Let's Talk About ... Summer Reading

Happy First Day of Summer! 

Summer ... a time to catch up on your reading! But with all this free time to lounge around with a good book, how do you decide which books to dedicate your time and concentration to during all those long, hot, summer afternoons?

Is it the fun, light, girly read about road-trips and "true love"? *sigh!* Or maybe all those classics that you have been putting off reading during the rest of the year because you just couldn't give them the time and energy they deserve? Or, maybe it's that super-duper door-stoper volume that you're FINALLY going to read this summer? OR, maybe you're ridiculously ambitious (like moi) and you have included all of the above in your summer reading plans?

I love reading all three types of these books during the summer and wanted to share with you some of my choices for each "category":

The "fun, light, girly, summer read" ...

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West; How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski; and This Is What Happy Looks Like 

by Jennifer E. Smith

The "classic that has been on the to-be-read shelf for too long" ...

 Brideshead Revisted by Evely Waugh; Oyx and Crake by Margaret Atwood; 

and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 

And, (drum roll please) ...

"super-duper door-stopper volume that you're FINALLY 
going to read this summer" ...

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and/or East of Eden by John Steinbeck 

You can check-out my entire "Summer Reading List" here. I KNOW! It's a tad overly ambitious. I am well aware that I will probably only skim the surface of this list, but sometimes making the list is half (if not all) the fun. Right? ... maybe?

Let me know if you feel like you read some different types of books in the summer, or how would you categorise the books on your "summer reading list"? What's your favourite type of "summer reading" atmosphere: laying out in the sun, or curled up inside during those summer thunderstorms? AND, what is on your summer reading list???

Happy Summer Reading!

Top Ten Books Featuring Travel In Some Way

'Top Ten Tuesday' is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is Top Ten Books Featuring Travel In Some Way. Because I came up with a number of great books featuring travel I decided to refine my list to YA books only. 

Road Trips ... 

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

A number of YA novels feature road trips, but Amy & Roger's is by for my favourite. Matson uses the journey metaphor well. 

Airplanes...

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Three of the cutest, sweetest plane trips in the history of books with plane trips. Plus, each book features a truly magnificent cities: Paris, London and Amsterdam! 

Boats .... 

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker

Although not a favourite of mine, I did love all the boat stuff! The present day story takes place on Clementine's summer vacation, aboard her family's sailboat! Does anyone know any other stories with boats??? 

Travel, travel ... (featuring trains, planes, buses and more!) 

Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard, Just One Day by Gayle Forman, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series by Ann Brashares, and Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill

These novels give you a taste of what travel is all about: not how you get there but where you go! Although they feature modes of transportation, the start is always the destinations. 

Time Travel, Floo Powder and Brooms ... 

Harry Potter Series! Boy are there some brilliant travel methods in these 7 novels. I don't even think I could pick one, but I do think that I would enjoy the train ride to and from Hogwarts. Does that make me a muggle though? As it's the only one that doesn't really use magic???

Book Review: Meant to Be

Title: Meant to Be 
Author: Lauren Morrill 
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary 
Publication Date: November 13, 2012

Synopsis: It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be"). Read more ... 

Review: Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill was very cute. Funny and sweet, Morrill delivered on the promised teen romance. The characters were well formed and the plot was exciting. Julia was hilarious, while Jason was sweet yet imperfect (a realistic male hero. What?) Plus, look at the cover. LOOK AT IT. IT IS BEAUTIFUL. Can I please have a poster of that or something??? 

Meant to Be is set in London, and Morrill does a great job balancing the touristy information with the plot. I loved reading about London - a city I have never been to - and its spectacular sounding sites. Written from Julia's perspective, the historical/touristy facts flowed smoothly, as they fit with Julia's know-it-all personality. Yet, they never became too annoying.  

What I probably liked best about this novel was the mystery aspect. Who is Julia's mysterious suitor??? Maybe I was just not reading very carefully, but I genuinely found the ending plot-twist surprising. Although, it was somewhat predictable, the way it played out in the end was unexpected and enjoyable. 

Additionally, I loved that Julia and Jason fell for each other slowly and realistically. Unlike some young adult novels they were also were not head-over-heels in love, but were more age-appropriately in like.  

Although slightly juvenile, Meant to Be was a lovely, fun, young adult read. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read it in high school, it was nevertheless a sweet read. 

You might also like: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (review here) or The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. 

My Rating: 4.0/5.0 

Top Ten Books I Just Had To Buy ... But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf

'Top Ten Tuesday' is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a Freebie - choose anything that you want. I decided to base my list off one of their past topics: Top Ten Books I Just Had To Buy ... But Are Still Sitting On My Shelf. 

 1. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz 

I honestly can't even remember how long ago I picked this book up (many, many years!), but I still haven't read it. I've heard good things and it's not that I don't want to read it, I just haven't found the time yet. 

2. Jane Austen Novels 

Own them all, have only read Pride and Prejudice. 

3. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin 

I heard about this book while listening to the radio years ago, and bought it probably the next time that I was at the book store. I remember starting it a one point, but the timing just wasn't right and I abandoned it after a few pages. 

4. Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness 

I actually bought the complete trilogy at the time, thinking I would re-read the first two novels and then finally read the final instalment. All three spines remain uncracked. 

5. UnWholly by Neal Shusterman 

Oh man was I excited for this one! I re-read Unwind in preparation and then a million things sort of came up at once and I never made it past the second chapter. THIS SUMMER THOUGH! 

6. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

Yeah. I know. This book is 1000+ pages, yet I NEEDED it immediately. I honestly wonder how many decades this book might sit on the shelf before I get to it. 

7. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier 

I asked for Rebecca for Christmas this year, yet still haven't read it. I feel a lot worse when I ask for a book, receive it, and then let it sit around for a while... 

8. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

A strong desire to read LotR came over me when I spotted a box set at Costco, a year ago. This desire promptly left after said box set was purchased. At least my dad's got some use out of the books! 

9. The Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 
I was going to read this one before the movie came out ... 

10. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Really anything by Margaret Atwood. I'll purchase, loving place in alphabetical order on my shelves, and then forget. 

What book has been gathering dust on your shelf? 

Book Haul (1)

Some recent purchases and gifts:

1. Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys. I'm really excited read this! I love Shades of Gray and have heard some excellent things about this novel. 

2. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella. This was a "Thank you" gift from a fellow volunteer. I use to read Sophie Kinsella a lot when I was in high school and am looking forward to this perfect summer read! 

3. How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Daktorski. This one looked like another great summer read as well. Hello, road trip?!

4. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. I've actually already read this one. Originally I checked the e-book out of my local library, but decided I needed a physical copy after falling completely in love! 

5. Firecracker by David Iserson. When I learnt that David Iserson is one of the writers on New Girl I decided to pick Firecracker up. Plus, the description reminded me of John Green's novels! 

Also, not pictured, I purchased The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. It's not released until July 2, 2013. 

It was my birthday recently and I received Anne of Green Gables, the complete DVD set, which I am so excited to re-watch! I wore my VHS(!) set down to the bone. 

And, Silver Linings Playbook. Who doesn't adore Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper??? 

Have you received or bought any good books lately? 

Top Ten Favourite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

'Top Ten Tuesday' is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and Bookish. This week's topic is 'Top Ten Favourite Book Covers of Books I've Read'.

(the entire series of covers for the Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events Collections)

I'm not exactly sure what it is about these 10 book covers that I love, but they are definitely amongst my favourites. From quirky to simplistic, adorable to beautiful and illustrative to repulsing, I feel that these covers capture the stories that they contain. It's also funny that almost half of them are the UK/European covers of the novel. I'm note sure why but I almost always like the UK/European covers of books more then their North American counterparts ... 

What's your favourite book cover? Does anyone else like another county's cover of a novel more than the copy they own? 

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013

'Top Ten Tuesday' is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is 'Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013'.

1. BUY LESS BOOKS. Oh my goodness! I bought so many books in 2012. Some of which I still haven't even read. That's why I am resolving to buy a maximum of 24 books in 2013 (2 a month). And, I must read them right away. No more of this "buy now, read later" crap. Seriously. YOU HAVE A PROBLEM CASSANDRA. 

2. Read more books that I already own. My 'To-Read' pile is enormous. In 2013, 50% of the books that I will read will be those that I already own.

3. Read more non-fiction books. I really enjoyed Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson in 2012, and have enjoyed memoir type books in the past. I would really like to explore this category of books more in 2013.

4. In a similar vain, I vow to read more widely in 2013. This especially includes adult novels and "classic" novels. I tend to typically shy away from these books because of their lack of 'instant gratification', that can usually be found in YA novels. Nevertheless, when I do read books that are adult fiction and/or classics I tend to really enjoy them. That's why in 2013 I want at least 50% of the books that I read to fall into one of these two categories. And, at least 10 books I read will be "classics".

5. Blog more. More reviews. More lists. More everything. I feel like I've been really neglecting this blog (especially over the exam/holiday period) and I'm going to rectify this situation. In 2013 I will blog AT LEAST 3 times a month. 

6. Organize my books better. Right now a significant number of my books are  out of order on my book shelves. Additionally, I would like to catalogue my books in some sort of excel spreadsheet type list, and clean-up my goodreads shelves.

7. Finally, I want to use my public library more (both online with ebooks and the physical location). I know that I buy books that I don't typically need, and that I would be just as happy checking them out of my local library. Plus, my bookshelves are overflowing at the moment, so using the library might delay the impending book takeover of my room.