Top Ten Favorite Debuts

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme by the Broke and the Bookish. This week is the Top Ten Bookish Resolutions which means anything book related, reading related, writing related, or book related.

This week is my favorite Debut books. And like usual, they aren't really in order, just when I think of them. 

1. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer- It took me awhile to read this, my roommate at college read it because all of her students were reading it, then she made me watch the movie which made me really want to read it. Usually I do the movie/book thing the other way around, but this way it worked. Go figure
2. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison- No matter how old I am, I will always love this book and how much it makes me laugh. 
3. Decked by Carol Higgins Clark- Great series in all, this book came out when I was about 4, but even 20 years later its great.
4. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard- Another great series, this one got me hooked. Sara Shepard is a great author.
5. Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie- Who knew psychics were so interesting. Picking this book up by accident has been one great adventure. Best suspense books I have read in awhile.
6. One Child by Torey Hayden- Amazing book about a teacher and a little girl with behavior issues.
7. Night Swimming by Robin Schwarz- I honestly think Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah was based off of this book. The story lines are very similar. At least at the beginning. I read this book a long time ago, but I remember how great I thought it was.
8. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner- I love the stories Jennifer Weiner comes up with. I think all of them are great, but this was her first and I think it’s good enough for my list. If you haven’t read it, or any of her books, and you like chick lit, you should definitely pick it up.
9. A Little Help From Above by Saralee Rosenberg- This wasn’t her first book exactly, but it was her first fiction book, so I am counting it. My sister bought this book for me and I loved it. 
10. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella- This was her first book under her real name, so I am counting this one also. I love the whole series, I relate to Rebecca in the sense that I am a shopaholic (which is bad when you don’t have a real job.) I just think this book is really cute and fun.

What are your Top Ten Debut Books, I would love to hear them.

Book Review: Sookie Stackhouse book 1

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis:

Sookie Stackhouse is a small time cocktail waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She’s quite, keeps to herself, and doesn’t get out much. Not because she’s not pretty. She is. It’s just that, well, Sookie has this sort of “disability.” She can read minds. And that doesn’t make her too datable. Then along comes Bill. He’s tall, dark, handsome - and Sookie can’t hear a word he’s thinking. He’s exactly the type of guy she’s been waiting for all her life...

But Bill has a disability of his own: he’s a vampire with a bad reputation. But he is an interesting addition to the town, and Sookie can’t help but listen to what everyone else thinks about Bill...especially since she’s starting to fall for the buff bloodsucker. But when a string of murders hits town - along with a gang of truly nasty vampires looking for Bill - Sookie wonders if having an undead boyfriend is such a bright idea.

And when one of her coworkers is killed. Sookie realizes that Bill and his friends may have some special plans for a woman who can read minds...

Review:

The summer of 2009 was when I first heard about Sookie Stackhouse. I was watching TV with my parents and my mom turned on True Blood. I stayed for a little, and then decided that it bit off Twilight and left to watch TV in my room. Well, I am happy to say, I was wrong. Maybe if I started watching the series at the beginning, or if I heard of the books before the series came on, I would have felt different. Yes both Twilight and Dead Until Dark deal with vampires, but Charlaine Harris took the normal approach to vampires. What I mean by this is that she went with vampires not being able to be out in the day, and how vampires can be killed with a silver stake and so forth. But what I think makes this book good, is that Sookie is special. I think her “disability” gives this book something that most vampire books don’t have. I just feel like there is something more magical about it, and yet there are no wizards or witches involved, go figure.

So what I really liked about the book was the conversations about Sookie and Bill. Reading them I thought it was so easy going, I felt like Sookie was comfortable around Bill in the normal human way, but nervous in the girl liking guy way (does that make sense to any of you?) I just thought it was sweet. I also really liked how Sookie felt like she needed to protect Bill from the people in her town and yet Bill thought he was protecting Sookie. I just really felt like this book was a great read. I think Charlaine Harris did a great job writing it, and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series. 

Cover: 9/10

Beginning: 5/5

Ending:         5/5

Plot: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Satisfaction: 10/10

Grade:          49/50 = A+

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish I Read as a Kid

Top 10 Books I wish I’d Read as a Kid

1. More Judy Blume anything-I read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, at least I am pretty positive I did, but I feel like everyone I know has read a bunch of Judy Blume books when they were little, but I read the Boxcar Children and Sweet Vally High. Even back then I loved book series way too much.
2. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift- I think I read parts of this in school, and I just recently saw the new movie with Jack Black. But I wish I read the whole thing when I was younger. It’s on my list now, so I guess better late than never.
3. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol- When I was younger, I didn’t like the movie. I also had no idea that the movie came from a book (wow naive much?) I wish I saw that there was a book before the lovely cartoon that Disney made, then maybe I would have been more into it. Like Gulliver’s Travels it’s on my list, so maybe I will read it soon.
4. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie- This is a big one for me. I am a Peter Pan fanatic, always have been. I remember trying to read the book with my mom, but we never finished. Probably because I was always jealous of Wendy. When I was little and scared of growing up, my mom told me I could fly to Never Land with Peter Pan and live happily ever after. But Wendy is such a big part of the book, I mean her name is in the Title, and I am just going with my jealousy being the reason I never finished it.
5. Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli- I read this book in college for one of my education classes and I loved it. I read it within a couple of hours and I remember wondering why I never picked it up as a child. 
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone- This book came out when I was finishing up 5th grade. I think I really would have enjoyed it if I new about it before the movie. I still haven’t read it, I am hoping to this summer with the kids I babysit. 
7. Nancy Drew Series by Carolyn Keen- My sister owned a bunch of the books, I think we still have some of them, but for some reason I didn’t read them. My sister is older and when she was reading them I was reading the Boxcar Children. Then when I went to middle school I started reading Mary Higgins Clark, so I guess they just fell through the cracks. Maybe I can get the 9 year old I babysit to read these with me as well.
8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinny- I wish these books came out when I was in middle school or before, I would have loved to read them back then. I read the first one over the summer and loved it, I need to get the rest from the library and just read them all.
9. Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan- This is another one that I wish came out sooner. It came out after I finished high school and when I took a bunch of lit classes in my last year of college I heard about it and put it on my list. I finally bought them last year after the movie came out, but they are still all wrapped up waiting for me.
10. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl- I think I really would have enjoyed this book. I loved the movie, and when I had bad dreams my mom used to sit with me and rub my back and tell me to think of my own special garden where everything was candy and there was a root beer fountain (my favorite soda of all time). Maybe my mom could have gotten some more sleep if I read the book.

Book Review

Lust by Robin Wasserman

Synopsis: 

Alpha girl Harper is used to getting what she wants, 

and that means Adam, 

Beth’s all-American boytoy.

Blonde, boring Beth, who Kane,

the charming playah, secretly wants too.

Miranda thinks Kane is out of her league,

but she wants him all the same.

And then there’s the new girl,

Kaia, who only wants trouble,

and he’s definitely on his way.

Review:

Like the book Private, I randomly picked this book up as well. When I first saw it, I  thought of the movie Seven, with Brad Pitt, and I just brought it to the library counter without even reading the back. This book is basically a young adult soap opera staring high school seniors who live in a small boring town out in the middle of nowhere. The whole book is about who loves who and who has sex with who, it almost reminds me of Beverly Hills 90210 just in book form.

The first sentence of the book made me gasp, then laugh completely out loud, people stared (it’s not the first time though, I tend to laugh a lot in public while reading books). So just a taste of this book for y’all...”‘And it was the best sex I ever had.‘ Harper finished off  the story with her favorite line and a lascivious grin.” And as sad as it might be, I was kinda hooked. I wanted to know about all the drama that these small town kids were going through. Little did I know it really was all about sex and love and loving someone who doesn’t love you back and the thrill of the chase and blah blah blah. However, it was interesting enough to finish. 

I feel like the plot of the story could have been a little bit better with more to it, I wasn’t really expecting much when I picked it up off of my nightstand so I don’t really know (unfortunately.) I think the characters were basic young adult characters that I have seen in other books, like Gossip Girl. The boys were gorgeous, one being an All-American, very athletic, great to his girlfriend, and the other being a complete player. The girls were all pretty in different ways, except possibly one, which she ended up being my favorite character. I mean she had FLAWS, she had body image issues and it was great to read about. One girl was from a big city and acted all that, the other was all that in her small town. It was almost like you have seen it before. The ending actually made me want to see what was going to happen in the next book, it left me with a cliff hanger and I just want to know if it works out, so I will be reading book 2 titled Envy.

Cover: 9/10

Beginning: 4/5

Ending: 4/5

Plot:  7/10

Characters: 8/10

Satisfaction: 8/10

Grade: 80%= B-

Book Review

Private by Kate Brian

Synopsis:

Tradition, Honor, Excellence...and secrets so dark they’re almost invisible.

Fifteen-year old Reed Brennan wins a scholarship to Easton Academy- the golden ticket away from her pill-popping mother and run-of-the-mill suburban life. But when she arrives on the beautiful, tradition-steeped campus of Easton, everyone is just a bit more sophisticated, a bit more gorgeous, and a lot wealthier than she ever though possible. Reed realizes that even though she has been accepted to Easton, Easton has not accepted her. She Feels like she’s on the Outside, looking in.

Until she meets the Billings girls.

They are the most beautiful, intelligent, and intensely confident girls on campus. And they know it. They hold all the power in a world where power is fleeting but means everything. Reed vows to do whatever it takes to be accepted into their inner circle.

Review:

I randomly picked this book up from the library in December, and finally began reading at the beginning of this month. The first thing I saw was the title, which intrigued me slightly. When I read the synopsis, and knowing in the back of my mind reading challenges I wanted to participate in this year, I decided to try it out. The cover isn’t that amazing, I feel like it could have been done better, like maybe if the 3 girls on the front were in some sort of conversation and then the girl that you don’t see on the back is actually on the front cover, so you get the whole picture. Just maybe, I am not creative in that way, my sister is the artist, i am the musician, so I don’t know amazing ways to make it better looking. 

So the beginning of the book was ok, just simply ok. It wasn’t so amazing that I couldn’t put it down because I wanted to know more, and it wasn’t so terribly bad that I had to put it down because just the thought of finishing it made me go crazy. The book seemed to get better during the middle and the end, making me want to know more about the Billings Girls and Reed’s crush, Thomas. At some points during the book, I got really angry at the main character, Reed. She knew that the Billings girls were using him, yet she still wanted to be one of them, still thought that they were so much better than the girls on her floor. (BTW I really hope I am not saying too much) 

As for the characters themselves, I thought Kate Brian did a pretty good job describing them, at least as much as she could in the first book. I really want to know more about the Billings girls, but I know that I need to keep reading the series to find out all I can about them. Especially since the ending definitely through me for a loop concerning these girls. I gave this book an 8 for satisfaction while reading. It was an easy read, and it was enjoyable for the most part, and I really enjoy Kate Brian’s work, at least I really enjoyed a book that she wrote using her real name, Kieran Scott. I do think I will read the rest of the series in hopes to learn more about what is going on at the school. 

Cover: 7/10

Beginning: 3/5

Ending:     5/5

Plot: 8/10

Characters: 10/10

Satisfaction: 8/10

Grade:         82%= B-

Thursday's Top Ten: Top 10 Movies

Thursday’s Top Ten that you can find here... This week is the Top Ten movies you could watch over and over. I am so excited about this one because the other day I was saying how every time certain movies come on tv, I have to watch, even if I own some of them. So here it goes.

1. a Cinderella Story and Another Cinderella Story.
2. Legally Blonde.
3. the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
4. Harry Potter (any and all).
5. the Holiday.
6. Ok this one is slightly sad for an almost 25 year old, but I am so honest that I will be telling you all. High School Musical 1-3: I am such a little kid and I love musicals so much that these movies were made for me. 
7. the Chronicle’s of Narnia
8. Good Luck Chuck
9. Never Been Kissed.
10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Resolutions

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme by the Broke and the Bookish. This week is the Top Ten Bookish Resolutions which means anything book related, reading related, writing related, or book related.

1. Book Reviews: I have been slacking with my book reviews since I started my blog. I kinda think I really need to get better at doing them, but practice makes perfect right? Also what happens is I finish a book in the middle of a school day and start another one and all I want to do is keep reading the new book. I really need to work on this one, hence why it's number 1.

2. Reading challenges: I came up with reading challenges that I would like to do, but I have yet to actually post a blog on which ones I am doing. So this is sort of a short term goal, I just want to post about the challenges that I will be doing.

3. Read the lonely books on my shelf: When I go into a bookstore, I usually have to buy something whether its a book that I wanted, one I found on clearance that looks ok, or a magazine. So most of the books that I bought I think are getting kinda lonely, especially when they are in between books I read more than once. So, I am going to help my books be less lonely and read some of the ones that I bought but have not read yet.  Yet being the key word.

4. Read TBR books: I have over 550 books on my TBR list, and it is getting bigger by the minute, so I really need to read some of these. So when I go to the library, I have to get a book off of this list, I can get books not on the list, but every time I go into my library I must get a book that is on my extremely long list.

So I am only going to do 4 resolutions since I have a few resolutions that I am already struggling with, even though it is only 11 days into the new year. But I would love to know, what are your bookish resolutions for 2011?