Top Ten Tuesday: My 10 Favorite Underrated Books

This is such an interesting topic on The Broke & The Bookish today! My 10 favorite underrated books, as done by Goodreads (with less than 2,000 ratings). So let's see what we come up with, shall we? Have you read any of these? Let me know below and also link up your TTT list so I can find some new reads!

1. Haunted by Eileen Maksym --this is a first book written by a friend of a friend and I think it's well worth a read. From my review: a talent for telling spooky, hair-raising tales. This is definitely a good read for around Halloween.

2. To Catch a Cheat & Real Women Don't Wear Size 2 by Kelley St John --these are from my pre/early blogging years, when I read tons of "pink books" & "chicklit". Pure fluff, but the fun kind!

3. Princess Jellyfish vol 1 by Akiko Higashimura --I'll have a review up of this sweet manga graphic novel next week, but let's just say I am not a manga reader but I loved this one! So much that I already ordered vol 2!

4. Jem & The Holograms: Showtime by Kelly Thompson --another graphic novel that I'll be reviewing soon. Are you an 80/90s girl? Do you love Punky Brewster, Cyndi Lauper, and/or the original Jem?? Then you should be reading this series!!

5. The Thing About Jane Spring by Sharon Krum --this has been my go-to recommendation since I first read it way back in 2006. It has such an old-fashioned quality but it still works. Jane is a tough, no-nonsense lawyer who is happy with her life...except for one part. She can't get a man and she has no idea why. In the middle of an old movie marathon during a snowstorm, she gets the answer: Doris Day always got the guy.

6. Rachel Rising, Echo, & Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore --anything by Terry Moore is an A-Plus for me. I would start with SIP, because it's my favorite, but the others are just as good too. Echo is science fictiony, Rachel Rising is straight up horror, and SIP is both of those plus romance, action, adventure, friendship.

7. Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs --“It's too hard to explain. I can't say why I love the book. I just do. You don't pick the books you fall in love with any more than you pick the people you fall in love with. It just happens, and when it happens, you know. Who's to say where love comes from?”

8. Nerds series by Vicki Lewis Thompson --another pick from my pre-blogging days. If you want hot nerdy guys who are secretly bikers getting with former models who are into weird stuff like building hover crafts, accountants who get the showgirls, Some Like it Hot remakes, and Bigfoot sightings then these are the books for you! :D Talk Nerdy to Me is my favorite but they are all pretty equally delicious and drrrty lol.

9. The Vinyl Princess by Yvonne Prinz --I love a good music themed book and this one had its flaws, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Also, any book that has a "Rocky Raccoon" reference is okay with me!

10.The Time-Traveling Fashionista On Board the Titanic by Bianca Turetsky --this book combines a bit of history with gorgeous fashions and a dash of time travel to make a really sweet middle grade book. Check out my review and also the book trailer here.

Yet Another Update: End of 2015

This is what happens when you have another nearly 4 month blogging slump. :( More picture updates. I hope you don't mind! And I actually have to split this into 2 posts so it's not picture top-heavy. So what was I up to, book-wise, from my last update til the end of the year? (Click any of the pics to make bigger & follow me on Instagram for more current updates!)

Well, I took this pretty picture of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, read 65 pages, and decided I just couldn't do it. :p Some classics are not meant to be, for me. So I picked up a childhood favorite instead, The Dollhouse Murders, and LOVED it! This book terrified me as a kid and did a pretty good job as an adult!

I read a few holiday themed books, not as many as last year, but a good amount. I mostly just took pretty pictures of them. I did read a Sweet Valley High Christmas Special though, and I'll have a review of it up next week.

 

I rediscovered my theme song, Beauty & The Beast's Belle. It's perfect, no? And I sing it constantly lol.

I had a strong urge to reread a massive amount of books off my shelves. So I decided to finally tackle the Pretty Little Liars series in November. I read the first 9 back in 2010-2011 but still bought them occasionally, because my sister was reading them. When the last one finally came out and it looked like it really was the end (hah, likely story!), I decided it was time. I read all 16 books (plus the prequel, so 17) in right at 2 1/2 months at work. Not too shabby.

I started rereading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series too because I needed some yummy vampires again. I'm about to start #12 and I even got my mom to start the series last week! She has never read any paranormal romance so I was pretty shocked she even tried it, but she is loving it so far. :) And I finished the Twilight series and even bigger shocker, actually enjoyed it overall!

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family and while I will be doing a haul post soon, I had to show off the illustrated Harry Potter and stationery (I have the worst time spelling this word!) set that my sister got me. She knows me so well. :) And now I have the perfect paper to write letters and use the Hogwarts stamps that my wonderful penpal sent me!

 

So that brings us to the end of the year. How about some mini-stats to end us with? Because I am so not doing another end-of-year post in March. I read 172 books total, 113% of my goal woo! 12 5 star books, 6 of them new reads. 44 eBooks, 14 graphic novels, 55 rereads, 4 Baby-Sitters Club books.

Mid-Year Resolutions Review

It's roughly mid-year and that means it's time to look back at the resolutions I/you/we made at the beginning of the year and see how we're doing. Me? I've lost my focus. Which is not good, since that was my word for the year. Wow, am I not doing well on most of these!

1. Goodreads Goal of 110 Books--this is one of the few things I'm actually succeeding at lol. I've read 84 books so far this year, 76% of my goal. Lots of great ones too and only a few duds.

2. Read 20 BSC Books--nope nope. I've only read 4 so far! womp womp. Maybe I should readjust that to at least 1 a month.

3. To-Read Shelf on 1 Shelf--hahahaaaa...that's funny. As you can see from this Instagram video, I am back up to a shelf plus 3/4 of the one below it again.

4. Vlogging--I haven't worked up the courage to do a video with me in it or just speaking yet. I want to though! Any tips for a first-timer? How do you get past the nerves and the fact that your voice sounds like Minnie Mouse on video? Lol...

5. Classic a Month--Yes!! I'm doing this! Woo! I did get a little behind in March, but I'm all caught up again now. I haven't branched out much yet this year though. I really want to read another play soon.

6. More Non-Review Posts--have I been doing this? Hang on, let me go check. Okay, I started a feature for My Favorite Children's Books, but I've only done 2 so far. I was talking this weekend about how I wanted to start that back up again though. I did a fun post on reading quirks inspired by my lovely sister. Oh!! I started my Summer of Being Cool Chicks silliness and...fizzled out a little. Boo. I suck. This weekend! I'm getting back to it! Pinky swear!

7. Enjoy Blogging--I think I am, for the most part. When I didn't feel like blogging for awhile, I didn't push myself. I have noticed though, that I when I am blogging regularly, I want to. Does that make sense? I've had the feeling of being very sloth-like lately and am trying to get out of that.

8. Use my Library--yes! The one closest to us reopened in February and we've been going several times a month.

So that's where I am right now...I hope you are doing better with your goals/resolutions than me!

Top Ten Tuesday: My 8 Bookish Resolutions for 2014

Great timing for The Broke & The Bookish, I was considering doing a resolutions post soon anyway! Looking back at my 2013 resolutions, I didn't do so great, particularly with the last 4. That stinks. Maybe my word of the year should be "Maintain". :p Ooh, how about "Focus"? I actually like that, yep I'll use it!

1. Read 110 books for 2014. I had originally set it for 150 since I way passed my goal last year. But thinking about it, I want to make more time for blogging and actually reviewing most of the books I read, so I lowered it.

2. Read at least 20 Baby-Sitters Club books and review them. I can't believe I thought I could do them all in 1 year (while blogging them all)!!

3. Keep my to-read shelf down to one shelf. O_0 I've done really well the last few months of not buying new books and reading off my shelf, so I was able to condense it down to one 2 foot shelf instead of two! Haha! And I'd like to keep it that way, so I need to read some more before I can buy some more.

4. Try out vlogging. I'm a little nervous about being on camera but I want to move past that and be able to do at least 1 video a month.

5. Continue reading a classic a month and branch out even more. What classic is a must read for you? Have I read it yet? If not, tell me below!

6. Write more non-review posts. Yesterday, when I was doing my favorite for 2013, I realized that I should do more like that. They were a lot of fun to write.

7. Enjoy blogging again. Don't make it into work, when I need a break, I'll take one. When I want to blog every day, I'll go crazy!


8. Continue to utilize my library, especially when the new one opens back up in March! (Picture courtesy of MrLibraryDude)

And that's all I have! :) What are your goals/resolutions/words for the year? How did you do on last year's?

Best & Worst of 2013

A little delayed, but Happy New Year to all my lovely readers and stopper-bys! :) I enjoyed my holidays and my break from blogging, but I think I'm ready to get back to it. I missed writing about books and bookish things! And I want to try some new things here, just not sure what yet. That will take some thought. Anyway, I'm going to start off the week with my best and worst of 2013 along with some favorites. "Worst" isn't exactly all that bad though, I didn't have any 1 star books for the year! Just a few that didn't quite agree with me lol. Let's break this down a little, shall we?

Number of books read:
158 Total (goal was 130, woo!)
12 Classics
22 Rereads
27 eBooks
22 Graphic Novels
8 Baby-Sitters Club books

Most Read Authors:
10 Ann M Martin
7 JK Rowling
6 Terry Moore
4 Christopher Pike, Francine Pascal, Lauren Oliver, Joe Hill, Caroline B Cooney
3 Cecily von Ziegesar, Neal Shusterman, LM Montgomery, Wendy Mass, Tarryn Fisher, James Dashner

Favorite Covers:
Unsouled (Unwind #3) -super creepy
Numbers #1 -the hardbound has embossed white numbers on a white background on the inside cover, I liked it because it was "feely" lol.
Hater #1 -very bold with the red on white.
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour -this book is just begging to be made into a movie with this cover!
Spanking Shakespeare -because it's funny
Bad News Ballet #1 -because I squealed when I saw it at a book sale and it took me back to my childhood.

5 Star Rereads:
Harry Potter (duh)-I finally talked my sister into reading it with me this summer and of course, she loved it! :)
Strangers in Paradise by Terry Moore-my favorite graphic novel series
Anna & The French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins -I enjoyed revisiting this and loved it just as much as the first time!
The Thing About Jane Spring by Sharon Krum

5 Star New Reads:
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Light (Gone #6) by Michael Grant -a fabulous ending to a fabulous series
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Lover Reborn (Black Dagger Brotherhood #10) by JR Ward
Locke & Key Vol 4: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern -we watched Hugo over the weekend and I loved it, that's how I would think The Night Circus would look as a movie.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
Anne of the Island (Anne of Green Gables #3) by LM Montgomery

Almost 5 Star New Reads:
The first 3 Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead -so much better than Vampire Academy, in my opinion.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman -deliciously creepy
Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson -so, so sad but very good!
Kidnapped (Sweet Valley High #13) by Francine Pascal -ridiculous SVH plots at its best!
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon -one of my dad's favorites, I can see why!

Amazing Classics:
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Outsiders by SE Hinton
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Not So Great Reads:
Just One Year by Gayle Forman -it made me sad that I didn't enjoy this sequel as much as the first.
Deceptions (Sweet Valley High #14) by Francine Pascal -ridiculous SVH plots at its worst, I'll be reviewing this one this week!
Where it Began by Ann Redisch Stampler
Doll Bones by Holly Black

Not So Great Classics:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -I really wanted to be scared & I wasn't
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger -my expiration date has passed for this book
Nancy Drew #1 by Carolyn Keene -again, I'm just too old for this stuff lol

Favorite Non-Review Blog Posts I Wrote:
Banned Book Week 09/24/13
TTT: 10 More Books I'd Turn Into Movies 09/10/13
The Summer Romance Formula 08/21/13
TTT: My 10 Favorite Graphic Novels 08/13/13
That Time I Met Ann M Martin & Neil Gaiman 04/29/13
TTT: My 10 Best Bookish Memories 02/05/13
She's Crafty...She's Just My Type 02/03/13
Book vs Movie: Anne of Green Gables 01/12/13

And finally, department of random, my favorite page from a graphic novel... a young female in an intergalactic army many, many years in the future takes a break reading a vintage romance book in Saga: Vol 2 by Brian K Vaughan. :)

(Artist is Fiona Staples)

Why I haven't been blogging and what I've been doing instead

1. Sometimes I just want to be lazy and read all the time and not think about how I'm going to review a book or what "this or that" means. And I've been in kind of a slump lately of that. So that's what I've been doing...reading. And watching all the season finales on TV heh.

2. We got to go to Dallas Comic-Con (thanks to my dad & stepmom for tickets!!) and it was totally crazy and so much fun! Nathan Fillion cancelled at the last minute, we waited in line for 2 hours in a hot garage to get inside and 45 minutes to get on the escalator (yes, for real. photo below by @ElizaGolightly4) and those were the bad parts. But I got some fun toys and art and I got to meet Terry Moore and he signed some books for me and my dad which was so amazing. We took a Doctor Who pic for all you Who-vians. :) My sis even had fun and agreed that we should dress up next time (I have the most amazing costume idea already!) and definitely try to go on Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday.

3. A lot of reading...but hey, I'm at 48% to my Goodreads goal! And I finished my May classic yesterday and will have that review up this week. Also, I've read so many books that I'm not currently reading anything lol. And I'm getting excited to start my Annual (except last year) Summer Reread of Harry Potter. I would like to do some kind of special blogging for it, but I'm not sure what yet. Any ideas? Still trying my hardest to get my sister to read them with me too.

4. I cleaned up my bookshelves too! They were a little out of control. I got all my to-reads on the shelf and put away the 40 books (actual amount eep!) that were in the living room/craft area and was so proud of myself...and then Half Price Books had their 20% off sale this weekend. And I now have a stack of books on the floor again. And this comic by The Infinite Curio is almost the exact conversation I had with my sister. But I'm okay with that. :)

5. I started an Instagram this weekend to continue my 365 toy pic project because the new Flickr is not appealing to me at all (and that's putting it mildly and nicely). Feel free to follow me...it will be mostly toy pics, but also bookish findings, cute animals, and weird pics of me.

6. Thanks to number 4, I have a stack of giveaway books too, I just need to figure out how to split them up. I also have the library con books to giveaway still...maybe I'll try to do a whole month of giveaways or something. :)

And that's where I've been. I'll have reviews up this week for my May classic, the latest BSC book, and maybe another Green Gables? Hopefully.

Top Ten Tuesday: My Top 10 Authors in Goodreads

I decided to do this week's Top 10 Tuesday Topic (say that 10 times fast!) slightly different, just because I couldn't make up my mind on which genre lol. I let Goodreads pick for me, the top 10 authors that I read the most (in my 4 1/2 year history on there). :)

1. Ann M Martin--this should be no surprise, with a whopping 60 books.

2. Luann Rice (15)--I used to read her books allllll the time. They were like crack, along with Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult. My favorites were the Hubbard's Point plots, which kind of wove people and times and places all together thru 5 or 6 books.

3. Gena Showalter (12)--mmm...Lords of the Underworld is one of my favorite paranormal series.

4. Sara Shepard (10)--Pretty Little Liars...I read the first 7 all in 1 month lol. I obviously liked them, but I'm not sure how I feel about the continuation with book 9. It just seems like she is trying to get as much money as possible.

5. Charlaine Harris (10)--same for Miss Sookie Stackhouse. I read the first 10 in 3 months yikes, but the last one I read was nowhere near as good as the others and I kind of gave up.

6. JK Rowling (9)--she, on the other hand, can write as much as she wants on Harry Potter and that world and I will eat it up.

7. Brian K Vaughan (9)--he is one of my favorite graphic novelists. He's written some/all of The Runaways, Buffy, Y: The Last Man...and those are just the ones that I've read by him. Plus, he has a really creepy picture on his Goodreads account.

8. JR Ward (9)--my other favorite paranormal series, Black Dagger Brotherhood. Yum. :)

9. PC Cast (8)--House of Night has gotten kind of meh, but I still want to finish it. Unfortunately, I think I'll need to do a reread before I get to book 9. And I'm already doing that right now with The Immortals and I just don't have the energy for another massive reread right away.

10.Richelle Mead (8)--I have mixed feelings about Vampire Academy and Bloodlines too, same as HON, but I can't seem to stop reading them.