Tag Archives: book club

Dec 27 2013
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2013 Review Recap!

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 The end of the year is finally here! And I’m celebrating by putting together the post I’ve been most looking forward to: the annual book review recap!

 I started a book blog for a couple reasons, but one of them was because it is a great way to keep track of all the fantastic books I’ve read (one that didn’t involve a journal and printouts of the covers – the method I was using before I discovered the wonders of blogging).

Sharing my love of books has become a passion all its own, and I have discovered some profound things in my own reading habits that I may not have if not for the blog. Most notably, I have come to truly appreciates the idea that life is too short to read boring books. I finally figured this out at the beginning of the year when I had published three posts in a row with 2.5 or lower ratings a week before sharing the top ten books on my spring reading list. It was eye-opening because I realized the books I was most looking forward to reading were getting left on the shelf in favor of books I felt like I was obligated to read (does anybody else have that problem?). Anyway, I made the decision to read the books I was most excited for first rather than last, and it has made for the best year of reading I have ever had!

So without further a do, here’s a look at The Obsessive Bookseller’s year of book love:

 (You can find full-length reviews for all of these titles under the Review Archive tab at the top of the blog)

DNF:

1 Star:

2 Stars:

2.5 Stars:

3 Stars:

3.5 Stars:

4 Stars:

4.5 Stars:

5 Stars:

Look how many are above 4 stars!! Reading the books at the top of your list, rather than the ones you feel obligated to read really does make a difference – here’s hoping 2014 is an even better year!

 I will say this year seemed rather focused on Young Adult. I couldn’t help it, there were just too many great books in that genre and there are many I still have yet to read. Although, because I’ve recently combed through and reorganized my Fantasy novels, I’ve been reminded of how many awesome looking books I still have in that genre and am thinking 2014 could be a great year for a High Fantasy focus…

What awesome books did you read this year?

Dec 20 2013
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Chronicles of an Obsessive Bookblogger: Reading Challenges

chronicles of an obsessive bookblogger

Reading Challenges

This is the first year that I’ve taken part in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, and I don’t know about you, but when I signed up I thought, “this could be a very bad idea.” You see, adding a reading challenge of any sort has the potential to suck some of the fun and spontaneity out of reading. I was worried that the end of the year would come around and I would be really disappointed if I didn’t hit my goal of 100 books.

Sure enough, around August I started paying attention to the little widget tracker as it helpfully informed me I was 8% behind schedule. Then October hit and I knew I was in trouble: I was a whopping 12% (thanks to easy math, exactly 12 books) behind my goal.

That meant I would have had to read 3.5 books per week to reach my goal by the end of the year (I average 1.75). Rationally, I knew it wasn’t going to happen – between family, work, blogging, and everything else that keeps my life so busy there was no way I was going to finish that many books a week. But, like any stubborn reader would, I tried…

I even came up with a game plan – I would read as many YA as I could because, let’s face it, they are the easiest to get through. Almost all of the adult speculative fiction on my shelves are well over 500 pages which take me at least a week to read. As you can imagine, it wasn’t long before I started to get really tired of reading all YA (I was focusing mostly on dystopian because I was doing a challenge for that as well). It felt like I was reading because I had to, and not because I wanted to. That’s NEVER good.

A few weeks ago, I finally threw in the towel. I was so tired of reading books that I knew would help me towards my goal that I randomly snatched an 800 page book off my shelf to reread and concentrated on that for a solid two weeks… it was bliss.

So what have I learned? It’s no fun to read things because you feel like you have to (even if they are really good books) and reading challenges can be stressful if you don’t pick goals that are consistent with your current reading habits.

In 2014, I’m going to start with 80 books as my Goodreads challenge goal and if I read more I’ll just bump it up accordingly at the end of the year. I’m still going to continue with the Dystopian Challenge (hosted by Blog of Erised), although I don’t think I will come anywhere near that 24+ books I read for it this year. Finally, I’m doing a Series Challenge (hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat.) with the hopes that I can finish out a few of the dozens of unfinished series still hanging over my head. I’m worried about the last one mostly because I don’t want to feel obligated next year and I kind of already do when it comes to finishing what I start.

What about you? How many challenges do you have for yourself in 2014? Does participating stress you out like it does me?

by Niki Hawkes

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

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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

Nov 7 2013
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Book Review: The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The naturalsTitle: The Naturals

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: Naturals #1 (of more, I hope!)

Genre: Teen Mystery

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own.

The naturals

 The Review:

I want to start out by saying that I loved this book. It was intense, fast-paced, fascinating, and totally absorbing. In short, it had everything I’d hoped to find in a novel but with that extra-special something that turned it from great to phenomenal! It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read, and was definitely a “drop everything until you finish it” type of read. I plan on recommending it as often as I can, and here are a few reasons why:

Concept: this was such a cool book! In a market flooded with protagonists sporting supernatural abilities, we forget sometimes how strong people can be without them. These teens can solve crimes by using different elements of observation and analysis, and I found the process by which they did this entirely fascinating. What’s more, there were different types of analyzers – the main character could predict with great accuracy by observing people’s personalities and tendencies, while other characters did things like analyzing emotion, detect lies, and (my favorite) utilize statistics and probability. They fine-tune all their abilities at a miniature FBI boarding school through case studies and simulations. I’ll say it again, it was fascinating!

Story: The book was composed brilliantly. It was essentially a murder mystery that took place over the course of a particular serial killer’s series of crimes. Every so often, we’d get a glimpse into the killer’s mind which majorly creeped me out and made the whole story more intense. I often see writers struggle to convey a well-rounded villain, especially when they’re presented in short snippets before each chapter. Barnes is one of the few I’ve read to not only nailed the creepy, believable villain part but did it without losing any momentum for the story.

Writing: there’s so many elements about the novel that I found clever, even aside from the things and I talked about above. Even the way the story was composed was brilliant – there were so many elements you could tell it took a lot of time and thought, and it came together seamlessly. Every scene had a purpose and added to the snowballing journey to one heck of an ending. I got so involved that I held my breath in places. What’s more, although I had dozens of theories, I never really knew for sure “who did it” until the end.

Overall, this has become one of my favorite books ever and I can see myself reading it over and over again in the future (even though I already know who the murderer is). I’m also planning on reading everything this author has published, as she’s quickly become one of my new favorites!

Recommended Reading: I’m going to suggest this one to any customer looking for their next great read in the teen department (heck, I’ll probably bring it up to people browsing in mystery and fiction too because it’s one of those books that has potential for wide audience appeal). I’ll especially be on the lookout for anybody who loves mysteries and shows like NCIS and Criminal Minds (or to people like me who have always been fascinated by those shows but are too squeamish to watch them). I can’t wait to talk to other readers who loved it to!

Other books you might like:

 Giveaway!

IMG_4201Days after finishing this awesome book, I was lucky enough to meet the author at the Vegas Valley Book Festival. She was awesome – taking the time to talk to me without being freaked out by what I can only call my “fangirl” moment. It was truly a privilege to meet her and she even signed the pile of books I brought her –including a beautiful new hardcover of The Naturals. And guess what?

I got one for you!

 Just click the link below and enter the rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win! Some rules apply:

  • The contest will run for two weeks (until November 21st) and I will be emailing the randomly picked winner shortly thereafter. If the winner doesn’t respond to my email within 48 hours, I’ll pick a new one.
  • Please be honest – I will disqualify all your entries if you mark something you haven’t done.
  • I will be shipping via UPS, and won’t be responsible for anything lost in the mail (although I will have tracking, so I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that).

I’m sorry to say that this is a US only giveaway. I recognize that a good portion of my readers are from other countries and want you to know I appreciate you just as much as my US readers… I simply cannot afford the shipping.

Click Here to Enter!

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Sep 30 2013
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Your Pick for Nik! – September’s Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

psTitle: Poison Study

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Series: Study #1

Genre: Fantasy Romance

Rating: 4/5 stars!

The Overview: About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…

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The Review:

From the the very first page, I was hooked. Not only did it begin at a pivotal time in the character’s life, but it also set the stage for a story with endless possibilities for character growth and story development.

Story: My favorite part of the book has to be the ideas behind the basic storyline. Throughout the book, I especially liked how the main character was either learning news skill or showcasing ones she already had. It gave off the same “learning environment” feel you’d get from books that take place in schools (and you all know how much I love school settings). What’s more, the character learned a trade you don’t encounter often in our world – poisons! It was fascinating, and I love feeling like I learned it along with her.

What’s great about this book is that it has multi-genre appeal. The company I work for categorizes it in romance, but it could easily find a home in either the teen section (15+) or fantasy. Because of this, I feel like I could recommend it to a wide range of customers, and that always makes me happy!

Another element of story I think a lot of readers would like is the slow-building relationships and love story. They all felt incredibly organic – again leaving lots of room for growth in the future.

Character: Yelena Is a “take no crap” protagonists who speaks her mind and follows her heart. She is the type of character that’s highly likable because she represents a lot of characteristics most of us wish we had. Not only is she brave enough to stand up for her convictions, she is also incredibly smart and loyal. I love her fire and I love her spirit!

I think it’s safe to say that Yelena stole the show – she was such a strong and dynamic chick that all other characters sort of faded into the background for most of the book. The good news is, that was really only an issue for the first half of the book, and Yelena’s story was more than compelling enough to carry the story until then. Considering it’s a full trilogy, I think there are plenty of side character exploration yet to come.

Writing: Snyder did a great job organizing – revealing just enough information to tell the story and strengthen character, while leaving enough mystery shrouding Yelena’s past (and everybody else’s, for that matter) to keep me turning the pages. She also used several “hooks” at the end of each section, which often had me saying “just one more chapter…”

She also used one of my all time favorite writing tools – when two characters are forced together into small quarters by an outside influence. It creates a great atmosphere where the characters are forced to interact with one another, and it especially works well in furthering a romantic spark. The way it was done here was so subtle that I am most missed it, but it immediately got me excited for where the story could go (not that I wasn’t already hooked).

Finally, I love the voice Snyder used to tell the story. It was incredibly understated (in a good way), letting the focus reside entirely on her main character. It was highly effective at drawing me in, and I imagine it would do the same for most readers.

World Building: The world building was definitely present, but a little low key. You could tell the author has a full magic system and world developed based on everything she alluded to, but she definitely didn’t bring it to its full potential in this first book. This is the only thing that I hope to see improvement on in book two – and I honestly don’t think she’ll let me down. She has a lot of groundwork set for something really amazing.

Overall, this was a fantastic book and I’m thrilled it was chosen for book club. It had been collecting dust on my shelf for over five years and I am seriously kicking myself for not having picked it up sooner! The best news: based on the direction this one took, I am expecting the second book to be just as good, if not better!

Recommended Reading: for anyone wanting great fantasy entertainment with a slow-developing love story!

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like:

Discussion Time!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Yelena, hands-down. She is just one of those strong female protagonists that you wish you could be, and I love how unabashed she is when fighting for something she believes in.

What was your favorite part of the book?

The opening! it was one of the best starts to a book that I’ve ever read, and set the tone for one killer story!

Which would you rather learn: poison study, acrobatics, dueling, magic, for self-defense?

I know it was unfair adding magic to the list because who wouldn’t want to learn Magic? Obviously that’s my number one, but my number two is acrobatics – I’ve always admired gymnasts!

The questions are meant to generate conversation, so feel free to answer any or all in the comments area. If you also wrote a review for Poison Study, let me know and I will add a personalized link in this review. 

For more information on this book club feature, click here.

Sep 27 2013
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September 2013: Review Recap!

Review Recap

 I didn’t read as many books this month as I had intended, and I can blame that entirely on my New Puppy, Rory. Fortunately, I had a lot of carryover titles from last month. Here is a look at this month’s reviews:

(click the covers to read the full reviews)

 Leviathan Wakes – 5/5 stars

Leviathan Spirit Animals: Wild Born – 4.5/5 stars

September 10, 2013

September 10, 2013

Sky Jumpers – 4/5 stars

Sky Jumpers by Peggy Edelman

Sky Jumpers by Peggy Edelman

Wrath of a Mad God – 4/5 stars

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Your Pick for Nik Book Club:

The Sharing Knife – 4/5 stars

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And my favorite read:

All Our Yesterdays – 5/5 stars

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

 Last month I had the lowest average ratings so far for the year, and that was mostly due to my commitment to read ARCs and other shall we say “obligation” books. This month, I remembered what it was like to read something because I genuinely wanted to – and read several amazing books as a result.

 Waiting on Wednesday Features:

Loads of great reading to look forward to! I am especially excited for the new Patricia Briggs… too bad it doesn’t come out until March.

Your Pick for Nik! Book Club Selection for October:

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 Well, that sums up my month! What books did you read?