December 2013 Recap

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• CHRISTMAS
• Nicole finished her first semester of graduate school and then left the country to celebrate!
• Ashley got to watch her brother graduate college :)

Happy New Year everyone! 

Thoughts for Thursday (10) - I am off to Dubai!

Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday! This feature is our outlet to talk with you about whatever we currently have on our minds. It might be bookish, it might not! Now for this week's thought:

I am off to Dubai!

Perhaps my greatest passion in life is traveling. I take every opportunity I get to go somewhere new and experience new people, places and things. I want to see the world.

I leave today on my latest adventure - Dubai, UAE. I've been fascinated by Dubai for several years now so when I learned that my graduate school had an immersion program in Dubai, I knew I had to be a part of it.

I will be traveling to the region for 17 days and do not expect to be on the internet much, if at all. I may pop up on twitter or instagram to let you all know how my experience is going but I will be otherwise absent from the blogosphere until my return. We do have posts scheduled though so you may not even notice I am even gone!

Now I have no idea how much time I am going to have to read. But obviously I am bringing enough reading material to last me a year. JUST IN CASE. Since I will mostly be relying on my kindle, I am using this opportunity to finally read some of the books that I have long been meaning to read.

Here are some of the books on my list:

Scarlet (Scarlet #1) by A. C. Gaughen

Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu
Fractured (Slated #2) by Terri Terry
Dark Triumph (His Fair Assassin #2) by R. L. LaFevers
Fire Study (Study #3) by Maria V. Snyder
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
On The Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa

Also, if you have ever been to the area, I'd love to hear about your experience!

See you mid-January! Happy New Year Everyone!

Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's Top Ten list is "Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me".

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1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
2. The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories by Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff & Tessa Gratton
3. The Fairest of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon
4. My Name is Rapunzel by K.C. Hilton
5. Palace of Spies (Palace of Spies #1) by Sarah Zettel
6. Legend (Legend #1) by Marie Lu (Hardcover!!)
7. If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
8. Struck (Struck #1) by Jennifer Bosworth
9. United We Spy (Gallagher Girls #6) by Ally Carter
10. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas

Nicole's 2013 End of Year Book Survey

Thanks to Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner for hosting this great End of Year Book Survey! I modified it slightly and tried really hard to feature a different book for each question so I could highlight all my favorites in some way. So without further ado..

1. Best Book I Read In 2013?

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas. There are quite a few books that I read in 2013 and LOVED but I don't know if any book brought the feels and fangirling quite like this one.

2. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell! I was not a fan of Eleanor & Park, so I approached Fangirl with apprehension. And turns out, I loved this book with every fiber of my being. 

3. Book I read in 2013 and recommended to people most in 2013?

Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands #1) by Sarah Fine! I am on a crusade to get more people to read this book. I LOVED Sanctum and the sequel Fractured. So much so that I could probably use these two books to answer every question in this survey (except #2). I am begging you to please start this series if you haven't. I don't know of a single person who hasn't loved these books.

4. Best series discovered in 2013?

This would probably be the Guards of the Shadowlands series by Sarah Fine (Sanctum & Fractured) but to spread the love I am choosing The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. I loved both The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves. I just love Stiefvater's writing in general. A close second (third?) is Penryn and the End of Days by Susan Ee. 

5. Favorite new author discovered in 2013?
Kasie West! I read both Pivot Point and The Distance Between Us and I LOVED both books. She's definitely a new favorite author of mine. 

6. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
Kinslayer (The Lotus War #2) by Jay Kristoff. Gosh the feels. 

7. Favorite cover of a book read in 2013?
Hmmm. I think the cover of Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare is absolutely divine.

8. Most memorable character in 2013?
Evie from The Diviners by Libba Bray. I got suck a kick out of her character!

9. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. Now one of my all time favorites.

10. Book that had the greatest impact on me in 2013?
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein. This book just broke me to pieces. 

11. Book I can’t believe I waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
It's a tie. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green neither of which needs an explanation.

12. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had Me Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It?
The endings to Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton and Fractured (Guards of the Shadowlands #2) by Sarah Fine. I still haven't recovered from either. I don't know if I ever will.

13. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc)?
Maddie and Queenie from Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. A beautiful story with a beautiful friendship during a tragic time.

14. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously?
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta. A truly amazing ending to one of the best YA fantasy series I've ever read. 

15. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else?
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller! Kay from It's A Book Life wrote a glowing review for this book so I immediately went out and picked it up and soon after wrote my own glowing review. This book rocks.

16 Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
Contemporary/Realistic Fiction. I think? 

17. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
Sturmhond from Siege & Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo. Still swooning.

18. Best 2013 debut you read?
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch. Utterly heart-wrenching and a beautifully written debut.

19. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
Amber House by Kelly Moore, Tucker Reed and Larkin Reed. This book is just me. This house... Gosh this house is unbelievable.

20. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
The Burning Sky (The Elemental Trilogy #1) by Sherry Thomas. I just adored Iolanthe and Titus and had so much with the storyline.

21. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
Just one? I haven't mentioned If I Lie by Corrine Jackson yet. This book was wonderful and made me cry.

22. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

Kindness for Weakness by Shawn Goodman. Really beautiful but sad story but don't know anyone else that's read it.

*23. Best standalone read in 2013?

 This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales.

*24. Best book read in 2013 that I haven't yet mentioned?

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. I am just blown away by Marissa Meyer's talent. Cinder and Scarlet are so imaginative and well written and just all around perfection.

 

 

Well I think that covers most of my 2013 favorites! Do you agree with any of my choices? What are your favorites?

Stacking The Shelves (51) - Dec 21st

Stacking the Shelves - hosted by Tynga at Tynga's Reviews - features books that you bought, borrowed, rented from the library, received for review, etc.

This is what's on my shelf for upcoming reads:

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Rebel Spring (Falling Kingdoms #2) by Morgan Rhodes, Michelle Rowen

Roomies by Tara Altebrando
Emerald Green (The Ruby Red Trilogy #3) by Kerstin Gier
Scarlet (Scarlet #1) by A.C. Gaughen

What books are stacking your shelves??