Tag Archives: top ten tuesday

Jul 21 2014
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Top Ten Series I’d Take With Me on a Deserted Island

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I’ve modified this week’s topic a bit because the original (Top Ten Characters I take on a Deserted Island) definitely would’ve been a mix of my Top Ten Book Boyfriends and my Top Ten Favorite Female Characters so I decided to take a different route entirely and present my:

Top Ten Series I’d Take With Me on a Deserted Island

Kind of a hodgepodge, isn’t it? These titles represent my lengthier book favorites across a few different genres. While series length doesn’t necessarily coincide with excellent books (although there is a relation… authors who write better tend to get longer publishing deals), I decided to be strategic with my choices and take the series that provided the most long-term enjoyment. It pains me not to bring some of the shorter ones, but I think I’d get tired of them sooner. I should clarify that if a saga consists of multiple series, I’m counting them as one as long as they have continuity. That might be considered cheating, but I don’t care – I want to bring ALL the books.

What series would you take? :)

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 15 2014
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Niki’s Top Movies and TV Shows!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

That’s right, bookish people do have interests outside of reading… cinematic adaptations of books count, right? ;)

Niki’s Top Movies and TV Shows!

Movies:

Epic. That one word sums up pretty much everything I loved about these three films. Add that to the gorgeous visuals of the world building and the overall fantasy feel, and I am in love. I could watch the extended Lord of the Rings trilogy all day every day… it’s my favorite.

While I love fantasy epics, I also will always hold dear these animated features. As far as animation goes, these are actually pretty different from one another (at least in my mind), which is why all three of them landed on the list – I consider them the best in their categories.

 I am a sucker for romantic comedies but not the slapstick crude ones that seem to have been flooding the market for the last five years. Call me crazy, but I don’t think a romantic comedy has to be overdone (or outright stupid) to be entertaining. Lucky Seven is one I don’t think many people have heard of, but I love the story (and Patrick Dempsey). While You Were Sleeping and Dirty Dancing are my mom’s favorites and somewhere along the way they’ve become mine too.

TV Shows:

All of these I have discovered it within the last year and oh my gosh I can’t get enough! I am patiently waiting for the second season of the Bitten, am almost ready to watch Serenity, and am in the middle of season two of Battlestar… I want to know why I haven’t bothered watching them before now – they’re crazy good!

 I can’t even put into words why I love Gilmore Girls so much. I’ve watched the season countless times but every time I do I fall in love all over again. White Collar is one that I’ve discovered within the last year and there’s not a thing I don’t like about it. I’ve always been fascinated with crime-solving shows but have been too squeamish to actually watch them. White Collar has all the mystery without the gore. Picture a television version of Oceans Eleven – awesome, right? And of course I couldn’t have a TV list without mentioning Friends – it was such a big part of my life for so long that it will always be one of the greats.

  Gargoyles is an incredible animated show that I love for the story (and, in part, the nostalgia). It’s one of those that I think is entertaining for adults while still being appropriate for kids. So You Think You Can Dance is easily my favorite competition show – I love dance. Vampire Diaries was my favorite show for the longest time (team Damon, baby!), but I’m sad to admit my excitement for it has diminished within this last season… I still stand by the first three or four seasons, though.

 After composing this list, I realized that my movie/TV preferences really aren’t that different from my reading preferences. I like epic science-fiction/fantasy, love stories, and humor. I’m nothing else if not consistent . :-)

What movies/shows made your list?

by Niki Hawkes

Jul 7 2014
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Niki’s Top Ten Blogging Confessions!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

As I am perfectly content letting people think I’m a rockstar book blogger, this post was kind of painful to compose. Today I will be hanging a lantern on all of the things that on a normal day I would be praying you guys don’t notice. Hopefully my blogging flaws will come across endearing rather than just plain sad. :-)

Top Ten Blogging Confessions!

 1. TTT are actually my least favorite posts to compose…

… but they are my most popular, so I do them anyway. On occasion I’ll get one that I’m super excited for, but after you’ve been doing them for more than a year, all the lists start to sound the same. I’ve recently decided it’s okay to skip one once in a while if it’s going to be totally lame (or change it to fit my inspirations, as I am wont to do).

 2. It took me two years to figure out how to add social media buttons to my sidebar…

… and it’s actually a lot less complicated than I thought it would be. I’m not a total tech-tard, but HTML codes are fricken confusing at first. You should’ve seen the party I threw when I finally figured out how to do it.

3. i suck at profraeding…

… or perhaps you’ve already noticed that? I go through and proof each of my posts at least three times before publishing and even then I’m still finding things to fix weeks later. I just get so caught up in what I’m saying that I already know what I mean… you know what I mean?

 4. I’ve never been able to “schedule” posts…

… because every time I write them, I can’t keep myself from hitting “publish” even if it means publishing two sometimes even three posts a day. The problem is when I do that, there will be a four day lag before I have the energy to do anything else. I just can’t help it though – I’m always so excited about what I wrote that I have to share it. Now.

 5. I am no longer a bookseller…

… as of the end of March this year. This is a big confession for me because it’s how I’ve branded my site. After spending eleven years with the company, I still feel like a bookseller even though I’m no longer one in title. I still hand-sell titles to people (not obnoxiously) whenever I go back to visit. Heck, I even had a coworker call me last week for some dragon book recommends for a customer. I’ve decided to keep the name though, because bookselling was my passion and I will always be a bookseller at heart. It doesn’t help matters that I was driven out of my job due to personal injury. I would have never chosen to leave on my own, but it became clear pretty quickly that I could no longer physically handle the job. Sad, huh?

6. I am OBSESSED with my blog…

… to the point where I will scroll through it several times a day – checking stats, updating the sidebar, proofing my posts (yet again), or just enjoying all the pretty covers. I have an addiction.

 7. I started this blog to promote myself as an author…

… but actually love the blogging more than writing. It has turned into a passion all its own, taking precious time away from my novels. And all the platform building might be in vain because I’ll probably end up starting a new site when I do become a published author.

8. I have been wanting to go self hosted for over a year…

… but am too intimidated to move forward with it. I’ve done all the research but I still feel like a fish out of water.

9. My review posting is consistently inconsistent…

… because I either post right after I finish a book or several months later, depending on my current level of motivation. Don’t worry though, I have great book memory and, when that fails me, I have copious notes.

10. Nothing makes my day better than you guys…

… because every time I see someone has liked or commented on a post, followed my blog, geeked out with me on FB or Twitter, or mentioned me on their blog, I get a huge emotional power-up. I love blogging so much I’d probably be doing it just for myself, but the fact that others take the time out of their busy lives to read and respond makes me feel really special. So thanks :-)

Phew! I feel so much better now that I’ve gotten all of that off my chest. :-)

What are YOUR confessions? (I won’t tell anyone…)

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 30 2014
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Top Twenty Classic Fantasy Series!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I’m going a bit above and beyond this week, covering not only the top ten classic fantasy books I’ve read, but also the top ten I’d like to read. I just want to emphasize that I consider anything a “classic” that was published before I became a bookseller eleven years ago. Actually, some of them were written before I was even born. They are all a part of what I call the “essential fantasy list.” I realized that even though I consider these to be classics, I’m sure fantasy lovers from an older generation would have a very different looking list. What can I say? I picked titles that heavily influenced my reading journey and will always be nostalgic and “classics” in my eyes.

Top Ten Classic Fantasy Series I’ve Read:

 Top Ten Classic Fantasy Series I Want to Read:

 I know, Lord of the Rings isn’t on my list. I will probably lose a lot of street-cred, but I read it and, although I appreciate the heck out of it for what it did for the genre, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. Same goes for Wheel of Time… On the flip side, I also didn’t include more recent works such as Way of Kings and Name of the Wind because they haven’t been around long enough to be considered “classics” even though they’ll be near the top of my list ten years from now (in my opinion, they are perfect examples of modern fantasy and are revolutionizing how the genre is done).

 Anyway, this list represents my favorites and the ones I am most looking forward to reading. Would any of these fantasy books make your list?

 by Niki Hawkes

Jun 24 2014
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Top Five Favorite Book Cover Attributes!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 I definitely love having an excuse to talk about book covers. While you can’t entirely judge a book by its cover, I believe they are essential in that initial assessment of “is this the type of book I’d like to find out more about?” Today’s post was supposed to discuss book cover trends that I like/dislike but I decided to switch it up because I would call the things I like about covers attributes rather than trends.

Top Five Favorite Book Cover Attributes!

Dragons:

Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight
Dragon Avenger by E.E. Knight
Dragon Outcast by E.E. Knight

I know, of all the Dragon covers I have to choose from, why did I take three from the same author to showcase? There are so many and interpretations of what dragons look like, and I’ve always felt that these perfectly represents how I picture dragons. They are also frigging cool books.

Dresses:

Sever by Lauren DeStefano
Rapture by Lauren Kate
The Selection by Kiera Cass

Iwould be willing to bet that everybody will have this one on their lists today because in my opinion girls in pretty dresses is the most prominent book cover trend, especially in the YA category. I don’t care. I don’t like all of them, but I especially love these.

Luis Royo:

Reap the Wild Wind by Julie E. Czerneda
Riders of the Storm by Julie E. Czerneda
Rift in the Sky by Julie E. Czerneda

 I can’t have a cover geek-out without mentioning Luis Royo. Not only is he my favorite artist, but is responsible for my all time favorite book covers. I’ve chosen to represent the covers from the only Czerneda series I haven’t yet read (but am dying to).

Tattoos:

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

 Yes, I realize Mercy doesn’t really have all of these tattoos, but I still think the covers are gorgeous and highly marketable because they decided to keep them anyway (there is actually an interesting story behind how Mercy ended up with tattoos on… One which I will talk about if I ever get around to posting the Q&A from the Patricia Briggs book signing). Anyway, I love the colors and the fact that the tattoos change to match the theme of each book.

Cloaked Thieves:

Way of Shadows by Brent weeks
Thief’s Magic by Trudi Canavan
A Dance of Blades by David Dalglish

I don’t know when it happens, but somewhere along the line I found myself drawn to cloaked figures on covers. Maybe it was the mystery they promise, but all of a sudden I had a dozen thief books on my shelf… not a bad problem to have. Unless you consider that I bought them solely on the covers (good thing they’re mostly good).

Well, that’s my list for now. I might add to it later, but these are definitely my top picks. What book cover trends do you like?

By nikihawkes

Jun 16 2014
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Top Ten Books at the Top of My Summer 2014 TBR List!

top ten tuesday

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 Yay! The time has once again come for me to showcase the books at the top of my reading list. This is by far my favorite TTT topic because it reminds me how many truly amazing books I have yet to experience… a prospect that is incredibly exciting (and daunting, lol)! Without further ado:

Top Ten Books at the Top of My Summer 2014 TBR List!

Oh, man – so many good titles! I almost don’t know which one to start with. I have to thank Nikki over at There Were Books Involved for lending me her ARC of Killer Instinct (best blogging friend ever!) because it was by far the sequel I was most looking forward to this fall… I will probably start with that one because I can’t believe my good fortune. Yes, I know, why haven’t I already read Heir of Fire if I have access to it? I’m still letting Crown of Midnight sink in and I know I’m not going to be able to do anything else once I start it. But then don’t even get me started on how Partials is my all time favorite dystopian and I’ve not yet picked up the conclusion… Or the fact that there is a new unread Mercy Thompson book on my shelf. Gack! Too many books to read and not enough time!

 What books are at the top of your reading list?

by Niki Hawkes