Top Ten Tuesday (65)

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is

My bookish bucket list, hm?  This is tough.

1. Meet Meg Cabot
I've been super fortunate in that I've gotten to meet a lot of authors that I really admire, but in all these years I can't believe I haven't met Meg Cabot.  I have loved The Princess Diaries for as long as I can remember and would love to be able to tell her that I think Mia is one of the best YA heroines ever written.

2. Have a wall of bookshelves
I keep most of my books boxed up in my basement because I just don't have the room.  I can't wait until the day I have a wall that is just floor to ceiling bookshelves and I just get to look at them ALL THE TIME.

3. Go see Platform 9 3/4
Because, hello?  So cool.

4. I would like to feel like my TBR list isn't trying to swallow me whole
I mean, this will be an ongoing battle for the rest of my life, but one day I hope to feel less stressed out by all the books I want to read.

5. Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
I can't believe I still haven't been.  It hurts me.

Just five today.  I worked an overnight last night and am too tired and too emotionally damaged from the season finale of Teen Wolf to come up with any more.  What do you have on your bookish bucket list?

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Title: The DUFF
Author: Kody Keplinger
Pages: 280
Publisher: Little Brown/Poppy
From goodreads.com: Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. 
But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

The DUFF is the second Kody Keplinger book that I've read (Shut Out was the first) and it reaffirmed for me that she is one of the authors on my 'I will read anything by ____" list.  I really enjoy how she writes about real issues without preaching, but by presenting a different way to think about things.

Bianca is told that she is the DUFF (dumb ugly fat friend) by this guy from her school named Wesley.  Wesley really pisses Bianca off and this pissed off-ness is expressed through lots of kissing.  And sex.  Now, it's not only the fact that he pisses her off that draws Bianca to him, it's also that her world is kind of falling to shit.  Her parents are divorcing, her dad (who is a recovering alcoholic) is drinking again, and Wesley is the only distraction that she wants.

I really liked that one of the points driven home in this book is that it's really easy to make judgements based on what's on the surface, but you don't really know those people.  You can label someone a slut or a whore, etc., but you're only seeing a small piece of who they are.  They could be struggling just as much as you are in life to find their way.  I think Keplinger brings a fresh perspective to everything she does.  It looks like she has a middle grade coming out next and I'm so looking forward to checking it out!

Top Ten Tuesday (64)

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is

I'm going to start off this list by making a confession.  I am SO tired of winter.  It's been a tough one here in Jersey and I'm tired of the cold, I'm tired of the snow, and I am super looking forward to some warmer weather.  For that reason, I really can't wait to start reading some of the new books that come out in the spring, but take place in the summer. Usually I like to wait on those because I like to season-theme my reading whenever I can (I know, I'm weird, you don't have to tell me), but I'm really excited to start some early summer reading.

1. What I Thought Was True - Huntley Fitzpatrick
2. Better Off Friends - Elizabeth Eulberg
3. The Art of Lainey - Paula Stokes
4. Side Effects May Vary - Julie Murphy
5. Dorothy Must Die - Danielle Paige
6. The Vanishing Season - Jodi Lynn Anderson
7. Between the Spark and the Burn - April Genevieve Tucholke
8. Half Bad - Sally Green
9. Nearly Gone - Elle Cosimano
10. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

Okay, not as many summer books as I originally thought, but just know that I'll be thinking warm thoughts while I'm reading all of these.  What are you guys looking forward to this spring?

Top Ten Tuesday (63)

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is

This week's topic was a little tough for me.  Lately I've been hitting some of the bigger authors I've never read before, so ones that I would have put on the list a few weeks ago (Jennifer Echols, Elizabeth Scott, Laurie Halse Anderson) I can't anymore.  Don't worry, there are still PLENTY of big authors that I haven't hit yet that I've been meaning to, including:

Kristin Cashore
E. Lockhart
Scott Westerfeld
Francesca Lia Block
Lauren Kate
Libba Bray
Gabrielle Zevin
Tahereh Mafi
Veronica Rossi
Becca Fitzpatrick

So, yeah, I clearly still have a lot of work to do.  Have anymore suggestions for me?  Leave 'em in the comments please!