Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me

TIME IS RUNNING OUT in my Holiday Giveaway. I have thirteen orphaned YA books and they need a happy home. Your bookshelf could be that place.

hosted by Broke and Bookish

My previous TTT's: Worst Ways to End a Book, Literary Characters I Want to Marry,  Books I'd Want on a Deserted Island, Books/Authors I'm Thankful for, Most Anticipated Books of 2013

I LOVE Christmas. Christmas means peppermint mochas, poinsettias, gingerbread cookies, carols, and GOODIES. Everybody knows the best kind of goody to give and receive is a book. These are some of the MANY, MANY books I wouldn't mind showing up under my tree.

If I am lucky enough to receive these books, I will react with grace and humility maybe.

1.      SCARLET by Marissa Meyer. I’ve said it once, I’ve said it… okay, not a hundred times, but at least thrice: I would like this book now please. I’m sure Santa has all kinds of access to ARCs, so I don’t see why he can’t bring me that one.

2.      SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo. Same as above. Thank you kindly.

3.      HARRY POTTER PAGE TO SCREEN: THE COMPLETE FILM MAKING JOURNEY

 

I will let Amazon do the talking:

"Worthy of a vault at Gringotts, this amazing limited edition collection includes eight exquisitely crafted volumes shelved with a scale prop replica of The Monster Book of Monsters and a gilded, oversized portfolio with five frame-able prints of concept art. Featuring never-before-published art and text chronicling the making of the Harry Potter films, the set is limited to just 3,000 copies worldwide. 

"Seven of the volumes were created expressly for this collection and delve into different aspects of the filmmaking, showing how the team designed locations, graphics, costumes, creatures, and special effects. A book of the paintings of Hogwarts showcases the exquisite artistry of each. A keepsake book filled with snapshots and personal photos looks at the lasting relationships between cast and crew. The eighth volume is a cloth-bound edition of the New York Times Best-seller, Harry Potter: Page to Screen. All of these precious objects are housed in a collectible box that looks like it came from Diagon Alley. Arriving at your doorstep with a numbered certificate of authenticity, this limited edition is the ultimate collectible for any wizard or Muggle. 

This collector’s edition includes:
      • A cloth-covered case, styled to look like a shelf from a shop in Diagon Alley
      • A cloth-bound edition of Harry Potter: Page to Screen
      • Seven additional volumes detailing the Harry Potter creative team’s ten years of extensive efforts:
            * The Creature Shop Compendium: Flora and Fauna from the Harry Potter Films
            * Environments Envisioned: Building Fantastic Sets and Scouting Dramatic Locations
            * A Guide to the Graphic Arts Department: Posters, Prints, and Publications from the Harry Potter Films
            * Movie Magic: Practical Props and Exciting Effects
            * The Paintings of Hogwarts: Masterpieces from the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Sets
            * Ten Years Later: Life on Set with the Harry Potter Cast and Crew
            * Wizard Wear and Muggle Attire: Costuming the World of Harry Potter
      • A replica of The Monster Book of Monsters film prop
      • A gilded portfolio of five frame-able prints of original Harry Potter concept art"

This. Mine. Want. *drools* Yes, it’s casually six hundred dollars, but… 

4.      The MATCHED series by Ally Condie

 

I’ve never read them, and I know this is a thing that must be rectified IMMEDIATELY.

5.      UNDER THE NEVER SKY by Veronica Rossi

 

Ditto above. I’ve heard tremendous things about it.

6.      DIVERGENT and INSURGENT by Veronica Roth

 

Ditto also. So many amazing books of the past I need to get to, so little time.

7.      THEWORLD OF DOWNTON ABBEY, THE CHRONICLES OF DOWNTON ABBEY, AND LADY ALMINA ANDTHE REAL DOWNTON ABBEY: THE LOST LEGACY OF HIGHCLERE CASTLE 

 

I just really like Downton Abbey, guys. I love melodrama, British history, pretty castles, and even prettier old timey clothes. And books full of big glossy pictures.

8.      FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM by Philip Pullman 

 

I love fairy tales, I love Phillip. Easy math.

9.      THE COMPLETE NOVELS OF JANE AUSTEN. Yes, I already own them all. I have every book in its own volume, plus an anthology with all of them together, plus an old illustrated copy of Pride and Prejudice that belonged to my mom. BUT LOOK AT THESE. THEY ARE SO PRETTY:

 I will buy any book if it's pretty. I own so many books, and I keep buying the same ones over and over because they keep updating them with PRETTY COVERS. I'm like a book magpie. I'm attracted to the shiny.

EDITED TO ADD: I just bought them. I have no self-control It's my gift to me. Stop looking at me like that.

10.  THE ANNOTATED CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens

Ooh, look at it. It's so shiny. So shiny and full of illustrations and annotations. I love those things so much.

EDITED TO ADD: My mom just told me she already bought me this and was going to give it to me for Christmas. Now she's annoyed that I have ruined the surprise. "If SOME PEOPLE were not so PICKY about the GIFTS that they GET..." (Yes, I know she didn't have to tell me, but don't ruin her rant with your logic). My mother is both a delight and a grump. THANKS MOM.

What bookish delights are you hoping for this Christmas? Do you love me someone enough to get them that Harry Potter gift set? Or will you be giving out old, much-loved copies from your own personal library, like my grandpa does to me? (I love those. They always have improbably low old-timey prices written in pencil on the inside of them, some even have his notes in the margins. BOOKS = LOVE, GUYS).

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Do you like free books? Well, I'm giving away thirteen of them, including this one, in my HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY, open until December 6. Hurry!

Review: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
Rating: A polarizing read that will thrill some people (like me). Action, intrigue, a love triangle, and some seriously memorable characters.


After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. 

Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Previously on Gillian and the Throne of Glass: While reading the prequel novellas, I met a kick ass assassin girl named Celaena Sardothien. She had mad martial arts skills, great taste in clothes, and I got to know every facet of her personality, but not her back story. I was introduced to a detailed fantasy world full of depth, mystery, blood, and corruption (heavy on the corruption). I fell in love with a boy named Sam and ended up seriously suffering for it (in a good way. Books that make you suffer the feels are the best kinds of books out there).

As I was reading Throne of Glass, I realized that this book was going to be very divisive. Some people were going to love it, others were not. I happen to be in the positive camp. I love high fantasy. I love watching authors of skill create worlds that don't really exist, and I really enjoyed Maas' Erilea, even if I found some slight flaws in it.

For all the blood and gore and pain of this novel, I really enjoyed it. Celaena is an immensely fun character to inhabit. She's brash, vain, easily angered, and obviously deadly, but I love her. She's polarizing, for sure. Some will want to smack her face. I wanted to hang out with her and talk smack about everybody else (and maybe pick up some self-defense tips). She's undergone some hellish trials and lives a very brutish existence, and yet I never felt distance from her.

And that's the key to really enjoying a high fantasy novel: the characters. Of course, it's great when they have interesting magical shenanigans, political intrigues, vicious monsters, and cruel kings, but if I don't latch onto the characters, none of it matters. And I loved the characters in Throne of Glass. They come close enough to being cliches to be fun, but somehow they're fleshed out just enough to feel original. The interpersonal relationships are well woven into the political messiness of the assassin competition. Captain Chaol Westfall of the Royal Guard, the guy assigned to train/guard/protect her (it's complicated) is honorable, complex, and all around wonderful. Prince Dorian is a handsome playboy prince who's more than what he seems whose banter with Celaena made me chuckle. He's not perfect. Some of his flaws rubbed me the wrong way, but at the end of the day I enjoyed spending time with him on the page.

I'm not someone who automatically hates love triangles. If you are, be warned there is a love triangle of sorts in this book, even if it's under-realized at the moment. But I have a feeling it will BOOM in the later books. (For the record, I am Team Chaol all the way).

The plot moves quickly. There were MYSTERIES and SHENANIGANS and creepy goings-on. There were rebels, evil dukes, and one awesome foreign princess. I found the competition pretty fascinating.

I can see why some have issues with this book. I read a review that referred to Celaena as "Assassin Barbie" and in some ways, that's pretty apt. Some won't like the love triangle or the pretty faces or how often someone describes Celaena as beautiful. The magic was a bit confusing at time, and we never really learned much about Celaena's past (though I have THEORIES that I just know will be right). But in this fantasy world, I thought that added to the fun.

Also, I did read the novellas, so I can't comment on what it was like to read this book without that prior knowledge, but I would serious recommend reading those first. Things are not explained in Throne of Glass, but you will understand them perfectly if you've read the prequels. You will burst into tears when you read the name Sam know Celaena much better, and the information holes with be mostly filled. Still, we know hardly anything about Celaena's life before she became an assassin, something I was hoping would be more addressed in this book.

But I loved this book. You may not have, but I hope most of you will, because I can't wait for the next one.

The End of Year Book Survey

2012 is almost over! We made it!


It may be a little early to start declaring my favorites and not-so-favorites of 2012, but I never get much reading done during the holidays, since I am part elf and spend most of my time baking and crafting and SPREADING JOY and the like. And since The Perpetual Page-Turner is hosting it's 3rd Annual End of Year Book Survey, I figured I'd better hop on board now, when the time is right and before the Apocalypse occurs.

1. Best Book You Read In 2012? (You can break it down by genre if you want)

THIS IS AN IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION.

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

THE LIST by Siobhan Vivian *sad face*

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2012?

BLACKWOOD by Gwenda Bond. The book was totally different than I expected, but I loved it!

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?

Probably UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan, because it needs all the LOVE and SUPPORT it can get! Not enough 

 people are reading this book when they should.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?

Discovering THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS series was a momentous thing.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?

Oh, man. Leigh Bardugo, Sarah Rees Brennan, Marissa Meyer, Rae Carson, C.J. Redwine, Sarah J. Maas… and on and on and on. SO MANY GOOD AUTHORS OUT THERE.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

I gave ENDANGERED, a contemporary book with a young protagonist set in the Congo, a shot, because I received a review copy. I like contemporary, but this was an ISSUE book, set in a war-torn third world country, advertizing the plight of the endangered bonobo. I love animals, and I love the news, but not usually in my literature. I prefer pure escapism, really. BUT OH BOY. THIS BOOK. It's amazing. No wonder it was nominated for the National Book Award.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?

I’ll go with DEFIANCE by C.J. Redwine, but there were many, many others. That book was always moving, changing directions every couple scenes, in the best way possible.

9. Book You Read In 2012 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year:

SERAPHINA by Rachel Hartman. I could live inside that book. So rich and full of detail.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?

 

11. Most memorable character in 2012? 

Hector from THE CROWN OF EMBERS, Kami from UNSPOKEN, Celaena from THRONE OF GLASS, and my precious Mal from SHADOW AND BONE.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?

SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi. Unequivocally.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?

ENDANGERED by Eliot Schrefer had me bawling like a baby.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?

ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy. They revoke your English major badge at my school if you don’t read Tolstoy at some point. Plus I wanted to read it before I saw the movie.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2012? 

From SHATTER ME:

“I always wonder about raindrops.
I wonder about how they’re always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble right out of the sky toward an uncertain end. It’s like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn’t seem to care where the contents fall, doesn’t seem to care that the raindrops burst when they hit the ground, that they shatter when they fall to the floor, that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors.”

Bonus:

“My head is on the seat, his frame hovering over me, his hands gripping my hips from under my tattered dress and I’m licked by a million flames of wanting so desperate I can hardly inhale. He’s a hot bath, a short breath, 5 days of summer pressed into 5 fingers writing stories on my body.”

 16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2012? 

ANNA KARENINA is long so long the longest the absolute longest thing ever. The shortest book? I moved this year, so I uncovered a lot of Gillian Detritus left behind in my old home, including the very first story I ever wrote at the age of 5. I present it to you in its entirety:

Once upon a time there was a whale named Martha. She was very sad because she didn’t have kids. One day she had a child named Susan.

THE END.

That was a fail whale of a story.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

The last Throne of Glass novella. I CURSED the HEAVENS at that one. Also the end of UNSPOKEN and the end of CROWN OF EMBERS (yes I keep picking the same books over and over but guys I seriously love those books. Deal).

18. Favorite Relationship from a Book You Read In 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

Warner and Juliette's relationship from SHATTER ME and DESTROY ME. It's twisted, epic, deep, confusing, painful. Oh the FEELS. I love literary relationships that aren't black and white or even necessarily healthy. Also Mal and Alina from SHADOW AND BONE and Alina and the Darkling. I'm a pan-shipper, guys. I like when hearts get tangled.

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2012 From An Author You Read Previously

Finally started reading THE INFERNAL DEVICES series by Cassandra Clare after loving THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS.

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:

A friend told me to read VALKYRIE RISING because it was tons of fun and she was extremely right.

 Book Blogging/Reading Life in 2012 (optional)

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2012? 

ALL THE BOOK BLOGS. I only joined the book blogging world at the end of September, and I seriously love them all. They are all brand new discoveries and I’m honored to be a part of this awesome community. Special shout out to Bookshelvers Anonymous, Lili’s Reflections, and Blue Sky Bookshelf, for being my particular blogging buds! But seriously, you should check out every blog that links back to Perpetual Page-Turner main page. They're all worthwhile.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2012? 

Um... you tell me? I don't know. I have fun with the negative ones because I like to keep my claws sharp, so reviewing THE SELECTION was kind of fun. But I also love to rave and swoon and tell people about books that will change their lives, so I guess I also like my gushing reviews. Must pay particular love to my non-review posts, like Pixar's Rules of Story-telling and, wow, my total favorite that i forgot about until just now, WHY I LOVE YA!

3. Best discussion you had on your blog?

It was a short discussion, but definitely the one about Boys in YA. Another good and longer one was about The Ten Worst Ways to End a Book (warning: gif overload ahead).

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else’s blog? 

Malinda Lo, author of ADAPTATION, talking about hetero-normativity in BITTERBLUE. Very well articulated.

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

I got to go to a REALLY great discussion about Gender in Fantasy at UCLA, where Leigh Bardugo, Cecil Castelluci, Javi Grillo-Marxuach, and Amber Benson all presided. They sat around saying alternately hilarious and profound things. I took copious notes, so one day a post will go up sharing all the WISDOM I gained that wondrous night, but it will have to wait till I'm not completely swamped (and can learn to decipher my own abysmal handwriting).

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2012?

Winning bookish prizes! Also GIVING bookish prizes! People love free books. A whole bunch.

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Obviously my BIG MEGA HOLIDAYGIVEAWAY (open until Thursday, December 6) was the most popular by both comments and views, but the next one was Top Ten Most Anticipated Books of 2013. Followed very closely by Top Ten literary Characters I Want to Marry (this one gets alllll the Google searches for Bookish Boyfriends).

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

THIS ONE. Love it, guys, give it some loooooove.

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

Book Soup, a bookstore in the WestHollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. GO THERE AND BUY THINGS. GO THERE NOW.

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

To start a book blog! 

Looking Ahead…

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2012 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2013?

GRACELING. I. Will. Read. It. I promise. I now own a copy. It will happen. (Also DIVERGENT)

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2013?

CINDER by Marissa Meyer. SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo. UNTOLD by Sarah Rees Brennan. JUST READ THIS POST.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2012?

Make more blogging friends! *waves at blogging friends with scary amount of enthusiasm* And more reading friends! *hugs reading friends uncomfortably close*

That's right... join me... join my bookish cult.