Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Authors Announced!

March 5, 2014March 5, 20143 Comments

I can hardly contain my excitement and the list went up HOURS ago.

HOURS.

I love this event, clinic I have a blast every single year that I go and as I dive deeper into this world, the more I fall in love with this event, because of all the authors I get to meet!

And they’ve finally put up the list of authors that are going to be there. If your’e in the Los Angeles area, you HAVE to be there. Pssh, even if you’re not in the area, you should find a way to GET to the area because its going to be amazing.

Here’s the list of YA authors that will be at the fest. Plus some commentary by me, of course ;)

Katie Alender

She’s going to be at Ontario Teen Book Fest. Not sure of her yet, but I gotta try her books, of course!

Laurie Halse Anderson

I’ve only ever read Speak (I know, I know) but that book is amazing so I hope that I meet her soon.

Carrie Arcos

She’ll be at Pasadena Teen Book Fest and I’m excited to see her because she’s awesome.

Kelley Armstrong

Leigh Bardugo

Always beautiful to meet. I’ll worry about her once Ruin and Rising comes out haha.

Robin Benway

I’ll see her at Ontario TBF. And I just saw her at Disneyland in January. That was awesome.

Francesca Lia Block

She is so sweet! I met her at Los Angeles TBF

Ann Brashares

I hope that I can meet her. The Traveling Pants books were huge to me in high school.

Deb Caletti

Words cannot explain how excited I am about her coming. I can’t handle it.

Cecil Castellucci

I’ve met her so many times, I’ve lost count haha.

Stephen Chbosky

Lovely lovely man. I’ve met him already but I don’t have a signed copy of Perks so that would be awesome.

Heather Cocks

Eoin Colfer

Lovely man, and I’m so glad I was able to meet him and interview him. I know my sister will be happy to see him again.

Andrea Cremer

Melissa de la Cruz

I hope to actually see her this year haha. I missed her last year because I hadn’t read any of her books.

Ava Dellaira

I will be seeing her at Ontario TBF

Huntley Fitzpatrick

I LOVE her book, My Life Next Door, so I’m SO excited to meet her. This is a MUST.

Maurene Goo

I met her at LA TBF and she was a doll, and she had an awesome dry sense of humor.

John Green

I literally cannot handle this. I was shaking when I saw this. I need to tell him how amazing Abundance of Katherines is and I need to just love on him forever. Is that awkward? I don’t even care. Its like a fangirl’s dream come true to meet him.

Daniel Handler

Bill Konigsberg

I met him at LA TBF but I have no books signed by him so hopefully I can do that here.

E. Lockhart

Sarah J. Maas

Always a blast to see her :) I’d love to see her again!

DJ MacHale

I keep seeing his books all over the place so I gotta give him a try. If I can squeeze him, that’d be cool.

Tahereh Mafi

Oh I’ve seen her so much haha. And I’m sure I can see her again, easily.

Marissa Meyer

No words can describe. I MUST see her. I cannot go the weekend without meeting her.

Jessica Morgan

Lauren Myracle

Lauren Oliver

If I can squeeze her in, that’d be great. I’ve met her before but getting Panic signed would be a full and complete collection.

Ridley Pearson

Joanna Philbin

Mimi Pond

Ransom Riggs

Have already met him, of course

Veronica Roth

YES! I was so hoping she would be back so I can get Allegiant signed! Which means I’ll have the WHOLE collection and I’ll be excited.

Rainbow Rowell

Ohmygod I have to meet her. Even though Cassandra got me Fangirl signed, I need Eleanor and Park and Attachments and Landline if its out by then. And I need to write her a letter and tell her how amazing Fangirl was and how it changed my life, seriously.

Rachel Shukert

Neal Shusterman

I’ve met him! Yay!

Sarah Skilton

She’ll be at Ontario TBF

Holly Goldberg Sloan

Andrew Smith

He’ll be at Pasadena TBF so I’m going to try and get his books signed then. But I want to say hi to him at FoB because I adore him and I want to say hi, of course.

Sonya Sones

Amy Spalding

Ann Stampler

I think…Pasadena TBF? I think so. I’ve met her before though. Such a sweetheart.

Margaret Stohl

I will meet her at Pasadena TBF. I am excited because I haven’t met her yet.

Tamara Ireland Stone

I won both of her books signed, but it’d be cool to get them personalized, or even just to say hi because I like her books.

Jonathan Stroud

Laini Taylor

I really need to read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. And then I can meet her, without feeling like a fool.

Maya Van Wagenen

John Corey Whaley

He’ll be at Ontario TBF. WOO!

******

For the complete list of authors, and for other information, visit their website here.

Let’s Talk About…Nerd Ink

March 4, 2014March 3, 20147 Comments

So its not secret that tattoos are a big part of my life.

As of a couple weeks ago, information pills I am now up to ten, ampoule nine of which are fandom related.

Now, I know a ton of people that understand. They understand the urge to get a tattoo. They understand that the feel of the needle and that sort of lotion-y inky smell is just brilliant. They understand that there is something amazing about staring down at a permanent piece of artwork on your body that represents something close to you. I feel beautiful with my tattoos.

Now there are also people that don’t, which is why I want to share this post with you all. Myself and a few others have elected to share their tattoos and why they got them. It may not necessarily change your mind on them, and I don’t really expect it to.

But there are reasons that we all get these on our skin. Some people might not understand that. But when I read a book, something about it changes me. It may be a bad thing, but it still does something. But most of the time, a book will change me for good, and there are a select few that really leave lingering attachments.

Sara

oh wait, that’s me. No need to get excited ;)

I have 9 fandom tattoos so far, ten total. I sometimes consider my Something Corporate tattoo a fandom tattoo, because music is a fandom, but for the most part, its just a tattoo I keep to myself. I have the Deathly Hallows symbol on my wrist, with “Wit Beyond Measure” underneath and “Man’s Greatest Treasure” on the other wrist. I have the epitaph from James and Lily Potter’s gravestone on my back with page stars, and “Always” on my ankle. I have the Rebel Alliance symbol from Star Wars on the back of neck and the fearless rune from The Mortal Instruments on my shoulder. I have the word “fearless” written in Circular Gallifreyan from Doctor Who on my wrist, the three ravens tattoo that Tris has in Divergent and a molnija mark from Vampire Academy.

What all of them really have in common is the idea of fear, and overcoming and accepting it and conquering those things that seem too big for us. Harry Potter conquers his fears and he accepts death and he ends up winning in the end. He handles the biggest, hardest things that any teenager has to face and he’s so strong and he does it. The Rebel Alliance takes on the entire Galactic Empire, just a small band of believers and its incredible. Fearless in both Shadowhunter runes and Doctor Who Gallifreyan represents my desire to overcome my fears. When Rose gets her molnija marks for defeating Strigoi, she’s conquering fears of Strigoi and she’s becoming brave, and coming into her own as a guardian. Tris gets her ravens when she wants to recognize and remember her past, but move forward into her own future.

I feel like I’m writing a lot but I do have a lot of tattoos. Each tattoo that I’ve gotten represents my desire to be my own person and to not give up and not let my fears keep me from experiencing life or trying to live my dreams. I am scared of so many things, like death or the dark and bugs (EW), but I’m also afraid of failure, not reaching my dreams, not being able to do the amazing things I want to do with my life. I have these to remind myself that there are these amazing characters created that conquer their fears and live their dreams and take down big enemies and get over the highest hills and that I can do that too. I can publish a book and travel the world. I can live in many different places and I can conquer that constant anxiety and fear that is always in the very back of my mind.

Kathleen

The first picture is from the mortal instruments and the infernal devices series by Cassandra Clare. Its the fortitude rune which gives the shadowhunter the power of fortitude. Mental and emotional strength when faced with difficulty, adversity, danger and temptation. I got this tattoo because I struggled with depression and I need to remember to stay strong through anything. It’s a really positive rune which whenever I face difficulties I can look at and remember to stay grounded and that I will always overcome whatever lays in my path.

The second picture is a quote from Alice in Wonderland. I loved this book when I was a kid and have always been obsessed with it. I chose this quote because it’s true. Everyone is mad, everyone is different, we are all a bit weird. I was always different from everyone else and as a result I was bullied a lot. This tattoo reminds me that you are who you are and no body is perfect, everyone is mad in one way or another.

Ginevra

This is my first tattoo. It is Eeyore from A.A. Mine’s Winnie the Pooh books. For my first tattoo I wanted something that I have loved and felt a connection to for a long long time. Eeyore was Always my favourite as a child and even more than that I feel a connection with him as I am definitely an Eeyore type personality.

Jessica

I got Dumbledore’s quote to Harry about the Mirror of Erised from book 1, encircling the Deathly Hallows symbol from book 7, and ending with the page stars, to symbolize Harry’s journey coming full circle, and because I just love this quote. I got the page stars on my wrist because JKR drew them and I love that only other HP fans know what they are, while anyone else just thinks they’re 3 stars on my wrist.

Ashly

Doctor Who actually saved my life. I have anxiety and depression, and was in an abusive relationship. I felt I wasn’t important and didn’t care if anything happened. The past couple years have been super hard. Then I started to watch Doctor Who, and I realized I was important. This reminds me of love and hope. I love all the strong characters and how they cry openly and are just so amazing. I actually am planning to add on to it in the future.

Barb

I’m not sure I really have a “why” but here it goes. The Avengers got me into comics, and I have no issues admitting that. But THE Avenger that actually made me purchase a book? Hawkeye. As soon as I heard about the book I knew I had to get my hands on it. I looked into local comic book stores and found a little piece of Heaven that was welcoming to everyone. Then before you know it, I had a pull box filled with various comics. None of this would have happened without the Avenger that runs around with a group of super heroes but enjoys a slice of pizza with his dog on his off days.

Amber

My fandom tattoos started with my divergent tattoo. I had a good bit of ink previously and came dangerously close to getting the dauntless faction symbol instead of my birds (I still kinda want to), and around the same time, grownupfangirl started to kind of take off, so I obviously started reading and communicating with some of my favorite authors more…which ultimately leads to Stronger feelings about certain books.

I think, my fandom tattoos are best described by a quote in a book I recently read (Best Kind of Broken by Chelsea Fine): “She’s fearless with her tattoos, stamping her body with whatever is truthful for her at the time. There’s something honest about that – about devoting yourself to whatever is honest for you in the moment, even though you know life will change and you’ll change with it.”

Katie

I have two Harry Potter tattoos, both on my arms. My first is a black outline of a Golden Snitch with the Deathly Hallows symbol inside of it. To me, the snitch represents so much besides Quidditch. I’ve always been fascinated with flight, it is also winning the end of the “game”, it holds secrets, and stays true to the first person that catches it. Harry’s Snitch even held a Deathly Hallows item inside. Therefore the Deathly Hallows symbol is inside to represent this as well as the death so many are afraid of and run from. But when you possess the Deathly Hallows, you are the master of death and in a way, I now possess them.

The writing on my other arm is actually JK Rowling’s hand writing from a letter she wrote to me after I met her. I handed her a letter I wrote about my life, and how much her stories and she means to me and so many others in the world. The writing says “Keep fighting! You’re inspirational. With Love and Admiration, Jo”. I chose the royal purple color to match the signature color in her handwritten letter and because it represents the original Potter franchise and magic in general. Having her autograph as Jo, not her usual ‘JK Rowling’ was so much more personal to me. Her letter was longer but I chose these particular pieces from it to inspire me to never give up in my life, that anything is possible, and always remember my own role model finds me inspirational to her.

Naomi

These are my two Harry Potter tattoos. I’ve got the Deathly Hallows because that book is my favourite and I wanted something to symbolise that. It’s on my right foot. On my left forearm, I have “I open at the close”. This is from the first snitch that Harry ever caught, and is also from the last book. I love this quote because I feel like it symbolises Harry, and the kind of person he is.

I’ve loved Harry Potter for a very long time now and always wanted a Harry Potter tattoo. A few people told me I would regret my decision to get these tattoos, but I won’t. I’ll always love Harry Potter, and even if for some reason, I stop loving the books, they’re a huge part of my life and I’d never change that.

Jimmy

I have two science fiction tattoos. Left is the TARDIS from Doctor Who an the right is the Starfleet insignia from Star Trek. I got them because I love the concept of space exploration and sci-fi things make me happy, whether they are incredibly mind blowing or incredibly cheesy. I love it all.

Laura

My tattoo means the world to me. It is from “The Mortal Instruments” series. The quote is from the City of Bones book and movie, which is quoted by Hodge Starkweather. The reason I chose this quote is because I have a wide imagination and all the stories are true in my eyes. I believe in pretty much everything I read in fiction. The reason I chose the Angelic rune (also from TMI) is because it was my favourite rune and I kept unconsciously drawing it on anything i could, pretty much like Clary! Also, I like to think everyone has a little bit of angelic power inside of them.

Luz

The first one is the fearless rune from TMI. I got it because sometimes you feel like you need something that hides your fears away, and I needed it. I needed to stand up and by myself. And so I did. The second one is Tris’ ravens, from Divergent. I admire her, because I relate to her. I would give my life if it means the people I love will be okay. And, sometimes, for them and for yourself to be happy, you need to make some sacrifices. I’ve done some, and it’s nice to have this tattoo with it’s double meaning.

* * * * * *

I hope you enjoyed seeing all these awesome people’s tattoos! I’ve done posts like these before and I hope to continue to post about them, because its a passion of mine.

If you have a tattoo of the nerd variety, don’t forget to share them! We want to see them!

Ransom Riggs Kicks Off Hollow City Book Tour at the Grove!

January 15, 2014January 15, 20143 Comments

Yesterday was the release day for Ransom Riggs’ long awaited second novel in the Miss Peregrine’s series, remedy Hollow City. He’s kicking off a tour to celebrate and meet all of you, price so click this link to find out if he’s coming near you!

The kick off of his tour happened at one of my FAVORITE places to see authors at the Barnes and Noble at The Grove! I’ve been attempting to meet Ransom Riggs for months now, treat and somehow was missing him at every turn so I was VERY much looking forward to meeting him.

I hit the event with my fangirl bestie/parabatai Sylvia from Fangirl Feeels and my sister Jessica, and our friends Casey and Gabby met up with us there as well!

We got there SUPER early so we were able to score seats in the front row. I’m kind of a snob and like sitting in the front row. It also doesn’t help my ever growing snobbery that Ransom Riggs is a VERY handsome man, and I wanted a great view of him while he talked about his books ;)

Ransom Riggs is a seriously awesome guy, SO laidback. He hopped up onto the table within the first five minutes of talking and just spent his presentation answering questions from the audience. He let us know that Miss Peregrine’s the movie is in development and that he really loves the script that has been written. We learned that there will be three books for the series, and we learned the background story behind them.

I really love that Miss Peregrine’s was almost an accident, and just a product of a hobby that he had. He was just collecting weird, old school photographs when he thought it might make an interesting book, and Miss Peregrine’s was born.

He also has such a fun sense of humor. If you’ve ever watched the YouTube channel he has started with his wife, fellow author Tahereh Mafi, you know they have a fantastic sense of humor. That definitely comes out while he’s answering questions and all that.

Then we all lined up to meet Ransom. Yay! He remembered me from when I assaulted him and Tahereh at the Mortal Instruments premiere

***Side Note: After the City of Bones premiere, and after we watched the movie, Sylvia and I were hanging out in the lobby of the theater, and we were surrounded by all these, like, movie stars and stuff, and then Sylvia spotted them, with Leigh Bardugo and Margaret Stohl, and we practically assaulted them in our excitement to meet them. It was both amazing and embarrassing***

He signed my books, signed my writing advice poster (which is totally running out of room…), and he also signed an extra copy of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, so watch out for a giveaway coming up VERY soon!

Me and the author, himself.

After I met Ransom, I introduced myself to some people (see, haha, I’m getting so much better at networking. I told you I would!). I saw Tahereh Mafi standing around, talking to some friends, and I had brought my Shatter Me and Unravel Me with me, and I wanted to ask her to sign them, but I got this unusual bout of nervousness.

Eventually, I got up the courage, and she was incredibly sweet and also remembered me from my assault at the City of Bones premiere (again, embarrassing. I’m nothing if not completely professional haha).

She signed the books I brought and my writing advice poster and was seriously sweet. I can’t wait for her event at the end of February at the Grove!

It was an awesomely good time, and I went home a very happy fangirl and blogger!

Ransom Riggs’ writing advice. His words: “My gut told me to write that, so it must be true!” Pretty awesome.

Tahereh’s advice. If you can’t read it, it says “The only difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person is TIME. Never give up!”

And check out my awesome signed books :)

Thanks again to Lita and Barnes and Noble, The Grove, for an awesome event, as always! I can’t wait til Tahereh Mafi in February and Lauren Oliver in March! So many amazing events coming up!

And to all my awesome followers, keep an eye out in the next day or two. I scored an extra copy of Miss Peregrine’s for you guys, and I’m getting all geared up for a giveaway!

Yay!

Happy Reading everyone :)

Tuesday Top Ten-Books to Look Forward to in 2014!

December 3, 2013Leave a comment

My loves! I am so sorry, sildenafil I apologize over and over for my lack of effort on my blog. I truly do. I would like to blame something legitimate like school or NaNoWriMo or something but truly…I just didn’t have the inspiration to work on it.

But I’m back! I promise! Today I’m stealing the topic of the Broke and Bookish’s Top Ten Tuesday post and doing Books to Look Forward to in 2014.

Unfortunately thats kind of hard to narrow down to ten. Really hard. Like, website like this impossibly hard. I read so many authors and so many books that I just look forward to SO many releases.

Even narrowing it down to January to May wasn’t totally helpful. Sigh.

So there are …fourteen books on the list. Sorry :( But hopefully that will get you excited for SO many awesome releases coming in the new year!

Honorable Mentions:

These are honorable mentions because I’ve already read one of them, and I have ARCs of the other! So I want to draw attention to them, since they’ll be releasing in early 2014 BUT I’ll have already read them!

Clicking on the author’s name will take you to their website, and clicking on the book title will take you to the Amazon Page AND clicking the book cover will take you to the GoodReads page! I’m nothing, if not completely thorough ;)

Afterparty by Ann Stampler

Expected Release: January 7th

Ann’s Where It Began blew me away, and I’m eager to dive into this book and be blown away again. She has a way of capturing the teen outlook but also writes an intelligent and compelling novel. Good girl Emma decides that she wants to break free, and gets involved with Siobhan, whose friendship is fun at first, until it takes a turn, and things become intoxicating and dangerous. I can’t wait for it. Afterparty is going to be a blast!

Going Rogue by Robin Benway

Expected Release: January 14th

The first book of this series, Also Known As, was SUPER funny, and addicting to read. Maggie is part of a spy network with her parents, and her specialty is breaking locks, whether on doors or to safes, etc. Then she gets her own assignment, to go undercover at an upscale high school, and hilarity ensues. Its full of action and fun spy stuff BUT it just makes you laugh so hard, and Maggie is a fun character, AND there’s cute boys. Win!

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Expected Release: March 4th

This one I’ve already read :) I can’t wait to share my review with you all. A departure from her dystopian series, Delirium, Lauren Oliver takes us into the contemporary world again, with a twist. Heather lives in Carp, where nothing ever happens, except for the game Panic every summer. The kids spend the entire year raising money for a ridiculous prize amount (think in the THOUSANDS) and compete in dangerous, scary and, often times, illegal tasks in order to win the game. Heather didn’t expect to play when it came her turn, but that money could be a way out. Dodge, a fellow classmate, has been looking forward to Panic, and he’s determined to get the right outcome. I think you’ll like this one. If you were disappointed with the end of the Delirium series like I was, I think this will help with Lauren Oliver a bit :)

* * * * *

Now the actual list of ten, erm, eleven books I’m looking forward to in 2014…up until May, at least!

11. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Expected Release: May 13th

I just discovered Stephanie this year! Anna and the French Kiss and especially Lola and the Boy Next Door are GREAT YA contemporary novels that I totally recommend, a thousand times. I am full of SO much excitement for this one because of all great the others have been. In this novel, we are going to meet Isla and Josh and I think come to find a new meaning of the phrase “happily ever after”. And of course, we will see Anna, Etienne, Lola and Cricket again, which makes me very happy. I think that Stephanie will tell a great story, as usual with twists and turns and surprises and enough heart pounding and sigh-worthy scenes to keep us all SO happy!

10. Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Expected Release: April 15th

I am So excited about this one because honestly, I just discovered JLA in May and she has yet to disappoint me. Her storytelling is fantastic; she makes me laugh, and feel all swooning but she throws in these kickass action scenes, and then she has the most sarcastic and hilarious characters. So I’m really anxious to dive into a new series with her. Don’t Look Back follows Samantha who has it all, until she disappears, and then reappears with no memory of who she is or how she got lost. When she figures out that she was the “mean girl”, she’s determined to have this second chance. Unfortunately her best friend is still missing…Sounds awesome right? She never disappoints and I can’t wait to read it.

9. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Expected Release: January 14th

Okay, I’m totally reading the first book right now, and maybe I won’t like and maybe I’ll have no desire to read this …but I honestly doubt it. So many people I know really liked this book and I just love Ransom as a person. His instagram, tumblr and twitter posts keep me laughing, and he’s super interactive with his fans. And he’s handsome. Not that this has anything to do with his book, it was just a notable fact about him. Moving on, I am looking forward to this release because I’m already enjoying Miss Peregrine’s a lot AND he’ll be touring for this book and will, of course, be signing in Los Angeles so yay! I keep missing him, and I want formally meet him finally!

8. Cress by Marissa Meyer

Expected Release: February 4th

I just finished Scarlet, the second book, about a week ago, and I love this series already. I put off reading it FOR so long and I have no idea why. I think it was the cover to be honest. I get turned off on books because of the covers quite often, and I’m often times proven wrong. But I still do it. Anyway, I read Cinder and Scarlet and now I’m very excited for Cress. Marissa Meyer takes the whole science fiction, fairy tale retellings to an incredible level, and her stories and characters are awesome. One minute they’re super badass and sci-fi-ish (that’s a word now) and then the next, they’re totally reminding you of Cinderella and Red Riding Hood. Its awesome. This isn’t the final book, its the climax to the final book, Winter (2015), so you know its going to be SO GOOD.

7. Summer State of Mind by Jen Calonita

Expected Release: April 22nd

I absolutely adore Jen Calonita. Her books are quick and easy reads, with laughter, cute boys, but often times, serious teen problems as well. Her standalone novel, Sleepaway Girls, was super cute, about a girl going to camp as a CIT and learning to be independent of her dominant best friend. Of course, rivalries happen, cute boys make the summer interesting and hilarity and disaster ensues. I absolutely LOVED it. Now there’s a sequel, called Summer State of Mind, where they’re returning to Camp Whispering Pines and I’m SO excited. She writes such fun novels and I don’t think I’m alone in that desire to go to camp. I always want to go to camp as a kid and was never able to so I like to live vicariously through this. Definitely one to look forward to.

6. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

Expected Release: February 4th

When I picked up Shatter Me, I had done so because Tahereh Mafi kept popping up everywhere, at all these events (though I haven’t met her officially either!) and her name just kept popping up to me, and so I decided to check out Shatter Me, even though I was getting kind of tired of dystopian. I’m glad I gave this one a chance because Juliette is an awesome character and we’ve really seen her grow so much in this series, and I hope we continue to see that in Ignite Me. I also think Tahereh Mafi has a way of telling a brand new story in that familiar dystopian archetype that we’ve grown to know so well. She has surprises and twists that keep you hooked til the end.

5. The Last Forever by Deb Caletti

Expected Release: April 1st

I adore Deb Caletti and while I absolutely loved He’s Gone, which was her dive into adult fiction, I am glad to see she’s back in YA. All of her books are just so incredibly good. She hits SO many issues of teens, but she never makes her books seem like “issue books”. Her stories are flawless and genuine and each one has captivated me and made me fall in love. She’s gotten so much recognition for her books and its totally deserved. The book is sure to be another emotion wrecker. The main character’s mom has died, and her dad is having a hard time recovering and so is she. Enter a road trip, a new place, and a new boy, and it just spells awesome. Deb Caletti tells beautiful stories and I’m sure this one will be as well.

4. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Expected Release: May 27th

I think most people would be surprised to see this as #4 and now #1 or 2 or 3. And its true, I love Cassandra Clare and adore her books. I definitely can’t wait to read City of Heavenly Fire and see how the TMI series wraps up. My only thing is…I thought the series was wrapped up perfectly in City of Glass and I didn’t feel like it needed to be continued. I am not a fan of Fallen Angels and I kind of like Lost Souls. So while I do want to read the end and find out who lives and who dies, and where everyone sort of ends up, I also am just not DYING to read it, like I was with the other novels. I still think City of Glass was a great ending. But I digress. I’m a TMI fan, and I will read it because I love Jace and Clary and Alec and Simon and Magnus and Isabelle and all of them.

3. Unforgotten by Jessica Brody

Expected Release: February 25th

Another discovery of this year, Jessica Brody has become one of my favorite authors. I read her book, Unremembered, first, and then dove into her contemporary books which seriously make me laugh. They’re fantastic. Definitely check them out. But we’re focusing on Unremembered. Unremembered is about Seraphina, who wakes up in the middle of the ocean, the only survivor of a deadly plane crash. She doesn’t remember who she is, nor does she remember much in general. No one comes forward to claim her, so she’s taken in by foster parents. While Sera remembers the world, she also realizes that she’s different than others, faster, stronger, smarter. Then a boy named Zen comes into the picture, claiming that he knows her, and that they’re in love. Its like Bourne Identity, but with a badass girl instead of Matt Damon. Its seriously awesome, and I can’t say much more because Unforgotten is the sequel, and you just need to read this. This comes out TWO days before my birthday so happy birthday to me!

2. Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Expected Release: May 6th 2014

Morgan Matson is one of my absolute favorite authors of all time. She made me fall in love with her, as an author, so fast with Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour. Then she released Second Chance Summer, and its just as good. I’ve met Morgan several times this year, but it’ll be two years since her last novel came out when this third novel hits the stands. That’s a LONG time to wait haha, or at least it is to me. The main character Emily meets Sloane, who introduces her to a world of fun, who helps pull her out of her shell. Then Sloane disappears and leaves behind a list of things for Emily to accomplish like “apple picking at night” or “dancing until dawn” or “kiss a stranger”. It sounds like another unique and fun Morgan Matson novel, and I honestly just can’t wait for it.

1. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

Expected Release: February 11th

Another discovery of this year (I seriously dove into books and blogging in 2013), Andrew Smith’s Winger literally knocked my socks off, blew me away, had my jaw hanging open down to the ground. It seriously just…it was so amazing. Now Andrew has a new book releasing in February (on mine and Jon’s 6 year anniversary!), and I’m DYING to read it. I keep trying to get my hands on an ARC but have been thus far unsuccessful. I may have to wait til February but it’ll be worth the wait. Andrew has a natural humor to his books, I have laughed out loud, uncontrollably with tears, because of his books. In this novel, Andrew is combining his hilarity with his out of this world story telling (giant insects? really? I’m shuddering already), and I’m sure he’s going to get that teen boy spirit, hilarity and coming of age-ness like he has done before. I am DYING to get my hands on this book, especially when everyone is loving it! It WILL happen!

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I hope you enjoyed this Tuesday Top ….Eleven…or something…some number close to Ten. You should definitely add ALL of these books to your “to-read” list, and if you haven’t read their prequels, then get on it! These books and authors are all great, and you’ll definitely enjoy them!

Don’t forget that you can check out previous Tuesday Top Ten lists here!

What are some books that you are looking forward to in the New Year? Share in the comments!

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What A Nerd Girl Says

Nerd Life is Just So Much Better Than Regular Life

Tag: Tahereh Mafi