Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Reading Room (34)


The Reading Room is a weekly update on books I'm reading or planning to read. It was inspired by the feature On Myshelf at the blog All By Myshelf, and is posted on Tuesdays.

6131164.jpg
I ended up with quite a significant book haul this week, and I can't wait to read them all. Yesterday I was still off school for Easter break, so I made a trip to the bookstore, hoping to find Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, which I've been dying to read for months. I saw it and immediately snatched it up, barely managing not to explode from excitement. I cannot wait to find out what happens and how it ends - the suspense has been driving me insane. While I was there, I also came across Wildwood by Colin Meloy. It had an awesome cover, the synopsis intrigued me, and it was only eight dollars, so I picked that up, too. Both books are sitting happily on my bookshelves, which I reorganized on Sunday.

Then, my mom made a trip to the library in search of something by Jane Austen (she's going through a bit of a phase) and to pick up The Help for my grandmother. Of course, I couldn't resist checking out a few books. I hadn't been there in awhile, so after looking over some of the new titles, I finally settled on The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson, and Close to Famous by Joan Bauer. All of them look really good. I'm pretty well-supplied with books for the next week, so hopefully some reviews will be showing up on the blog.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. A new topic is posted each week, and bloggers share their top ten in the category.

Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character

I had way too much fun with this topic. I mean, we all know that book boys are just better. My list was really lengthy, and it was extremely difficult to cut down - I felt so bad whenever I had to remove someone from the list. (Finnick, Kishan, Sam, and St. Clair: I'm sorry. I love you guys too.) Anyway, here are my top ten literary loves. 

10. Richard Gansey
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

I knew going into The Raven Boys that all four of the guys were going to be swoon-worthy, and I wasn't disappointed. I loved Gansey - he was such an interesting and complex character. I mean, he's attractive, and he's rich, and he has a really fantastic car. But there's a lot more to him than that, and that's what really makes you fall in love with him.

9. W.W. Hale 
Heist Society by Ally Carter

Hale is basically perfect. I love his name, I love the way he cares for Kat and his loyalty to her and her family. He's such a great character in the books - his perfection would be so annoying if it weren't so...well, perfect.

8. Astley
Need by Carrie Jones

I see no issues with being pixie-kissed by this guy. He's so different from all the other pixies - much less frightening, much nicer. Much cuter...sorry, digressing. I haven't read Endure, yet, so I'm not sure what goes down with the whole Zara-Astley-Nick situation (it's not going to be pretty, I can tell you that), but I don't think it would change my adoration for Astley. This isn't about who I think would be best with Zara, this is about Astley being irresistible.

7. Gale Hawthorne
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Let me start by saying that I love Peeta. Really, I do. I just...happen to love Gale slightly more. I loved him as a character from the very beginning of the book, and he just got better and better throughout Catching Fire. (We're not going to talk about the travesty that was Mockingjay.) He's willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family, and Katniss and her family; he's ready to stand up for what he believes in. He's not afraid to fight for what he wants. He uses a bow and arrow and hunts. I mean, it's not really fair to make Peeta compete against someone who is basically a walking embodiment of things I find attractive.

6. Jay Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think the best way to describe my love for Gatsby is this: my English teacher said that he was a 'sad' and 'pathetic' character, and I spent the rest of the class fuming. Tragic, maybe, but Gatsby is a dreamer, a romantic, and a beautiful character. 

5. Jem Carstairs
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

Tessa Gray may just be the luckiest girl in the world. Jem is sweet, caring, kind, and overall just a lovely person. I fell in love with Jem as soon as he was introduced in Clockwork Prince. Plus, he plays the violin. That sealed my crush right there. String instruments (and guys who play them) are automatically attractive. 

4. Adam
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Yes, I loved Gansey. I loved all of the Raven Boys. But Adam, 100% without question, is the one I loved the most. When I was making this list, there was no way he wasn't going to be on it. I can't even describe why I love him so much - he's just such an amazing character. Like I said, I loved Gansey, but anyone who would choose him over Adam is clearly insane. 

3. Giddon
Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

It's been a long time since I've read Graceling, so I'll admit I don't remember Giddon's character a lot in that book. In Bitterblue, however, he was absolutely perfect all of the time. There was not a single scene where I didn't love what he was saying, or doing, or just enjoy reading about him. He and Bitterblue definitely had some chemistry, too - I say this because if I can't have Giddon because I'm not fictional, someone who is fictional should have a shot. 

2. Will Herondale
The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

I've mentioned once or twice before on this blog that it's impossible for me to choose between Jem and Will. In the context of the story, that's true - I don't want either one of them to have to give up Tessa, or be sad for even a second. Still, from my point of view, Will - with his wicked sarcasm and constant references to literature - is more up my alley than Jem, if not by much. 

1. Aramis
The Three Musketeers from Alexandre Dumas

The first book-guy I really, truly, fell in love with, and no one has topped him since. Nearly everything he did in The Three Musketeers made me sigh longingly. He's brave, loyal, intelligent... if you had asked me before I read a single word of The Three Musketeers to describe the perfect guy, I would have ended up with someone a lot like Aramis. 

~blackandwhitedreamer