Christmas Songs Book Tag

If you haven't already heard, Jana of That Artsy Reader Girl has created this super cute Christmas Songs Book Tag as part of her A Bookish Little Christmas blog series. It sounded so fun, so I definitely had to fill it out myself. For more details on the book tag or the blog event, be sure to check out Jana's blog!

1. "All I Want for Christmas Is You": Favorite bookish couple

Basically any couple in Sarah J. Maas's books. Lol! But there is a special place in my heart for Feyre and Rhysand from A Court of Mist and Fury.

2. "I'll Be Home for Christmas": Name a book where a character is away from home (school, vacation, etc.)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. Lazlo travels from the home he's known his whole life to the legendary city of Weep. (Seriously, if you have read this book yet, get on that!)

3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas": Name your favorite "little" book (children's book, short story, novella)

I was trying to think back to Christmas books I loved as a little kid, and the first one that popped into my head was The Amazing Christmas Extravaganza. My mom used to read this picture book to me and my little sister before bed leading up to Christmas.

4. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town": What books do you hope Santa brings you this year?

I don't normally ask my family for books for Christmas because I have zero self-control and usually end up buying the books I really want on my own. But this year, I've asked for the Nine Kingdoms series by Lynn Kurland. I fell in love with her medieval romance novels earlier this fall, and I'm really excited to check out her fantasy series.

5. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer": Which book turned your nose red (made you cry)?

A Court of Wings and Ruin. I was a total mess for about the last 200 or so pages. Literally just nonstop tears streaming my down my face, and at a few points, ugly, heavy sobs (page 666, anyone? Such a fitting number considering that page was pure evil).

6. "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year": Your favorite book/kind of book to read during the holidays

Every year I try to find a fluffy Christmas romance or family drama to read, but so far I haven't had much luck finding any that I like. So when that fails, I like to turn to fantasy or books with magic—nothing too dark though!

7. "We Three Kings": Your favorite trilogy

Right now it's A Court of Thorns and Roses. The characters in these books have my heart in a vice grip!

8. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!": A character you would love to be snowed in with

Rhysand from the ACOTAR series. I mean, he is my fictional husband after all, and he does have that cabin in the mountains...

9. "Last Christmas": A book that seriously let you down

An Enchantment of Ravens. I hate that I feel this way because I really, truly was looking forward to it so much! It just didn't live up to my expectations. :(

10. "White Christmas": An upcoming release you're dreaming of

A Court of Frost and Starlight! OMG! More Feyre and Rhys? Yessss! But May is so. far. away! I need this book pronto. And just so it doesn't look I've only talked about Sarah J. Maas books in this post, I'll also add that I'm super excited for Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian and The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing

First off, let me wish you all a very merry Christmas! The topic for this special Christmas Eve edition of TTT is "Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing." I'm hoping to see at least a few of these under the tree tomorrow! :) And I hope Santa brings all you bookish peeps something awesome to read, too!

1

A Long, Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka

2

The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

3

The Somnambulist by Essie Fox

4 

Elijah's Mermaid by Essie Fox

5 

The Circle by Dave Eggers

6

Tinder by Sally Gardner

7

 The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness

8

 Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

9

The Lost Boys

9

 Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is "Books on my Winter TBR List."

1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

My first pick I've chosen because I recently watched the 1994 movie version of Little Women with Winona Ryder and I loved it. It's about time I get around to reading this classic. And it's set (partially) at Christmastime, so what better time of the year to read it!

2. From Notting Hill With Love...Actually by Ali McNamara

Love Actually is one of my favorite Christmas movies, so when I saw this book sitting on the shelf at B&N, I had to get it. I'm hoping it's good but I'm a bit skeptical though; I haven't read much adult chick lit before.

3. Angelfall by Susan Ee

Everyone seems to be talking about Angelfall! I figured it's about time I give it a try.

4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I've been meaning to reread Shiver ever since Linger came out but to no avail. But now that's it's cold and snowy outside, it's put me in the mood to pick it up again.

5. Hild by Nicola Griffith

Due to my current obsession with Reign, I've kind of been obsessing over finding good historical fiction lately. I happened to come across this one by chance on Goodreads and, even though it's set a good, oh, eight centuries before Mary Stuart was even born, I'm still really excited to read this one. 

6. Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

This one doesn't come out until late January but it's definitely one of my most anticipated winter TBR releases!

7. The Diviners by Libba Bray

I've heard so many good things about The Diviners! I originally meant to read it around Halloween, but (surprise!) I didn't get around to it.

8. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Oh, look, another book that was on my autumn TBR list that I didn't make it to! I've been needing a vampire fix, though, so maybe that will force me to finally start this one.

9. Until I Die & 10. If I Should Die by Amy Plum

Over the weekend I devoured Die For Me by Amy Plum and now I'm obsessed with finishing the Revenants series.

End of the Year Book Survey 2013

(Survey questions created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner)

The Books of 2013

1. Best Book You Read In 2013? 
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It was so beautifully written and such an emotional roller coaster. I finished reading it at three in the morning and just lay in bed, unable to go to sleep because I couldn't stop crying over that ending.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon. I was so thrilled when I got an e-book copy through NetGalley back in the summer. After hearing all the praise surrounding it and the comparisons to J.K. Rowling, you can bet that I was itching to get my hands on it. It was an enjoyable read for sure, but it didn't live up to my expectations (you can read my review here).

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I had my doubts about it for the first couple of chapters, but then HOLY WOW! It got so good! It's made it onto my list of favorites for sure!


4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. For a whole weekend in January, all I did was lay on the couch and devour this book. After I finished it, I went around recommending it to everybody because I wanted so badly to talk about it and hear what my friends and family thought of it. Such a crazy read!

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
Definitely the Chaos Walking trilogy. I'd tried reading The Knife of Never Letting Go in the past, but was put off by the strange formatting and, to be totally honest, the banter between Todd and Manchee on the first few pages. But when Pretty Books hosted the #readchaos campaign on tumblr, I finally decided to give the books another chance. Oh, my gosh, am I so glad I did! It is such a brilliant, funny, horrifying, heart-wrenching series. I can't believe it took me so long to realize what I was missing out on!

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Rainbow Rowell. I read both Eleanor & Park and Fangirl and now I can't wait for her next book! She is so great at writing characters who are real and relatable (seriously, if I were a fictional character, I would probably be Cather Avery from Fangirl).

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Now, hold on! Give me a minute to explain. I don't know about you guys, but I have horrific memories of slogging through this book in high school. It was agonizingly boring and just an all-around unpleasant experience. So when I saw it on the syllabus for my Literary Theory class, I (and everyone else in the class, it seemed) was filled with dread. But, as I started to reread it on my own and discuss it in class, the more I found myself...if not enjoying it, then at least reading it with a much better understanding of what it was about and why it is such an important book. I'm not saying I'm going to be adding it to my list of favorites, but I am glad to have read it again at an age and in a setting that made it much more fulfilling.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
I'm going to cheat a bit and say it's a three-way tie between Gone Girl, the Chaos Walking series, and Night Film. All of these books had me on the edge of my seat.

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
Probably The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. I need to refresh my memory before I can start The Dream Thieves.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

Throne of Glass, because Celaena looks so badass! For a while you couldn't even get this cover in the US, and I wanted it so badly that I almost ordered it from The Book Depository just so I could have that specific cover.

11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Cather Avery of Fangirl. I absolutely loved her because I could relate so well to her personality and her struggles with college life.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
Again, The Book Thief. It's such a profound and moving story.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
The Chaos Walking series (sorry that so many of these answers are repeats! I'm so boring with my choices!).

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
Oh man. It's going to be so hard to pick just one! But...I think I'm going to have to go with this short conversation between Levi and Cath in Fangirl:

"It's okay if you're crazy," he said softly.

"You don't even know-"

"I don't have to know," he said. "I'm rooting for you."

16. Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Longest: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness at 603 pages
Shortest: Briar Rose by Robert Coover at 96 pages

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
The ending of The Knife of Never Letting Go. I must have sat there forever with my jaw gaping, staring at the last page in horror.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Todd Hewitt and Viola Eade from Chaos Walking. I fangirled so hard over them!

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Hmm...well, I didn't read too many books from authors I've read before. So I think I'm going to have to go with City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (I reread it right before the movie came out).

20. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
YA (encompassing paranormal romance, fantasy, contemporary, and historical fiction).

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre.

23. Best 2013 debut you read?
Night Film. It was so utterly creepy and strange. I had so much fun reading it, despite being disappointed with the ending.

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
The Book Thief (again! I'm sorry!)

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
Fangirl. It was like reliving the summer that Deathly Hallows came out and my freshman year of college all at once.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
Fangirl, The Book Thief, The Fault in Our Stars and Jane Eyre.

Looking Ahead

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?
Oh, gosh, there are so many books I didn't make it to this year, so many that I can't possibly say which one will be my first priority. Mainly because, even when I do plan on reading a certain book, I usually end up going onto Goodreads or seeing a review from another blogger or Booktuber and get all excited over an entirely different book. My problem really isn't that I don't have the time to read; I just have so many options of what to read that I can never decide on one.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)?
Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor!

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Eva Lavender by  Leslye Walton. I mentioned this book in my TTT post this week; I can't wait to read it! But why, oh, why does it not come out until March? :(

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014?
City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?
My major goal for this blog in 2014 is to be consistent. I'm pretty faithful about updating my tumblr, but I really didn't accomplish much on this blog this year. I'm currently brainstorming different features/memes for the blog and I would love it if I could come up with something that other bloggers and readers could join in on. We'll just have to see. In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for me, don't be shy! I'd love to hear your feedback and learn what you'd like to see more (or less) of! As for my reading, well, the goal is somewhat the same. 2013 was a bumpy year for me, what with all the stresses of finishing my last semester of college, graduating, and trying to figure out what I'm going to do with the rest of my life. All of that combined left me little time for reading. But even when I did have time, I always seemed to find something else to do, like infinitely scrolling through my tumblr dash, or playing endless rounds of Bejeweled on my iPod, or catching up on TV recordings. In 2014, I really want to get rid of all the distractions and make time for reading. I don't want to make it feel like a chore, like something I have to do even when I don't want to do it, but I do want to make it a greater priority in my life. There are just too many good books out there that I want to read and so little time to read them. Why waste the time I could be reading a great book on playing some mindless game or constantly refreshing my tumblr page?

Well, that about wraps it up! Here's to looking forward to more great books in 2014!