Top 5 Wednesday

Top 5 Wednesday: September 27, 2017

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Books You’ve Read Because of Booktube/Blogging/etc.

Discuss the books you’ve picked up because you’ve heard of them in the online book community or platform you use.
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, head over to their Goodreads Group!

  1. The Raven Cycle // Maggie Stiefvater
    Well I had to put this series first because it’s the one I’m the most grateful to booklr for convincing me to read. I had seen The Raven Boys (book 1) on a shelf before, but had specifically not even picked it up because of the title. Then even when I did pick it up and read the blurb, I remember thinking it would be just a dumb romance about private school boys and setting it back down! (I’m ashamed to even admit that…) So it wasn’t until several posts from booklr peeps and direct cajoling from a reader friend that I finally decided to give it a chance.
  2. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
    This book comes second because I think it’s the second most important in that it taught me not to blindly trust booklr hype! I reviewed it, if you want to know more, but long story short: booklr straight lied to me about this book; it was trash.
  3. The Lunar Chronicles // Marissa Meyer
    I was pretty resistant to reading this one, but now that I have I can’t remember what my reasoning was… I should have known I would enjoy a sci-fi fairytale retelling series!
  4. Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes, book 1) by Sara Raasch
    Anyone on booklr knows how all over this series the community was for a while there. I bought into the hype of course, because I’m weak, and found this to be a pretty enjoyable book. I was reading it when I went to sign my pre-trial diversion paperwork and my lawyer and I talked about it at length. (Apparently it’s one she recommends all the time.) Unfortunately I couldn’t get into the sequel despite repeated tries and wound up abandoning the series.
  5. Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children // Ransom Riggs
    This is another series I am so grateful to the booklr community for recommending! There’s just so much to love about this series. The first time around, back in 2014, I really liked the story, but I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I did when I went back and reread it at the beginning of this year.

I’d love to know about some books the online book community you are a part of convinced you to read! Comment or make your own post and leave me a link.

Top 5 Wednesday: August 30, 2017

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Favorite Bromances

I think we have done this topic before in the distant past, but who doesn’t love a good bromance? Bromance = platonic relationship between two characters who identify as male.
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group.

  1. Oriel & Griff // The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt (Tales of the Kingdom, book 3; also published as The Tale of Oriel)
  2. Gregor & Ripred // The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins
  3. Samuel “Bullet” Tillerman & Tamer Shipp // The Runner by Cynthia Voigt (The Tillerman Cycle, book 4)
  4. Harry Potter & Ron Weasley // Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
  5. Stanley Yelnats & Hector Zeroni // Holes by Louis Sachar

What are some of your favorite bromances? Comment or make your own post and leave me a link.

Top 5 Wednesday: August 9, 2017

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Second Book is Best

We’ve talked about series that went downhill, and series that are worth it, but which series were best in the middle?
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

  1. A Court of Thorns and Roses Series // Sarah J. Maas
    This series isn’t complete yet, but of the books that are out, it’s better in the middle.
  2. Uglies Series // Scott Westerfeld
  3. The Tillerman Cycle // Cynthia Voigt

Unfortunately, I was only able to think of 3 series that fit this prompt for me. I tend to think the entire series is equally good or that the beginning is best.

I’d love to know what series you guys think were best in the middle! Comment or make your own post and leave a link here.

Top 5 Wednesday: March 8, 2017

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Favorite Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

Talk about your favorite science fiction and fantasy books of all time!
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

  1. A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses, book 2) by Sarah J. Maas
  2. Specials (Uglies, book 3) by Scott Westerfeld
  3. The Tale of Elske (Tales of the Kingdom, book 4) by Cynthia Voigt
  4. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
  5. Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor

Comment with your own favorite fantasy & science fiction novels (or a link to your own post) so I can check them out too! My TBR totally doesn’t mind growing!

Top 5 Wednesday: February 15, 2017

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Favorite Non-Written Novels

This was a hard topic to name, but this is about all books that are not ‘written’ novels! So graphic novels, comics, manga, audiobooks, etc. Shed some light on books in other forms.
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

I can’t actually participate in this one because I’ve actually only ever read one non-written novel in my life (it was one of the Death Note mangas).

Normally I’d just skip a day if I couldn’t contribute anything, but in this case I thought it might be fun to see if I could get some recs off y’all and try to branch out my tastes a bit!

If you have a favorite audio book, graphic novel, manga, etc. please comment with the titles or a link to your T5W post or just send me a message. Thanks in advance!

Top 5 Wednesday: February 8, 2017

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Book Trends You’re Tired Of

What are some things you are tired of seeing that are trends in publishing? Maybe something that pops up on a lot of covers these days, or the popularity of certain tropes in a particular genre? Let it out!
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

  1. LOVE TRIANGLES THAT DO NOTHING TO SERVE THE PLOT AND JUST CREATE STUPID FILLER DRAMA CAN DIE IN A FUCKING FIRE
  2. I’ve seen literally 2 popular books with female lead characters that weren’t model thin. That’s super annoying honestly because I only know 1 naturally skinny girl in real life. Like do authors not realize most girls are not 120lbs?
  3. I hate when covers have random models on the cover and none of the imagery relates to the story and the model doesn’t even look like the main character. Why do people keep doing this? Just draw a pretty cover using themes from the novel, everyone likes those  better anyway!
  4. Speaking of tropes that can die, how about “love cures mental illness” because that is just stupid.
  5. Does…..does everybody have to be white?????

What book trends are you sick of?

Top 5 Wednesday: February 1, 2017

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Current Favorites that Aren’t Books

Sometimes it’s nice to take a break from books and talk about some other things you’ve been obsessed with. These all don’t have to be in the same category. Mix it up! What TV shows have you been enjoying, makeup you’ve been wearing, food you’ve been eating, etc.??
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

  1. I DON’T
  2. THINK I
  3. HAVE ANY
  4. OTHER INTERESTS
  5. !?!?!????!?!!!!!???

What are your current non-book faves?

Top 5 Wednesday: January 25, 2017

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Favorite Underrated Books

Give some love to those books that aren’t as widely talked about. Those hidden gems. Those books that maybe used to be popular but people have forgotten about and they still deserve some love.
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

I wound up with a list of book series instead of individual books, but whatever!

  1. The Books of Bayern // Shannon Hale
  2. The Tillerman Cycle // Cynthia Voigt
  3. The Underland Chronicles // Suzanne Collins
  4. Princess Academy Series // Shannon Hale
  5. The Chanters of Tremaris Series // Kate Constable

What underrated books do you love? Comment or make your own Top 5 Wednesday post!

Top 5 Wednesday: December 21, 2016

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Fictional Items You’d Give as Gifts

We’ve talked about fictional items we’ve wanted for ourselves before, but in the holiday spirit, what fictional items would you give to friends and family?
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

  1. I definitely want a Self-Writing or Quick-Quotes quill for my mother who is a writer, but struggles to type or write longhand on many days due to a nasty combination of arthritis, carpal tunnel, and bone cancer. With this type of quill she could dictate to it on her more pain-filled days.
  2. For my husband the Herbal from The Tale of Birle (’On Fortune’s Wheel’), it depicts detailed information about any plants that can be used for healing including how to grow them, how to use them, and pictures of each stage of growth.
  3. The amazing portable art supply kit that Tamlin gives Feyre in ACoMaF, described as 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide and jam packed with compartments holding everything an artist on-the-go could need, for Em.
  4. The magic tablecloth from The Two Princesses of Bamarre, which you need only shake out and ask for any meal, for my husband.
  5. Some U-No-Poo (Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes) for every member of my husband’s family.

Top 5 Wednesday: December 14, 2016

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Series That Got Worse with Each Book/Season

I opened this topic up to TV as well (which T5W is always open to by the way if you can’t think of book answers), but I think this topic is especially good for books and TV. What series started out strong but got increasingly worse with each book?  To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

  1. Maze Runner Series // James Dashner
  2. Divergent Series // Veronica Roth
  3. The Inheritance Cycle // Christopher Paolini
  4. Gone Series // Michael Grant
  5. FUCKING MAZE FUCKING RUNNER

What book (or tv) series did you think started well enough, but just seemed to get worse and worse with each subsequent installment?