Top Ten Series I Actually Need to Start but Haven’t!

Becky2 Comments

Hey guys! Sorry for being a little MIA this past week. I had a run of extremely bad luck and then suddenly found myself super busy with Father’s Day and all. It’s been rough, but things have finally started to turn around. I’m back and will hopefully be posting more frequently.

Anyway today is Tuesday, so what better way to celebrate me being back than a Top Ten Tuesday. This meme is presented by the awesome people at The Broke and the Bookish, and this week’s theme is “Series I’ve Been Meaning to Start but Haven’t.”

I find that I’m really good at starting series, but awful at finishing them. That being said, the list of series that I want to read is never ending so it was not very challenging putting together this list. Here is what I came up with!

1. The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan — Everyone talks about this series. Seriously, it’s all over the book community and I feel extremely left out! The first book is even sitting on my shelf giving me judgmental looks for not reading it. I’ve heard such good things about this middle grade series. Also Riordan’s writing is supposed to be very comedic which is right up my ally. I actually need to read this and see what all of the hype is about.

2. The Shades of Magic Series by V.E. Schwab — This is another series that has taken the book community by storm. Again, I feel left out for not having read at least the first book. The premise sounds super cool too! I love the idea of parallel universes and don’t think I’ve ever read anything that explores this concept. Needless to say that this to is high up on my TBR.

3. Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin — I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about this series. Some people love it. Others hate it. Then there are those who think the books got worse as they progressed. However, I’m a sucker for the memory loss trope and like how creepy the book sounds. Also, this series is getting a spin off series so I might as well hop on the bandwagon now, before there are like 6 books.

4. Stalking Jack the Ripper Series by Kerri Maniscalo — Okay, so I’ve come to realize that I love historical fiction that takes place in London. I am also fascinated by the whole Jack the Ripper case. I’ve actually read two other books, Marking Time and The Name of the Star, and watched two TV shows that deal with this famous case. Also I’m a sucker for mystery and the whole “forbidden secret life” trope. The second book in this series is coming out in September and it sounds just as good.

5. Shadowshaper Series by Daniel José Older — I recently went to BookCon and received an ARC of the second book in this series, Shadowhouse Fall. I really enjoy urban fantasies and don’t read enough of them. This one sounds both interesting and unique. I love when these art forms are played with in books. I’m interested to see how it gets used in this series as they use paintings and music to connect with spirits.

6. Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi — This is another popular YA series that I for some reason have yet to read. There are so many of those on this list. This series seems like one of those books that you binge read because they’re crack that you can’t get enough of. I like book crack so I should probably read this.

7. Red Rising Series by Pierce Brown — I love the science fiction genre and don’t read enough of it. Many of my favorite BookTubers have raved about this series and it has been on my radar for a while. I don’t know why I haven’t gotten to it yet, but I just haven’t. I finally have a copy of the book, so hopefully that pushes me to finally read it.

8. Themis Files Series by Sylvain Neuvel — This series just sounds so unique and interesting. I really enjoy books that are different and what is more different than a story surrounding this mysterious hand that appeared out of nowhere? The story is told through interviews, journal entries, transcripts, etc. Illuminae was told in a similar way and I liked reading a book structured like that. It just sounds cool, okay?

9. The Seven Realms Series by Cinda Williams Chima — I have recently gotten into fantasy/YA fantasy and Regan from Peruse Project always raves about this series on her channel. She talks about it so much and it only makes me want to read the series more. What can I say, I’m a sucker for hype and have been looking to read more YA fantasy. It just seems like a good fit for me.

10. The Darkest Minds Series by Alexandra Bracken — Speaking of hyped series, this is a series that I completed missed when it came out in 2012. Now there is a movie being made and I’m so behind. I’ve heard such good things about Bracken’s writing and really just want to see what all of the hype is about.

Those are the series that I haven’t read, but actually need to start soon. I’m not sure when I will actually get to these series as I have started a bunch of new series already this year. As I said before, I’m not great at finishing series so I’m trying to work on that. Although, it is only June which means I have plenty of room on my TBR for good new series.

Have you read any of these series? Which one should I start with? I’m leaning towards Percy Jackson or Shades of Magic, but I’m not sure. Are there any other series you think I need to read? Let me know down in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

BookCon Haul!

Becky4 Comments

I was lucky enough to attend BookCon at the beginning of the month. I have attended BookCon in the past and gone a little ARC crazy. This year was supposed to be different. I made a promise to myself that I would only pick up books that I was interested in.

Well…that failed in the first 5 minutes of BookCon. It’s just so hard to pass up free books okay! I think I definitely was a little better on my selection this year, but still ended up with a ridiculous amount of books. Regardless, I’m really excited to share my haul with you today!

On with the haul!

Books!

First we’re going to talk about the published books I received at BookCon. When I say “published” I mean I received a finished copy of the book. If it is a signed copy it will be denoted with a *.

Paperbacks

  1. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden — This is the first book in a trilogy set in the Russian wilderness. It follows our heroine, Vasilisa, whose evil step mother is basically ruining her life. It also seems that one of the creatures from the fairy tales from her childhood has stepped into her real life and are threatening her family. I really love the idea of fairy tales coming to life so this book seems right up my alley.
  2. Red Rising by Pierce Brown — A promotional copy of the first book in this sci-fi/fantasy series was gifted to me by a woman I met in line for a signing. She said someone gave it to her and she did not want it. I jumped for it because this is a series that I have been meaning to start for a while. Now I finally have a copy of the first book and no excuse not to start it.
  3. The Naming by Alison Croggon — This is one of the first books I picked up at BookCon. It was just lying in a selection of free books and ARCs so I grabbed it because the cover was purple. I like purple. This is the first book in The Books of Pellinor series. It is a young adult fantasy that is about a slave girl, Maerad, who possesses a powerful gift. That’s basically all I know about this book, but I’m interested to see what it’s all about.
  4. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman — So I actually already own a copy of this book, so I’m not sure why I felt the need to get it. The re-release came with a cool looking print and also a sneak peak for The Book of Dust, the first book in a new trilogy set in the world of His Dark Materials. I remember enjoying this book, but also thinking it was pretty dark. I never continued on with the series, but it is something I’m looking to get around too. Again, don’t know why I picked this up, but for some reason I couldn’t resist.

Hardcovers

  1. Roar by Cora Carmack — During the last hours of BookCon, publishers start lowering prices of their books to try and get rid of everything so they don’t have to lug it back with them. When I saw this book going for $10 I could not resist purchasing it. It is one of my anticipated releases of 2017 (it actually came out today) and the only thing I actually bought at BookCon. This new young adult fantasy series by Carmack just sounds so good. I cannot wait to pick it up.
  2. Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig — This is a first person narrative that features a 14 year-old autistic girl who is in foster care. She has finally found her forever family, but is crafting a secret plan to escape. She is looking to get back what’s missing in her life. I happened upon this book at a giveaway and picked it up because it seemed like the best one available. I’m interested to see how Ludwig portrays this character. This book has a ton of good response on GoodReads and definitely sounds like it will be an interesting book. One unlike the things I usually read.
  3. The Rules of Love and Grammar by Mary Simses* — I received this book at a random signing I got in line for. The author was really nice and the book seems like something I’d be interested in. It follows a young woman who is recently jobless, single, and apartmentless. I like books about self discovery especially since that is something I can relate too.
  4. Are You Anybody? by Jeffrey Tambor* — I was lucky enough to get a ticket to Tambor’s autographing session where he signed copies of his recently published memoir. If you’re interested in reading about that experience I talk about it here. Tambor is such an interesting person and he wrote this book for his young kids so that they could learn more about his life. As a aspiring comedian, I’m really looking forward to reading this and hearing about his experience trying to make it as an actor. This is definitely high on my TBR pile.
  5. Horizon by Scott Westerfield — This is another book I randomly picked up, but I’m so happy that I did because it sounds AMAZING! It is the first book in a multi-author, multi-platform, middle grade 7 book series which sounds like a mix between Lord of the Flies and the TV show Lost, but less dark. Westerfield is the creator and developer of this series, but other authors will be writing the other books. It just sounds so cool and apparently there’s a digital element too. I can’t wait to read it.

ARCs!

Now on to the ARCs or the advanced reader copies that I received. Most of these come out later in the year and one doesn’t come out until 2018. Some of these I don’t know why I picked up. I could not resist the free book, it was bad. A few of these ARCs are signed, so again I will denote that with a *. I’ll also be listing them in order of their release date.

  1. Stealing Candy by Stewart Lewis (Release Date: May 2nd, 2017) — We’re starting off with a random book I found at a table. It is a contemporary YA romance about a film fanatic who is kidnapped. It does not have the greatest reviews, but it’s sounds interesting. I’m not sure how good it will be, but it sounds like a fun book to take to the beach.
  2.  No Good Deed by Goldy Moldavsky (Release Date: May 30th, 2017) — I recently finished Moldavsky’s debut novel, Kill the Boyband, which I enjoyed reading. I like the fact that she writes in the contemporary genre, but also sort of creates her own ridiculous world. I enjoy reading books that push the envelope in the contemporary world. Her new book sounds like a mix of summer camp and activism. I don’t know too much about it, but am hoping its as hilarious as her debut novel. I’m happy that I have a copy of this.
  3. Forbidden Promises by Katee Robert (Release Date: May 30th, 2017) — This is a romance novel that was pitched to me as a forbidden mob love story. I love secret/forbidden romances, so obviously I picked this ARC up. It seems that this is the 4th book in The O’Malleys series, but I am not sure if you need to read the previous books to read this one. Regardless it seems like the perfect steamy novel to read on the beach. I’m excited.
  4. Arrowood by Mick Finlay (Release Date: July 18, 2017) — I think the tagline of this book says it all and why I needed it in my life.
    London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood.    I love Sherlock Holmes, crime stories, and stuff that is set in the Victorian era. Um, this book sounds amazing. According to the publisher, the rights were actually bought by BBC so it will also be a TV series.
  5. Deadzone by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Release Date: September 12, 2017) — Remember earlier how I was talking about the Horizon series, well this is an ARC of the second book. I have not read what this book is specifically about, because I haven’t started the first. This series just sounds so cool though and it’s nice that I can dive right into this once I finish the first book.
  6. Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older* (Release Date: September 12, 2017) — This is the second book in the Shadowshaper series. It is an urban fantasy that has been compared to the Mortal Instruments series. It is a series that I’ve been meaning to read, so getting a signed copy of the ARC definitely is going to push me to actually read it soon. I’ve heard nothing but good things and really need to check out this series out.
  7. Mean Girls: A Novel by Micol Ostow (Release Date: September 12, 2017) — I don’t know about you but the film Mean Girls is a classic, at least for me. This is basically the novelization of the movie, which is cool. I’m interested to see how they adapted this iconic film into a book. It sounds like a ton of fun though.
  8. There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins* (Release Date September 26th, 2017) — Unfortunately I only received a partial galley of this book, but I’m excited to get a taste of it nonetheless. This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2017. I have not read a teen slasher book and it just sounds like a ton of fun. I’m seriously counting down the days until this book is released.
  9. The Knowing by Sharon Cameron* (Release Date: October 10th, 2017) — This is the companion novel to The Forgetting as it takes place in the same world. I have not read the first book, so I don’t know too much about it. However, these books definitely seem to play with the idea of memory which I think is super interesting. The Knowing seems to have more of a sci-fi feel than The Forgetting, because a spaceship from Earth comes to the planet of Canaan. It sounds cool and I’m definitely intrigued by this book/series.
  10. The Gatekeepers by Jen Lancaster (Release Date: October 10th, 2017) — I got this book at an ARC drop. It is a mental health novel that is about teen suicide. That’s all I really know about it, but am definitely interested to read it.
  11. Waiting for the Punch: Words to Live By from the WTF Podcast By Marc Maron (Release Date: October 10th, 2017) — I have not listened to this podcast, but it is a very popular one. This book is a collection of interviews from the podcast that discuss a variety of topics such as parenting, childhood, relationships, sexuality, success, failure, etc. I don’t read a ton of non-fiction, but I like reading interviews so we’ll see how this goes.
  12. All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater* (Release Date: October 10th, 2017) — Strictly character drive stories are not typically my thing, but Stiefvater’s writing is so good and her characters are so interesting that I can really get into her books. I’m currently in the middle of The Raven Cycle series by her and enjoying it a lot. I was really excited to receive this book as a fan of the author. Also it sounds really unique. This idea of a family who has the ability to perform miracles is so cool and I’m interested to see where Stiefvater goes with it.
  13. Girl in a Bad Place by Kaitlin Ward (Release Date: October 31st, 2017) — Okay, so this book also has an interesting premise. It follows two best friends, Mailee and Cara, who visit this commune called the Haven. Cara decides to join and move into the commune, but Mailee knows that this is an awful idea. Mailee races to save her best friend from this cult. I definitely am excited to see where this goes and hopefully it turns out to be a good YA thriller.
  14. Bonfire by Krysten Ritter (Release Date: November 9th, 2017) — I’m not gonna lie, I mostly picked this book up because it’s by Ritter. It is a mystery, thriller adult fiction novel so I’m down. I love a good mystery.
  15. R.I.P. Eliza Hart by Alyssa Sheinmel (Release Date: November 28th, 2017) — From the surface this book seems like a murder mystery, but it seems that it also discusses depression and mental health. I’m definitely intrigued to see what this ends up being about.
  16. The Undercover Edge: Redefine the Rules to Win Life’s Game by Derrick Levasseur (Release Date: January 1st, 2018) — When I picked up this book, I thought it was going to be about an undercover cop and I like undercover stories. Later, I realized that this is actually a memoir about a Big Brother winner. I might be passing this along to a friend of mine who loves reality TV. However, the guy sounds interesting so I may end up reading it. Who knows. I don’t know why I have this ARC lol.

 

I did not realize exactly how many books I received until I started typing them all up. I told you I went a little crazy. Looks like I’ve got my reading work cut out for me. Most of these I’m really looking forward to reading though and am so glad I have a physical copies in my hand. I actually have no idea where I’m even going to start with this haul. Maybe Arrowood because it comes out soon and I’m really in a Sherlock Holmes/historical mood.

If you want to hear more about my time at BookCon, I wrote two posts recapping all of the things I did. You can check out Saturday’s post here or Sunday’s post here if you’re interested. I’d suggest starting with Saturday as it happened first. Warning: I do rant a lot in these posts.

Which of these books are you most excited for? Are any of these books also on your TBR? Which one do you think I should start with? Thanks for reading!

What Cats Do Book Tag

Becky8 Comments

I haven’t done a tag in SO long. Seriously, it’s been so long that I can’t remember the last time I did one. This one seems like a ton of fun though, shout out to the awesome ladies at Twin Bookmarks who tagged me. They have a cool blog and you should check them out.

Small confession, I am definitely more of a dog person than a cat person.  However, I still love cats and think they’re adorable. This gif of a cat jumping out of a window is my favorite thing ever.

cat.gif

Now that you’ve laughed at that, let’s get into this tag!

The Rules:

PURR – AS CATS DO THIS WHEN THEY’RE HAPPY OR RELAXED, WHAT IS THE BOOK THAT MAKES YOU HAPPIEST OR RELAXED?

Okay, I’m going to go with Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I’ve read the book at least 3 times so far and am planning another reread soon. I just love The Lunar Chronicles Series so much! The characters have stolen my heart and always manage to put a smile on my face.

SLEEP – WHAT IS A BOOK THAT PUT YOU TO SLEEP OR WAS JUST BORING? 

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han really just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it, I just found the book sort of meh and a little boring. It definitely was not my favorite by this author. We’ll get to one of my favorites by her in just a minute 😉

TWITCH WHILE DREAMING – HAVE YOU EVER DREAMT OF A BOOK YOU READ?

Oh yeah, I’ve definitely had dreams where I’ve inserted myself into the action of the book. It’s happened multiple times.

This is kind of an embarrassing answer, but I’ve definitely dreamt that I was on Kat’s cool thief team from The Heist Society series. I clearly just want to be a thief badly. I just think it would be really cool to sneak around and infiltrate a place. Also the adrenaline rush of pulling a heist seems awesome. Also, I love Kat’s team so much. They’re so awesome and it would be cool to hang out with all of them.

For the record, I would be an awful thief! I’m way too clumsy for the job.

SEEMS TO PLAY NICE…UNTIL THE CLAWS ARE OUT – WHICH BOOK HAD THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST?

Okay, so I’m gonna go with A Court of Thorns and Roses, because this book took quite the turn! I totally wasn’t expecting what happened towards the end to happen. The plot twist, or turn really, actually saved the book for me. Had it not happened, this book would probably be my answer for the previous question. 

CUDDLES – WHICH BOOK CHARACTER WOULD YOU GIVE A HUG TO?

I’m not the biggest fan of hugs, but there are so many characters I would give one too. This is a tough choice, but after reading A Court of Mist and Fury all I want to do is give Rhysand a hug. The poor boy has been through so much and he just needs it. Especially after the end of that book. Plus those abs though…

CATNIP – WHAT’S A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAVE WARM AND FUZZY FEELS?

While The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han sort of bored me, her other series, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, gives me ALL OF THE FEELS! Not only does the romance in this series give me all the warm and fuzzy feels, but I really love Lara Jean and her family. They’re so awesome. Shout out to my home girl Kitty. I’m planning on doing a reread of this series soon so that I can read Always and Forever, Lara Jean which just came out. 

CAT BREEDS – WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BOOKS?

Instead of listing my favorite books, I’m going to list the kinds of books I like to read instead. There are two many favorites and I’ve already mentioned a few here. I love twoish types of books. Either cute contemporary romances that give me all of the warm and fuzzy feels, or action-adventure stories with an awesome team (specifically heist and spy stories). Seriously, just give me one of those and I will be happy.

THE VET’S OFFICE – YOUR LEAST FAVORITE BOOK:

I don’t really have a book that is my least favorite book of all time. One book that I didn’t love so much was Matched by Ally Condie. There are just better Dystopians out there and this one didn’t really bring anything new to the table. It also wasn’t very interesting either.

BEING IN PLACES THEY SHOULDN’T – LEAST FAVORITE CLICHE:

I’m really not a huge fan of the whole “guy saves girl and then they fall in love” thing. Maybe it’s the feminist in me, but I’d much rather see our female lead save herself or at least try to. Also why does it always have to be her romantic interest? Why can’t her best friend or mom save her if someone has to save her? Maybe that’s just me.

FINAL QUESTION: THE GOOD OLD CARDBOARD BOX – MOST UNDERRATED BOOK SERIES:

I have to go with the answer I always give with this question, which is The Immortal Descendants series by April White. This is a cross between historical and fantasy YA fiction with some time travel thrown in there. The concept of this series is so original and I really enjoy the characters. Ringo forever has my heart. Please go check it out if you have not already, the first book is Marking Time and free on Kindle.

My Nominations:

If you liked this tag and want to do it, then consider yourself tagged. Please make sure to link back to me so that I can see all of your wonderful posts!

I had so much fun with this tag! I thought it was catastic! Okay, that was a bad pun, I admit. This tag was still super fun though. Hope you enjoyed reading it!

BookCon 2017 Recap (Part Two) — Sunday, The Chill Day

Becky6 Comments

Hello again. If you’re here you’ve most likely come from my recap of BookCon Day 1. If you haven’t read that post click here. I talk about all the cool, fun things I did on Saturday, the first day of BookCon. If you don’t care to read it that’s cool too.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk day 2.

Thankfully, my schedule was not as jam packed as it was on Saturday. This gave me more time to explore the show floor and a little more freedom with my time. On the schedule that I made, I put down everything that I could possibly want to do at any given time. As there were less things I really wanted to do, I could see where the day led me.

The first big thing I did, aside from grabbing a beach towel at Penguin and an ARC from Harlequin, was see Bill Nye the Science Guy.

—insert iconic Bill Nye the Science Guy theme song here—

I’m in my mid twenties, so if you’re younger than me Bill Nye might not have had the same impact on your elementary school/middle school science classes. However, he was a staple in mine. So much so that whenever someone mentions his name I have to break out into the iconic theme song. He was at BookCon promoting his new children’s series Jack and the Geniuses. He co-wrote this series with Gregory Mone. Gregory interviewed Bill and they talked about this series came about.

I must say, the story about how the two authors met is crazy. Basically, Gregory happened to run into Bill at this random coffee shop. He was a fan of Bill’s and went up to him to say so. The two got to talking and Bill mentioned that he was trying to take up surfing as a hobby. Gregory also surfed and invited Bill to go surfing with him and his buddies the next day. He didn’t think that Bill would show, it just fit the conversation. However, Bill did show and surfed with them the next day. Now the two of them have a children’s series together.

20170604_110145_hdr.jpgI hadn’t heard of this series before and I don’t read a ton of children’s/middle grade, but after hearing the two authors talk about the series I definitely want to pick it up. It follows these three orphans Jack, Ava, and Matt. Ava and Matt are geniuses, which sometimes makes life difficult for Jack. They try to spy on Dr. Hank Witherspoon who is one of the world’s leading scientists, and loosely based of Bill Nye himself, but end up working for him. Their first adventure takes them to a science competition in Antarctica where everything isn’t as it seems. What is really cool about this series is that it features real-world science so a lot of the things that happen could happen in real life. Bill stated that he wanted to create a series similar to the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew for kids today.

Hearing Bill Nye speak was awesome and he is such an interesting person. He is also hilarious! Kim, my friend, and I were laughing non-stop. I also learned a few new things. For example, did you know that learning algebra is actually super important? Not only is it fundamental for understanding most sciences and high level maths, but it also helps develop your critical thinking skills.  Algebra was something that I was good at in school, but I didn’t think I would ever use it in what I wanted to do. While I may not use algebra every day, it has made me an excellent critical thinker. Enough random facts, back to BookCon.20170604_123653

The next big thing I did was attend the “Write Here, Write Now” panel that featured E. Lockhart, Jennifer E. Smith, Adam Silvera, and Leigh Bardugo. Kim convinced me to come, and since there was no hope for me to get into line this signing I wanted to go to, I tagged along with her. I must say I was really glad that I went, because all of these authors were really cool people. I enjoyed hearing about their new books and a bit about their writing process. It only made me more excited to read Wonder Woman: Warbringer, They Both Die at the End, Windfall, and Genuine Fraud.

After that, I headed to probably my most anticipated panel of the weekend which was Ryan Higa’s panel. I love Ryan and he is one of my favorite YouTubers! What I’ve always liked about him is that he kind of just does his own thing and makes the videos that he wants to make. It is admirable in a world where a lot of people make content just for views.

He just came out with a new book entitled How to Write Good. He got inspired to write one after seeing the response he got from his “Draw My Life” video. I was super excited when I found out he was going to BookCon. It’s always cool to see someone who you see on the screen in real life and this was no different. I had a great time listening to him talk and can’t wait to read his book.

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Ryan!

Also, he teased that he and the BGA guys are working on another project which I’m so excited about. BGA is something that I didn’t know I needed in my life. I’ve definitely watched “Who’s it Gonna Be” more times than I can count…It sounded like they were in the early stages of the project, so who knows when the video will actually come out.

Those were the three main things I did on Sunday. I met up with Kim after Ryan’s panel, and we just walked around the floor. If you ever go to BookCon in the future and go to the last day, make sure you stick around until the end! Publishers start giving away things like crazy and also lower the prices of some of their new books because they want to get rid of them. Needless to say Kim and I picked up some good deals.

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Kim and I being extra at the Shadowhunters booth!

We also finally did one of the photo booths together. I separately did one by myself on Saturday, which let me tell you was an awkward experience. The only reason I did it Saturday is because a staff member told me I should come take a picture. I was sucked into it, and now have an awkward set of photos with just me lol.

The only downside about doing most of my show flooring on Day 2 is that by then most people had figured out the ARC drops and it was harder to get things than the first day. But I really can’t complain because I ended up with some cool ARCs that I can’t wait to talk about. Stay tuned for my BookCon haul.

 

 

Overall, I had such an amazing time at BookCon. I loved going to all of the panels and seeing all of the booths. I cannot wait for next year’s event, which is taking place next June at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.

If you’ve read both of these long ass posts, let me know down in the comments. You’re a real hero if you stuck around for all of my BookCon ranting. Also let me know if you attended BookCon and what your favorite thing was. Feel free to gush about anything that I talked about as well. Would love to hear from you! 

BookCon 2017 Recap (Part One) — Saturday, The Day I Cried SOOO Much!

Becky7 Comments

Hello guys! This post was supposed to come out earlier in the week, but I’ve been busy and exhausted. The epicness that was BookCon really wore me out. This year BookCon (and Book Expo) took place June 3rd and 4th  at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. I had such an amazing time though and wanted to share my experience with you.

I’ve decided to break my recap into two parts, because I just had all of the things to say. There will be a link in the bottom to my recap of Sunday. Right now, we’re talking Saturday though. So sit back, grab a cup of tea, because this post is gonna be a long one.

Anyway, onto what I actually did at BookCon.

The worst part of BookCon was definitely waking up so early. The mornings felt so much like work days for me, because I woke up around the same time and rode a similar train into the city. The only difference was that my good friend and fellow book lover Kim was with me and I was armed with an empty suitcase to fill with books.

We planned to arrive at the Javits Center around 8am, which is when the queue lines opened for the Main Stage panels. This is not my first time attending BookCon. I attended both in 2014 and 2015. I remember two years ago that getting wristbands for the Main Stage panels was insane! I wasn’t sure how it was going to be this year. Since they did ticketing for the Autographing Area online, I didn’t think it would be too crazy, but you just never know. We decided to go right when the doors opened to be on the safe side.

Turns out the Main Stage Panel hype has gone way done. You just swiped your badge and were good to go. They even eliminated this on Sunday, because of the low turnout on Saturday. I’m not sure if people were just uninterested in the panels themselves or just had a lot going on at the same time. I know personally that a lot of the things I wanted to do all happened at the same time. It prevented me from attending some really cool panels.

20170603_111617.jpgFirst thing on Kim and I’s schedule for the day was to meet Stephanie Perkins, who was doing an in-booth autographing. She was signing partial galleys of her new book, There’s Someone Inside Your House. I wish it had been the full ARC (they were giving those out the next day), but I’ll take what I can get. Stephanie was super nice and excited to hear that I was really looking forward to the book. She wrote it because she was looking for a fun, teen slasher book to read and found that there were like no books. When in doubt, write you own book. I really related to that as I have the same problem with heist novels, which is one of the reason I plan to write one soon. She told me that I should do it and that it sounded like something her husband would want to read.

After meeting Stephanie Perkins, Kim and I’s next detestation was the Scholastic iReadYA Event with Daniel José Older, Maggie Stiefvater, and Sharon Cameron. Kim and I were both lucky enough to win tickets to this event. We met all three of the authors who signed ARC copies of their newest releases. I’ll talk more about those in my upcoming book haul. We also got a ton of candy at the event and there were these cool displays with the books that you could rearrange and post on your bookstagram. I totally did that, but forgot to upload the picture…whoops.

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One of the #bookstagram pictures I forgot to upload from the event.

Then Kim and I split ways. We both had different panels and signings that we planned on going too. Hers started right away, while I had a little more wiggle room with mine. I ended up coming across on a line for the Harlequin Book Bar, which turned out to be really cool. When it was your turn you would walk up to one of the Harlequin staff and talk about the kind of books you like to read, then they would recommend a new book and give you a copy. You could also ask for a specific book if you wanted too. I ended up doing that, mostly because I heard the staff member managing the queue line talk about this awesome book (Arrowood). I do plan on checking out the other books that were recommended to me too. If I can remember them that is…

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Awesome Six of Crows art I saw around the floor.

After that I made my way to the “Find Your Voice Panel,” which was awesome! It was cool hearing some of my favorite contemporary authors talk about their books. Right after that, I attended Jeffrey Tambor’s panel. Jeffrey Tambor is an actor who you may know from Transparent (Maura Pfefferman), Arrested Development (George Sr. and Oscar), The Larry Sanders Show (Hank Kingsley), or a number of other things. He’s been in the industry a long time.

Seeing Tambor was probably the thing I was looking forward to most on Saturday. I am a huge fan of Arrested Development. It is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I think it’s hilarious and George Sr. is one of my favorite characters. That panel was easily the best panel I attended all day. Not only was it cool hearing Jeffrey talk about his new book, but he is just such an interesting person and hilarious. He had the audience cracking up the whole time. He gave us a little tease about Season 4 of Arrested Development by saying that he was excited to see the Bluths tackle this strange new world we’re living in. I’m excited. The panel was also really inspiring because he talked representation in film and TV. He was saying how the only way that we are going to get better representation is if there are more writers, producers, and directors making these stories. While I think he was talking about LGTBQ representation specifically, it really struck a chord in me, because I personally want to see better representation of women and diverse groups in general. It moved me and I left that panel inspired to write and pumped for Season 4 of Arrested Development.

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Me right before I cried in front of Jeffrey Tambor. That cute kid next to Jeffrey is his son Gabriel who was really adorable and posed for all of the pictures.

I had a ticket to Jeffrey Tambor’s autographing session, which was right after the panel. I took my time getting over there and tried to figure out what to say. I’m awful at meeting celebrities/people I look up too. I want to have a nice conversation, but I either end up saying nothing or being SUPER awkward. In attempt at not looking like an idiot, I decided that I was going to tell him that I loved Arrested Development and his character work on the show, but also say that his panel was inspiring. It was a solid plan, though I forgot to account for the nerves. When I got up there and met him, I started talking about Arrested Development as planned, but as moved into the next part I could feel myself start to get emotional. When I talk about things that I’m passionate it sometimes happens, but I did not expect it to happen in that moment. My face felt so hot, and my eyes started to get watery. God help me. I started to apologize because I had no idea why I was getting emotional out of nowhere. To which he says something along the lines of, “It’s okay, be emotional.” Which only made me want to cry even more. I tried to hold back the waterworks as much as I could, but tears just started slipping out. SO I BASICALLY CRIED IN FRONT OF JEFFREY TAMBOR! Then of course, as this is happening we pose for a picture.

Jeffrey was super nice and very encouraging. He fist bumped me and told me that I must write. He even wrote it in my copy of his book, which I will forever hear in George Sr’s voice. (Almost in the vain of, “There’s always money in the banana stand!” if know the show)

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Posing with Wonder Woman’s shield right before the movie. #WeAreAllAmazons

I wasn’t done being emotional for the day though. On top of winning a ticket for the Scholastic event, I also won a ticket to see Wonder Woman with Leigh Bardugo. They came up with this event because Leigh is coming out with a new YA book about Wonder Woman called Wonder Woman: Warbringer. My friend Kim was able to snag a ticket last minute so we both went immediately after BookCon. It was really cool. Not only was the film good (I cried multiple times throughout). We also saw it with a whole bunch of YA authors that I love. Nicola Yoon, Adam Silvera, Laini Taylor, and so many other people were there. Even Cassandra Clare showed up which was awesome! Seeing the film with these authors and other book lovers only heightened the experience of watching the film. I will be writing a review of the film on my other blog, Becky’s Obsessions, so stay tuned for that.

Overall, day one of BookCon was an emotional roller coaster for me, but in a good way. Honestly, I had such a great time and could not wait for the next day. There was more to do, more people to see, and more books to get.

To read what happened the next day, click here. BookCon Day 2 was much more chill, but I also got to see two people that I’m a big fan of. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in the next post if you follow me there.

Did you attend BookCon on Saturday? If so, let me know what your favorite part of the day was. If you’re a fan of Arrested Development or any of the other cool people I talked about, let’s fangirl down in the comment section. 

Top Ten Fantasy Novels That I’ve Recently Added to My TBR

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Fantasy is a genre that I’ve recently gotten into, so I figured it would be a great genre to pick for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. Big thanks to The Broke and the Bookish who came up with such a cool topic for this week. Also, I’ve been adding fantasy books like crazy to my TBR thanks to the book community. They just sound so good and I can’t wait to dive into them. Here are the ones that I’ve recently added to my TBR.

1. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maasa court of wings and ruin

This is the third book in the ACOTAR series. It is the most recent fantasy novel that I have added to my TBR. I just finished A Court of Mist and Fury and holy hell, I loved it. I can’t wait to dive into the next one. I’m so glad that I read that book around the time of this release so I wouldn’t have to wait for it to come out. If you have not checked out this series, where have you been?

 

 

2. Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare Lord of Shadows

This is the second book in The Dark Artifices series and the most recent release in the Shadow Hunters Chronicles. I literally know nothing about this book other than it’s Cassandra Clare’s most recent release (which is why I added it to my TBR). I do plan on reading it as soon as I finish the previous books. Currently, I’m on City of Heavenly Fire. I’ve heard nothing but good things about The Dark Artifices series and I cannot wait to actually get to it. Part of the reason I’m reading The Mortal Instruments series is so I can get to these books.

 

3. The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwellthe last magician

I stumbled upon this book through the blogging community. I cannot remember who blogged about it (if it was you, definitely let me know in the comments), but as soon as I learned what this book was about I knew I had to read it. It takes place in modern day New York where magic is basically extinct. There are people who still have it, Mageus, but if they enter Manhatten they immediately become trapped by the Brink, which is a dark energy barrier. We follow this girl, Esta, who is a thief that can manipulate time and has been raised to steal magical artifacts. She goes on this final mission where she travels back in time to steal this ancient book. I think that that it contains a bunch of secrets that I believe will help free the Mageus. Please check out the full synopsis on GoodReads as it does a much better job at explaining things than me.

You guys know my love for heists, so as soon as I saw that our main character was a thief I was most definitely interested. Time travel is another thing that I love to read about in books, so I’m just super excited. The fact that it takes place in New York is an added bonus. Also that cover though. Unfortunately, I will have to wait to read it as it comes out July 18th.

4. Shadowshaper by Daniel José OlderShadowshaper.jpg

This book is the first book in an urban fantasy that takes place in New York. There is this supernatural order called Shadowshapers who can connect with spirits through paintings, music, and stories. It sounds like a really cool world and I love the fact that it is a diverse book. I’ve heard nothing but great things and am excited to see what it’s about. As you can see, I have a soft spot for stories that take place in New York.

I also met the author this weekend at BookCon and received an ARC of the sequel. Even more reason to start this series.

5. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

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This is the first book in Laini Taylor’s new series. It is a recent release that a lot of people on BookTube have been talking about. I don’t know too much about it, but that’s okay. I’ve heard it’s best going in not knowing anything. However I do know that it does deal with dreams (hence the title) and that made me want to read the book. I am fascinated by dreams and love when the subject is explored. Also, I really loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone and have been interested in reading more by this author. Adding this to my TBR was like a no brainer.

 

6. The Queen of the Tearling  by Erika Johansenqueen of the tearling.jpg

This is the first book in a series by the same name (I think). This is another fantasy series that I hear a lot of people talk about in the book community. It seems to be pretty good overall, though it does seem to have some mixed reviews. I guess some people were lead to believe that it was a mix between The Hunger Games and Game of Thrones, and were let down because of that.

From the little I know, there is political intrigue and a really cool female protagonist. I’ve just heard a lot of people talk about it and want to see what it’s all about. Especially since I’ve gotten into the fantasy genre.

7. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff

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This is another fantasy series I’ve heard nothing but good things about. It is the first book in The Nevernight Chronicle, with the sequel set to release later this year. What interested me, aside from the fact that it has been getting a lot of buzz, is that it is about assassins. Assassins are right up there with spies and thieves for me. Our main character Mia basically goes to assassin school to become deadly so that she can get revenge on the people who destroyed her family. It just sounds awesome and I need to read it. Also, I absolutely love the cover.

 

 

8. Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

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I love that the world in this book is a matriarch. That’s probably the main reason I added this book to my TBR. You don’t get to see a matriarchal society very often and I love the idea. Plus the concept of three sisters fighting for one crown sounds really interesting. I like books that are dark and this definitely sounds like one of them.

 

 

 

9. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

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This one got on my radar because I heard that there was a strong theme of female friendship in it. I don’t really know too much about this one either aside from the fact that one of our main characters is a Truthwitch. A Truthwitch has the ability to be able to discern the truth from lies, which sounds like a pretty awesome ability if you ask me. It is also the first book in a series that a lot of people in the book community talk about. The world sounds different and cool, so I’m in.

 

 

10. Flame in the Mist by Renee AhdiehFlame in the mist.jpg

Renee Ahdieh is an author I’ve been meaning to get into. So many people talk about The Wrath and the Dawn duology and how great it is. Those books are also on my TBR, but we’re talking recent adds to my TBR today. This is Ahdieh’s new book that just came out.

From my understanding this book was marketed as a Mulan retelling, but actually isn’t. The only similarity it shares is the fact that both lead characters impersonate men. There may be more similarities, I have not read the book so obviously I have no idea. However, the story is most definitely different from Mulan.  Mariko, our heroine, impersonates a peasant boy to infiltrate the Black Clan who attacked her convoy. It seems like a revenge fantasy turned love story? I’m not entirely sure, but I really like the trope of a woman pretending to be a man (She’s the Man anyone?). Also Mariko is basically a female samurai, which sounds awesome. I really just want to see what this book is about.

There are so many other fantasy novels that I’ve recently added to my TBR, but these are the most recent ones that I have yet to really talk about on my blog. I definitely wanted to showcase some other books today and not talk about the ones I usually talk about. Hopefully I can read at least half of these, if not all, before the end of 2017.

Aside from ACOWAR (which I already have plans to read with my friend Bella) and Lord of Shadows (which I can’t read until I finish the other books), which book on this list do you think I should read first? Are any of these books also on your TBR? Let’s chat about it in the comment section. If you have any other cool fantasy book recommendations that you think I should read, definitely let me know down below.