Tuesday Talks: Favorite Book Series (January 24, 2017)

Hey everyone!  Welcome to this week's segment of Tuesday Talks. As usual, if you'd like to learn more about this group, start contributing to the weekly discussions, or even check out some past questions, check out the group on GoodReads.  Here we go again!

Show your favorite book series

This week's one seems like a fun one! Instead of just talking about my favorite book series (I have more than one, probably like most people), I get to actually show them! Unfortunately, I don't have all of my favorite book series in my possession which is a definite bummer. So I will show you as much as I have, and maybe I can mention the ones that I don't have.

So this is going to be all of my favorite series so far, pretty much. I have come to love quite a few series during my lifetime, but as I have told one of my friends before, I have a problem with actually finishing them. Especially if a series is really good, I just don't want it to end! I'm pretty sure that the only series that I actually finished was Harry Potter (of course) because I had to know that everything turned out okay. I had to know how it would end before the final movie came out, and thank goodness for the most part all was well.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

I used to see this series floating around for years, since the first book came out in 2012, but I never had the opportunity to get all of the books or read the first one until recently last year.  I fell in love with the characters, Genya and Mal mostly, although I did really like Alina, the main protagonist. The Darkling was also a character that still sits in the back of my mind, and I can't wait to find out what happens in the next two books.

Since I did end up writing a review for Shadow and Bone, be sure to check it out on my blog. Also, be sure to be on the lookout for my future reviews on the rest of the trilogy. I will make an effort to actually finish series for once in my life!

 The 5th Wave Trilogy by Rick Yancey

This is another series that I started but never finished. Granted, I didn't get the last two books until just recently, about December of 2016. But now I have no excuse. I'm going to have to finish this eventually.  The first book was honestly amazing, and I think the movie wasn't too bad for an adaptation. Don't get me wrong, there were some aspects in the book that wasn't in the movie that I felt there should be, but I have a totally different post dedicated for those thoughts.

I also have my review of the first book as well that I read early in 2016. A definite must-read and I'm sure I will enjoy the rest of the series as well.

 The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

These books were some of my all time favorite. I actually read the first three back to back, and if those were the only three books in the series I would have finished the entire series in five days. That's how much I enjoyed these books. I realized though that I read these during my period of no reviews, so I don't even have a good post to refer you to on my thoughts of it. I guess I'll have to reread them anyway before I finish the final book. I have a lot of catching up to do.

Think "The Bachelor" mixed with "The Hunger Games" or something like that. It was pretty interesting and I'm surprised I enjoyed it, but I'm glad I took the chance to read them. Honestly though, I think it should have ended with The One, but oh well. More books for me to read and enjoy.

 The Red Queen Trilogy by Victoria Aveyard

With the third book, The King's Cage being released in a matter of days, I have to bring the book series up. I couldn't get enough of the first book, Red Queen. It reminded me a little bit of X-Men per se, but also had a Red Rising feel to it. Also, I love to see girls that kick major ass, and while those girls were mostly bad girls, at least the main character Mare does end up learning how to be somewhat bad ass. I know she's going to get better, and I can't wait to see how this translate on the big screen.

The Waterfire Saga by Jennifer Donnelly

Last but not least, the best series about mermaids that I have come across so far. These are only the books I have though, and I still need to get the rest when I get the chance, but I absolutely love this book. Six mermaids, all with their own special powers that will help them to defeat great evil. Plus, they are all pretty damn smart and can kick major ass and I always love that in girls. This was one of my favorite books to read of all time, especially because it deals with mermaids. I love mermaids. I've always wanted to be a mermaid, so at least these books will help me live out that dream in some way. If you haven't checked out this series yet, you definitely have to soon.

Not convinced, I actually did a review for the first one sometime last year, so check it out on my blog. Go on. Don't delay :)

There are probably so many more series that I am in love with, but I either don't have the physical books or I don't have the physical books. Yes I said that twice because the other ones that I love are either on my Kindle or were borrowed from the library years ago and there aren't any copies of them here on Guam. It definitely sucks, but at least I got to read them, right? What are you favorite book series? Have you read any of the ones that I mentioned here? Let me know in the comments below.

January is almost over, and so far I've done every single Tuesday Talks segment for the year. Yay! I'm pretty proud of myself and I plan on keeping the momentum going with next week's discussion. Until then!

Tuesday Talks: Book Arrangement (January 17, 2017)

Hey everyone! Welcome to another segment of Tuesday Talks! If you'd like to learn more about this group or start contributing to the weekly discussions, check out the group on GoodReads. Let's get started, shall we?

How do you arrange your books?

If you look at the different bookstagram accounts, you see all of these beautiful shelfies. And the most beautiful thing about seeing those shelfies is how they are arranged.  Some of them are arranged by color, by series, by author, sometimes even by genre. It's really nice to see how different people arrange their book cases, and it also makes me a little jealous that I only have one shelf.

So back to the question.

When I had the perfect amount of books on my shelf (in this case, not enough books at all), I had it arranged alphabetically by author's last name. Within each author's section, I also had each series chronologically. But, now that I have so many more books and absolutely no new book case, it's just arranged by whatever can fit without falling off the shelf.

Maybe one day when I get more book shelves, I can arrange them back to the way it was before, or maybe I can try another arrangement and make it match by color or book heights. We will see.

How do you arrange your books? I hope it's better than mine! Let me know in the comments below.

Tuesday Talks: Favorite Books of 2016 (January 10, 2017)

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another segment of Tuesday Talks. As usual, if you'd like to learn more about this group, or start participating in the weekly discussions, be sure to check them out on GoodReads. So, here we go!

Your favorite books for 2016

2016 had a lot of amazing books for me, even though I didn't get to read as many as I wanted to. There were also so many books that I didn't get a chance to read as well. I'll at least list a few of the ones that really stuck with me throughout the year. Maybe you have read a couple of them as well?

• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• The Siren by Kiera Cass
• The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
• Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly
• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
• Heartless by Marissa Meyer

I feel like that's pretty much my entire reading list from last year! But don't worry, it's not. Those are just my all time favorite ones. There are some that come at a close second but these are the ones that I absolutely could not put down no matter what. Have you read any of these books? What were your favorites of 2016? Let me know in the comments below.

See you guys next week!

Tuesday Talks: Bookish Resolutions (January 3, 2017)

Hey everyone, and welcome back to another segment of Tuesday Talks. Part of my new years resolution is to keep up with my blog and make sure I make weekly posts on it. With being part of the amazing GoodReads group, "Tuesday Talks", I will be sure to make this goal. If you want to learn more about Tuesday Talks, or start writing your own posts for Tuesday Talks, be sure to check out their GoodReads group.

What are your bookish resolutions?

I noticed that a lot of my resolutions this year are revolving around my love for books. If there's one thing that I want to nurture this year, its my book activity, so this is a good topic of discussion for the first Tuesday Talks of the year. Rather than have unnecessary paragraphs about what my resolutions are, I'll list them for you.

1. Be more active on my Bookstagram account (@miyukinightreader)
2. Make weekly posts on my blog
3. Take a chance and read books that I normally wouldn't read
4. Actually finish a monthly challenge for once
5. Be more active on my GoodReads account

I'll start with those five for now. It sounds like a lot, and for me I know it will be a challenge. But I'm going to make an effort actually finish the year strong, and make sure that I don't have too long of a break throughout the year like I usually do. What are your bookish resolutions? Let me know in the comments below!

Tuesday Talks - Shop or Browse?

Hey everyone! Sorry I'm posting a little late this week but at least I'm actually writing a post! Once again, if you're interested in past topics from this year or even want to start your own blog/vlog, be sure to check out the GoodReads group Tuesday Talks.

Do you shop for specific books, or are you a browser?

I think it really depends on what my mood is when I walk into the bookstore. Some days, I just want to go in to see what new books are in there, and so I don't have anything particular that I'm looking for. I think that's the worst time for me to go to the bookstore though, because when I'm in browsing mode then I can buy up to 10 books at a time or even more. So not good for my wallet, but way awesome for my bookshelf. Which reminds me, I still need to eventually get another shelf for my growing collection.

Now, if I'm on GoodReads or Instagram and I see potentially amazing books that I should have in my hands like right now, then I will go to the bookstore on a mission to see if it's even there. I think I should actually call them first and make sure that it's in stock before making my way there, so that I don't go there disappointed when they don't have it. Then again, if it's not there then I end up finding other books to buy! I think I have a book addition, guys.

This one was pretty short and to the point, but that's perfect. So either way, I'm buying books guys. What do you guys think? Do you shop for specific books or are you a browser? Or are you like me and does it depend on your mood? Let me know in the comments below.

Tuesday Talks - First Book in a Series

Hey everyone! Welcome to another segment of Tuesday Talks. If you want to get involved in the discussions and check out the past topics, feel free to check out the group on Goodreads.

If you did not enjoy the first book in a series, do you continue on?

This one is actually a pretty big deal breaker for me. There are a lot of series that I find interest in, and I always take a big chance in reading the first book. Once I don't like it, I won't go on to the rest of the series, no matter how many books there are. I can talk about one series in particular. I didn't realize it was a series until I checked it out on GoodReads, and unfortunately this was after I read the book. I could barely get through it, and it is not part of my character to leave a book unfinished, no matter how horrid it is. I won't name the book here, in case there are those who actually liked it contrary to my opinion (there are quite a few positive reviews on GoodReads), and I don't want those who haven't read it to have expectations.

As much as the book left me with a cliffhanger, the fact that I had no desire to even finish the book made me not want to find out what happens to Channie and the rest of the characters in the series. It was that terrible.

I've actually been really lucky at finding series that I actually like based off the first book alone. I think if there were more like my previous example, then i would feel really upset. Of course, as you can probably tell from my reading history from last year and this year, I've mostly been reading only the first book of multiple series for some reason. Maybe I just don't want any of these series to end like all the rest of them do, but they will eventually have to one day.

What do you think? Does your approval of the first book determine whether or not you continue a series? Let me know in the comments below.

Tuesday Talks - Soundtrack for Favorite Books

Hey everyone! Another week, another Tuesday Talks! I love that I've been able to actively participate in the discussions this year. I hope to keep it up. If you're curious about what exactly Tuesday Talks is or want to start joining in yourself, be sure to check out the GoodReads group.

If you could put together a soundtrack for your favorite book(s), what songs would you choose?

Oh I'm really excited about this topic! I loved making playlists at one time, when I didn't have an mp3 player and would have to listen to songs on a CD player. I would make my own CD mixes to listen to, and a lot of them had to do with love and heartbreak funnily enough. I still love those CDs though, don't get me wrong. I just don't think I've ever made a soundtrack for my favorite books. I'm going to choose two of my favorite books from this year to do this exercise, and hopefully you guys will see why I chose these songs. Here we go!

Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard (playlist here)

1. Castle - Halsey

"I'm headed straight for the castle. They got the kingdom locked up. And there's an old man sitting on the throne that's saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut."

2. The Mighty Fall - Fall Out Boy feat. Big Sean

"Your crooked love is just a pyramid scheme, and I'm dizzy on dreams. But if you ask me two's a whole lot lonelier than one."

3. You Should Know Where I'm Coming From - Banks

"What if I said I could break your heart? What if I said I have problems that made me mean?

4. Dead To Me - Melanie Martinez

"My condolences. I'll shed a tear with your family."

5. HFH (Heart F*cking Hurts) - Mia Martina

"It's too late for a fix. I'm a wreck over this."

6. Bed of Lies - Nicki Minaj feat. Skylar Grey

"You could never make eye contact. Everything you got was based off of my contacts."

7. Bad Love - Caitlyn Scarlett

"You can't separate, what you need and what you want. Bad love isn't better than none."

8. Centuries - Fall Out Boy

"And just one mistake is all it will take. We'll go down in history. Remember me for centuries."

9. Battle Cry - Imagine Dragons

"Nobody can save me now. The king is crowned. It's do or die."

10. Better Off - Emily Vaughn

"So hard to say that we might be better off moving on without each other."

The Siren - Kiera Cass (playlist here)

1. Be Okay - Oh Honey

"I'm wide awake, so what's the point of dreaming when your life is great?"

2. Bad Intentions - Niykee Heaton

"This is the face I wear treading the riptide. Abysmal oceans where good girls go to die."

3. Sea Song - Lisa Hannigan

"There's one man, he's like the wishful thinking in my life."

4. Only Love Can Hurt Like This - Paloma Faith

"Only love can hurt like this. Must have been a deadly kiss."

5. All Of You - Betty Who

"But I wanna go and get lost with you, my love. I want you to give me all of you."

6. Tenerife Sea - Ed Sheeran

"You got the kind of look in your eyes as if no one knows anything but us."

7. Like The Sea - Alicia Keys

"Love is like the sea, leaves you on your knees."

8. Thank You for the Broken Heart - J. Rice

"Cause if it wasn't for you, I might forget, how it feels to let go."

9. I Was Made for Loving You - Tori Kelly feat. Ed Sheeran

"I'll take this chance, so call me blind. I've been waiting all my life."

10. The Girl - City and Colour

"I wish I could do better by you, 'cause that's what you deserve."

Tuesday Talks - Meeting your Favorite Author

Hey everyone! Once again, here is another segment of Tuesday Talks. If you're wondering what exactly is Tuesday Talks or how to get involved, be sure to check out the group on GoodReads. Each week has a new topic to discuss, so be sure to check out past posts and leave me some comments.

Have you ever met your favorite author, if so did it change the way you felt about their books?

If you have ever met your favorite author, then you are one lucky person! Unfortunately, I have never met any of my favorite authors, as I live in a place that doesn't seem to get a lot of traffic author wise. There aren't really a lot of people trying to make their way to Guam for book signings or book releases. It sucks for them though, because Guam is so beautiful and there are so many people here on this island that would kill to meet their favorite authors like myself.

I think if I were to ever meet any of my favorite authors, I would totally have a fangirl moment and not know what to say or even behave like a normal human being. I would want to pick their brains, find out what made them make these amazing books and how they have the strength and motivation to keep writing, especially when they have bouts of writer's block. I would basically want to be their best friends and would absolutely die if they ever let me keep in touch. OMG, right?

Have you ever met your favorite author, or one of them if you have more than one like me? Let me know in the comments below!

Tuesday Talks - What movie adaptions have you enjoyed more than the book?

Hey everyone! Welcome to another segment of Tuesday Talks. Again, for those of you who are curious about what exactly Tuesday Talks is or if you want to start joining in on the discussions, be sure to check out the group Tuesday Talks on GoodReads. If you want, you can even backtrack and do the other topics from the beginning of the year and catch up! It's only been two months so that's not too many posts. Good luck!

What movie adaptions have you enjoyed more than the book?

More than the book... I think one of the movies that I loved so much better than the book was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I did like the book the second time I read it, but looking back on the first time I tried to read it, I remembered that I couldn't get through it. I don't know why. Maybe because it didn't hit me as much as when I watched it, but I would say that the movie stayed in my heart much more than the book did. Also, when I was watching the movie, I could relate to Carmen way more than her character in the book, even though they were essentially the same person. Also, the movie just made me see things in a different light than when I was reading it.

There aren't a lot of movie adaptions that I like more than their book counterparts. If anything, I like them just as much as I do the book or less, as with The 5th Wave, and Vampire Academy. There are also some movies that I've watched without actually reading the books, like Divergent. Maybe one day I will have another book to add to this list, but for now, the only movie adaption that I like better than the book would the The Sisterhood.

Are there any other movies that you like better than their books? Let me know in the comments below!

Tuesday Talks - New Plot Lines in my Genre of Choice

Hey everyone!

Welcome to this week's addition of Tuesday Talks. Man I'm actually really proud of myself for keeping up for the most part this year. Sure, it's only February but that's already two months of the year down and that's a feat in and of itself. Don't forget, if you are interested in joining the GoodReads group and weighing in on our weekly discussions, please check out the group and tell us what you think.

What new plot lines would you like to see in your genre of choice?

First, I think it's important to actually tell you my genre of choice. That would definitely be YA all around. I do tend to lean towards Paranormal YA books, dealing with vampires, werewolves, witches, anything supernatural. YA books have always been my favorite and I don't think that will ever change. It's not really a plot line that I'm interested in but I would really love to read more mermaid books, like Deep Blue, one of the books that I've read recently and still need to write up my review. Mermaids are so underrated and there is so much potential in writing a really good mermaid book. Deep Blue was definitely one of them.

Another thing I want to see when it comes to YA books is more books dealing with female leads working together rather than the whole mean girl thing. It's not very prevalent in so much of the books that I've read so far, but it was really prominent in Deep Blue and it actually becomes very important in the rest of the saga. I don't like always reading about girls fighting with one another, whether it's for the affections of the same boy or some other trivial thing. When girls take their differences and actually work together to fight the bigger picture, that's something worth reading, and that's something worth supporting.

I think I can list another thing that I would love to see. It's probably because I haven't really read as much books throughout my life that I would like, but I would love to read more books about dragon mythology. I've only read Eragon so far, and while I still need to reread it and finish the rest of the series, I think there need to be more dragon books. Dragons are some of the coolest creatures ever, and they need a lot more attention.

As you can see, I live for the supernatural world. I would rather read those than YA contemporary books. It's a nice break from the real world where I still haven't found proof that mermaids and dragons exist. Maybe if that proof comes to light, then I'll be fine living in this reality, but for now, I need more of these books.

I feel like this post was all over the place, and I deeply apologize for this. Are there any specific plot lines or general topics in your personal genre of choice that you would like to see? Let me know in the comments below.

Tuesday Talks - Comparative Blurbs

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to Tuesday Talks, a weekly discussion based on the GoodReads group of the same name, where each week we talk about a different book-ish topic and share our thoughts. Please, feel free to check out the group on GoodReads and maybe even join in on the current and future discussions.

How do you feel about comparative blurbs on book covers?

A lot of books have these things called "comparative blurbs" on book covers. You know, where there are the little snippets about how good the book is, and how it compares to other bestsellers that are similar in nature. Or, it could be a positive comment from the author of another bestseller. Take a look at the books around your house, the books on your bookshelf, almost any book. Is there something there that makes you want to immediately pick it up and dive into its story? That's the point of these comparative blurbs.

Sometimes I feel like they do help the book sell, especially for those who buy and read books based on the positive reviews. When you don't have time to read full-fledged, in-depth reviews about books that you are serious about buying, it helps to have a little taste of what other people think about the book. But I do also think that sometimes it isn't really unbiased, especially since these blurbs come from other authors or compare the book to other popular works. Of course the blurbs on the covers are going to be positive in order to get people to read and buy the books. In order to really get an idea of how the book really is, it's important to read both types of reviews.

But then again, that can also have a negative effect on your thoughts because then you have preconceived notions on how the book will be based on the reviews you have read. Unless you read the book without paying attention to any reviews before hand, then you will be swayed to either like or dislike the book without even having to open to the first page.

So what do I think about comparative blurbs on the covers? I guess I would say that they have their pros and cons, and they really are interesting for me to read before hand. It's also nice to have an idea of what the book is about without reading the synopsis in the back of the book, although I would rather read the synopsis than blurbs. I think that if books didn't have blurbs, I would wonder what people would think about it, which would make me want to look up reviews on GoodReads (it's a wonderful place to read reviews), which will determine whether or not I do end up reading a book or not.

So... I guess yes on blurbs. But not always. Sorry my answer was so long winded.

Tuesday Talks - Favorite Love Stories / Book Couples

Hey Everyone!

I'm so sorry that this week's Tuesday Talks is really late. It's almost like I'm going to have two Tuesday Talks right next to each other, but it's okay. In honor of Valentine's Day, this week's Tuesday Talks will have a romantic catch to this, and I'm actually really excited to write about it. Please be sure to check out the GoodReads group "Tuesday Talks", and don't forget to check out the other members' blogs and videos. It's always fun to see other responses. You know how much I love having discussions.

What are your favorite love stories and/or who are your favorite couples?

I've read quite a few books and I will say that there are only a few love stories that have stuck in my mind. One of the ones that I think about that I really liked was the one between Anna and Etienne from Anna and the French Kiss. It didn't start off as a love story especially since Etienne had a girlfriend in the beginning and Anna respected that fact. I love that they started off as friends, with Etienne really helped her get used to the fact that she was alone in the City of Love. They are also one of my favorite couples because, let's face it, Etienne was such a romantic character that I couldn't help falling in love with him.

Another favorite couple that I absolutely love is Rose and Dimitri from the Vampire Academy series. Rose is such a badass who is never the one to fall in love. She is a true heartbreaker, and the only one who is able to actually keep up with the storm that is her personality is Dimitri. Yeah, he's old enough to be an uncle of hers, or at least too old to be her boyfriend while she's in high school, but I love how devoted they are to one another, and how they would practically save each other from certain danger, even though they realize that it gets away in their job as Guardians. I still have to read the rest of the series, but I will always find Rose and Dimitri as one of my all time favorite couples, and another favorite love story.

There are probably many more that I'm forgetting, but I'm glad I mentioned two of them. I hope to remember more of them and maybe discuss it in a future post. Hope to hear from you guys!

Tuesday Talks - Required Reading

Hey guys!

Welcome to this week's Tuesday Talks. It's a new month, which means new topics to discuss, and we all know how much fun that is! If you are curious about what the topics will be for this month, or if you want to participate in Tuesday Talks on your own blog or YouTube channel, go ahead and check out the Tuesday Talks group on GoodReads. Please feel free to comment your thoughts, and let me know if you will start joining in on the discussions! It's always fun to read new thoughts.

What do you think of required reading in school?

It's kind of a double edged sword for me. Sometimes, I feel like having required reading is essential to the topic of discussion for whatever is happening during that time. Let's say that your professor is requiring you to read up on some past law cases in order to understand the topic of Habeus Corpus. I can understand why that type of required reading is important. But what if the topic is poetry and instead of being able to choose your favorite poem, you can only read what your professor tells you to read, and it's not something that speaks to you or one that you can understand solely because you can't relate to what the author is saying? Is it fair that you have to read it just because the professor feels like that particular poem should be required? I don't think so.

It could just be because I don't like to be forced to read something that I don't find interesting, or it could be that I don't want to have to read a required reading when it takes up my time to read the rest of the books I have on my shelves. Trust me when I say I have a lot of catching up to do. I think that if it will help me understand the topic that I'm currently learning at that moment in time, and it actually makes sense to me, then I'm down to read it. If not, then don't waste my time.

Wow that one was actually really short. Sorry about that. What do you guys think about required reading? Yay or Nay? Let me know.

Tuesday Talks - New Releases

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to this week's segment of Tuesday Talks. Every week, there is a new topic of discussion that each of us involved in the Tuesday Talks group on GoodReads participates in. We either post a blog post answering the topic or post a video to YouTube. Unfortunately, I don't have the right equipment to make worthwhile videos so I've stuck with writing blog posts for now. Hope you guys like this one, and please feel free to comment and start a discussion with me. That's always fun and will never be turned away!

Name some new releases you are looking forward to.

The newest release that I'm looking forward to is The Siren by Kiera Cass. It just published today and I am dying to hold it in my hands and read it. After finally caving in and reading The Selection by the same author, I feel like I will really like her standalone book. I also heard that she actually published a version of The Siren much earlier than today, but she either republished it and edited it, or something along those lines. Either way, I really want to read it as soon as possible. Another reason why I want to read it is because one of the groups I follow on both Instagram and GoodReads has chosen this book as our February group read, so that's another good reason!

Another new release that I'm really looking forward to is The Last Star by Rick Yancey. This is the final installment to The 5th Wave series and I need to know how the story ends. The first book was amazing and I've been holding off on reading the second book for when the third book comes out so I'm not waiting too long in between them. It may not make sense to some people, but I made that mistake with The Selection series so now I'm dying to know how the series ends but I have to wait until May or even August before the last book comes out. So with this book, I'm going to wait to read the next to last book until the last one comes out! I hope that makes sense a little bit.

So far that's all I'm really looking forward to, but if I think of another one, I will amend my blog post. As always, please feel free to comment your thoughts. Let me know what you are looking forward to, and you may end up jogging my memory on what I'm missing!

Tuesday Talks - Challenges

Hey everyone!

Here is another segment to Tuesday Talks. So far so good. I've been keeping up with the weekly discussions and having a lot of fun writing my thoughts about them. Please feel free to leave me any comments about the topic for this week, and also check out the Tuesday Talks group in GoodReads and possibly start your own Tuesday Talks journey! Trust me, it's really fun.

What challenges do you hope to participate in?

There are so many GoodReads groups with so many challenges in each one. Trust me when I say that it can get pretty overwhelming when they all happen at the same time. With a lot of the groups that GoodReads has, many of the challenges involve reading a certain amount of books in the required time limit. Sometimes it can be reading 10 books in one month, or 20 books in six months. Whatever the case may be, it can be extremely difficult to keep track of every single challenge you are in and how many books you have to read for each in order to consider the challenge conquered. Sometimes it's just not possible to complete every single challenge for each month, and that is totally okay. It's all a matter of pacing yourself, taking on challenges that you know you can handle without overwhelming yourself, and sticking to at least one at a time.

I haven't gone back to each of the groups I follow yet to see what kind of challenges they have this year but I do plan on checking them out. One of the groups that I really liked was called A Million More Pages. They always had a lot of challenges to participate in and they were extremely active the last time I was fully engaged in that group. I hope to go back in that group and see what small challenge I can participate in to get my reading juices flowing again. I would probably participate in a challenge that lasted for longer than a month so that I wouldn't feel pressured to finish more than one book in a single month, especially if it starts to get really busy for me at work or just because I don't find enough time to read as much as I need to for the challenge.

The main challenge that I will participate in every year that I am able to is, of course, the year reading challenge that is on GoodReads. Every year, you give yourself a goal of how many books you want to read by the end of the year, and you track your progress using GoodReads. As long as you put the date that you start and the date that you finish each book, all the ones that you finish in the allotted year (this year would be 2016 of course) will count towards your goal. That one is the easiest for me to do because I get to choose how many books I want to strive for, and I can push myself a little more each year. So far, I have read three books this year, and my official goal for GoodReads is 15. I will try to push myself to read 40 books in all, especially since last year I was so close at 39. Yes, I was one book short! So I am hoping to actually hit 40 books this year. Wish me luck.

That's all I have for you guys this week. I know that it wasn't as good as some of my other posts, but I still need to do more research on what kind of challenges I plan on participating in. Feel free to let me know of any challenges that you think are good ones to try out, and I will definitely check them out!

Tuesday Talks: Bookish Resolutions for 2016

Hey guys!

I'm here again with another Tuesday Talks, the second one of the year! Can you believe that it's already been two weeks into the New Year? So last year's plan of actually staying on top of this blog really went down the drain and that really sucked, but I'm going to try it again this year. New year, new chance to get things right for once. Good mantra right? Please feel free to leave me some comments so we can have an awesome discussion. You know how I love those, right?

What are your bookish resolutions for 2016?

My main bookish resolution for 2016 is to maintain this blog. Last year, as much as I really wanted to keep this up, real life got in the way and I resorted to keeping track of my reading journey on Instagram. It made it very easy to share my thoughts quickly, and easily. As I eventually bought more paper books and less Kindle books, it made experimenting with my pictures way more fun. Of course, I still need a better camera eventually, and better lighting never hurt anyone, but at least I was keeping track of what I was reading. The only downside with writing quick reviews on Instagram is that I have very limited space to write down my full thoughts. Conveying the message of what made each book so interesting to read or why I wish I stayed away from a certain book in three to five sentences can be challenging. At least it helps me be concise and to the point.

Another bookish resolution I do have for 2016 is to be more active on GoodReads and participate in more buddy reads or group reads. Sometimes it's difficult to stick to the reading schedule when you're trying to read so many books at once, so I think it would be best for me to do one at a time, wait until I finish reading one book with one group before jumping to another one. As much as I would love to spend all day and all night reading books and joining in multiple group discussions, my life is not perfect enough to fulfill this dream. Still, by at least getting more involved in a way where I have a lot more control over what I'm reading and my pace, then I think it can be a lot more enjoyable rather than a daunting task.

This may seem like a very small resolution, but it's a lot right now. It's always good to start small and build your way up along the way. If I can stick with these resolutions this year, then I can make a lot more progress than 2015. I would love to hear some of your bookish resolutions for this year!

Tuesday Talks: Favorite Books or Series for 2015 (January 05, 2016)

Hey guys!

I'm really sorry about disappearing for pretty much an entire year. It sucked for me probably as much as it did for you, especially since I love coming on here and writing about my thoughts on books and literature. Even though there were many books that I did end up reading, I didn't have a chance to write about it as thoroughly as I wanted to. The same thing ended up happening with Tuesdays Talks. I'm going to try to bring it back into my schedule this year, even though I am a couple days late this week. It's the first Tuesday Talk segment of the year, so at least I don't have that much catching up to do. Same as before, please feel free to leave me any comments you have, as I would love to have a discussion with you all.

Favorite books or series of 2015.

I read almost 40 books in the span of last year, and pretty much all of them were series. I may not have finished all of them last year, but there was one that really stood out in my mind. That series was The Selection by Kiera Cass. When I first read the description of the first book, The Selection, I felt like it was a cross between The Hunger Games and Cinderella, or something else that dealt with royalty and princesses. This series takes place in our future, long after The United States of America has fallen from the face of the Earth. Funny enough, the main protagonist of the series is named America, and by the time you read through her stories, you find out exactly why her parents named her after this country.

This series was also a little weird for me because it felt like it could have ended with three books instead of the future five books in total. In actuality, Cass herself even mentioned that it was supposed to be three books but ended up writing two more. The last two books, however, don't have America as the main character. This could have potential to cause some confusion, but not for long. It all becomes a matter of which protagonist you like better.

All in all, this was my favorite series of last year and I honestly can't wait to read the final book, which comes out later on this year. I know that there were many more series to look out for and if I had more time to read last year, I would have read them all.  I will say that an honorable mention for favorite series of 2015 would have to be Vampire Academy, but since I only read two books in that series last year, I won't consider it my favorite. Don't get me wrong though, Rose Hathaway will always be my number one girl, but this year it was all about America Singer.

Tuesday Talks: Dating Non-Readers

Hey guys! I’m here again with another topic for Tuesday Talks. Since I’m only starting this Tuesday, I figured I could back track to the beginning of the year so that I will be eventually caught up. So for a little bit, there will be two Tuesday Talks posts (and videos) until I’m finally on the same page. Again, please feel free to leave me any comments you have, as I would love to delve into discussions with you all.

"How do you feel about dating non-readers?"

For starters, I’ll have to say that every single boyfriend I’ve had has been a non-reader, so to speak. It’s not something that they really had time for because of their busy work schedule. (Both are submariners, and have extremely long work days sometimes). Even right now, my husband (yes,we got married!) is out to sea and I’m not sure if he really has time to read while he’s gone. However, he knows just how much I love to read, and even let me pick out a book series for him to read while he’s gone. I know he’s not much of a reader, even if he does have books in his car. (Yes, his car of all places. More specifically, in the trunk. You know what that means.)

I picked out a book series that I fell in love with from the first moment I read it, but also one that should pique his interest. After all, he is a guy and most of the series that I read probably wouldn’t appeal to him (Vampire Academy anyone?) I gave him all five books of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and told him to start with The Lightning Thief. He watched the movie, just like I did, and he thought it was going to be the exact same. I told him to read it anyway, and let me know how he liked it. It was a gamble, but he accepted my gifts to him and eventually had to leave.

A couple of days ago, I ended up receiving an email from you, letting me know that he’s doing alright and that things are pretty normal. That was standard for us, and as long as I got an email from him letting me know he’s good, then I don’t worry. But he also included something else that I wasn’t expecting, and it actually made me smile.

He told me that he’s already on Chapter 7 of The Lightning Thief. He also told me that even though he watched the movie, he still really likes reading the book. (Not to mention it’s at his reading level, or so he says.) Looks like I did a good job, right?

So even though my husband is not much of a reader, I think it really depends on the kinds of books that he is able to read, or wants to read. So my choice of the Percy Jackson books may have opened up the doors for him to start reading a little more than he already does.

Long story short: dating non-readers isn’t a complete loss, but try to get them to read something they never thought they would like. They may surprise you.

Tuesday Talks: Should there be viewer discretion on books?

Hey guys! While I’m in the process of catching up on my  current books, I thought this would be a good time to start participating in Tuesday Talks. Each Tuesday, there will be a topic or question that I will discuss from my point of view. This would be a great time to hear from everyone on their thoughts and opinions on the same topic, whether we agree or disagree. I love having discussions, especially when they are book related, so please feel free to leave me any comments.

This week's topic is: "Should there be viewer discretion on books?"

Just like with movies, there are different maturity levels that exist in the book world. I don’t mean different genres, like Young Adult, Romance, and others. While some Fantasy books could be enjoyed by readers between the ages of 13 and up, there are some that have explicit content that shouldn’t be seen by younger eyes. This brings us to the topic of viewer discretion.

Have you ever watched a movie or a TV show, where right before it starts, there’s a warning that says “Viewer Discretion is advised?” That is the same concept that I will be discussing today. Is there a way to implement the same warning on the cover of a book, or even on the first few pages of a book in order to warn younger readers that this is not a book for them to read? Or should it be up to the parents, or the readers themselves, to find out on their own what lies between the covers?

Personally, I feel like there should be some sort of warning on what the book contains, whether it is explicit language, sexual scenes, or even gory scenes that involve murder or death, something that is not normal for everyone to read about. That way, if a young reader does decide to read something that has such things, they were warned from the get go. This may also give some protection to authors, publishers, and even libraries for having books that are available for everyone above a certain age to obtain, and won’t lead to any controversy or letters from angry parents.

While I don’t think that censoring books is a good idea, this is more of a preventative measure. This doesn’t mean that whoever is not able to read the book now won’t be able to read it in the future (if they are still interested in it by that time). It just means that they won’t be able to read it until they have reached some level of maturity to handle such content. Of course, not everyone will have the same maturity level at the same age, but there should still be some discretion when it comes to adult content in books.

Long story short, I think there should be viewer discretion on books. What do you guys thinks?