Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday (13)

TOP TEN BOOKS I’D LIKE TO PLAY HOOKY WITH:
Here’s the thing: when I started making this list, I couldn’t decide which direction I should go in. So I kind of made two. Behold!

TOP TEN BOOKS I PLAYED HOOKY WITH IN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, OR THE BOOKS I READ DURING CLASS WHEN I JUST COULDN’T PAY ATTENTION:
1. Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty: there’s nothing like reading about Jessica Darling’s high school experience to get you through yours.
2. Shadowland by Meg Cabot (along with the rest of the Mediator series): I discovered these after finals during my sophomore year of high school. It’s not like we were doing anything in class anyway! Plus, GHOSTS!
3. Rocketboys by Homer Hickham, Jr.: this is one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. I couldn’t stop reading it, even if that meant not paying a stitch of attention in Honors Chem.
4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: read this one throughout classes in both high school AND college.
5. Replay by Ken Grimwood: this one was a book for my high school book club that seemed more important than watching the Godzilla remake in my tenth grade English class (I know, I don’t know why we were watching it either).
6. TTYL by Lauren Myracle: this series was great to read during my Spanish 4 Honors class junior year. Since the stories are told in online chats, they go super fast and are easy to follow. Plus, they were fun to explain to my Spanish teacher when she would come over and talk to me about what I was reading.
7. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen: I didn’t read this one during class, but I did read it when I should have been doing the mountain of school work that piled up spring semester of my junior year in college. This summer-y book was the perfect way to ignore the harsh reality of homework. Plus, I got to read it while relaxing in my friend’s at-home library. SHE HAS A LIBRARY ROOM, GUYS!
8. Dry by Augusten Burroughs: I’m telling you. The easiest way to get through Elementary Probability and Statistics is to read the memoirs of an alcoholic advertising agent.
9. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta: I remember reading this book during class, even though I didn’t remember the story at all before I re-read it. I feel like reading about Frankie’s high school predicament and the close-knit group of friends she got out of it will give you hope for your own.
10. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket: I remember reading the introduction to the Series of Unfortunate Events during Spanish 3 my sophomore year of high school. These books were perfect for reading during class because they were so squat and could easily hide behind a purse. Even the ghastly Disney purse I decided to carry around that year as some sort of pop culture thing. Gah.

TOP TEN BOOKS I’D LIKE TO PLAY HOOKY WITH NOW OR IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE:

1. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
I’m in the middle of this book, and I would have liked nothing more than to stay home so I could read it ALL DAY LONG. It’s about the son of a serial killer. I can’t be expected to stop reading that for silly things like “real life” once I start!

2. Grave Mercy by R.L. LeFevers
I’ve been in the mood for an epic fantasy-type book set in Medieval times or before. I picked this one up at the used book annex (it’s practically brand new!) and now I’d like to ditch everything to read it.

3. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins
This one would be a reread, but an important one. I originally read the first two a few years ago, before Catching Fire had been released (woo ARCs! Also, for those of you who have read them, you know that the cliffhanger at the end made me regret my decision to read both over a year before Mockingjay was released). I happened to make the (glorious!) mistake of picking up The Hunger Games again last week before a trivia event. Now it’s all I can do to not throw away every responsibility I have in order to read Catching Fire. That may be happening this weekend.

4. Black Heart by Holly Black
Um, maybe reading Black Heart means re-reading White Cat and Red Glove too. I may have heard that somewhere. These books are so good, they’re worth taking some time off to properly enjoy. AND THE LAST ONE COMES OUT NEXT WEEK! And I happen to have the day off from work the next day! Holly Black, my next Wednesday might belong to you.

5. The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
I’ve wanted to read Sarah Rees Brenna’s Demon’s Lexicon trilogy for quite some time, but didn’t want to do so before the third book came out. That happened and I still haven’t read them, but I follow her on twitter and find her to be hysterical. What better way to finally become acquainted with her books than ditching out on real life to do so?

6. Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker
I read Small Town Sinners last summer and have been looking forward to Walker’s next book since. I have a feeling that this contemporary novel would inspire me to take off on a boat trip for the rest of the summer. Look at how breezy the cover is! Makes me wish I was a summer person. I want to stay home on a nice day and read this book while lounging on my aunt’s hammock. Also, in this fantasy, I’m drinking lemonade.
7. The Rivals by Daisy Whitney
I loved The Mockingbirds, and I think it’s time to ignore everything and read the sequel. Especially since I have the ARC with the original cover! YES.

8. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
I’m a little behind on the popular dystopian books (read: I haven’t read Ally Condie’s Matched series, Lauren Oliver’s Delirium series, or Megan McCafferty’s Bumped series because i’m waiting for the third books in each to come out) so I figured that I should take some time out to catch up on one of them. This is my sister’s favorite out of the three and I want to know what she’s always talking about.

9. Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
A little while ago a lot of people were raving about this book and I want to know what that’s all about. With that kind of praise, I think it would be enjoyable to stay home and read this book, perhaps with a lovely cup of tea. That is all.

10. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
I adored Marchetta’s Saving Francesca and The Piper’s Son. The rest of her books are all on my To Be Read List (the most daunting thing of all the things) and I REALLY want to read this one. Unfortunately it’s a trilogy and the second book is only coming out now, so I’m going to try to wait it out until the third. I’m not making any promises. Having only read contemporary novels by Marchetta, I’m curious about how she’ll take on fantasy. I feel that these books deserve my full attention, so obviously when reading them I should stay home in order to give them their due.

What I’ve learned: I need to become independently wealthy as soon as possible so I can stay home and read all the time.


Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

4 comments:

  1. Look at you, you overachiever :P I LOVE IT!! And I absolutely love this: "I need to become independently wealthy as soon as possible so I can stay home and read all the time" ...I literally utter these same words almost every day at work but I also add in "so I can travel" in there too. My coworkers must think I'm the laziest POS ever. lol.

    ANYWHO...I have Jessica Darling on my list too! Such a good one! And Delirium! Get to that one soon! It was a little meh for me in the beginning but then it picked up and I could NOT put it down!

    Feel free to stop by my list if you feel like it!

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    1. Haha I've always been a bit of an overachiever, and now that I'm out of school I get to put that towards fun things! I'm glad to find a kindred spirit with the whole independent wealth thing. I agree about the travel! I went on a cross country road trip this past summer and it just made me want to have adventures all the time. Adventures + books = great life!
      I DO have to get to DELIRIUM soon!

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  2. Two awesome lists!

    The Jessica Darling series will forever be a favourite of mine. Love.

    How lucky that you found a copy of Grave Mercy- lots of positive buzz about it. I have The Mockingbirds sitting on my shelf and after reading such good things about it lately, I am bumping it up my TBR pile!

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    1. IT'S SO GOOD! I'd recommend THE MOCKINGBIRDS to ever YA fan! I have to read that copy of GRAVE MERCY soon, I've heard nothing but good things!

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