Friday Memes: TGIF (18), FF (16) + Book Blogger Hop (1)

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads!

Throwback TGIF

Pick a previous question you posted on your blog in the past and revisit your answer. Has it changed since then?

I'm kind of twisting the question - I've only done TGIF 17 times, and most of those are recent and/or I still agree with everything. Which would be quite a boring answer! So instead, I'm going to revisit the first TGIF I ever did, which was the first of the new year since my blog was born on January 1: Book Blog Resolutions! What better time to check in on New Year's resolutions than just over halfway through the year?!

For the original post, click here; though in summary, my resolutions were:
     1) Track my reading.
     2) Read 100 books.
     3) Give vampires another chance.
     4) Open up discussions on books.
     5) Blog.

SUCCESSES: I'm surprised that I've actually kept up with these pretty well! Normally resolutions are lost on me by February. But I've tracked my books consistently, and that this blog still exists is testament to number five. I am still on track to read 100 books in the year (3 books ahead!), though I've been slacking lately. It was going swimmingly, I was over 8 books ahead at one point...and then life got in the way and now I'm only on track. Hopefully in the coming summer months I can pick it back up.

EHHH MAYBE: I've tried with the discussion, and I feel I've had some successes. But I'm still crap at responding to comments, and I don't engage on Twitter as often as I could or would like to. I'm working on it, I swear!

NOPE: The vampire thing. Still haven't gone there. I really, really should - I just can't yet. Vampires are a very non-summer weather thing for me, and obviously that's not been happening for most of this year.  Can I just blame it on the world and its weird weather?! (But really, I know, I know; I will get to vampire books! I have The Immortal Rules waiting, and I'm certain I'll check out the Vampire Academy series before the year is out.)

Which TGIF post did you revisit?

Leave your link in the comments and I'll hop by!

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View, meant to spotlight two blogs and allows bloggers to link up and meet other fabulous bookish friends and share the Following love!

This week's spotlight blogs are: A Glass of Wine & Booktastic Reviews

And the question of the week is:

Christmas in July: Someone gives you a gift card for two books (whatever that costs). What two books will you buy?

Crap. Only two?! Way to make it difficult! My TBR stack is too huge to even attempt to narrowing it down to two, so I'm going to go with books I read, loved, but don't own a finished copy of yet.

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (read my review here!)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

What two books would you buy?

Leave me your link and I'll hop by!

And of course I'd love to return a follow if you are kind enough to follow me :)

Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy For Books

Q: What's the ONE super-hyped book you'll NEVER read?

I don't like saying I'll never read a book, just because I always find myself picking up strange, random or completely unexpected books at the oddest times. Maybe I end up enjoying them, a few times I've questioned why I kept going...regardless, I've definitely read ones I swore I wouldn't. (Such as the Twilight series.) I'd like to say Fifty Shades of Grey - and I assume that'll be the popular answer because there are very polar responses to that series - but the truth is that I've totally read random passages as I stand in a store killing time. I don't think I'll ever read all of it, but...stranger things have happened!

Though I will say it'd be hard pressed to get me to read the Sookie Stackhouse series. I don't know if that counts as a 'super-hyped' book (kinda? True Blood is pretty huge...) but I've tried to read Charlaine Harris books before and the writing was just...not for me. I had to put it down, and I very, very rarely DNF books. Maybe the SS series is better, maybe the one I tried was just a fluke, but it was so bad for me I can't go back.

What hyped book will you ignore?

Tell me in the comments or leave a link!

TGIF (17): Swoon-Worthy Quotes

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at Greads!

Quotes That Make You Swoon

What are some of the most swoon-worthy quotes you've experienced in a book?

I know I'm missing some from this list, and as soon as I go visit other TGIFs I'm totally going to think "YES THAT ONE OMG." So, my horrifically incomplete but still swoon-worthy quotes that I can recall:

***There may be spoilers! You have been warned!***

"I want you to play me like a cello."

- If I Stay, Gayle Forman

***

"I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.”

- The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

“Oh, I wouldn't mind, Hazel Grace. It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”

- The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

***

"Oh, God," he whispers, reaching his hand behind my neck and bringing my lips to his. "Let's let the whole fucking world explode this time."

And we do.

- The Sky is Everywhere, Jandy Nelson

"There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then."

- City of Glass, Cassandra Clare

***

He leans close and says, "It matters to me," right against my mouth, and then kisses me like he means it.

- Saving June, Hannah Harrington

***

Dear Charlotte: What are you trying to do to me?

- Being Friends With Boys, Terra Elan McVoy

“I don't deserve you. You know that, querida, don't you?"

- Perfect Chemistry, Simone Ekeles (truthfully, every time he calls her querida or mujer, my heart skipped.)

***

"I don’t think it’s going to work out. Winning...won’t help in my case," says Peeta.

"Why ever not?" says Caesar, mystified.

Peeta blushes beet red and stammers out. "Because...because...she came here with me.”

- The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

***

"I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I'll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again..."

- The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman

I say, "I will not be your weakness, Sean Kendrick."

Now he looks at me. He says, very softly, "It's late for that, Puck.”

- The Scorpio Races, Maggie Stiefvater

***

I slide my hand between our mouths, just in time. His lips are soft against my palm. I slowly, slowly remove it. “No, I don’t love Max anymore. But I don’t want to give you this broken, empty me. I want you to have me when I’m full, when I can give something back to you. I don’t have much to give right now.”

Cricket’s limbs are still, but his chest is pounding hard against my own. “But you’ll want me someday? That feeling you once had for me … that hasn’t left either?”

Our hearts beat the same wild rhythm. They’re playing the same song. “It never left,” I say.

- Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins

***

“Once upon a time, there was a girl who talked to the moon. And she was mysterious and she was perfect, in that way that girls who talk to moons are. In the house next door, there lived a boy. And the boy watched the girl grow more and more perfect, more and more beautiful with each passing year. He watched her watch the moon. And he began to wonder if the moon would help him unravel the mystery of the beautiful girl. So the boy looked into the sky. But he couldn't concentrate on the moon. He was too distracted by the stars. And it didn't matter how many songs or poems had already been written about them, because whenever he thought about the girl, the stars shone brighter. As if she were the one keeping them illuminated. 

One day, the boy had to move away. He couldn't bring the girl with him, so he brought the stars. When he'd look out his window at night, he would start with one. One star. And the boy would make a wish on it, and the wish would be her name.

At the sound of her name, a second star would appear. And then he'd wish her name again, and the stars would double into four. And four became eight, and eight became sixteen, and so on, in the greatest mathematical equation the universe had ever seen. And by the time an hour had passed, the sky would be filled with so many stars that it would wake the neighbors. People wondered who'd turned on the floodlights.

The boy did. By thinking about the girl.”

- Lola and the Boy Next Door, Stephanie Perkins (seriously, I think I was weeping through this entire scene.)

What quotes make you swoon?

Leave me your link and I'll come check it out!

Friday Memes: TGIF (16) & Follow Friday (15)

So this is going up suuuuuper late, but I really wanted to answer the questions! Better late than never, right?

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at Greads!

Comfort Reads

Which books do you go to for comfort and familiarity? Is there a type of book you seek out when you're needing that extra bit of comfort in your life?

There are two types of books I will always seek out when I need comfort or various reassurances or simply need to begin reading a book and know it will be enjoyable: 1) Contemporary. It is the core of my reading life, and the genre in which I always find a home. and 2) Christmas/holiday novels. Such a warm and fuzzy time, and I love reading about snuggling by fires and bundling to go sledding. Plus, Christmas novels rarely have bad endings, so I know I'm guaranteed a happy, works-out-as-it-should ending.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Any Debbie Macomber Christmas book. (Seriously. I check out literally every single one starting in September and read them every year. Love them.)

(if anyone knows any other YA Christmas/holiday books I should read, let me know!)

What are your comfort reads?

Leave me your link and I'll come check it out!

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View, meant to spotlight two blogs and allows bloggers to link up and meet other fabulous bookish friends and share the Following love!

This week's spotlight blogs are: The Paperback Princesses & Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance

And the question of the week is:

Jumping Genres: Ever pick up a book from a genre you usually don't like and LOVE it? Tell us about it and why you picked it up in the first place.

So truthfully, I pretty much have a grudge against all books that aren't contemporary. I never, ever want to go out of it - but I "force" myself because I know I'm missing out on great books. And while I've loved a lot outside this genre, I can't help but feel like I'm away from familiarity whenever I read other genres. There aren't any that I really don't like - I'm just partial to contemporary all the time.

That said! These are the ones that surprised me:

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
I was still fairly new to the Dystopian world when I read this (I'd really only read THG and ATU) and wasn't sold on the genre yet. I picked it up at the insistence of other book bloggers and authors (namely, Jon) that said it was amazing. And it was! (Read my review here!)

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Cyborg fairy tale? Not something I'd gravitate towards. It sounded strange...but oh my god it works. Does it ever work. I picked it up since it had been lumped in with those amazing Dystopian debuts at the beginning of the year. (Read my review here!)

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
Paranormal is the one genre that definitely rides the "I don't like this genre" line for me. I'm just not sold on it yet. The majority I've read don't do anything for me...EXCEPT The Mortal Instruments. I love love love this series (and The Infernal Devices).  And honestly, I don't remember why I picked it up! I started this way back before I was ever a book blogger, before I even knew book blogging existed, before I was reading mainly YA even! So I don't know what attracted me to it, or why I picked it up. But I'm very glad I did! 

Have you jumped genres?

Leave me your link and I'll hop by!

And of course I'd love to return a follow if you are kind enough to follow me :)

Friday Memes: TGIF (15) & Follow Friday (14)

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at Greads!

Best I've Read So Far
We're half way through the year (crazy how time flies!), which top 3 books are the best you've read so far this year?

I kind of answered this for Armchair BEA (read the post here!), but that was definitely more than a Top 3 haha. This was DIFFICULT, you guys. Like...it's baffling how much I debated about this for the week. But as of this very moment, I've settled with these:

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

(just don't ask me tomorrow, it'll probably change by then!)

What's your best of 2012?

Leave me your link and I'll come check it out!

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View, meant to spotlight two blogs and allows bloggers to link up and meet other fabulous bookish friends and share the Following love!

This week's spotlight blogs are: Novel Sounds (love this blog!) & Fighting Dreamer

And the question of the week is:

Birthday Wishes -- Blow out the candles and imagine what character could pop out of your cake...who is it and what book are they from?

Well, seeing as how I've just seen a commercial for Magic Mike, we all know where my head is at. Men poppin' out of cakes for me? Sure! Let's get it on!

Peregrine from the Under the Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi.

I adore him, and have you seen him on the cover of Through the Ever Night? He's got that perfect True Blood Stephen Moyer/Bill Compton style rockin' and...I mean. Yes please.

Joe from The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. 

As long as he pops out playing his saxophone. Shirtless. And then he recites poetry.

Prince Maxon from The Selection by Kiera Cass

...just as long as it's actually Ethan Peck.

Who would jump out of your cake?

Leave me your link and I'll hop by!

And of course I'd love to return a follow if you are kind enough to follow me :)

PS. Have you entered the giveaway to win a copy of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D? Ends tomorrow night!

TGIF (15) and Follow Friday (14)

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at Greads!

Show Me Your Cover

What are some of the worst book covers, but hold some of the best stories inside? Don't be embarrassed, show us your cover!

Surprisingly, even though I'm incredibly judgmental about covers (who isn't?), I had a tough time! There were a few that popped out, but a lot of the ones that I don't like are just little nit-picky issues or I'll reconcile myself with it. That said, I split it into 3 categories:

People on the Cover

I don't usually like real people (full face showing) on the covers because it gives me an idea of the characters and I prefer to make that up in my head as I go along. Most I'll forgive (read: indifference), but these are the ones that bother me the most.

Paper Towns by John Green

 vs.

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (US Paperback) (left). 

I admit this cover is pretty, but I don't like the person, and I LOVE the hardback cover (right).

 vs.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis (US Paperback) (left)

 This one may also just be a casualty because I LOVE LOVE LOVE the original hardcover (right).

Too Cutesy/Fluffy

All Rachel Cohn books (*not all pictured)

Anna and the French Kiss / Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Ok, this is difficult because I do think these go perfectly with the charm of the books, but they turned me off for the longest time. I didn't read them because I thought the covers were too fluffy, and I still don't like that they pictured Anna, Lola and Cricket. (Thankfully Etienne is still in my imagination!)

Simply Don't Like

Looking For Alaska by John Green

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

She's not DUFFy to me.

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

In fairness, I haven't read this yet. But the cover is such a cheesy 90s boyband to me!

What are some covers you dislike?

Leave me your link and I'll come check it out!

Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee's View, meant to spotlight two blogs and allows bloggers to link up and meet other fabulous bookish friends and share the Following love!

This week's spotlight blogs are: Charissa Books & Underworld Love Addiction

And the question of the week is:

Activity! Dreamcast your current read.

Confession: I'm TERRIBLE at casting. I don't watch too many movies or too much television, and book characters are always so different from real people in my head. So, we'll take this with a grain of salt, yes?

I literally JUST started reading The Glimpse by Claire Merle and The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier, so I don't know enough about either to cast it yet. So, the most recent book I read was an ARC of Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti (loved it! review up next week!).

Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti Dream Cast

> Carey Mulligan circa the An Education era - I understand she's too old for the role, but hey, I do what I want!
> Logan (Percy Jackson) seems to be that perfect mix of attractive, sweet and strong.
> Kevin McHale (Glee) has that nerdy, fashionable mix with sass and attitude Simon seemed to have.
> Drew Barrymore could pull off the corny, perky Science Teacher awesomely well.
> Hillary Swank could be all the facets of Noelle's mom really well. Tough and vulnerable all at once.
> Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) has that best friend backbone Noelle needs.

Who's your dreamcast? For which book?

Leave me your link and I'll hop by!

And of course I'd love to return a follow if you are kind enough to follow me :)

PS. Have you entered the giveaway to win my ARC of Fated by Alyson Noel? Ends 6/11