennard (is so sweet too) – and looking forward to more authors signings coming up!

Sep

Top Ten Tuesday – September 4, 2012: Top Ten Books On Your Fall TBR List

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish!

This Week’s Topic is: Top Ten Books On Your Fall TBR List

Well, considering I didn’t so well on this topic for the summer list (5/10), I’ll try to put books up that I know I’m going to be reading this fall! And note: I consider anything after September as fall.
So I’m also going to keep this short and sweet. I don’t need to go into full descriptions!

1. Crewel by Jennifer Albin – I’ve had my eye on this one for a WHILE and I got to borrow it (thanks, Alyssa!!!!) so I can finally just revel in this book.

2. Hourglass by Myra McIntyre – Had it forever but since it’s an ebook, let’s face it… Just haven’t gotten to it.

3. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness – Library read #1. Shout out to Maggie @ Gone Pecan – I pushed it up on my TBR list because of your recommendations!

4. False Memory by Dan Krokos – Now signed, purchased for Anderson’s Bookshop event

5. Defiance by CJ Redwine – Wild Worlds read #1. Just purchased

6. Skylark by Meagan Spooner – Worlds read #2. Just purchased

7. The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna – Wild Worlds read #3. Just purchased

8. Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard – Won from giveaway, looking forward to receiving it

9. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake – Maybe a good read for Halloween?

10. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood – Yep… Another library read! I have quite a few of them now…….

Aug

Top Ten Tuesday – August 28, 2012: Top Ten Bookish Confessions

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish.

This Week’s Topic is: Top Ten Bookish Confessions (Anything! You dog ear, you hated a book but said you loved it, you have $500 library fines…anything goes!)

1. I hated Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. I really feel like I’m the only person who hated this book. I couldn’t even get through the first couple chapters because it annoyed me so much (and I’m dangerously close to making a Fifty Shades of Grey comparision…) – Did anyone else DNF this book? Am I the only one who didn’t like it? Should I give it another shot?

2. My books are crazy organized, and not quite logically easy to figure out. I have two separate shelves – one for books I’ve already read, one for TBRs. The ones I’ve read are mostly sectioned off by series. The TBRs are organized by series, if applicable. Then all the mysteries go together, organized by color (so they look pretty, as long as the heights are all the same), and grouped together by publisher. Then I have a shelf for chick lit, again by color, organized from tallest to smallest. Then I have a shelf for YA/dystopians. It’s intense.

3. I forgot about the library for a long time. The past couple years I’ve been moving from apartment to apartment (no concerns – just upgrading when I have the money to!) so the library was in the back of my mind. I didn’t have a permanent residence, really. But I realized that swapping and used bookstores were just not doing it for the new releases, so I finally joined the beloved library 🙂

4. I still hate ebooks. Okay, I guess hate is a strong word, but I just soooo prefer to hold a real book when I’m reading! It’s so much nicer. The feel, the smell, the flipping of pages. It’s so much better. Ebooks are okay, and they have really good sales, but I’ll take real books over my Kindle any day!

5. I’m a confessed skimmer and jumper. Explanation: I don’t actually just skim books. Skimming happens when I SEE CAPITAL LETTERS ON THE NEXT PAGE and I just have to look over and see what’s so exciting over there! Skimming happens unintentionally when I’m bored with really long descriptions and there’s some exciting dialogue coming up! Apparently I live for dialogue. Too many straight paragraphs can get boring sometimes and I happen to get bogged down with too many details!

6. The ending can make or break a book for me. I guess this is technically true for a lot of people! I’ve had quite a few books recently that I wasn’t too fond of the beginnings and then the ending totally “redeemed” the book. Likewise, if your book ends badly or has a complete character change or you kill off the wrong person or the wrong people end up together, etc – Mostly likely I’ll dislike the whole book. The end is what we work for, right? It’s what really what determines how much I like a book overall.

7. I always carry a book with my in my purse. You just never know when you’ll need to read! It’s that one time that you don’t have a book with you that you wish you did.

8. I’m an accidental book thief. Sometimes I inadvertently keep books that I’ve borrowed. I don’t mean to keep them but I have them for so long or they get misplaced and I just forget I have them. So here’s my chance to apologize to my next door neighbors, my sister, my friend Lisa (although she knows I still have a ton of her books), and the College of DuPage Spanish teachers. Don’t worry, if you happened to have loaned me a book recently, I’ve been keeping track and I’ll be sure to give it back!!

9. I do a ton of blogging at work. Here I am… 4pm on a Thursday (yes, I wrote this really early) and I’m trying to come up with more confessions. Today was a slow day so (while my co-workers haven’t been looking), I’ve been blogging. And I also get annoyed when they hang around my desk and prevent me from blogging… Oops. It’s just so easy to do when I have a computer in front of me all day! Just don’t tell my boss, okay? 🙂

10. I used to think I was too good for YA. *GASP*!!!! For a while (hell, even when I was a young adult (and even though I’m clearly not a young adult and 25 now)), I just thought YA books were kids books and I wanted nothing to do with them. Silly me!!! My blog even started as a mystery and chick lit review blog with a little YA. Now I read almost no chick lit, have toned down my mysteries a lot, and it’s almost all YA! I’ve just found soooo many good books through other blogs. It’s been the best!