Waiting on Wednesday: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we share a book that we are eagerly anticipating!

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Author:  Maggie freaking Stiefvater

Release date: April 26, 2016

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love’s death. She doesn’t believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Why I’m excited: As I was sitting down to do my WoW post this week, I checked to see if I’d done TRK yet and FREAKED when I hadn’t. How is that even possible? Maybe I just assumed everyone knew I was waiting on the edge of my seat for this one. Either way, I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED FOR THE RAVEN KING YOU GUYS OMG. This book is going to end one of my absolute favorite series ever and SPOILER the lives of one of my favorite characters. It’s going to destroy me, but I cannot freaking wait. Honestly considering taking off work to read it.

Also, you guys, THIS. Because if it is what I think it is, ASDFJKL;ASGO9UW3TEOU DEAD BUT DEAD FOR GOOD REASONS. But hopefully not dead like Gansey’s going to be. *cries for days*

http://maggie-stiefvater.tumblr.com/post/110871243396/mark-this-as-the-day-i-finally-wrote-that-other

Top Ten Tuesday: [Fourteen] most anticipated NON-DEBUTS from the first half of 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016

A few weeks ago, I listed the Top Ten Debut Novels from the Beginning of 2016 I’m Looking Forward to so today I’m only going to be listing NON-DEBUT titles from the first half of 2016 that I’m really excited to read. There was no way I could narrow this down to only ten, so you’ve got my top fourteen most anticipated non-debuts from the first half of 2016. 🙂

THE RAVEN KING by Maggie Stiefvater [April 26]

THIS SAVAGE SONG by V.E. Schwab [June 7]

THE ROSE & THE DAGGER by Renee Ahdieh [May 3]

A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by Sarah J. Maas [May 3]

THE UNEXPECTED EVERYTHING by Morgan Matson [May 3]

WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT by April Genevieve Tucholke [March 22]

STARS ABOVE by Marissa Meyer [February 2]

THANKS FOR THE TROUBLE by Tommy Wallach [February 23]

DENTON LITTLE’S BIRTHDATE by Lance Rubin [April 12]

WE ARE THE ANTS by Shaun David Hutchinson [January 19]

PASSENGER by Alexandra Bracken [January 5]

UNHOOKED by Lisa Maxwell [February 2]

EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR by E.K. Johnston [March 15]

RUN by Kody Keplinger [June 28]

What book releases are you looking forward to in the first half of 2016?

Top Ten Tuesday: Six Author Duos I’d LOVE to See Write a Book Together

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten Author Duos You’d LOVE To See Write A Book Together (aka my (Jamie’s) world would explode if Gayle Forman and Jandy Nelson wrote a book together) — might be hard to come up with 10 but still would be fun! Bonus points if you tell us what kind of book you’d like them to write!

This is kind of a hard one! I don’t think I could come up with TEN, so I’m going to with five which is technically ten authors. 😉

Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli
Could you IMAGINE how wonderful that book would be? It’d be all sorts of cute mixed with a little bit effed up and gritty and real, and I would devour it. So, guys, can you make that happen? Kthanksbye!

Ian Rankin & Maggie Stiefvater
Okay, this one is a little bit weird, BUT imagine Scotland + crime + magic + SCOTLAND. Ian Rankin writes gritty, amazing crime fiction set in Scotland, and I think that plus Maggie’s incredible world-building skills and magic and love of myths and legends would be super interesting to read.

Marie Lu & Leigh Bardugo
So I’ve only read one book by Leigh Bardugo so far, but I can just tell that the world these two created together would blow all of our minds. And if we added Renee Ahdieh into this mix? HOLY CRAP. I need this to happen.

David Arnold & Nicola Yoon
Yeah, I would die. Like, I would just implode if they wrote a book together. David’s snark mixed with Nicola’s passion would make for an incredible contemporary chock full of characters to fall in love with and relate to.

Jennifer Mathieu & Stephanie Oakes
I just featured both of these authors in a Quiet YA post, and I think they could write a seriously amazing and realistic book together. I don’t even really care what it would be about because I know they would do whatever subject they chose justice.

Okay, I lied. One more.

Maggie Stiefvater & Kirsty Logan
ASDFJKL; This combination would literally be magic. Like, I’m pretty sure if the two of them got together, real, actual magic would fall onto the page and into our hands.

So, I’m going to need for all of these authors to actually get together and make these books happen. Which authors would you like to see write a book together?

Thursday Thoughts: My New YA Library Book Club Read The Raven Boys and LOVED It

Monday night, I had my first young adult book club at the library. I chose The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater for our first read (duh). I was a little worried that my teens weren’t going to like it – not because it isn’t GREAT (because it is. Like, seriously), but because it is quite different from most of the books I’ve seen them read. I was so overwhelmed with happiness at their reactions to the book and our discussion, which, by the way, lasted an hour and a half! We talked about the characters and the setting (we loved everything about both), the magic and the journey that each of the characters are on, what all of the characters are looking for (like Adam is looking for a family and Ronan is looking for redemption) and which of the characters was everyone’s favorite (Ronan, obviously). We discussed the fact that the romance was more of an underlying theme in the book and that the friendships and bonds between the characters was the most important aspect. We chatted about Blue and how being the only non-psychic in her family makes her different from a group of people that are already different and how that shaped who she was as a person. We swooned over characters (mostly Ronan and Gansey) and were creeped out by others (Whelk and Noah – half of us loved Noah and half thought he was weird). It was a brilliant discussion and I was so impressed with my teens.

I promise this isn’t a whole post about me being excited and happy with the turnout (even though I TOTALLY AM). One thing I asked them to do was to come up with ONE word to describe each of the characters and the book overall. I adore this series, so I thought it’d be fun to share these descriptions with you guys.

ADAM
Relatable // Underdog // Brave // Emotionally strong (okay, two words. Whatever)

GANSEY
Irritating (she wanted me to point out she only felt this way at first) // The perfect guy // Smart // Huggable (she didn’t want me to share this one but it’s too cute)

BLUE
Spunky // Quirky // Sassy // Outsider // Relatable

NOAH
Creepy // Confusing // Weird // Wonderful // They liked his name

RONAN (aka my boo)
Dangerous // *heart eyes emoji* // Indescribable // Sweet AND salty // Bada$$ (she said bad a-word. Lolz.) // Everyone’s favorite

THE BOOK OVERALL
Sad // Intelligent // Mesmerizing // Complex // Smoldering (I said this one and they all agreed) // Enchanting // Perfect (I was over the moon when they said this)

——————–

As I’m sure you can all imagine, I was unbelievably happy about their reaction and the fact that it went so well. After our discussion, I told them I was going to let them make suggestions for our next read and then we’d draw it out of a hat if we couldn’t come to a consensus. This was when my little librarian heart grew three sizes: they said they’d actually rather I decide because they trust my judgment and they knew I’d get them to read something they wouldn’t usually pick. I could have CRIED, you guys. I gave them a few suggestions and told them what the books were about (and maybe got a little too passionate about a few of them), and they decided to go with…MOSQUITOLAND by David Arnold. YES YES YES. I cannot wait to discuss this book with them! We also decided on the two months following September: we’ll be reading I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (asdfjkl) and The Young Elites by Marie Lu (ASDFJKL;). I’m just really glad that I’ve got teens who are willing to try new things and who want to read and who love TRB and…

Top Ten Tuesday: My Auto-Buy Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten of Your Auto-buy Authors

Books

1. Ian Rankin – Who’s surprised?
2. Matt Haig – I know you are all shocked.
3. Maggie Stiefvater – Oh, man. I’m just a bag full of surprises today.
4. Stephanie Perkins – Wuuuuut?
5. Jennifer E. Smith – No way!

Comics

1. Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) – aka 1 of the 2 authors who got me into comics.
2. Brian K. Vaughan (Saga) – aka the other author who got me into comic.
3. Peter J. Tomasi (Batman and Robin, Robin: Son of Batman) – aka the author who writes my favorite comic book character.

Authors who have only written one book but will be auto-buy in the future

1. Becky Albertalli
2. David Arnold
3. Jasmine Warga
4. Nicola Yoon
5. Adam Silvera
6. Renee Ahdieh

Authors who are automatic reads but not necessarily auto-buy

1. Sarah Dessen
2. J.K. Rowling (though I haven’t read her Robert Galbraith stuff yet)
3. Oliver Jeffers
4. John Green

Okay, this list is super long, but whatever. Who are your auto-buy/auto-read/auto-grabby-hands authors?

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Read the Most Books From

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten Authors I’ve Read The Most Books From

I made it to 9 authors. Most of the authors I’ve read several books from are in the 4-5 book range, and there’s several of them, so I just kept it at 6 and up. I’m counting comics are separate books, so I have two authors that have A LOT of books.

                    

Ian Rankin – I’ve lost count, but it’s somewhere in the 30s. I’ve read all of his books except the one out later this year and the short story collection, The Beat Goes On, which I NEED. My favorite: The Falls

Robert Kirkman – I’m counting each comic as a separate book, so I’ve read 143 issues of The Walking Dead, and I haven’t read it but own the first volume of Outcast, which is the first six issues. My favorite: I’m going to go with volume 1 – that’s the one that hooked me

Brian K. Vaughan – 39: 29 issues of Saga, 10 issues of Y: The Last Man. My favorite: Ditto above, volume 1 – the first comic I read

Sarah Dessen – 12 books? My favorite: The Truth about Forever

Oliver Jeffers – I think it’s 11 books? My favorite: Once Upon an Alphabet (favorite book he illustrated is hands down The Day the Crayons Quit)

               

Matt Haig – 8 books and I own two others, which I can’t believe I haven’t read. My favorite: The Humans

J.K. Rowling – 7.5 books (I didn’t finish The Casual Vacancy yet). My favorite: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Scott Westerfeld – 7 books. My favorite: Uglies

Maggie Stiefvater – 6 books. My favorite: The Dream Thieves

Top Ten Tuesday: Anticipated Releases for the Rest of 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten Most Anticipated Releases For the Rest of 2015

                    

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy // The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness // Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon // The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers // Beastly Bones by William Ritter

                    

The Rose Society by Marie Lu // A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston // Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid // Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer E. Smith  // The Raven’s Prophecy Tarot by Maggie Stiefvater

This was SO hard! I have 139 books on my 2015 Releases shelf on Goodreads, and while some of them are already out, a lot of them aren’t. What books are you anticipating in the last half of 2015?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Seven Favorite Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Authors

I think a lot of people are going to find this one hard, but this was actually quite easy for me. I’ve got to like most, if not all, of your books for you to be a favorite of mine. I also don’t tend to choose someone as a favorite author unless I’ve read more than three books by them. I feel like you can tell whether you like someone’s writing from that, but not if they’ll be a favorite. At least for me.

Ian Rankin – Scottish crime fiction author. I’ve read every single one of his 33 or something books, including the non-fiction one. The only ones I don’t have are his short story collection and the book that comes out at the end of the year. I even wrote my undergraduate honors thesis on his books. I’ve interviewed him, chatted with him, gone to see his play, and hugged him. I still can’t really believe he remembers my name.

Favorite book: The Falls.

Matt Haig – English novelist. I’ve read eight out of eleven of his books. I own two others but haven’t read them yet. SOON. If you’ve been on my blog, like, EVER, you know how much I love his book The Humans, and you might’ve read my review of Reasons to Stay Alive. Pretty sure I’ll love everything he’s written and will write.

Favorite book: The Humans.

J.K. Rowling – Does this really even need an explanation?

Favorite book: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Maggie Stiefvater – American, fantasy novelist. I’ve read six of her novels and I’m completely in love with her writing. She’s also one of the coolest authors I’ve ever met (I interviewed her for WatchPlayRead last year).

Favorite Book: The Dream Thieves.

Robert Kirkman – Comic author aka author of The Walking Dead. I’ve read every single issue of TWD to date (except some of those specials) and I credit TWD as getting me into comics last year (Yes, Saga is what pulled me in, but TWD is what kept me under). They could keep this series going forever and I’d probably still have it on my pull.

Favorite book: All of the Walking Dead books.

Oliver Jeffers – Children’s book author. I’ve read so many of his books, I’m not sure what the count is, but I LOVE his books. They never fail to put a smile on my face. Every time I read another, I tend to snap a picture on my phone and set it as my new background. I love his stories and his illustrations, and I can’t wait to read them to my future kids.

Favorite book: The Incredible Book Eating Boy.

Stephanie Perkins – Contemporary YA author. Stephanie’s books got me back into reading contemporary last year. I devoured the first two and bought the third one day of release with my friend Annette. I loved her story in My True Love Gave to Me, and I can’t wait to read what’s next from her. Shout out to my friend Georgie for practically forcing Anna and the French Kiss on me. I really didn’t think I was going to like it, and I ended up loving it.

Favorite book: Lola and the Boy Next Door.

I think that’s it. I could list favorite books for days, but authors? Seven is all I’ve got. Who are your favorite authors?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme was:

Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR List

Instead of doing books that haven’t been released yet or books I haven’t bought, I’m going to make a list of the ten books I already own that I would like to read this spring. It’ll hopefully work as a way to keep me on track and make me feel a little obligation to get through it before summer. So let’s see. Ten of the books I would like to read this spring (all titles linked to Goodreads):

                   

Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Echo Boy by Matt Haig

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid

Eleanor & Park Rainbow Rowell

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

                    

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

This was a little easier than trying to list all the amazing books coming out this spring that I want to buy! What books are on your spring TBR?

Seize the Tuesday – Rereading Forever

Seize the Tuesday is a book blogger meme created by Adi Alsaid and the Let’s Get Lost Buddies Street Team, to share stories about how we’ve seized the Tuesday, with a special focus on the particular book we’re reading. We’ll share our posts online with the hashtag: #LetsAllGetLost. The idea is to share little ways in which you may have embraced Bree’s motto of seizing the Tuesday. To relate it to books, you can talk about what book you’re reading, and how you stole some moments from the day to enjoy reading. It doesn’t have to be about reading, but we all know that a well-read day is a day seized. The idea is not just to help spread the word on LGL, but also to remind people to live fully, even/especially if that means spending a part of your day reading.

Since starting my blog, I haven’t reread a single book. I didn’t typically reread before starting my blog either, but I would reread a favorite every once in a while. Recently I decided to reread the Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater before I read the latest book in the series, Sinner, a companion novel. I enjoyed Shiver, but the flaws in the story (INSTALOVE!!!) were more apparent to me. Linger was wonderful and heartbreaking and lovely. Right now I’m rereading Forever, and I love being able to see how Maggie’s writing developed as she wrote this series. The story and the werewolf mythology are fascinating to me, and the development of all the characters (and introduction of new ones) gets better and better with each story.

I didn’t really do anything that fun or interesting today, so I thought today’s post could be on how wonderful it can be to reread a great book. I’m making my way through Forever and taking my time so that I can appreciate Maggie’s beautiful prose and brilliant storytelling.

Alright, I’m going to go read now. Have a wonderful night (or morning or afternoon; you guys live everywhere!).

Seize Read the Tuesday!