Hit, Miss, Haven't Read #3

"Hit, Miss, Haven't Read." is based off of this list of  “Best Books Ever” on Goodreads, which has had over 200,000 voters decide the best books! For each book, list if you thought it was a hit (good), a miss (bad), or if you simply haven't read it. No explanations, just hot takes!

21. Fahrenheit 451

HAVEN'T READ

22. Divergent

HIT

23. Lord of the Flies

MISS

24. Romeo and Juliet

MISS

25. The Alchemist

HAVEN'T READ

26. Crime and Punishment

HIT

27. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

HIT

28. The Great Gatsby

HIT

29. City of Bones

HIT

30. Ender's Game

MISS

(DISCLAIMER: This author is super intolerant of many minorities, so please consider reading from a library! [i.e. they financially support anti-LGBT+ groups and advocated for the violent overthrow of the US government after they legalized gay marriage.])

What do you think about these hits and misses? 

Which ‘haven't reads’ should I add to my to-read list?

Top Ten Tuesday #11

 

Created by The Broke and The Bookish 

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Top 10 Non-Bookish Hobbies

1. Video Games

I have been playing a lot of Pokémon throughout my life, and the Crown Tundra DLC just released. I have also been really into Animal Crossing all year, as well as Assassin's Creed Odyssey. Classics that I haven't played recently but own and recommend are Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver and Knights of the Old Republic! My next adventures will be the new Mario 3D World and Red Dead Redemption 2.

2. Boxing

With covid, this hobby has been pretty much non-existent, but this used to be my favorite way to exercise. I love the challenge and the camaraderie of my gym, as well as the awesome instructions and tips from my trainer. I actually just moved (across the country from Massachusetts to Washington), so I'll know I've returned to my normal when gyms open back up and I can find a new place to box here in Seattle.

3. Sailing/Kayaking/SUPing

I grew up near the water and I have many fond memories of the family going to lakes, rivers, bays, oceans--you name it-- in order to hang out on the water. I love sailing the most, particularly on small one or two person boats like Sunfish. Kayaking and Stand Up Paddle-boarding are close seconds.

4. Makeup

I'm really into expressive exploration with how I present myself, including my makeup. I love wearing bright colors on my eyes and lips and I really enjoy experimenting with combinations and techniques.

5. Writing

I spend a lot of my time every day writing, though the genre is always changing. I write a lot of literary theory and critique in my academic work, as well as political posts for my activist work, as well as jokes and poetry just for fun!

6. Movies

I'm a huge film buff. One of my minors in college was actually International Film and Cultures! I love studying shots and scripts and thinking about how represented themes are affected by a country's own values and priorities. That being said, I like to kick back, relax, and watch movies for fun too!

7. Arts and Crafts

I feel like I'm always picking up and dropping hobbies in this field-- it's really hard to stick to one! I really like to draw and I brought some sketch/inking pens with me in my move but I have not actually used them in several months now. I took up knitting in 2nd grade, found my old needles in my parents house before I moved, and have started picking that up again. Not sure how long that will last... I have a needle-point project that is half finished that I should probably return to again soon...

8. Baking

I love eating yummy things, which means I find myself in the kitchen baking yummy things quite often. My perfected recipe is chocolate chip cookies, but recently I've been making tons and tons of blueberry muffins!

9. Candle Collecting

Candles just smell so delicious! I have one lit right now as I've been working on this post. I think what I love about them the most is how easily they can transform my little desk area into something homey, or adventurous, or exotic. I feel like I'm being teleported somewhere else when I've got a candle lit!

10. Skiing

This is my oldest hobby. I started skiing when I was barely three years old! I enjoy most snow sports but I especially love the exhilaration that comes with skiing, as well as the familiarity of a home mountain and the adventure that comes with going to a new mountain on vacation. The technical skill required has always been something I have been proud of myself for, and it's fantastic exercise. Because of covid, this will be the first winter since I was two years old that I won't be skiing and that's a totally wild reality for me right now. 

Hit, Miss, Haven't Read #2

 

"Hit, Miss, Haven't Read." is based off of this list of  “Best Books Ever” on Goodreads, which has had over 200,000 voters decide the best books! For each book, list if you thought it was a hit (good), a miss (bad), or if you simply haven't read it. No explanations, just hot takes!

11. The Fault in Our Stars

HAVEN'T READ

12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

MISS

13. The Giving Tree

MISS

14. Wuthering Heights

HAVEN'T READ

15. The DaVinci Code

HIT

16. Memoirs of a Geisha

HAVEN'T READ

17. The Picture of Dorian Gray

HIT

18. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

MISS

19. Jane Eyre

HAVEN'T READ

20. Les Misérables

HAVEN'T READ

What do you think about these hits and misses? 

Which ‘haven't reads’ should I add to my to-read list?

Hit, Miss, Haven't Read #1

 

I thought it would be fun to make a new series of posts based on ‘popular books.’ Going forward this will be called "Hit, Miss, Haven't Read." I'm basing it off of this list of “Best Books Ever” on Goodreads, which has had over 200,000 voters decide the best books! For each book, list if it was a hit, a miss, or if you simply haven't read it. No explanations, just hot takes!

1. The Hunger Games

HIT

2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

HIT

(But for unfortunate transphobic rhetoric, please consider reading from your local library instead of purchasing!)

3. To Kill a Mockingbird

MISS

4. Pride and Prejudice

HAVEN'T READ

5. Twilight

MISS

6. The Book Thief

HAVEN'T READ

7. Animal Farm

HAVEN'T READ

8. The Chronicles of Narnia (1-7)

HIT

9. J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Set (The Lord of the Rings + The Hobbit)

HIT and MISS

(I liked The Hobbit, but got really annoyed with how slow LotR was)

10. Gone with the Wind

HAVEN'T READ

What do you think about these hits and misses? 

Which ‘haven't reads’ should I add to my to-read list?

Top Ten Tuesday #10

 

Created by The Broke and The Bookish 

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

10 Books I Read Because Someone Recommended Them to Me

1. City of Bones

This series was recommended to me by Erika, my friend and fellow moderator over at Addicted to YA. We actually met at camp many years ago and bonded over our shared love of reading. The Mortal Instruments was one of her favorite series of all time at the time of our meeting, and I quickly fell into this series. City of Fallen Angels kind of shook me off the series for awhile, but I actually just finished it this year! I have a copy of Clockwork Prince waiting for me to pick up as I type this post.

2. The Lightening Thief

Percy Jackson was recommended to me in a less traditional sense. I was raised in Connecticut, where every year we had the Nutmeg Book Awards. Leading up to this award being given, all students were encouraged to read the nominees. These books were all over school reading lists and public libraries. If you read enough of the nominations, in April you got to vote on which book actually got the award. The Lightening Thief was a Nutmeg Nominee when I was in 4th grade and I fell in love! I almost always read all of the Nutmeg Nominee's, and definitely always enough to vote. The Lightning Thief was our winner that year!

3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This book was recommended to me by an ex-boyfriend (boyfriend at the time). He would make references to it a lot that would fly over my head and one day I picked it up and... was not impressed. There didn't seem to by any plot driving the narrative and without one the whole experience just felt kind of pointless. This was a total flop for me.

4. The Merchant of Death

The Pendragon series was recommended to me by my friends Drew and Graham in 6th grade. While my friendships with them faded after we stopped being in the same classes, by love for this series only grew. It has fantastic world building and complex characters with compelling motives. I'd highly recommend it!

5. The Name of the Game Was Murder

This recommendation came from my older cousin Kayla. I received this book, as well as several other Joan Lowery Nixon books from her has 'hand-me-downs.' Each one is a spooky murder mystery that I couldn't put down! This book and others by Nixon are so nostalgic for me and were some of my very first young adult mysteries. This was my graduation from Nancy Drew. 

6. Fruits Basket

This is, I think, many people's first introduction to manga. It's a great first-dive into the manga stylization, the way that you physically read a text, as well as an easy combination of slice-of-life narration that peaks into myth and dark secrets as you proceed through the series. When I entered high school, my mom said I had to join an after-school club and I joined anime club. Having never seen a single anime or read a single manga, this is what the club president Jordan recommended I start with.

7. Le Petit Prince

This book was recommended to me the way a lot of books are: as required reading in school. I was in 10th or 11th grade, taking french, and this was my teacher's way of having us practice. She picked a relatively easy book for native french speakers, but it was a bit hard for my classes and there were several sections that required assistance to understand. Of course, there are english translations available as this work is world-famous, but translations never quite fully grasp the original intent of the author. This work was life and philosophy changing for me and I used a page for my senior yearbook quote. I would highly recommend this experience!

8. Unwind

Unwind had already been on my to-read list, but I picked it up recently because it had been recommended in my undergraduate Creative Writing course in 2019. Shusterman creates an alternative reality where abortions have been banned. Life is inviolable from conception, but between the ages of 13 and 18 parents can choose to 'unwind' their child, meaning that all of their bodily parts would be taken apart and used for transplants. Even in 'death' their life would not technically end. It was a crazy read!

9. Strengths Finder 2.0

This book was actually gifted to me by an old boss of mine and I'm really grateful for it. For many, it can be really easy to see what we fail at and only focus on those failures. It can be really hard to focus on  what we do well, and this skills might even be hidden to us. So when we inevitably get asked in job interviews, "what are your strengths?" what do you say? This book came with a very comprehensive quiz as well as explanations of each strength as well as strategies  for applying them. This book highlighted for me things that I didn't even realize might be strengths and gave me new confidence in myself.

10. Babel-17

I took a Technology and Empire graduate course, a couple years back now, and this was on the syllabus. Language as power, language as technology was truly thought provoking. This is one of my favorite books of all time and it really challenged me to look at perspectives that I had previously seen as neutral. 

Down the TBR Hole #5

Created by Lia @Lost in a Story

It works like this:

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?

My Goodreads TBR currently has 549 books on it, so I'm really looking forward to cleansing my list!

Throne Of Glass

Sarah J. Maas is an author that I haven't read yet (don't kill me!), so I feel like it's obligatory that I read this even if it's been almost 10 years since it came out. (Or should I give up a switch to a Court of Thorns and Roses? Are the series related in anyway? I literally know nothing >.< )

Decision: Keep

The Lost Prince 

After staring at this in befuddlement for awhile, I've finally come to a decision about this book/spin off series. I think my time for it's enjoyment has passed. I remember disliking the original book, and each sequel getting better and better as Meghan developed, but also as her love interests Puck and Ash developed. It's been so long that I hardly remember their story anymore, and Ethan was such a minor plot point that I almost don't even remember Megan having a brother. I'm just not sure what he would even have to say...

Decision: Go

The Host

This is a book that I have tried to read many times before, but it's so large and life is so busy that I never manage to get to the end. At one point I owned a copy, though I'm not actually sure where it wound up. It might still be in my old room at my parent's house! Most reviews are pretty strong for this book though, and I'm definitely interested in what Meyer can do outside of Twilight, so I'll try and track down that copy.

Decision: Keep

The Immortal Rules

Yup, another Julie Kagawa series is on the list! This one is an unrelated story to  her Iron Fey stories and world, and  I'm very curious about Kagawa's interpretation of vampires. It doesn't hurt that this book has glowing reviews! 

Decision: Keep

James and the Giant Peach

Wow, I don't even remember adding this to my to-read list! This is such a throwback. The movie came out when I was little and the trailer always creeped me out. I'm kind of shocked I ever thought I was going to read this! I think it's safe to say that I never will...

Decision: Go

Did I make the right decisions?? Let me know in the comments!