Bookish Heroines

It's no surprise I like books. (Hi. Book blogger.)

I dearly love reading about heroes and heroines in books who are also bookish, because it's cool to see your traits and obsessions reflected in the people you read about. So your bookishness is reflected in the bookishness of the bookish people in your books. It's like bookception.

Anyway, sometimes I'm disapointed with how bookish heroines are portrayed or characterized, because they can be cliche, or I don't really believe they like books, or they just have crap taste and I judge them because I'm very grown up. So I figured I'd do a round up of some of the bookish heroines I've noticed in YA.

LGBT YA in 2014

I'm always pleased when, while peeking through publisher catalogues and people's Goodreads TBRs, I see titles involving LGBT themes. They're becoming more and more prevalent, and I couldn't be happier about it. 2014 includes more than any other year before it, it seems, and what's even better is that a lot of them seem to be super cute and happy rom-com types. Not that I don't love the super heartbreaking ones that probe deep issues, but varietyis always excellent.

Here are just a sampling of the LGBT YA fiction I've got my eye on in the coming year:



The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi
When it's releasing: April 1
Who's publishing it: Sourcebooks Fire
Why you want it: I've read this one, and confession: it's wrenching. A teen girl gets sent to a de-gayification camp to please her mother, but it's there that she discovers herself, finds love, and makes a totally awesome best friend.



One Man Guy by Michael Barakiva
When it's releasing: May 27th
Who's publishing it: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan)
Why you want it: Hellooo, adorable illustrated cover. A nerdy Armenian boy maybe falls in love with cool, hipster skateboarder dude. It sounds like the cutest.



Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
When it's releasing: June 17th
Who's publishing it: Amulet (Abrams)
Why you want it: LGBT FANTASY. LGBT fantasy. LGBT FANTASY!!!!

 

Fan Art by Sarah Tregay
When it's releasing: June 17
Who's publishing it: Katherine Tegen (HarperCollins)
Why you want it: It's about an artist boy who falls in love with his best friend. Art! Cute cover! Friendship to (maybe) romance!



Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
When it's releasing: February 11th
Who's publishing it: Dutton Juvenile (Penguin)
Why you want it: Despite its poisonously green cover (seriously, I have a copy of this thing, and it could blind you), this book is supposed to be completely on crack in the best way. It's about the end of the world? Or giant grasshoppers? Or something? I don't even know, but I'm excited.


 
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
When it's releasing: May 15th
Who's publishing it: Dutton Juvenile (Penguin)
Why you want it: Because I want to frame this cover and hang it on my wall, that's why. And it's about a film buff/wunderkind set designer obsessed with Old Hollywood. Yes, please.



Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore
When it's releasing: June 17
Who's publishing it: Disney Hyperion
Why you want it: There isn't any LGBT-ness in the synopses, but I hear this is LGBT-related and the worldbuilding just sounds completely gorgeous and unique. I must have it.



My Best Friend, Maybe by Caela Carter
When it's releasing: June 3rd
Who's publishing it: Bloomsbury
Why you want it: It's a summery book set in the Greek Isles about a pair of best friends who stopped being friends... but it seems to me that they just might end up being more.

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley (coverless)
When it's releasing: October
Who's publishing it: HarlequinTeen
Why you want it: Lesbian desegregtion romance. It's set in a newly integrated high school in 1959 Virginia in which a black girl and a white girl fall in love, and I'm sorry, my brain just exploded in anticipation.

A few others to look out for: Far From You by Tess Sharpe, Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Anne Peters, Guardian by Alex London.

I left off a bunch more, including some that weren't too clear about LGBT-ness in their synopses or were too far out for me to have any real information on them. But like I said, I'm so happy that publishers seems to be producing more and more LGBT fiction, and the ones above all sound pretty amazing. 

All I Want for Christmas is Books

I am a total Christmas Elf. I am a lost Who of Whoville. I am Cindy Lou Who. I am Buddy the Elf's jollier little sister. I sing carols, I bake cookies, I make decoration, I write Christmas cards. I LIVE for the holidays, immersing myself in as much Christmas-ness as possible. Which means I like to read books that feel like winter and holidays, and what's more, I like to give them out as gifts!

Here's a quick and easy guide of holiday-adjacent reading you should check out this December:

For the classics lover:

 

The Annoted Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
This is one of my favorite novels of all time, and in this annotated edition, it's brought to life with gorgeous illustrations and historical asides. Plus the cover is shiiiiiny.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Only part of this book revolves around Christmas, but for me, the classic Little Women will always be associated with winter nights, family cheer, carrolling around the piano, and poisonous Amy March plunging into a frozen pond. Ahhh, gotta love the holiday season.

For the lover of cuteness and romance:

 

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
The book is comprised of three connected novellas by three of the biggest contemporary YA authors. Of the three stories, the Johnson's is my favorite, followed closely by Green, but the book as a whole will make you laugh and swoon and fill you with all the holiday fuzzies.

Decked with Holly by Marni Bates
This book is both supremely silly and supremely hilarious. This book is like a candy cane: sweet and rather insubstantial, but that's precisely its charm. I enjoyed myself so thoroughly reading this. It's also really not that Christmas-y, despite the title and cover. Whatever. Don't over think it. It's cute.

Ex-Mas by Kate Brian
Now, I haven't read this one myself, but it's about two battling exes and a magical adventure and a love-hate story, so it totally sounds like something fun and enjoyable.

For the quirky hipsters:



Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

I'll admit I only read part of this book, and while it's not to my style, there are others out there guaranteed to love quirky, intelligent Lily and Dash and their unconventional holiday romance.
 
For the history buff:



The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits by Les Standiford
Despite that rather unwieldy post-colonic subtitle, this book is a swift and interesting look at the man who helped define Christmas culture in the Western world.

Silent Night: The Remarkable Christmas Truce of 1914 by Stanley Weintraub
I love European history, mostly because it's full of strange and wonderful and confusing little moments like this one, when soldiers on opposite sides of the trenches put down their weapons for one Christmas and joined together to eat and drink and sing carols together.

For those is need of a laugh:



Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
Few people are funnier than David Sedaris, so I'm sure a book chock-full of his Christmas stories can only be hilarious.

You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas
I've never read any of Burroughs's books, but I hear he's terrifically funny and dark, and this cover made me laugh for about a solid minute,

 For the fantastical:



Cold Spell by Jackson Pearce
Frozen, Disney's interpretation of The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson, just released in theaters, but a few months ago Pearce's newest fairy tale reimagining came out too.

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this series, and the final installment, set in the snowy mountains between two battling kingdoms, might be the best of the three. Plus, HECTOR. HEEEEECTORRR.

These next three books are all based on a snowy fairy tale, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon". As to which one is the best, I'm not sure, because I haven't read any! They all look quite intriguing ot me.



Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

East by Edith Pattou

What are your favorite holiday-related reads? Do any on my list intrigue you? What would you add?

Top Ten Most Intimidating Books

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

You know how there are just some books you WANT to read but you just DON'T? Like, one look at that page count, and you're intimidated. Or you remember how all your friends and every reputable reviewer around practically wet themselves while reading that book. Well, these are the books that most intimidate me, along with the reasons why.


 

1. Book: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy hype, Batman; Because everybody freaking loves it; cancery cancer makes me cry; I don't want to be THAT PERSON who doesn't get it
Reason I WANT it: Am I a bad book blogger if I haven't read this?

2. Book: The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzak
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy hype, Batman; Because everybody freaking loves it; Holocausty Holocaust makes me cry
Reason I WANT it: I want to know all about the brilliance that is apparently in this book!

3. Book: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy 
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy page count, Batman; if I don't like it, will I look stupid?; I KNOW THE ENDING
Reason I WANT it: I can't wear my Literate Snob badge if I haven't read Anna Karenina.

4. Book: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepytus
Reason I'm intimidated: Genocidey genocide makes me cry; Holy hype, Batman
Reason I WANT it: I love good WWII fiction, and I LOVE books set in or around or having to do with Russia/the USSR.

5. Book: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy hype, Batman; Because everybody freaking loves it: I don't want to be THAT PERSON
Reason I WANT it: I love Aussie lit, it sounds really good, and I already own it.

6. Book: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Reason I'm intimidated: Because everybody freaking loves it; "it's the new Harry Potter"; aren't there like a million of these?
Reason I WANT it: I would like a new Harry Potter, I love mythology, and these books look like tons of fun.

 
 

7. Book: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Reason I'm intimidated: Because everybody freaking loves it; vampires schmampires; why is Angelina Jolie on the cover; aren't there like a million of these?
Reason I WANT it: Because everybody freaking loves it, and I need new book boyfriends, and apparently these are NOT your Grandma's sparkly vampires.

8. Book: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy hype, Batman; because everybody freaking loves it
Reason I WANT it: Magical magicness, a beautiful concept, and a romance sure to make me swoon.

9. Book: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy hype, Batman
Reason I WANT it: It's right up my alley, and I got an ARC of the sequel.

10. Book: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy hype Batman; Because everybody freaking loves it; I have a feeling I'll be THAT PERSON; deathy deathness makes me cry
Reason I WANT it: This book is supposed to be really moving, gorgeous, and well-written.

11. Book: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Reason I'm intimidated: Because everybody freaking loves it
Reason I WANT it: I've never read any Maggie Stiefvater, but this totally sounds like something original that I'd enjoy.

12. Book: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Reason I'm intimidated: Holy page count, Batman; because everybody freaking loves it; George R.R. Martin makes me cry
Reason I WANT it: As a diehard fan of the TV show, I obviously will and have to read this book. BUT UGH IT MIGHT DESTROY ME BECAUSE I KNOW THINGS NOW.

Honorable mentions: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Maze Runner by James Dashner(lots of runners), Just One Day by Gayle Forman, Wicked Lovely by Marissa Marr.

Top Ten Reads of 2013 (So Far)

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER, because just forcing me to choose ten alone was cruel enough (which is why I cheated and chose... not ten).

Books I read and were published in 2013:



1. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
My review is basically all exclamation points, drooling over Sturmhond, and gifs of Zac Efron freaking out about things.

2. Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
Haven't put my review of this one up yet, but I'm sure it will be entirely incoherent, because GAH.

3. The Archived by Victoria Schwab
I loved this book even more than I expected to. The creepy, atmospheric quality, the depths of feeling, Mac, Wesley-- I loved it all.



4. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
Gorgeous writing, a cracker-jack plot, and excellent side characters. A healthy helping of Warner doesn't hurt either.

5. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
This series is so much fun. it's science fiction-lite with a fairy tale twist, and I thought this book was even better plotted than Cinder, plus it had three times the man candy. I will never complain about added amounts of man candy.



6. Faking It by Cora Carmack
This book was romantic, humorous, and everything New Adult should be.

7. Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick
I know this book won't be for everyone, but it was SO FOR ME. It was hilarious, adorable, and full of British people doing royal British things.

8. The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
I know for a fact my review for this was completely incoherent, because it was so very !!!! and also ?!?!?!



9. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Another one I can't put up a review for yet, because it doesn't come out for a while, but Fangirl is cute and so very much what I want NA to be. Faking It is what I want the sexy New Adult titles to become; Fangirl is what I hope the rest of the genre will be. I connected a lot with the heroine, and saw a lot of myself in her, and also there are Emergency Kanye Dance parties. Yes.

10. Pivot Point by Kasie West
 I'm not normally one for paranormal romance but this one hooked me right off. I love all of West' characters (ADDIE + TREVOR FOREVER) and she pulled off this really tricky concept flawlessly.

Honorable 2013 mentions: Arclight by Josin McQuein, The Distance Between Us by Kasie West.

BONUS: Books I read but were published BEFORE 2013, because I don't know when to quit:

 
 

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
2. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
3. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
4. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
5. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

What are the best books of 2013 that YOU'VE read so far? Have you read/loved/hated any one mine? Leave me your links if you have them so I can come visit!