top ten tuesday.

I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday! Why, you ask? Well, who doesn't love blog memes?!

*cough*

What? I've been here the whole time.

*looks around* *swipes at a cobweb*

Anywho.

Five books I thought I'd love more than I did:

1. The History of Love
  This is not to say that I didn't actually really enjoy this book. I did. A lot. In fact, I recommend it. But it didn't quite leave me with the awe-and-wonder I was expecting. Maybe it was because I learned who the author was and had this, "Oh. So THAT'S why this feels like Jonathan Safran Foer." Is it weird for that to have been a let down? (It's by his wife, by the way. I don't know what's wrong with me. Maybe I got nervous about voices blending into one another?)

2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone
  Again, not at all to say I didn't like it. I loved it. This, really, is compared to the rest of Laini Taylor's books. I heart heart heart them all, but Daughter left me with this thought more than any of her others: "I don't even need to love the story to love a Laini Taylor book! That's talent." Because, I mean, come on. It is.

3. The Maze Runner
  I was maybe a little *too* prepared to love this book, and that expectation was simply not met. Still a fun read, but I had some problems with the stakes and the general what-the-crappedness in the latter half. Proud to have a signed copy, though. And I do intend to finish the series... someday.

4. Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes
  Woe unto you, overly-clever middle-grade narrator! Fine line, there. And without enough for me to grab onto, character-wise (the animorphed bestie? major players not introduced until second half? does not... compute...), I lost interest. Great first chapter, though. (Let that be a lesson to us all.)

5. Game of Thrones
  Who has two thumbs and couldn't even make it through book one?

Yep.

Five books I loved more than I thought I would:

1. Wither
  I don't even KNOW, okay? I sometimes feel like I should doubt that four-star goodreads rating and turn it into a three. I shouldn't have liked this book as much as I did. At other times, I wonder if I should change it to a five. For all the issues that jerked me around early on, I can't deny how much this book had me by the second half. I should maybe... read the rest of them. Heh.

2. Days of Blood and Starlight
  Daughter may be my least favorite Laini Taylor book (which isn't really saying much, since anything of Laini's is the winner of everything), but Days is my very favorite. I read it in a constant state of awe, teared up multiple times over things that were more moving than sad (a true sign of great writing), and said "NO" out loud at least six times. Thanks to my take-it-or-leave-it relationship with the first book in the series, I was even MORE blown away. Must read again.

3. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making
  I delight in you, (much more well-crafted) overly-clever middle-grade narrator! Hello, fickle. The very thing I disliked about Peter Nimble is what I loved about GWCF, which is why I approached it with optimistic caution. But this one had more characters for me to love, a strong yet simple plot, and even a smattering of philosophy. Lovely all around.

4. The Raven Boys
  Won't lie, I'm pretty hot and cold when it comes to this author. I figured I'd give RB a shot on audiobook, because it's easier to burn through stories that don't hold me as much, that way. Boy, was I in for a treat. Raven Boys is not only my favorite Stiefvater novel, but my favorite audiobook, period. Will Patton made the whole thing. I was still irked by some trademark moves (iffy female protag, way way high stakes that didn't culminate into the bang they demanded), but all is forgiven under that melty Virginia baritone. I still can't stop thinking about the way he said "ley line" and "Gansey." Hoowee. I'm so stoked for the rest of this series. Audiobooks all the way.

5. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom
  Just finished this one... ten minutes ago! I don't know why I ever doubted that I would love this book. Oh, how wrong I was! It's just about the perfect middle grade adventure. It's fun and brilliantly silly, but also grounded and a bit dark, with real stakes and consequences. I often miss that in MG. This one is a real winner.

Hurray for reading! *climbs back into that saddle* *dusts off another cobweb*