Bout of Books Readathon 2014!

Today should be my Ready. Set. WRITE! progress post, but honestly, I haven't written much of anything recently. I've been pretty burnt out lately and since I have to be back at school next week (aka. The Beginning of Thesis Terror), I'm enjoying a relaxing last week of vacation.

And by relaxing, I mean LET'S READ ALL THE BOOKS EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY!!!

Today is the first day of the Bout of Books Readathon, and I just now decided to participate. Basically you set your own goals for the week and just read. You only compete against yourself. You can check out the official Bout of Books blog for more information. Since I planned on reading like a crazy person this week anyway, I figured why not?

My Goals
-Read every day. Even on the last day, when I'll be in the car for 5 hours driving back to Pittsburgh. That's what audiobooks are for!
-Finish the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
-Do not strain eyes to the point of headaches. Because I'm really not disciplined at stopping for a break when my eyes get tired. Pretty sure my eyes are going to stage a protest soon.

Books to Read

THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4) by Rick Riordan (I'm halfway through this one right now)

THE LAST OLYMPIAN (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5) by Rick Riordan

THE LOST HERO (Heroes of Olympus #1) by Rick Riordan

THE GLASS SENTENCE by S.E. Grove (halfway through this as well, put on hold to marathon Percy Jackson)

LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins

I know these goals are kind of crazy, but I'm halfway through two of those books already. And I NEED to finish the Percy Jackson series and the first Heroes of Olympus books before going back to school anyway (I'm borrowing my younger brother's books and don't want to take them back to school). Wish me luck!

Are you participating in Bout of Books? Even if you aren't, what are you reading this week?

My Most Anticipated New Releases of 2014 (Fall/Winter)

I'm anticipating going on several book buying sprees before 2014 ends. Why? SO MANY NEW RELEASES! Many of my favorite series are releasing their latest installments, and a couple contemporary authors I love have new standalones coming out. Here are the eight books I am most looking forward to.

My Most Anticipated New Releases of 2014 (Fall/Winter)

8. AFTERWORLDS – Scott Westerfeld (September 23)

From the author of the UGLIES series, this new book follows two storylines. The first is of a girl attempting to publish her first novel, and the second is the plot of her thriller novel. The stories alternate chapter by chapter. I’m a writer and LOVE reading about characters who love to write (aka. FANGIRL by Rainbow Rowell).

  

7. THE YOUNG ELITES – Marie Lu (October 7)

This is a spinoff of sorts of the Legend series and follows survivors of the blood fever that plagued the nation. Now some of the survivors seem to possess powerful gifts (and are called the Young Elites), and they are being hunted down by the king.  

6. ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER (Anna and the French Kiss #3) – Stephanie Perkins (TODAY, August 14!)

Okay, so this technically is a summer book and was just released today, but I had to include it! This is the third book in the Anna and the French Kiss “world” of characters and follows Isla and Josh (both characters we’ve seen before) as they navigate the tricky world of a new relationship. I read the first 50 pages that were posted as an online except and fell in love with Isla and her voice. Can’t wait to grab my own copy!

5. GLORY O’BRIEN’S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE – A.S. King (October 14)

Glory has the power to see people’s pasts and futures, and the future looks bleak: tyrannical leaders, destruction of women’s rights, civil war. She begins recording everything she sees in hopes that her notes cam somehow make a difference and change this potential future before it comes to pass.

4. I’LL GIVE YOU THE SUN – Jandy Nelson (September 16)

This book is told from alternating points of view of twins, Noah and Jude, who used to be closer than close. But something has come between them. Noah narrates their earlier years, while sister Jude gets the later teenage ones. From the excerpt I read online, I can tell that these two characters have amazingly unique personalities and I can’t wait to follow their entire story! I adore THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE and am so happy Jandy Nelson finally has another book for readers to devour.

3. IN THE AFTERLIGHT (The Darkest Minds #3) – Alexandra Bracken (October 28)

I love THE DARKEST MINDS and NEVER FADE, books that follow Ruby and a bunch of other kids who were locked up by the government due to their special abilities. I have no idea how this story will be wrapped up, but I’ve enjoyed how much Ruby has grown throughout these first two books. She’s going to kick butt in this last book!

2. THE INFINITE SEA (The 5^th Wave #2) – Rick Yancey (September 16)

The world is getting worse and worse under threat of alien invasion. In book 1, we learned about the first four waves of the invasion, and now the fifth wave is upon the cast of characters. This book is going to be told from even more points of view than THE 5^th WAVE, and I love the excerpt online that follows Ringer…her voice is STRONG. I’m ready for the adventure to continue!

1. HEIR OF FIRE (Throne of Glass #3) – Sarah J. Maas (September 2)

I can barely contain my excitement for this book! Celaena Sardothian is one of my new favorite heroines, and her adventure is getting bigger and bigger. Sarah J. Maas has promised us lots of attractive guys in this installment, hooray! CROWN OF MIDNIGHT left off with a crazy cliffhanger – thank goodness I read it close to HEIR OF FIRE’S release date. I want every bit of Throne of Glass I can get my hands on. It’s one of my favorite series I’ve discovered this year.  

And there you have it! Looks like 2014 is the year of AMAZING covers...I love every single one! 

Are any of these books on your own Most Anticipated list? Any books I missed?

A big week for YA bookish news (and my emotions)!

There has been so much book-related excitement this week! In lieu of spamming everyone's Facebook and Twitter feeds with my squeals/shrieks/tears/crazy range of emotions, I thought I'd compile a list here. All of my book nerdiness in one convenient package!

As it should be, the Queen comes first: J.K. Rowling has released a new short story featuring the now-adult cast of Harry Potter on Pottermore. She's been posting a column regularly about the Quidditch World Cup (which happens to sync up with the World Cup fever the entire planet is currently experiencing), writing as Ginny, who is now a special Quidditch correspondent. But the story that's causing all the buzz is a gossip column written by Rita Skeeter, the journalist whose dramatic coverage of the Triwizard Tournament in GOBLET OF FIRE made Harry's life even more difficult.

Of course, the story isn't anywhere near long enough (anything less than a 700 page book is too short for me), but sliding back into that world was WONDERFUL. I was eight years old again for those few minutes. <3 I loved seeing what my favorite cast of characters is up to in their adult lives (and my denial of Rowling's lack of plans for another HP book grows and grows and grows).

The first fifty pages of the new Stephanie Perkins book, ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER, were posted online Tuesday. I admit, I'm late to the party, but I adored ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS when I read it recently. I still have to get my hands on LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR, but I read the ISLA excerpt anyway and fell in love! Isla is so relatable...she's funny and awkward and stalks people on Google. I can't wait for the book to be released on August 14th!

Rick Yancey, author of THE 5TH WAVE, was interviewed in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday and brought along the first few chapters of his sequel, THE INFINITE SEA. He talks about the series' major themes, his thought process while writing the sequel, and his involvement in the movie adaptation of THE 5TH WAVE. (Casting news was recently announced.) I don't have any thoughts/opinions on the movie yet (way too early to tell), but the excerpt of THE INFINITE SEA is fantastic. It's intense and dark and from the POV of a character whose head we haven't been in yet. September needs to get here now!

And finally, the news that had me shrieking at my desk at work, President Snow has released his second address to the citizens of Panem. This time he has Johanna (newly blond) by his side along with Peeta. If you haven't watched yet, I won't spoil anything, but WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? The teaser gave me chills, both because of its content and what I know is to come in future teasers. I'll just say that Lionsgate is handling this movie's marketing campaign perfectly, and they've adapted these books into movies that Hunger Games fans can be proud of. Also, in the article I linked above, it is pointed out that there may be as many as two more of these Capitol addresses coming. I have ideas about what I think they'll look like, and I cannot wait to see them!



Oh, my little book heart! It overflows with joy!