There have been a few TTT topics about debut authors and their sophomore novels (like one’s we’re excited about, can’t wait for, etc.). I was thinking about revisiting some of those posts and reflecting on the authors who haven’t let me down yet, based on their debut and sophomore novels. There’s nothing worse than reading a near-perfect debut and then being disappointed by the author’s second novel. Luckily, there are quite a few authors who absolutely did NOT let me down with their sophomore novel! FYI, some authors here have published adult and/or middle grade books before these YA books, so I’m including them here as debut YA authors (or in one situation, debut adult contemporary authors). First & Then   |   This Adventure Ends  I’m a HUGE fan of these covers obviously, but the books inside? Near perfect. I adored FIRST & THEN because of how cute and addictive it was. The football obviously helped too 😉 THIS ADVENTURE ENDS was pretty amazing because of the friend feels and cute slow-burn romance. The only problem with both of these books is that the romance and kissing came waaaaay too late in the book. We’ll see what her next book does! The One That Got Away   |   Results May Vary Oh, Bethany Chase. You are way too good. I don’t deserve you. Both of her books have been complete hits for me. There was a liiiittle something missing from THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY, but RESULTS MAY VARY was amazing. Easily a favorite of 2016. […]

Since I started reading, I’ve always reached for the same books. I like young adult contemporary with some fantasy books mixed in – maybe a few paranormal/etc. ones if the mood strikes. I also read a lot of adult contemporary (“chick lit” – ugh) because, back when I started reading YA, there weren’t nearly as many options as there are now. I was reading Sophie Kinsella when I was 14 years old. You can pretty much tell that my reading habits and preferences haven’t really changed; I’m still reading young adult books with some adult books mixed in. However, I can say that a few more specific preferences have changed over time. I wrote a draft a long time ago wondering if I was older and wiser, or if I’ve just read too many YA books. I found that I can easily pick up on certain twists. Is it because I’m getting too old for YA? Is YA getting more predictable? Is is only more “predictable” because I’ve read so many of them at this point? This post isn’t about plot twists and predictability necessarily (I sort of already talked about that) – it’s about how I’ve adjusted my reading based on my age and reading experience. I’m fine-tuning what I want to read and figuring out my reading life as a 25 year old person who still enjoys young adult literature. I don’t want to overstep and judge certain books harshly because I’m older than the characters; I always try to […]

I talked last Friday about why I reduce my Goodreads challenge each year, but now I want to talk about how I always make sure I reach my Goodreads goal. I’ve never really struggled to make it happen each year and I thought people might appreciate learning how I do it. Some of these tips are similar to those in my post about breaking reading slumps during slow-reading months, so feel free to check that post out too! Go H-A-M in January I love to start my year with a bunch of reading, to be honest. Getting as ahead as possible as early as possible makes me feel SO GOOD. You can follow the rest of these tips (or the ones in the aforementioned post) to try to get ahead, but that’s my biggest thing. I read a lot of shorter, quick books in January so I start off on the right foot. You know you’re going to be scrambling in December to read a bunch of novellas and graphic novels to finish, so why wait? Eliminate the pressure by reading all those tiny books in January. I always find my reading re-invigorated at the beginning of the year once I sign up for challenges, so it helps to use that extra motivation when you have it. Do you know how good it feels to see “X books ahead” in the second week of January?! SO GOOD, okay? I’m currently 4 books ahead on my challenge and I love it. Audiobooks forever I […]

This post is one of three in the Impact of Book Format series I’m starting on the blog. You’ll see how I feel about ebooks, physical books, and audiobooks over the course of three Wednesdays. I’m a huge fan of physical books. I know VERY few avid readers who don’t love smelling a book and opening those pages up. There’s no better feeling. I totally love my Kindle and my audiobooks, but I feel like nothing compares to the real thing. Regardless of how technology and the publishing industry evolve, I sincerely hope and believe that physical books will be around for a looong time. Cultivating a library of favorites The biggest bookworm dream of mine (and countless other people) is to have a full library room. I’ve discussed my dream library in the past. I want it to have a full bed, so many colors, Christmas lights all over the place, shelves on every wall, and book-related art and knicknacks. It’ll be a haven and I need it in my life… someday. Chris and I still aren’t planning on settling down any time soon, so for now my library dreams are far in the future. I want to have a house someday with a full room just for books and bookish things. I want it FULL of books that I love (or at least like enough to own and take pictures of). A library with all of those things will be an amazing place to relax and read. I […]

I’ve spoken a lot about my ~resolutions~ to read less books, so I can give myself more time for other hobbies. This was something I resolved to do for 2016 and again in 2017. Book blogging has done a wonderful job of introducing me to countless friends, new authors, and books I never would have thought to pick up. It’s also wildly increased my reading numbers. This is really great and makes me feel super accomplished! I love reading. But lately, I’ve hated the pressure to read. I was often 13 books ahead on my reading challenge this year. This was mostly because I binge-listened to a series with thirteen short books. But still! I was ahead! Then, I hit my slow reading month in October and ended up catching up to be just “on track” by the end of December. I found myself on December 15th needing to finish 6 more books in order to complete my challenge. What happened?! Instead of saying “oh well” and just reading as much as I genuinely wanted to read, I pushed myself to finish it off. It ended up working out well because I squeezed in more holiday reads than expected. Because of the unnecessary pressure to read, I’ve actually ended up reducing my Goodreads challenge each year. I see most of my friends reading more and setting a higher goal each year since I started blogging, but mine has gone down. You can see from the picture that I blew my 2014 challenge […]

This post is one of three in the Impact of Book Format series I’m starting on the blog. You’ll see how I feel about ebooks, physical books, and audiobooks over the course of three Wednesdays. Getting a Kindle was one of the BEST things for me, back before college started. I was so excited for it. I got one of the early ones that had 3G on it, because I knew I’d need it when I visited my grandparents in Maine (who didn’t have wifi at the time). I used to vacation there twice each summer and a few other times each year, and I was always concerned with running out of books. This Kindle was my savior, to immediately order new ones if needed. I primarily use it now for egalleys and a few ebooks, but not as much as I used to. Today’s topic is the impact of reading digital/Kindle books, compared to other means of reading. It makes me read faster I really don’t know what it is about reading on a Kindle, but I finish books so much faster! Am I the only one who experiences this?! I don’t know. I just sit there and click-click-click onto the next page so much faster. Maybe the act of turning physical pages slows you down? I honestly am not sure what else to say about this because I can’t think of a legitimate reason for why this is true. I just notice that reading books on my Kindle […]

This post is one of three in the Impact of Book Format series I’m starting on the blog. You’ll see how I feel about ebooks, physical books, and audiobooks over the course of three Wednesdays. As someone who almost always has an audiobook going for the commute, getting ready in the morning, and driving anywhere, I’ve become pretty well-versed in them. I know what I like and don’t like from narrators. I know the best genres to listen to via audio… and the ones that will quickly confuse me or lose my attention. I’ve been perfecting my audiobook listening over the past year or so, after getting off to a rougher start. I shared my experience in a guest post at one point and have wanted to give somewhat of an update with this post too. Reading ALL the time The thing I love most about audiobooks is the fact that you can literally listen whenever you want, as long as the task isn’t too distracting. If I lived alone (aka if my boyfriend wasn’t talking to me all the time) I would definitely listen to them 100% of the time I was doing chores around the house. You can listen when you cook, clean, do laundry, drive, get ready for work, take a shower… the list goes on. I even plan to casually reread a few (hopefully) this year while I’m at work, just to refresh my memory during some meaningless tasks I have to complete. For example, I print […]

Like a lot of people, my mood reading can really pick up depending on what season it is. I know Cristina talked about this at one point so I know I’m not alone! (Since I started putting this post together forever ago I’ve seen more posts like this, but I can’t remember who!) I traditionally read a lot of summery, beachy books during the summer (duh) and gravitate towards fantasy books in the winter. Some of the other seasons are less obvious because the weather isn’t hugely different. I started thinking, though, about how different months of the year and seasons can impact my reading. This doesn’t only include the weather – I’m also talking about readathons or monthly challenges. I think the biggest factor in my reading can be the season. Depending on the weather (and the location that I’ll be reading in!), I’ll gravitate towards specific genres to fit those ~vibes~ outside. In the summer, I’m all about fluffy contemporaries or stories that take place on a beach or in a beachy town. I don’t like to think too much during the summer because the weather is usually too nice for that shit. I love sitting out on my porch or laying on the beach while I read. There’s just something about that season that makes me happy I hoarded all of the summertime books throughout the year, no matter how much I may have wanted to read them otherwise. I love the fluffiness or the beach settings so much. I like to […]

I used to average somewhere around 15-18 books or more per month, but lately I’ve been getting to maybe 11 books. This is still a lot (especially compared to the general population), but I can’t help but feel like I need to beef it up sometimes. I love reading but often get distracted by other things (like all the new fall TV shows I’ve become obsessed with or various podcasts I literally cannot stop listening to). October was a slooooow reading month. It was October 17th when I realized I had just finished my fourth book of the month. FOUR BOOKS!? And, even crazier, one of them was a 150 page graphic novel. That barely even counts in terms of what I usually end up reading. I knew I wanted to get to at least my usual range for the month and would need to pick up the pace a bit. A lot of friends complained with me on Twitter about how we were just lagging in the reading area that month, so it helps to not feel alone. It can be hard to pinpoint why you’re reading less sometimes, but even knowing why doesn’t always help. For me, like I said, I got so into my new fall TV shows and new podcast(s) that I just put aside books when I’d usually read them. I usually wake up at least an hour before work in order to read some of my book, but that quickly changed when I started catching […]