Top Ten Books I Read In 2014

Not counting rereads (which I happily did a lot more of than in previous years), and in no particular order, these are the books I really loved in 2014...

1. Beauty by Robin McKinley. A gorgeous rendering of Beauty and the Beast, made all the more captivating in audiobook form.

2. Enchanted by Alethea Kontis. A retelling of the Frog Prince (mashed up with other fairy tales), this was a really fun and lovely audiobook.

3. Chaos Walking by Patrick Ness. I'm cheating by including the whole series here, but it is really AMAZING and everyone should GO READ IT NOW.

4. False Colours by Georgette Heyer. I love, love, loved this story of twins switching places in Regency England - Heyer is a happy place kind of read, and it was extra fun in audiobook.

5. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning. Another fantastic audiobook (I'm sensing a pattern here), I related to Neve and her story so much it was scary.

6. Zombies Vs Unicorns, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier. The literary equivalent of a dance off, the short stories featuring - you guessed it - zombies and unicorns in this book are by turns delightful, hilarious and touching.

7. About a Boy by Nick Hornby. I had low expectations due to hating the only other Hornby book I've tried (High Fidelity), but I ended up loving this darkly humorous story - and I listened to it in a fabulous audiobook of course.

8. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. This. Book. It was utterly heartbreaking but completely worth it.

9. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling. I read this at the very beginning of the year and it instantly became one of my all-time faves.

10. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. I actually listened to a bunch of Wilde's plays performed via audiobook and they were all great, but I loved this one the most.

Top Ten Authors I've Only Read One Book From And NEED to Read More

This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic feels like it was made for me because there are SO many authors I've only read one book from and really, really need to read more of. Like:

1. Markus Zusak. I have the hide to call him one of my favourite authors and yet have only read one of his books (The Book Thief). Don't ask me what's taken me so long. It's terrible.

2. E Lockhart. I recently read and LOVED We Were Liars so I'd like to go back and read Lockhart's other books now.

3. Kate Forsyth. As soon as I finished Bitter Greens I immediately wanted to read more of Forsyth's work. Aaaand I still haven't. I do have two of her other books in my TBR though so that's something, right?

4. Courtney Summers. I adored This is Not A Test and have heard great things about Summers' other books.

5. Margo Lanagan. Loved Sea Hearts. You know the rest.

6. Cath Crowley. Graffiti Moon is great and apparently so are Crowley's other books.

7. Jackie Kay. I really liked Kay's memoir Red Dust Road and I'd love to read her fiction. A couple of her books are already in my TBR. I just need to get to them.

8. Libba Bray. When I read Beauty Queens, I vowed to hunt down and read all of Bray's books straight away... and yeah, still haven't.

9. Margaret Atwood. Of her books, I've only read The Handmaid's Tale and I clearly need to read the rest.

10. Wilkie Collins. I've been meaning to read more of Collins' books ever since enjoying The Woman in White a few years ago and it's yet another thing I haven't got around to.

Which authors do you want to read more of?

Top Ten Books On My Wishlist

1. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins. I probably don't need to explain this one - I think if you're a book blogger and don't already own it, you want it!

2. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Bernie Su. I adored the web series so I'm interested to see how they've adapted it as a book.

3. Well-Read Women: Portraits of Fiction's Most Beloved Heroines by Samantha Hahn. This book of illustrations of female characters looks gorgeous.

4. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. This one has been sitting on my wishlist for years. No idea why I haven't managed to get my hands on it yet.

5. Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson. I loved Matson's first book and liked her second so I'm really keen to read this one too.

6. Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. I've heard mixed things about this book but I adored Lanagan's Sea Hearts when I read it last year and have been meaning to check this one out since.

7. His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. I am one of those terrible people (or possibly the only one?!) who is yet to read this series. I almost bought it recently but held myself back because I was buying other books - but I will have to get this one some day soon.

8. Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson. This is another book that has been on my wishlist since it came out, a couple of years ago now. For some reason it's never made it to the TBR pile, but I still really want it.

9. The Messenger by Markus Zusak. Despite loving The Book Thief A LOT, I haven't read any of Zusak's other books, which I kind of kick myself over every so often. I need to remedy that.

10. Bossypants by Tina Fey. I was desperate to read this when it came out and then never got around to buying or reading it. Again, I really need to!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. 

Top Ten Fave TV Shows I'm Watching Right Now

1. Orphan Black. Tatiana Maslany plays a group of clones trying to find out where they come from - and who is murdering them. She is amazeballs and this show is amazeballs.

2. True Detective. The first season was amazing. I am so excited for the new season I just hope the cast is a bit more diverse.

3. Game of Thrones. Because duh.

4. The Mindy Project. I love Mindy, I love Danny, I love everyone and everything on this show.

5. Catfish. I just binge-watched all three seasons. It was great.

6. Teen Wolf. It has romance, horror, comedy, drama, hot guys, hot girls... in other words, everything.

7. The Vampire Diaries. It has its ups and downs but it's always a lot of fun.

8. American Horror Story. Every season is a different story so it can be a bit hit and miss but I really enjoyed Coven and am looking forward to Freak Show. 

9. Adventure Time. It's silly and weird and it makes me so happy.

10. Once Upon a Time. Sometimes it's amazing and sometimes it's pretty terrible but I always love it.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Classics I Love

1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I adore the characters. They're all so wonderful and memorable.

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Because duh.

3. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I love it almost as much as Pride and Prejudice. Almost.

4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Beautiful and haunting.

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I love the guts out of Jane and yes Rochester makes me swoon.

6. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Anne Shirley is one of my favourite characters of all time and her story makes me happy (except when it makes me really really sad).

7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It's such a lovely story about growing up and grieving and healing.

8. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Magical. Sad. Scary. Fun. The best.

9. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. It's a fantastic decade-spanning story of the morally grey and always compelling Forsytes.

10. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. A wonderful mystery that's just a lot of fun to read.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Books On My Winter TBR Pile

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. I didn't make headway into my Autumn TBR AT ALL sadly, so hopefully I do better this time around.

1. Night Beach by Kirsty Eager. I haven't read any Kirsty Eager and everyone tells me how amazing she is, and this one has been sitting on my bookshelf unread for far too long.

2. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I have heard good things about this from reviewers I trust so I'm excited to see what it's like.

3. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I have wanted to read this for so long and I recently bought it on Audible, I'm hoping the audiobook is good.

4. The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth. I picked this up at the Sydney Writer's Festival last week and I'm really keen to read it soon - I loved Forsyth's take on Rapunzel in Bitter Greens.

5. Girl Defective by Simmone Howell. I started reading this recently but I've been in a bit of a funk so I decided to put it aside until I can really enjoy it.

6. Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews. Yes, I'm going to continue on my recap journey. First I finish Flowers in the Attic, then it's on to Petals.

7. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp. I have this on audiobook and I'm really curious about it but I
m worried it will be totally depressing.

8. Searching for Sky by Jillian Cantor. This book sounds kinda bizarre but I'm definitely intrigued.

9. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I feel like the last person in the world who hasn't read this book, and I want to get to it before I see the movie.

10. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. I got the Audible edition and it sounds like a really great way to experience it.

Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year

I haven't included rereads here, which I've been doing A LOT of, so unfortunately that didn't leave me with a lot to choose from. I feel I have read more bad books than good books this year, sadly. But here are some I really liked:

1. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning, audiobook narrated by Julie Maisey. This was definitely my fave read of the year so far, I think. It was fun and touching and I just adored it. The audio version was really great.

2. False Colours by Georgette Heyer, audiobook narrated by Phyllida Nash. I loved, loved, loved this book. So much fun! I've been meaning to read more Heyer since I finished it so perhaps the second half of the year will see me do that.

3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. This was a hilarious memoir by my best friend Mindy.

4. The Accident by Kate Hendrick. An emotional and raw contemporary YA novel from the country that does them best (IMO) - Australia, natch.

5. Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout. I really liked this new take on Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet. It was a page-turner and I hope there's a sequel.

6. Playing by the Rules by Imelda Evans. This was a really enjoyable and cute rom com-style read. The companion book, Rules Are For Breaking (which actually came out first but I read second) is also a lot of fun.

7. Zombies Vs. Unicorns, Edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier. A short story battle in which Team Zombie and Team Unicorn fight it out to see which is the ultimate mythical creature. As awesome as it sounds.

8. Indecent Desires by Jane O'Reilly. I've been reading a fair bit of romance/erotica this year and most of it has been pretty terrible. This is probably the best one I've read - I actually liked it.

9. About a Boy by Nick Hornby, audiobook narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt. I haven't reviewed this one yet but I listened to it recently and thought it was great.

10. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I think I'm one of the few people in the world who didn't love this book. I've included it here because I can see objectively it is good, and also pretty much all the other books I've read have been mediocre to awful, but still - TFIOS made me mad.

Top Ten Books About Friendship

1. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. Friendship is the core of this book and its sequels, and though it's been a few years since I read it, I remember loving it a lot. The movie is fun too!

2. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey. This beautiful tale highlights unlikely friends and the extroardinary things they'll do for each other.

3. Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta. Marchetta does all kinds of relationships so well. The group of friends in this book are one of my faves of all time, and it's also awesome to revisit them in the companion novel, The Piper's Son.

4. Wildlife by Fiona Wood. This is about losing friends as much as it is about gaining them, and it explores the nature of loss and what it means to be a friend through the different but interweaving stories of two awesome girls.

5. Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters. This biography of a remarkable homeless man is told through the frame of Masters' growing friendship with Stuart, and their odd couple dynamic makes for some of the more humourous - and heartbreaking - parts of the book.

6. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. A bunch of beauty queens get stranded on a desert island and slowly go from being rivals to best friends. It is a lot more hilarious and touching and a lot less cheesy than it sounds.

7. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. It IS all about bosom buddies and kindred spirits.

8. The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Friendship literally saves the world.

9. Fury by Shirley Marr. Featuring friends who'd kill for each other. Giiiirl Power.

10. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It beautifully explores the healing power of friendship (and gardens).

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Female Characters Who Are Strong Without Being Kick-Arse

This is something I feel really strongly about - too often, it seems that female characters are dismissed as weak just because they can't use a bow and arrow like Katniss or jump off a building like Tris. Conversely, girls who CAN do these kinds of things are automatically labelled as strong even if they are actually inherently weak characters. Basically, as Melina Marchetta has pointed out several times, strong and kick-arse are not the same things. So here are my fave strong (not kick-arse) female characters.

1. Phaedra from The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta. MM has sooo many amazing strong female characters in all her books, but I'm rereading this series at the moment and I have such a soft spot for Phaedra. She is the antithesis of the "kick-arse" heroine, and seems weak at first, but she turns out to be one of the strongest characters in the series.

2. Sansa from A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. Sansa gets a lot of hate which makes me really mad. I feel like she is disdained for being traditionally feminine, which people interpret as "weak" in contrast to Arya's cross-dressing kick-arsery. Now I love Arya, but Sansa displays a different kind of strength. The fact that she has survived so long shows her emotional and mental power. Indeed, in that respect she is probably stronger than Arya. I just love Sansa and anyone who doesn't is clearly wrong.

3. Judith from All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry. Judith has been through all sorts of trauma but she remains strong and determined to get what she wants. She uses her outsider status to her advantage and gets things done.

4. Anne from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Oh, Anne with an E. She is one of my favourite characters of all time. She is fierce, brave, strong-willed, intelligent, imaginative, creative, fun-loving, and more than a little bit ridiculous. Her flaws are what make her so perfect.

5. Jane from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Jane knows her own mind and doesn't let anyone try and convince her otherwise. She never betrays her own sense of self, even when it means giving up the love of her life. She is no bird.

6. June from The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. June has her heart broken early on, but instead of wallowing she does what she can to heal and then forges on with a rich, full, unconventional and awesome life.

7. Charlotte-Rose from Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. This character is based on a real person, which just makes her even more brilliant. Charlotte-Rose defies convention to follow her heart and get what she wants, and is punished for it. But she doesn't let that dampen her spirit.

8. Lou from Wildlife by Fiona Wood. Lou is quiet, reserved, grieving, broken but oh, so strong. I just want to hug her.

9. Hermione from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I debated including Hermione because she actually is quite kick-arse, but I listed her because it's her organisation, studying, and planning that really allow her to win. Her strength in holding the other characters together when they're falling apart, and keeping a level head in the most dire circumstances, are some of my favourite things about her.

10. Amy from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. Poor Amy. She is treated like a slave by her whole family, and grows up in a prison because of her father. The man she loves is too blind to see it for a big chunk of the book. She puts up with so much and just gets on with it. She's resilient and smart, and so while she is tiny and perceived as weak, her character is really the strongest in the book.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books On My Autumn TBR List

It's that time again - time to make a list of books I want to read in the coming months that I will probably actually get to in about two years.

1. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Soo many people have absolutely loved this book, so I have high hopes I'll enjoy it.

2. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I adore this book, and I haven't read it in years, so getting the audiobook recently I'm keen to revisit it.

3. Take Me On by Katie McGarry. This is the latest in the Pushing the Limits series and it comes out in May, I'm really looking forward to it.

4. Bird by Crystal Chan. This book sounds so great, and Mands from The Bookish Manicurist was kind enough to lend me her copy, so I'll definitely be reading it soon.

5. The Maze Runner by James Dashner. The movie trailer was released today and it looks great, which makes me really want to read the book.

6. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs. I loved the first book and was so annoyed to wait so long for the second, yet I still haven't read it.

7. The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas. I am completely addicted to Veronica Mars right now.

8. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I started listening to this on audio, but I just wasn't getting into it, despite it being really good. So I put it on hold until I'm in the right mood.

9. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I have been wanting to read Rainbow Rowell FOREVER. Well, at least since I first heard about her and her fantastic writing.

10. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. I'd really like to reread this series just to make sure it's as good as I remember (after watching the awfulness that is the movie). Hopefully it lives up to the memory!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read

This list is kinda embarrassing. These are all authors I keep MEANING to read, but haven't quite got around to yet. Terrible, I KNOW.

1. John Green.

2. Sarah Dessen.

3. Jaclyn Moriarty.

4. J.R.R. Tolkien.

5. Rainbow Rowell.

6. Diana Wynne Jones.

7. Patrick Ness.

8. Philip Pullman.

9. Haruki Murakami.

10. Philippa Gregory.

Hopefully I will read at least one book from each of these by the end of the year!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Awesome Quotes

I've done this topic before, but as today's Top Ten Tuesday is a rewind post, I thought it was a good opportunity to share some more quotes I adore.

1. "'You love me. Real or not real?'
I tell him, 'Real.'" - Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

2. “Our bodies aren't strangers,' he said, his voice ragged. 'Our spirits aren't strangers'.
 He held her face in his hands. 'Tell me what part of me is stranger to you and I'll destroy that part of me.'
And she wept to hear his words.” - Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta.

3. "For a moment, I believe, there was stillness. A shocking realisation by all things - beetles, dormice, the spiders spinning their webs in the moonlight, even the hot metal of the tracks and the wind in the trees - that Death had just shrieked past like a stinking black eagle and made off with a remarkable man." - Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters.

4. "Mum says when wanting collides with getting, that's the moment of truth. I want to collide. I want to run right into Shadow and let the force spill our thoughts so we can pick each other up and pass each other back like piles of shiny stones." - Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley.

5. "Here my last love had died." - Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

6. "He shook hands with Margaret. He knew it was the first time their hands had met, though she was perfectly unconscious of the fact." - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

7. "Gilbert, waiting for her in the hall below, looked up at her with adoring eyes. She was his at last, this evasive, long-sought Anne, won after years of patient waiting. It was to him she was coming in the sweet surrender of the bride. Was he worthy of her? Could he make her as happy as he hoped? If he failed her - if he could not measure up to her standard of manhood - then, as she held out her hand, their eyes met and all doubt was swept away in a glad certainty. They belonged to each other; and, no matter what life might hold for them, it could never alter that. Their happiness was in each other's keeping and both were unafraid." - Anne's House of Dreams by L. M. Montgomery.

8. “I woke up and the last piece of my heart disappeared. I opened my eyes and I felt it go.”  - This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers.

9. "'Who am I, that you should love me?'

'You are My Queen,' said Eugenides. She sat perfectly still, looking at him without moving as his words dropped like water into dry earth.
'Do you believe me?' he asked. 
'Yes,' she answered. 
'Do you love me?'
'Yes.'
'I love you.'
And she believed him.”  - The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.

10. “This will be a new amputation. You've been a part of my flesh, underneath all my skin. Your removal will bleed and leave me lame for a time.” - All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry.

Top Ten Reasons I Love Being A Book Blogger

1. The amazing community. I have made so many friends through book blogging, and I love how supporting and encouraging everyone is of one another. It makes me really, really happy.

2. Challenges. I'm a big fan of book challenges, they have definitely broadened my horizons - even if I don't always reach my target!

3. Focus on reading. One of the reasons I started this blog was to make reading a priority in my life - and it has worked! I read many more books now than I had in the years before I started blogging.

4. Discovering new books. Thanks to my fellow brilliant bloggers, I am always coming across new books to read. It's dangerous for my TBR pile but it's a good problem to have.

5. Being aware of bookish news and events. I'm not as in touch as I'd like to be, but I'm much more up with the news than I used to be - again thanks primarily to the great bloggers I know!

6. Writing about books. Reviewing is a great way of to keep track of my reactions to books - and fangirl/vent when necessary!

7. Bookish social networks. Goodreads is so fun, even with all the drama (which I try to ignore these days), and talking to bookish people on Twitter is one of my favourite things.

8. Writing in my spare time. I write for a living but it's nice to have something that's all my own to create and control in my own time.

9. A fun hobby/distraction. When I started my blog, I had been in a bad headspace for about six months. The six months after that, when I was fully into my blog, updating constantly and loving it, were the best I've felt, mentally, since. It's a good way to channel my energy and avoid ruminating. I'm not sure if getting back into my blog more regularly will make me feel that good again, but I want to anyway, just for the fun of it.

10. Celebrating books and reading with like-minded people. What's not to love?

Top Ten Books That Will Make You Swoon

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. One of my fave YA romances, featuring an English boy with a French name at an American school in Paris. The chemistry between St. Clair and Anna is perfect.

Yes.

2. Persuasion by Jane Austen. I love all of Austen's love stories but Captain Wentworth is dreamy and THAT LETTER ungh.

Oops there goes my ovaries.

3. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. This whole series is great, and there's more than one swoon-worthy moment. Dimitri is a stone cold Russian fox.

This will always be my Dimitri. Sorry movie dude.

4. Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. Such a cute, sweet road trip rom com (with a serious side).

Yes. This is the Roger in my head. Uh huh.

5. Dare You To by Katie McGarry. If there's one thing McGarry knows how to write, it's a hot YA romance. Dare You To is my fave in the series.

I like pretty boys OK.

6. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. See above.

IKR.

7. False Colours by Georgette Heyer. I just finished listening to the audiobook for this and it was so fun and adorable and there was TWIN hotties.

Double.

Swoon.

8. Adorkable by Sarra Manning. I know not everyone loves this book but I adore it. I love the realistic but still super cute dynamic between the two main characters.

Hai.

9. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Three words: As. You. Wish.

TWU WUV.

10. Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris. Eric gets amnesia and cares about nothing but banging Sookie, basically. It's the highlight of the series.

If you insist.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

1. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Matthew gets me every time.

2. Wildlife by Fiona Wood. I had to put this book down seven pages in, I was so upset.

3. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I sobbed for a good half an hour after finishing this book.

4. On The Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. I can't even talk about it.

5. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This book still haunts me.

6. The Reluctant Hallelujah by Gabrielle Williams. The ending kind of blindsided me, in the best way possible.

7. Checkers by John Marsden. This is the first book I remember crying over, and it still makes me cry today.

8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Anyone who doesn't shed a tear for Beth clearly doesn't have a heart.

9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The characters in this book burrow into your heart... and tear it apart.

10. If I Stay by Gayle Forman. So much sadness in this book, but Teddy in particular is a punch in the gut.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I Read In 2013

1. Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington. I wasn't expecting to like this, but the story drew me in and the characters stayed with me long after I'd finished.

2. Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan. This was definitely my favourite book of the year. Such a vivid, beautiful read.

3. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner. The third book in the series finally made me see why everyone is so obsessed with it.

4. Dare You To by Katie McGarry. Silly, cheesy, awesome fun.

5. This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers. A zombie book that's more about humans. Gorgeous.

6. Red Dust Road by Jackie Kay. A wonderful memoir and audiobook narrated by the author herself.

7. Wildlife by Fiona Wood. This is YA perfection.

8. All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry. Unique and riveting. 

9. Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I can't believe it took me so long to read this book. I loved it!

10. Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues by Diana Rowland. A totally fun zombie story, done really well as an audiobook.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.

P. S. I plan to do more 2013 round-up/2014 planning posts tomorrow but for now...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Top Ten New-To-Me Authors In 2013

1. Fiona Wood. Wildlife was one of my favourite reads of the year, it's such a wonderful, authentic teen novel. Its predecessor, Six Impossible Things, is great too.

2. Neil Gaiman. Yes, until a couple of months ago I had never read a Neil Gaiman novel. As it is I've still only read one. But it was an awesome one.

3. Jackie Kay. I discovered Jackie Kay at the Sydney Wrtiers' Festival earlier in the year and then listened to her memoir, Red Dust Road, on audiobook. It was amazing and I'd love to read some of her fiction soon.

4. Courtney Summers. This Is Not A Test is a fantastic zombie book, but the emotional heart of the story is what has really stuck with me. I'm really keen to read more of Summers' work.

5. Sarra Manning. Adorkable was such a fun read, I loved Mannings' voice, and I really want to read more of her stuff too.

6. Margo Lanagan. Sea Hearts is an exquisite, lovely, whimsical book and I instantly fell in love with Lanagan's writing.

7. Cath Crowley. I love finding new Aussie authors and Graffiti Moon definitely cemented Crowley in my mind as one to watch!

8. Julie Berry. All the Truth That's In Me is one of the few books I've stayed up all night reading. It's brilliant, and the fact that it's written in second person and works so effectively really shows how strong Berry's writing is.

9. Megan Whalen Turner. I loved the world and characters of her The Queen's Thief series - completely addictive.

10. Jessica Shirvington. I avoided Shirvington's first series because I can't stand angel books, but I adored Between the Lives so I want to go back and read what I've missed.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

10 Reasons You Should Read All The Truth That's In Me By Julie Berry

1. The plot is unlike any other YA novel I've ever read. Set in what appears to be colonial America (it's never explicitly stated), it follows the story of Judith, who went missing from her small town, along with her best friend, for two years. Only Judith returned, mutilated and now an outcast in her Puritan society. As the story unfolds, you slowly learn what happened to Judith and why she is the key to saving the very people that deride and ignore her.
2. The second person perspective works. It's not something that's easily achieved, and I know it can be off-putting for a lot of people, but the second person narrative was really effective here. The "you" being addressed is the boy Judith is in love with, and this conversational style gives a more intimate look into Judith's thoughts and emotions. You get a real sense of her isolation and loneliness, her yearning to communicate and be noticed, and the fierceness that bubbles below her silent surface.
3. The main character is awesome. Judith has been through hell and is still there in a way, suffering daily horrible treatment at the hands of the townspeople and even her own mother. But she is strong and determined and finds herself strangely liberated by her outsider status. She moves around without being noticed and transgresses rigid social boundaries in a way that is admirable and exciting.
4. The romance is lovely. Heart-wrenching, bittersweet, but really, really lovely.
5. You won't be able to put it down. Seriously. I tried to several times but had to pick it up again straight away. It resulted in me staying up until 4am reading this book. That's never happened to me before. It's that good.
6. It's action-packed. It's scary, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat kind of action. Judith, partially due to being an outcast, is a proactive heroine at the centre of it all.
7. It's emotionally harrowing. I mean that in the best way possible. It will get under your skin and give you chills. It will make you cry. It will make you smile. It will make you cheer. You will become incredibly invested in Judith's story and feel connected to her and ALL THE FEELINGS.
8. The secondary characters are wonderful. From the friendly to the threatening, the townspeople are wonderfully well-written and interesting in their own right.
9. It will surprise you. There are twists in this novel you won't see coming. Seriously, I thought I had it all figured out. I was wrong.
10. It's incredibly uplifting. While the subject matter may seem dreary and there are definitely heartbreaking moments, All The Truth That's In Me is ultimately about one girl's power and resilience in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Goosebump-worthy stuff.

Rating: 5/5

Fine Print

Published: October 2013, HarperCollins Australia.

Source: I received a copy from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Get It: Bookworld

Top Ten Unique Character Names

1. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. So pretty much all the names in this book are the best - Jem Finch, Scout Finch, Boo Radley... but Atticus is the most memorable of all.

2. Uriah Heep from David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Dickens had a knack for unique names. There are sooo many to choose from, but Uriah Heep is up there for me because it perfectly encapsulates the creepy, icky character it's meant for.

3. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The name is so brilliant he only needs one.

4. Hans Hubermann from The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Such a friendly, delightful name for a friendly, delightful fellow.

5. Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. A lovely name befitting a unicorn in human form.

6. Bastian Balthazar Bux from The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. Not two, but THREE alliterative names. It doesn't get much better than that.

7. Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

8. Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Rowling's writing is filled with one-of-a-kind names, but Bellatrix Lestrange's is my fave.

9. Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I didn't love the book but I do love the name. It's a strong name for a strong character.

10. Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. A light, lyrical name for a deceptively dark and complex character.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

Top Ten Books I Was "Forced" To Read

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The first time I read this was for a book club. I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise - the idea of Death as a narrator kind of freaked me out. But I am sooo glad I did because it's now one of my faves.

2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This was another book club pick that I ended up loving. I wasn't really into dystopia at the time so I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise.

3. Emma by Jane Austen. I had to study it for Year 12 (combined with Clueless for a unit about adaptations) and although it was painful to pick apart at times I still love it.

4. Paradise Lost by John Milton. I would never have picked this up if I hadn't been forced to for one of my classes at uni. I was surprised by how much I liked it. It's gorgeous.

5. Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory. I have always been fascinated by the Arthurian legend so it was awesome to read and analyse this for uni.

6. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Unknown. I had never even heard of this before I had to read it for class. It was love at first read.

7. Evelina by Fanny Burney. I had to study it for a class on the history of women's literature at uni and it was so much fun. Lord Orville, sa-woon.

8. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell. I totally would have read this even if I wasn't "forced" to for uni, but it was awesome to be able to count it as "work".

9. The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Yes, I was kinda forced to read this. My friend had been telling me to do it for years and I resisted. One day I picked up the second book and started reading. I hated it. It took another couple of years for my friend to convince me to try again and start from the beginning. So I did. And I was blown away, natch.

10. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. When I was at uni, studying my English Lit degree, and frankly a bit high-and-mighty, I looked down my nose at my friend who was in love with YA books - and the Sisterhood series in particular. Then for my birthday she bought them for me. So of course I had to read them. And of course I loved them. Off my high horse I fell - and not a moment too soon.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.