Top 5 Wednesday: Fathers/Father Figures

Hello everyone,

Sorry I haven’t done a Top 5 Wednesday in a while. The previous two topics I couldn’t think of anything to write and I apologize for not getting one in.

For this week it Top 5 Fathers/Father Figures in honor of Fathers Day. They also did one for Top 5 Mothers/Maternal Figure. Here is mine.

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.

Ned Stark from a Song of Ice and Fire

In the terrible world that is Westeros, where everyone is scheming, killing, and deceiving to get what they want. Ned Stark is one of the few noble men in Westeros. He is also a good father to is children and wishes to protect them from the dark world that is Westeros. He is also willing to do the honorable thing even though it has dire consequences.

Arthur Weasley from Harry Potter series

I put Molly Weasley on the Mother list, so why not put Arthur Weasley on this list. Like Molly, he is a good parent to his children and also to Harry and Hermione. He is also a key member of the Order of Phoenix.

Haymitch Abernathy from The Hunger Games Trilogy

While he isn’t a father, he is a mentor to both Katniss and Peeta during their time in the Hunger Games. Even if he doesn’t show it he is a father figure to them both inside and outside the arena.

Dr. Erland from The Lunar Chronicles

Okay, Dr. Erland will not be played by Martin Freeman, but he is who I pictured as Dr. Erland. He is a great father figure to Cinder in the first book and acts as a “fairy god-mother” to Cinder. He is also the father of Cress, the title character of the the third book. You can tell he really cares about both Cinder and Cress.

Jack Salmon from the Lovely Bones

He is a father who is obsessed with trying to figure out what happened to his daughter. In the book you could feel his loss and of course like most fathers he would want to know what happened to his daughter.

That is my list. Let me know who your favorite fathers are.

Happy Wedneday

Top 5 Wednesday: Characters I Defend

Happy Wednesday everybody,

For this weeks top 5 Wednesday it is Characters you defend.

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

Sansa Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire

While she has gotten much better development as the series went on. Most hated her for doing stupid things. If you think about she was a 12 year old girl (going by the book), and she didn’t really know how to play the game yet.

Peeta Mallark from The Hunger Games

Peeta has always got the complaint that he was a weakling and not good enough. Also a lot of the short jokes, but he did survive the Hunger Games, and also cares about Katniss. The fact that they both share trauma about the Hunger Game adds to their relationship.

Amy Dunne from Gone Girl

I know, she has done terrible things and is basically an awful person for what she did. So why do I defend her, because she has an interesting character to her and as you read the book you start to find out why she does what she does.

Four from Divergent series

While the Divergent series isn’t one of my favorite series, I do like Four though. While he does come across as emo, but if you look at his upbringing you kinda feel for him.

Ron Weasley from Harry Potter series

While he isn’t exactly a hated character, he isn’t well loved either. He mainly has the sidekick role but he really cares about his family and friends Also a master at wizards chess.

There is my list. What Characters do you defend? Let me know in the comments below.

Hype or Like Friday: When do you consider a Book to Have Reached Hype Status

Happy Friday everyone,

For this weeks Hype or Like Friday it is: When does a book reach hype status?

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.

Hype is a term that could be both positive and negative. I will first give you a few examples of when a book reaches hype status.

1. Movie Adaptations 

Ever since adaptations has been made for bestselling novels, it always hypes up the popularity. Examples have included; Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, The Fault in our Stars etc. I admit I actually did read Twilight and Harry Potter before the movies were even announced. But seeing the trailers to Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars made me want to go out and read the books.

With movie adaptations, it takes those who haven’t read the book or heard of teh story will pick up the book and become fans. While a lot of the YA adaptions have been fairly hit-or-miss, it does expand the fan base of the book series and draws up more interest.

2. Booktubers and bloggers

Over the past few years Booktube and blogging has always played a key role in whether or not a book reaches hype status. Usually if the booktuber has hundreds of thousands of subscribers it plays a role if the book reaches hype status if they love the book. I know since, many of the books I pick up are well loved by those in the booktube community. While I still follow my own opinion, I feel many readers see if any of the booktubers like a book and read it for themselves.

I also think it could affect how one sees a book. An example is this months Book of the Month which is The Winners Curse. The Winners Curse was very hyped up by members of the booktube community. Last year I decided to read it and I DNF. I think as I was reading the book, I was wondering where is this “great book” everyone was talking about. I am currently re-reading it so I could give my own view for next weeks review.

3. Fandom

Fandom is a funny thing. I admit I am a fanboy of series like, The Lunar Chronicles, Harry Potter and a Song of Ice and Fire. If you seen some of my reviews for The Lunar Chronicles and especially Winter, where I admitted its my favorite final books of a series. The Lunar Chronicles is still one of my favorite series and I also admit there was some problems because no book is perfect.

Sometimes I think fandom can also lead a book series to be over hyped. An example is the works of Cassandra Clare. The fandom is very active and also over hyped a book. To be honest I only read the first two books of the Mortal Instruments and the first book of the Infernal Devices series. I just thought they were kinda “meh”. Not bad but also not mindbogglingly great. But sometimes the fandom can’t see the flaws in a book and keep saying how great a book is when really it is just okay.

Those are my examples of when a book reaches hype status. Do you have a book series that has reached hyped status that you haven’t read yet? When do you consider a book to have reached hype status? Let me know in the comments below!

Hype or Like Friday: Best and Worst Lines of Dialogue in a Hyped Book

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.

This week it is Best or Worst Lines of Dialogue From a Hyped-Up Book. I decided to describe the est line of dialogue.

For my best line it is : “I volunteer” I gasp. “I volunteer as tribute! from The Hunger Games trilogy

That particular line set up Katniss Everdeen as a character in the trilogy. She is someone who wants to protect her sister, even if it means sacrificing herself and volunteering in The Hunger Games; and maybe dying in the tournament. It was that moment that made her the mockingjay of the revolution.

That line also established The Hunger Games trilogy as one of my favorite book series and reneged me into reading again.