2013 Reading Challenges

This year I decided to sign up for some reading challenges. I am going to put all of the challenges I am officially signed up for on a page along with a link to the blog or site that is hosting it (see above). Every month I will give an Update post on my progress with all of the challenges. These are the challenges I am participating in this year:

hobbitsies.net

Each participant must come up with a list of at least 12 debut books to read and review in 2013.


auntiespinellireads.com

The goal: To read as many sequels as you can. You set your goal at whatever number works for you.

I am setting my goal at 10 books.

Favorite Books of 2012

So there is almost no way to pick one favorite book that I read this year. I read a ton of books and many of them were fantastic. I just went to my Goodreads shelf and picked all the books I rated 5 stars this year, which are the following:

~ Dash & Lily's Book of Dares -Rachel Cohn
~ Shatter Me -Tahereh Mafi
~ Divergent -Veronica Roth
~ Delirium -Lauren Oliver
~ Pandemonuim -Lauren Oliver
~ The Scorch Trials -James Dashner
~ Prince of Wolves -Quinn Loftis
~ City of Bones/Ashes/Glass -Cassandra Clare
~ The Body Finder -Kimberly Derting
~ Clockwork Angel/ Prince -Cassandra Clare
~ Legend -Marie Lu
~ Starcrossed -Josephine Angelini
~ Dreamless -Josephine Angelini
~ Die For Me -Amy Plum 
~ Until I Die -Amy Plum
~ The Fault in Our Stars -John Green

What are your favorite books you read this year?

Review: Blood Red Road

Blood Red Road
Moira Young
(Summary from Goodreads.com)

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.

Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.

Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

Stacking the Shelves: Secret Assignments, Frostbite, and Silence

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a great way to show other people the books that you've bought or received for the past week!

Black Water

D. J. MacHale

Frostbite

Richelle Mead

Waiting On Wednesday: Unravel Me

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Unravel Me
Tahereh Mafi
Shatter Me #2
February 5, 2013
(Summary from Goodreads.com)

tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Stacking the Shelves: Inventions, Hosts, and Shadows

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a great way to show other people the books that you've bought or received for the past week!

Dreamless

Josephine Angelini

Quote Unquote: City of Fallen Angels

Quote Unquote is a series of posts of my favorite quotes from certain books. So far my other two "Quote Unquote" posts have been on this series, but it just has so many great quotes!

In no particular order: ~ “It’s a joke, Isabelle. He’s the Count. He likes counting. You know. ‘What did the Count eat today, children? One chocolate chip cookie, two chocolate chip cookies, three chocolate chip cookies . . .’”
There was a rush of cold air as the door of the restaurant opened, letting in another customer. Isabelle shivered and reached for her black silk scarf. “It’s not realistic.”
“What would you prefer? ‘What did the Count eat today, children? One helpless villager, two helpless villagers, three helpless villagers . . .”

Teaser Tuesday #8: Deadly Little Secret

Deadly Little Secret
Laurie Faria Stolarz
(Summary from Goodreads.com)

Until three months ago, everything about sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at an art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes far from ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. Instead she's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help – but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something...but he's not the only one with a secret.

Series Spotlight: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Rick Riordan

(Summary from Goodreads.com)

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school... again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus' master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus' stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves

~I finished this series not to long ago and loved it. Even though this series is aimed towards a middle-grades audience, i'm sure everyone would enjoy reading it. This is a very well know and loved series and author.  

Think Out Loud #1: Free Your Mind

Think Out Loud is a weekly meme created by Thinks Books for bloggers to be able to break out of the blogging bubble and promotes thinking outside of the box. You can use this feature to post things you ordinarily wouldn't. For example, if you usually write book reviews, step outside your comfort zone. Post a funny story, a rant, a cool pic or video, ANYTHING. Consider it a complete free for all.

Hey Guys! I personally love this idea. So for my first think out loud I thought I would share a photo and a story. 

Teaser Tuesday #7: Born at Midnight

Born at Midnight
C. C. Hunter
(Summary from Goodreads.com)

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…

One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.

Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.

Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

Stacking the Shelves: Facts, Races, and Frenzies

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It's a great way to show other people the books that you've bought or received for the past week!

Library

Born at Midnight

C. C. Hunter