Top 5 Wednesday: Books for your Hogwarts House (Gryffindor)

Happy Wednesday everyone, and here is another Top 5 Wednesday and the topic is:

June 7th: Books For Your Hogwarts House
— Show your Hogwarts House Pride, and tell us the top 5 books that represent your house!

Last year I took the Pottermore quiz and discovered that I was a Gryffindor

Top 5 Wednesday is a group in Goodreads and was formerly created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is now done by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. It is open to everyone.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Mainly because this book deals with overcoming many hurdles, and both Laia and Elias both through pain and loss throughout the series so far, and no matter what they have shown bravery.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

From the moment Katniss screamed “I volunteer” she was a Gryffindor, risking her life to enter the Hunger Games knowing that she may die in order to protect her sister. In doing do she started a rebellion and became a symbol for that rebellion.

The Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu

In my opinion both Day and June are Gryffindors, and like Katniss both becomes symbols of a rebellion and want to make changes happen. June is very intelligent and it shows throughout the series and Day comes across as very brave.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

While the crows could vary on which Hogwarts house they belong to, I will focus mainly on Kaz. Kaz as a Gryffindor is has a leadership role and his job is to lead the crows through their heist. He also cares about every one of them in his own way.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Kinda like Six of Crows, most the characters can belong in many other house (Cress in Ravenclaw). But Cinder definitely belongs in Gryffindor. She is brave, intelligent and when the chips are down she keeps fighting.

Those are my books for fellow Gryffindors. What Hogwarts House are you? What books would you recommend for your Hogwarts house? Let me know in the comments below!

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Minor Characters

Happy Wednesday everyone, and here is another Top 5 Wednesday, and the topic is,

May 24th: Favorite Minor Characters
–Minor characters are less than a sidekick or a side character (but not in our hearts!) Everyone will have a different definition of what makes a minor vs a side character but just as an example, I’d consider Ron and Hermione side characters, while Lavender Brown, Oliver Wood, and Dean Thomas are minor characters. Results may vary so don’t get tooooo caught up in it 🙂

Top 5 Wednesday is a group in Goodreads and was formerly created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is now done by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. It is open to everyone.

I always do like minor characters, mainly because they always add to the ensemble and make the book better.

Detective Boney from Gone Girl

She’s the lead detective in the case of Amy Dunne, and she always tended to give Nick the benefit of the doubt. Even after Amy is found she still knew something was up in Amy’s story.

Iko from the Lunar Chronicles

She is Cinder’s android, and she is hilarious, while you were sad that she was decommissioned she still stayed around in Throne’s ship and was still hilarious.

Olenna Tyrell from A Song of Ice and Fire

She maybe old, but she still a lot to say. I liked her mainly because she served as support to Sansa when she was a King’s Landing. I also love how her doesn’t put up with any of Queen Cersei’s shit either.

Finnick Odair from The Hunger Games

One of the most popular victors from The Hunger Games, he does have a cocky attitude. But underneath the cockiness is his love for Mags; his mentor and his girlfriend Annie.

Oliver Wood from Harry Potter

Harry’s first Quidditch captain. He cared about his team and wanted to win the cup. Even if some of his methods were questionable like waking his team up early in the morning for practice he was a very good captain.

Those are my favorite minor character. What are your favorite minor characters? Let me know in the comments below.

Top 5 Wednesday: Books I Want to-Reread

Hello and Happy Wednesday everyone, and for those in the US Happy Thanksgiving! And here is another  Top 5 Wednesday, and sorry that I haven’t done these in a while.

November 23: Books I Want to Re-Read
–Though it seems like we are all constantly chasing the next upcoming release, let’s take a trip down memory lane and talk about some books that we’d like to re-visit.

Another great topic, because there are times that I love rereading books especially those that I really like.

Six of Crows duology

I love this series, its one of my favorites. I love all the characters in this series, and I want to see more of those characters, but it did end well and I love both books.

The Hunger Games trilogy

Another favorite trilogy of mine, I remember reading the books when the first came out loving it, seeing the movies and liking those as well. I always wanted to do a series re-visited and talk about what I thought of the series and why I love them. It may come in 2017.

The Gossip Girl series

This was a series I read back in high school/college and it was mainly because my sisters read them and wouldn’t shut up about them so I decided to give them a read and I actually liked the books. While it may be classified as a “guilty pleasure” read it was surprisingly good and very different from the show. I also may out that in my series revisited posts.

The Gallagher Girls series

Another series I read back in high school and I actually reread the first two books over the summer and realizing how much I like the series. It was a sort of Buffy meets Alias, in which girls are enrolled in a spy school in the cover of a prep school. Another book series I may do a series revisited post.

The Lunar Chronicles

Another one of my all time favorite series which is basically Star Wars meets fairy tales. I love all the characters and how each book is a retelling of classic fairy tales in a futuristic world. This is a series I always would would to read again and again.

That is the books I would love to reread. What books would you like to reread? Let me know in the comments below! And have a Happy Thanksgiving.

 

 

Hype or Like Friday: Nov. 4th-Books I’m Thankful For.

Happy Friday everyone,

The theme for November’s Hype or Like Friday is about what we’re thankful for and the book of the month is Three Dark Crowns.

I will hopefully do my best and will try to actually read this book because it was on my TBR.

Hype or Like Friday is a meme created by Jillian, Larkin, and Britt to discuss about hyped books and see if they’re hyped up or not. There would be book of the month that you can read, and the post your review for it on the end of the month, then rate it whether it’s a hype it or like it.

Friday, November 4th- Books I’m Thankful For (Think- books you can’t live without)

The Books of Roald Dahl

It began in elementary school and it was one of the first chapter books I read, so I felt a little grown up while reading it. They are also books I will love to revisit.

The Hunger Games trilogy

One of my first first ventures in YA, and I started reading it after I saw the trailer for the first Hunger Games movie, and I kept reading the rest of the series and loved it. It also got me back into reading again.

A Song of Ice and Fire series

A great fantasy series. Okay so I started reading after the show came out, but I still loved the series and all the twists and turns it took. Even though George R.R. Martin has still not finished the show does a great job at keeping up with his vision.

The Lunar Chronicles

Another great series that does a great job at mixing the science fiction genre with the fairy tale genre. I loved all the twists to each of the fairy tales and I also loved every character.

The Harry Potter series

Of course, I have to include this series, its the one that started it all and what can I say that hasn’t already been said. Its an amazing series that I am happy to revisit. It got me into online fandom, and it also made me love reading.

Those are the books I am thankful for. What books are you thankful for? Let me know in the comments below

 

Mean Girls Book Tag

Today is October 3rd, when Aaron asked Cady “what day it was”

So to celebrate Mean Girls day I will be doing a Mean Girls book tag. Even though I wasn’t tagged by anyone, but I will do it anyway because I love Mean Girls.

The Mean Girls book tag was created by Sarah-Jane atThe BookLife

1 . “It’s pronounced like ‘Cady.’” | Which fictional character’s name did you get completely wrong?

(Insert character from either the Throne of Glass series and Court of Thorns and Roses)

I couldn’t pronounce of the character names of either series. I am so sorry Sarah J. Maas.

2. “She doesn’t even go here!” | Which character would you like to in a fictional world from another book or series?

Hermione Granger in the Hunger Games.

I know that feels random, but hear me out. Most tributes win on strength alone, but it also takes knowledge and survival skills in order to do so. And I think Hermione can definitely survive the Hunger Games, with her skills.

3. “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” | Repetition. Repetition. Which book gave you deja vu of another book whilst reading it?

When I first read Red Queen, last year I felt like I have scene some of the same tropes in most YA fanstatsy novels.

4. “You all have to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.” | Which book gave you the complete opposite of girl power feels?

I felt by the premise alone, this could have been an amazing story dealing with the commentary of gender roles. But than it ventured in YA territory with dumb love triangles, which I felt was going against the themes that the book was trying to focus on.

5. “You go, Glen Coco!” | Name a character you felt like you wanted to cheer on whilst reading.

Charlie from Perks of Being a Wallflower. He needs a hug. He has been through so much in the book, and you always want to cheer him on, and hopes he finds happiness.

6. “Get in loser, we’re going shopping.” | How long do you typically spend at a book shop?

Typically an hour, depends how much time I have to kill.

7. “It’s not my fault you’re like, in love with me or something!” | Which character would have to get out a restraining order on you, if they were real?

I don’t know if I am that creepy, and I can’t think of any characters that I can obsess over.

8. “I can’t help it that I’m popular.” | Which over hyped book were you cautious about reading?

I read Shadow and Bone, a couple years ago and didn’t see what the big deal was, so of course I wasn’t rushing to buy Six of Crows. I picked up the book a few weeks ago and loved it. Now I am currently reading Crooked Kingdom.

9. “She’s a life ruiner. She ruins people’s lives.” | We all love Regina George. Name a villain you just love to hate.

Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire. She is one my favorite villains of Westeros, and part of me wants to see what happens when she rules from the Iron Throne.

10. “I’m not like a regular mom; I’m a cool mom.” | Your favorite fictional parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are awesome parents to not just their own kids, but also accept Harry and Hermione as if they were their own.

11. “That is so fetch!” | Which book or series would you love to catch on?

It was a book I read recently and really liked it. It is a very underrated book and if you are a fan of Chinese Culture and Mythology, mixed with fantasy, than I recommend that you give it a read.

12. “How do I even begin to explain Regina George?” | Describe your ideal character to read about.

My ideal character would be smart, caring, loyal, strong, funny when they need to be, serious when they need to be and can take of themselves.

13. “I just have a lot of feelings.” | What do you do when a book gives you a bad case of “the feels?”

What an emotionally draining book, and I seriously cannot wait until what more the series has to offer.

14. “Nice wig, Janice, what’s it made of?” “Your mom’s chest hair!” | Which characters one liners would you love to claim for your own?

Basically anything that Tyrion says can be an awesome one-liner I could claim as my own.

15. “Boo, you whore.” | Name a time a character’s decision has made you roll your eyes.

Most of Tris’ decisions in both Insurgent and Allegiant.

 

All right that is the Mean Girls Book Tag. If you reading this, consider yourself TAGGED. And have a Happy Mean Girls Day.

 

All the Series EVER (Read, Reading, To Read) Tag

Happy Sunday everyone,

It has been a long time since I did a tag post and I saw this on Donna at  Cholatenwaffles, and thought I should give it a go. This tag was created by Fadwa at Word Wonders.

I like that this tag will tackle book series that I have finished or will be finishing and also go over my favorites.

Series that I have finished.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Overall rating: 5/5

One of my favorites. Love this series so much. A great mix of fairy tale retelling with science fiction.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Overall rating: 4/5

One of my favorite trilogies, with Katniss being one of my favorite characters. I love the world it is set in, and is one of my favorite dystopians.

Legend Trilogy by Marie Lu

Overall rating: 4/5

Another great dystopian series. Love both characters of Day and June. While I felt the ending was off it was still an amazing series.

Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth

Overall rating: 3/5

While I really loved the first book, and second book was pretty good as well, it was the third book that fell off, and I am not talking about the ending. It was a series I felt that was getting weaker.

The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner

Overall rating: 3.5/5

I actually really liked this series. I know it has its problems, but I loved the characters and how they interacted with one another.

The Darkest Minds trilogy by: Alexandra Bracken

Overall rating: 3/5

I thought this series was good but overrated. I liked the concept of kids with powers but I didn’t really feel that the powers connected with the story and I also felt that the powers were not clearly defined.

Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling

Overall rating: 5/5

I know, I know. But I love this series so much. What more than I can say.

Series I am currently reading:

The Young Elites trilogy by: Marie Lu

I loved her Legend trilogy and so far this series is amazing. Can’t wait for the last series to see how it ends.

Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown

I recently finished the first book and loved it, and kicking myself into wondering how I didn’t read this series earlier.

An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir:

I loved both of these books. This is one of my new favorite series. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Throne of Glass/ A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas.

After seeing most of my blogger friends reading both of these series, I decided to start reading them, and I like them both. I am on Queen of Shadows right now and I really like this series so far.

Six of Crows duo-logy by: Leigh Bardugo

I wasn’t a fan of her Grisha trilogy, but Six of Crows blew me away and I loved it. Can’t wait for Crooked Kingdom.

Books to be read:

Labyrinth Lost by: Zoraida Cordova

The premise looks amazing and I like to see more diverse authors coming into YA

And I Darken by Kiersten White

I am usually not a cover person, but the cover looks great, and I have heard some good things about the book so far.

There is my tag list. Is there any other books or series I should read? Let me know in the comments below.

I also Tag:

Alex at Young at Heart

Megan at Book Slayer Reads

Aria at What Aria Loves

Jillian at Rant and Rave Books

And also YOU. If you are reading this consider yourself tagged.

Have a good one.

Top 5 Wednesday: Characters You Wouldn’t want to Switch Places With

Happy Wednesday everyone, I am here with another Top 5 Wednesday and today’s topic is:

September 21: Characters You WOULDN’T Want to Trade Places With
–We always talk about how cool it would be to be a character in our favorite books, but who would you not want to trade places with?

This is another topic I love, mainly because while I love most of these characters I would not want to go through what they went through.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group in Goodreads and was formerly created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is now done by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. It is open to everyone.

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games

Yes, she is one of my favorite YA protagonists but I seriously could not survive The Hunger Games. Most likely I would have been killed within the first few minutes.

Cleo from Falling Kingdoms series

In first book she loses her father, her sister and her kingdom. She is also engaged to something she hates and than engaged to another person she hates. She spends the series basically a prisoner in her own kingdom.

Nick Dunne from Gone Girl

When his wife goes “missing” he is the prime suspect. He had to deal with the media, police investigations and suspicions from the community. Yes, he may have done some bad things but he didn’t deserve what happened to him.

Hazel Grace Lancaster from The Fault in Our Stars

Because cancer sucks, and being diagnosed at a young age is terrible, but I love her spirit.

The Stark Family from A Song of Ice and Fire

I was thinking about putting just Sansa on the list, but than I realized that the entire Stark family has went through hell. Hopefully thanks to the show the Starks are finally come up.

There is my list of characters I wouldn’t want to switch places with. What characters would you not want to switch places with? Let me know in comments below.

 

How to Fix YA-Adaptations

Hello everyone,

This is a discussion post about YA adaptations, their success and failures and how to fix them so that we could actually get excited about our favorite books being adapted for the big screen.

This is something I was thinking about for quite sometime now ever since the fact that Allegiant part 2 is going to be a Made-for-TV movie. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Allegiant both the book and the movie, it would have been nice to at least see it finish on the big screen. Also with the recent failings of The 5th Wave. While I didn’t read the book I did however watch the movie. I thought it was okay, it did seem a bit generic but I still enjoyed the movie, the movie however bombed and the sequels were most likely canceled.

There maybe a glimmer of hope with Ready Player One, set to come out in 2018 and it has Steven Spielberg directing. If that movie turns out really well and I hope it does it could put us back to having good YA adaptations.

So here is my opinion on how to fix the YA adaptations genre:

Stop splitting the final movie in two.

Ever since the final Harry Potter movie came out; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were split in two, having part one released in November and part 2 in July. This of course led to the series making more money. Other series began following this with Breaking Dawn, Mockingjay and Allegiant, splitting the final movie into two parts. Harry Potter, kinda had a reason being that the book was so big that it couldn’t fit everything into one movie. I still enjoyed the both movies, but I felt the need to watch the movies back to back to fully enjoy the movies.

By splitting the movie into two parts it feels that the movie is a little disjointed. In one movie you have all build up and no payoff and the next movie is all payoff but no build up. You have to see the movies back-to-back. The problem is waiting a year to see the next half of the movie.

As a lover of film trilogies; Back to the Future, Star Wars original trilogy and Lord of the Rings, part of me would be a little peeved if I had to see a Return of the King part 1 and 2 instead of seeing Return of the King as an epic finally to a trilogy. The fact that Allegiant part 1 didn’t perform well in the box office and now part 2 being shown on TV, is an example of splitting the final book going horribly wrong. I just hope that in the future adaptations stop trying to split the final book into two movies.

Don’t make bad changes to adaptations

I know making an adaptation is very hard, unlike books where the length can be however long you want it, movies usually need at least a 2 hr run-time, so most likely a lot of stuff will be cut for time. It’s not just the changes but it’s the bad changes that ruin the adaptation. An example I could give is when Eragon first came out, I didn’t read the book but a few friends of mine did. After the movie, while I thought the movie was very generic, my friends hated it. They basically said they made way to many changes that it would make adapting the next book impossible.

You say this a lot with Percy Jackson as well. Cutting characters and main plot details just ruined the movie in its entirety. While a lot of the adaptations that I did really like such as; Harry Potter and the Hunger Games also made several changes to the movie, but some were small or cut because the book was already very big i.e Goblet of Fire. When those movies made changes it didn’t take out what made the book great in the first place and didn’t piss off the fans of the book.

A possible solution is to have the writing at least have a say in working on the adaptation. The author can task the writers with what to cut and what the keep and make sure that the adaptation is run smoothly. A good example is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. She actually wrote the adaptation of the movie and while changes were made it still was a good movie regardless. Even JK Rowling had a say in the adaptation of the Harry Potter series.

Stop trying to “follow the leader”

This is a term in which when a specific genre within the YA books are adapted than there is several movies also in that genre also being adapted. An example started back when Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings had their movies. Both of those franchises made money so other studios wanted to adapt other fantasy novels as well. We ended up with Eragon, Spiderwick Chronicles, Narnia and so much others that ended up failing. When Twilight came out the focus was vampires and the supernatural. We ended up with Vampire Academy, The Mortal Instruments, Cirque du Freak and Beautiful creatures which all also bombed. The same thing happened with Hunger Games and dystopian novels being adapted like Maze Runner and Divergent. While both did well in the beginning they did seem to dip in profits and quality as well.

In the opinion, the reason why we loved The Hunger Games movies was because it wasn’t another Twilight, or it didn’t deal with anything supernatural, it was different and that’s why people came in droves to see the Hunger Games.

Maybe try adapting into television.

When the Song of Ice and Fire books were first published, there was talk about it being a movie for years before the idea of a TV series was going to happen. A TV show was best thing that could of happened. While changes were made to the story , it did keep with the spirit of the books. The show is of course a huge hit and even yesterday winning Outstanding Drama Series for the second year in a row at the Emmys.

Other books are also making the movie into television. After the Mortal Instruments movie failed at the box office canceling any hope for a sequel, the book was adapted into a TV show called Shadow hunters which is a hit on Freeform. The same is said about the 100 on the CW, most people who hated the book love the TV show because it can expand the world of the book without the 2 hr run time that a movie will most likely ruin.

The news of Sarah J Maas series, Throne of Glass being a TV series is actually much better than making a movie. With a series, characters can be expanded and TV show could do a better  job with world building than a movie can.

Those are my opinions on YA adapations and how to fix them. How do you think YA adaptations can be better? Let me know in the comments below.

Top 5 Wednesday: Family Members you want.

Happy Wednesday everyone,

Here is another Top 5 Wednesday and it is characters you would want as family. Very exciting topic indeed.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group in Goodreads and was formerly created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is now done by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. It is open to everyone.

My parents: Arthur and Molly Weasley from Harry Potter

I know I have mentioned them way too many times, but I can’t help it. They are amazing parents who love all of their children, even children that aren’t even their own. They accept both Harry and Hermione with open arms.

My Uncle: Tyrion Lannister from a Song of Ice and Fire

As a member of the powerful Lannister family, he is always seen as a “bastard” because of his dwarfism. But he is very skilled in the Game of Thrones, and could give me advice on how to navigate myself in the land of Westeros.

My Older Brothers: Fred and George Weasley from Harry Potter

Yes, I decided to put another member of the Weasley family. They are great pranksters, but they are also lovable in a sense. They are very loyal brothers to both Ron and Ginny and would make amazing older siblings.

My Older Sister: Johanna Mason from The Hunger Games Trilogy

Who doesn’t love Johanna. I love her F you attitude towards the games, and like most older siblings I like her snark. But with all of that aside she is willing to protect you in a time of need.

My Grandfather: Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings

 

Because who wouldn’t want a bad ass Grandpa who can still kick some ass even at his age. Also like most grandfathers, he can still give you some words of wisdom to help you along your quest.

That is my literary family. Who is part of your literary family, let me know in the comments below!

 

 

Top 5 Wednesday-Unlikable Characters

Happy Wednesday everyone,

Sorry I haven’t been doing these in a while, its just that some of the topics I couldn’t think of anything to write about those.

This is one I was very excited to see and boy do I have some unpopular opinions or popular depending on who you ask. This is Top 5 unlikable characters, that are not villains. This is just my opinion, if you love these characters that’s fine, to me they were unlikable.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group in Goodreads and was formerly created by Lainey at gingerreadslainey and is now done by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes. It is open to everyone.

Magnus from Falling Kingdoms

I know a lot of people ship him and Cleo, but I can’t ship it. I feel he was intended to be a “dark prince” sort of like Zuko from The Last Airbender. But I always felt he was too whiny and he also did something that I felt was unforgivable, if you read the book you know what I am talking about.

Clary Fray from The Mortal Instruments series

I used movie Clary as an example because, while show Clary comes off as unlikable she is a better actress than movie Clary. The problem I have is Clary is that she is boring and bland. I feel that the supporting characters are so much better. I also don’t care for her romances.

Serena van der Woodson from Gossip Girl series

Before you kill me, I am talking specifically about book Serena. Book Serena was very arrogant and almost a Mary-Sue. She got into ivy-league schools with mediocre grades, a starring role in movies and boys worshiping the ground she walks on. I do credit the series for at least improving Serena’s character and grounding her a bit. For the record I like show Serena.

Gale Hawthrone from the Hunger Games

Yes, come at me Gale girls! He was basically the hometown guy, he is bland and boring. While he did get better a little by Mockingjay, but unlike Peeta, he doesn’t know what it was like to be in the Hunger Games.

Christian Grey from Fifty Shades of Grey

Yeah, you know this was coming. I seriously don’t know why the girls go for him. He is basically a controlling, abusive stalker and needs a therapist and not a girlfriend. I know he is suppose to be dark and mysterious, and could have worked as a Don Draper type, but he wasn’t written that way.

There’s my list. Who are some unlikable characters from books you have read. Let me know in the comments below.