Category Feature Posts

Dec 9 2013
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Top Ten Books on My Winter 2013 List! (12/10/2013)

Top ten Tuesday pink

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 By far, this is my favorite TTT list to create because I love the process of figuring out which books excite me the most. Here’s the thing, I still have books from my Fall, Summer, and to Spring lists to get through (and because I wanted to read them the most, I feel like I should give them priority). A few books from those lists (like Throne of Glass) are actually at the top of my TBR pile, but I feel like it would be cheating to put them up again. So, aside from the unexplored awesomeness of the previously listed books, these are the:

Top Ten Books on My Winter 2013 List!

 In strong contrast to the last one of these that I did, I have mostly adult speculative fiction (as opposed to YA) on my list. Something about this last month has really made me in the mood for robust novels. I think the one I am most looking forward to reading is the finale to Rachel Aaron’s Eli Monpress series, Spirit’s End… followed very closely by the Trudi Canavan. I would normally have said The Fiery Heart, but for some reason I’m feeling in the mood to save it for a rainy day.

What books are at the top of your reading list?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 2 2013
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Top Ten 2014 Releases I’m Dying to Read (Excluding YA)!

Top ten Tuesday pink

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

The topic a couple of weeks ago was the Top Ten Sequels I Can’t Wait to Get My Hands On, which kind of killed my momentum for this post because I featured all upcoming releases (I guess I should have looked ahead). Anyway, because all but one of the books on the aforementioned list were YA, I’m devoting this list to the adult genres:

Top Ten 2014 Releases I’m Dying to Read (Excluding YA)!

There are a lot of fantastic authors on this list but I’d have to say the one I’m most looking forward to reading is the final Patrick Rothfuss book (It remains my favorite fantasy to date). Although, I am also super eager for anything new by Abraham/Corey!

What 2014 releases are you looking forward to?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 2 2013
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November 2013: Review Recap!

Review Recap

Ever feel obligated to read certain books? I used to all the time, whether it be a popular seller, and advanced book, or even a continuation to a series I only kind of liked. Somewhere around March of this year I decided that I’d had enough of reading books that I wasn’t immediately excited about – especially considering my perpetual 20+ list of books that I’m just dying to read. As a result, I have had more fun reading in the last several months than I’ve had since I was a kid. Here’s my new motto and I’m sticking to it: Life’s too short to read books that don’t excite you!

So here’s a look at what I’ve been up to this month:

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
False Sight by Dan Krokos
Perdition by Ann Aguirre

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – 5/5 stars

False Sight by Dan Krokos – 2.5/5 stars

Perdition by Ann Aguirre – 4/5 stars

Alienated by Melissa Landers
Champion by Marie Lu
Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

Alienated by Melissa Landers – 5/5 stars!

Champion by Marie Lu – 4/5 stars

Blue Diablo – 3/5 stars

Even though they weren’t all five-star books, I was still super eager to read each one. My favorite this month was probably The Naturals followed very closely by Alienated!

 Waiting on Wednesday features:

Considering how much I love Richelle Mead, it’s no surprise that the book I most looking forward to reading is Silver Shadows.

What amazing books did you read this month? :-)

Insurgent-Veronica-Roth-Divergent-Cover

 I want to start out by thinking Blog of Erised for hosting such a fun challenge.

Last month, I figured out that my challenge count was a bit inaccurate. I was only counting the dystopians I’d read and reviewed, leaving out the ones I hadn’t done a post for yet. According to the rules, all read books count so this month we will see a rather larger jump in my overall score. :-)

This month, I finish the following dystopians:

 A total of 6 – add that to the 19 books accumulated as of last month and we end up with:

 The Official Tally:

25/24

Level 4: Leader!

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Yay – challenge met!

What dystopians did you read this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Dec 1 2013
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Stacking the Shelves – November’s Edition!

Stacking the shelves

Hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

 November’s Stacking the Shelves has to be my favorite so far because I actually have more than a couple of books to show for my month of book buying. Here’s a look at my library’s new additions:

Hardcopies:

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 All SIGNED and purchased it during the Vegas Valley Book Festival – an event that literally made my year. As if getting to go to the event wasn’t cool enough, I was part of the Barnes and Noble team recruited to help run the BN tent. In short, I got paid to be there… How cool is that? Throughout the day, we got to wander between multiple author panels, get pictures with the authors, and attend the massive author signing at the end of the day. There were so many authors there that I was concerned I wouldn’t have enough time to get all my books signed. I have to complement the people in charge of the events for organizing things so well because I was able to meet and talk to every author on my list with time to spare. It was amazing and I fully intend on going again next year. And yes, I brought back a few of these for you… Giveaways to come. :-)

E-books:

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As you might be able to tell, I blew the crap out of my budget on hardcopies…

ARCs:

 The one I’m most excited to read is probably Shannon Hale’s new book. I think she has a lovely voice and I always find her stories charming. I’m looking forward to seeing how she tackles a dystopian – will there be more edge? I’m excited to find out…

What books stacked your shelves this month?

by Niki Hawkes

Nov 26 2013
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Top Ten Childhood Books I’m Thankful For!

Top ten Tuesday pink

 Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 This week, I’m paying homage to the books that sparked my love of reading. Without them, I doubt I would have grown up to be The Obsessive Bookseller I am today. I owe them for introducing me to my passion in life.

Top Ten Childhood Books I’m Thankful For!

Most of these books kept me entertained a dozen times over – when I was younger we lived almost two hours from the nearest bookstore, so I reread these books until they were falling apart. Some of them I would challenge myself to read cover to cover every day… It was a lot of fun. :-)

What books sparked your love of reading as a kid?

by Niki Hawkes

Nov 18 2013
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Top Ten Books I Recommend to Nonreaders! (11/18/2013)

Top ten Tuesday pink

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 For avid readers like myself, there is no end to the number of great books just waiting to be added to our colossal TBR piles. For nonreaders, however, it can be really difficult finding quality reading if you’re not immersed in the book world. It has been my experience that most nonreaders select their next books based solely on word of mouth and personal recommendations.

 Because they are not familiar with many of the subgenres of speculative fiction, I always try to get them started on “gateway” novels – ones that aren’t too intimidating for the casual reader but are good enough that I can recommend them confidently to a wide range of people. As a side note, I consider anyone who reads fewer than five books a year to be a nonreader. These recommendations also work for avid readers looking to explore other genres.

Top Ten Books I Recommends to Nonreaders!

   Now keep in mind that I wouldn’t hand any of these titles to people who only like creative nonfiction or biographies. They have to be interested in these genres to begin with, and I do a lot of brain picking before I throw my heart and soul into a recommendation. I actually have a list of about five titles per genre that I mention to an interested person, but tried to pick the best from each one to represent here. Would any of these make your list?

by Niki Hawkes