My Favorite Books of 2017

Favorite Books Read in 2017

Here are my top ten percent favorite books of the year out of two hundred, so twenty books (well sort of). All of the books that I have listed below are in order of how I read them this year. I will mention below this list what my top five favorite books were. I did not count any of my rereads from this year though because I reread my top six favorite books of all time. I have reviews for most of these books here on my blog. If there is a review for it, I'll put a 📚 beside it.

1.)  A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness- Read January 9th
 When I first heard of this book I was not really sure about it. It was getting a lot of hype as this book with a heartfelt message. I then picked it up and read it in a few hours. This book is one of the most moving books that I have ever read. I was not expecting the overall message in this book. I made sure to go in not really knowing much about it, which is how I recommend reading it. The monster's tales that he told Connor were great and I loved it so much. I will say that this is a tear jerker and broke my heart.

2.)  Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan- Read the whole series January 10th- 12th

I have decided to put all of the books from the Percy Jackson series in this list because it's a favorite of mine as a whole. This is a series that I should have read years ago and I kind of wish that I did. I have owned it for years and I just never picked it up. Shortly after I started the first book, I could not put them down. This has become one of my favorite series of all time and I still cannot stop thinking about it almost a year later. Each book stands out with the references large or small to the original Greek Myths. Greek Mythology is one of my favorite things to read about and I love that there are many middle-grade series that have such great use of these classics. Percy is such a relatable character and his way of narrating his tales had me laughing out loud. I was invested in his life and his friend's lives so much and I did not want to leave them. The Last Olympian was a great ending to this series and is one of my favorite endings to a series ever. It felt like the best way to close this series. 

I will be picking up more of Rick Riordan's series this coming year and I cannot wait. 

3.) Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt- Read February 11th- 12th
When I had first read the synopsis of this book a couple of years ago I thought that it would be a good book. Now after reading the book I know that I was wrong. It was not only a good book it was an amazing book. A great read and an amazing story. Toby and June's friendship was something that I could not get enough of. I really got attached to every character. Another tear-jerk of the year. I love the ideas of art, love, and friendship that fill this book. One of my favorites of the year for its incredible message and for characters that I loved more than anything.


4.) Stranger than Fanfiction by Chris Colfer- Read March 1st
 This is Chris Colfer's second young adult book and I believe it was just as good as his first Struck by Lightning. Cash Carter is a young actor from a very popular television show (Chris has said that this is somewhat based off of events in his life). Four friends who have been obsessed with the show since they were kids jokingly invite him on a road trip. They are very surprised when he says yes. Cash has been hiding many dark secrets though from everyone that explain his dejected attitude about everything. Slowly, the teens and Cash develop a deep relationship. I love the sarcastic humor throughout this book. I was not expecting how sad this would get.

5.) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde- Read April 20th-26th 📚
Dorian Gray is a self-absorbed man who treats the ones that love and care about him horribly. He becomes completely enamored by a portrait of himself that his friend, Basil Hallward painted of him. After another friend, Lord Henry mentions that he will eventually lose his beauty he becomes obsessed with the idea of how the painting will never lose its beauty but he will. Dorian sells his soul so that he would never age as his portrait changes. Over time he changes into a man that only cares for himself and uses those around him. The portrait then starts to reflect the man he truly is, a corrupt man who is vain.

It is interesting to watch Dorian's self-destruction as he loses every bit of redeemable qualities that he once had. The story is slow at the beginning but it is completely worth getting through the first thirty or so pages. Dorian becomes a detestable man that it is hard to feel a bit sorry for him but his decline into narcissism is one of the most interesting stories I have ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone. His self-absorption in the fact that his beauty will eventually end is quite fascinating and I kept wondering what else this man would do.

6.) Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi- Read May 1st- 3rd 📚
This was a great novel and it makes me want to read more of Tahereh Mafi's works. She writes in clever prose with beautiful lyrical writing. Also, her asides are quite funny along with the chapter introductions. She has a companion to this book that came out last year called Whichwood that I will be reading soon. This story is geared towards Middle Grade but I cannot help but think that anyone would have a fun time reading this (I believe anyone can enjoy a good Middle-Grade novel. I don't care what age you are). Not only is this a great adventure story but it also is a story about individuality. Alice is never afraid of being herself and will let anyone know this. She, I believe would be a great inspiration for younger readers and even older readers.


7.) 180 Seconds by Jessica Park- Read May 7th 📚
It's not every day that I adore a book from the first page of it but I became utterly hooked on this book from the very first page. There was something about Simon and Allison's relationship in the first chapter that made me adore them so much. I did not know too much going into this book. I knew that Allison was a college student who had been adopted at the age of sixteen. That interested me so much because one I had never read a book with a character that had been adopted at such a late age and was very interested to see what would happen. Her interactions with Simon (her adopted father) are so beautiful and I adored them immensely as characters.

8.) Bull by David Elliot- Read May 18th 📚
One of the greatest aspects of this book is the fact that it was written in verse. I can not imagine how long this book would have taken to write let alone contemplate. I love the idea of writing in verse myself since I love writing poetry and I love reading it. The author explains at the end the types of verse that he used throughout for each character. Every one of the characters speaks differently and brings new layers to the story.

What I really liked about David's book was that, yes he stuck to the myth but he added character and motivations to the story that were not already there before. He explained at the end his process in writing this and I loved that he did this. This is one of my all-time favorite Greek myths and he added a layer to the story that made me love it so much more. Asterion, the Minotaur becomes a tragic character in this story that I loved. In the original myth he really never had much of a character but in this David makes the character have new dimensions. I felt bad for him.

9.) My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton- Read May 24th- 26th 📚
 I have said this before on this blog but I'll say it again. When I was in tenth grade I really loved learning about the Tudor family and everything else about England at that time period. Really, I just loved my history class at that time but still. I thought that their story would be an interesting historical fiction novel and I have been looking for one ever since. Last year, I heard of this book for the very first time and I knew that I would have to pick it up. Man, am I happy that I did. This became a new favorite historical fiction novel and novel with humor in it for me. I love the characters especially Jane and also the plot. The beginning of this novel is similar to what actually happened in history and then it becomes its own thing. I loved the mixture of history and fantastical elements and I could not get enough of it. Now this year, the Lady Janies have a new book coming out called My Plain Jane which I will be reading when it comes out. :)

10.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer- Read June 9th 📚
I adored this book and it was hard for me to read it at times because I knew what was going to happen to Catherine the whole time. This is the origin story of the Queen of Hearts one of the memorable characters of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Throughout the story, each of the denizens of Wonderland is shown and we learn how they ended up where they are and how they are in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Catherine is the future Queen of Hearts who has the affection of the King of Hearts who deeply loves the young woman. Catherine does not want his love or to become queen, she wants to open up her own bakery. She is known throughout the kingdom for her wonderful treats. At the ball, that she is supposed to be proposed to at, she meets Jest, who she falls hard for. She and Jest secretly court each other because of her family and the king. Catherine wants nothing more than choosing her path but she has fate to fight with. She will be the future Queen of Hearts even if she does not want it.

I really loved how Carollian the writing in this book was. Marissa Meyer did an incredible job creating her own story but also making it feel like it could have been written by Lewis Caroll himself.

11.) The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide by Chris Colfer- Read July 11th 📚
Chris Colfer has been a favorite author of mine since 2012 when his first book The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell came out. I have loved Chris from his first episode of Glee and I still do. His books are just so special to me and I kind of wish that they would have come out when I was a kid. That is not saying that I did not enjoy them now because I adore them. Really, I just wish I could have been lucky enough to grow up with them like the kids are now. I am much older than the target audience of this series, even though I don't really believe that you have to be a certain age to enjoy a book. The Land of Stories is one of my favorite series of life and that will never change. Every single year I have done a reread of each of the books leading up to the release of the new one (I'm going to miss doing this). This was a great end to a series that I have loved for five years. The characters are great, the lands he created are all so vivid, and this world is one that I would live in, in a heartbeat. I have compared the feeling of finishing this series to when I finished the Harry Potter series ten years ago. This is actually the first series that I read along with as each of the books was released instead of reading them months or even years later. This was the perfect ending book to a series that I have loved for years and I cannot wait to see the companion series that he is planning on writing. I will be reading it as soon as they come out. As I said above in Stranger than Fanfiction, I have read every one of Chris's books and I don't plan on ever stopping. Also, I am beyond excited for the movies. I may be one of the only adults that will be there without children, but I will be seeing it as soon as it comes out.

12.) Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor- July 30th- August 2nd

Laini Taylor has a writing style that I simply adore and this story was one of the best that I have ever read. Lazlo and Sarai's stories are beautiful and I could not get enough of this book. This is my second of her books with Daughter of Smoke and Bone being my first a few years ago. Strange the Dreamer has a world that I would love to live in and characters that I connected with so much. Also, that ending was powerful. I'm interested in seeing what will happen in the next book. Laini's style may not be for everyone but it is for me. It's lyrical, poetic, and each line feels alive in itself. This book was perfection.

13.) The Wendy Project by Melissa Jane Osborne, Veronica Fish (Illustrator)- Read September 2nd 📚

 This is a stunning graphic novel and is one of the best that I have ever seen visually if not the best. The illustrations/art by Veronica Fish are incredible and I just want to keep looking at them. The story is also great. I love retellings or stories that take a twist on original tales and this one was definitely very good. Melissa Jane Osborne takes the tale of Peter Pan and twists it into a story of grief and how to overcome great obstacles. The notebook-like design is not only clever and beautiful but it also goes perfectly with the story that Melissa is telling. I recommend this book to anyone that loves the original tale of Peter Pan and graphic novels. This was a great take on a classic story that I cannot get enough of. Also, it looks absolutely stunning and has a great texture to the cover. I could gush about it forever. Please, if the premise of this book sounds even a bit interesting to you, pick it up. You will not regret it. 

14.) The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell- Read September 10th 📚

I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of this novel. The fantasy story was interesting and also cute. I rooted for all of the characters especially our two main characters, Xar and Wish. Also, the witches are interestingly different than I have ever seen before and are creepy. Cressida Cowell is great at story building and writes with a voice throughout the story that I could not get enough of. Her use of wit and narration are great parts of this story. This is the first book of Cressida's that I have picked up and know I will pick up others of hers. She is known for writing the popular How to Train Your Dragon book series that the two Dreamworks movies are based on. Middle-grade fantasy is a genre that I have always loved and this is an incredible example of one of the best. She builds this world that I felt like I was walking around in when listening to this book. The creepiness of these witches and also just the deep dark forest was perfect for the story. She says at the beginning that we may have heard of deep dark forests before but we really don't know what we are getting into. Her descriptions throughout were perfect to show this.

David Tennant did a great job creating a distinct voice for each of the characters. I have loved David Tennant since I first saw him in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire movie and also in a few episodes of Doctor Who.  He gave each of the characters a voice that seemed to fit their characters. My favorites were for the sprites, which were amazing. So adorable. He could literally read any audiobook and I would listen to them. That is because he made these characters come alive and created this atmosphere of a reading experience that I will never forget. Saying that I enjoyed listening to this book is an understatement. He made this book so much for me and I know that I will be picking up the rest of the series once they come out.

15.) Mort by Terry Pratchett- Read September 23rd- 25 📚
 The fourth book in the Discworld series and the first in the Death subseries, which is so far my favorite of the subseries. Death has been in each of the books so far because he comes when someone dies. This book focuses on him taking on an apprentice and then trying to find a more "normal" job for himself. Death both understands humankind more than we ever could because he has watched us for so long, but also is trying to still understand emotions and the actions of humans.
His adventures and quotes within this book our some of the best I have ever read in literature let alone in this series. This easily made it onto my favorites list. I can't wait to get more of Death's story throughout the novels.

16.) The Marvels by Brian Selznick- Read October 9th 📚

The Marvels tells two different stories that connect in such an amazing way. The first is told in about 400 pages of continuous pictures. It begins with a boy named Billy who is shipwrecked in 1766 and eventually finds work at a theater in England. Throughout this story, we follow the rest of his family throughout the generations and their life as actors. This is up until 1900 when Leontes Marvel is banished from the theater.

The second part of this story takes place almost a century later, in 1990, with the runaway Joseph Jervis. He has come to England from his boarding school to try and find his uncle. Albert Nightingale, his uncle, is known to be a strange man living in the most stunningly beautiful house, that contains many secrets. Joseph becomes fascinated in this house and his uncle. He tries everything to figure out what has happened in the past with his family and also the house.

I loved both sides of this story and especially the twist that we find out in the second part of this story. This is definitely my favorite of Brian Selznick's books. I would recommend reading this and his others. They are all very good.

17.) The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo- Read November 3rd-4th 📚
 This is a beautiful fairy tale collection set in Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse. Each story in this collection is accompanied with illustrations on every page which grow with each page until they make a two-page spread illustration at the end. Besides the illustrations, the stories are just as stunning if not more. Leigh Bardugo's writing is one of my favorites ever and I could not get enough of each of these stories. Some were based on some of the original fairy tales and other classic tales, and others were completely of Leigh's own creation. I loved how each story had the feel of a classic fairy tale to them. Really, I could have had twenty more of these tales and I would have been happy. I hope that she will eventually write more of these. I'll definitely buy them. Also, I cannot wait to read more of her books this year. I will be at least reading her Wonder Woman book.

18.) Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao- Read November 15th-18th 📚
From the first sentence of this audiobook, I was hooked. I have not read many books where the villain was the protagonist. I really loved this retelling/ origin story of the Evil Queen. The Snow White fairy tale has always been one of my favorites and this twist on that was enjoyable to read. It definitely became a new favorite one for me out of any of the Snow White or any other retellings. I loved Julie's take on this story and how she made it her own.

My favorite aspect of this book was how Julie made this her own story. I just love how she took these classic concepts and twisted them into a novel that I could not stop listening to. It became one of my favorites last year among a list as you have seen here that is quite extensive. I cannot wait for the next book in this duology, which I will be picking up as soon as it comes out.

19.) Descender: The Deluxe Edition Volume 1 by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen (Illustrator)- Read December 13th 📚
I had heard so many incredible things about this graphic novel series since it had first come out. At the end of last year, I was lucky enough to get the chance to review this first volume for the website Impulse Gamer. This was even more incredible than what I had heard before. It is definitely in my top graphic novel picks along with I Hate Fairyland and the Wendy Project. The illustrations in this graphic novel are stunning watercolor designs that just pop out. The story was very compelling. I really connected to TIM and cannot wait to continue his story in the near future. This is one incredible volume that I would recommend to anyone to read. It has a great mix of action, adventure, and science fiction.

20.) Hogfather by Terry Pratchett- Read December 26th- 29th 📚
This has been a great year of reading and I'm glad that this was one of my final books of the year. I loved starting Terry Pratchett's Discworld series last year and cannot wait to continue with Pyramids this month. Hogfather was one of the darkest so far for me of the Discworld series and also the funniest. It was entertaining reading about Death saving Hogswatch and also the world along with it. So far this is one of my favorites of the series. Terry Pratchett was an incredible writer and person and I would recommend them to everyone. He was one of a kind and it devastates me to know that he has not been with us for almost three years now. What an incredible mind and person. I cannot express to you enough about how much you should read this book and the whole series in general. If you love a great fantasy you should read this. If you love the feeling around Christmas you should read this. And finally, if you love a great story you should read this. This was an incredible book that I cannot speak more highly of. Also, Death is one of my all-time favorite characters out of any book.

Top 5 Favorite Books of the year
5. Mort by Terry Pratchett
4. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
3. The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide by Chris Colfer
2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan (because I'm counting this as one)
1. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

My Life in Books Tag

🎃 Tag Tuesday: My Life in Books- October 3rd, 2017 🎃

This tag was created by Dani on Books from BookTube. The video does not exist anymore though.
For each of the questions, I answered with books from my own collection of books. Enjoy! This was a lot of fun to do. 

1.)  Books that start with your initials- CAG
      🍁  C- Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
      🍁  A-Alastair Grim's Odditorium by Gregory Funaro
      🍁  G- Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins- this is the second book in the Underland Series. I have never actually read it.

    

2.)  Count out your age on your self- 23rd book
      🍁 Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke- I still need to finish this series. Gosh, I love Inkheart.

This is the final book in the trilogy. 

3.)  Book set in hometown/state- PA
      🍁 The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky- This was my favorite book when I was in high school.

4.)  Book for a destination I would like to visit- Greece
      🍁 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series by Ann Brashares- This whole series is not set in Greece but many of the Lena sections of the books are in Greece. This series made me fall in love with it.

5.)  Pick a book that is your favorite color- Purple
      🍁 The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer- This is part of one of my favorite series of all time. Also, these covers are stunning.

6.)  Book that I have the fondest memories of- 
      🍁 Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling- This is really the only answer I could give to this question. They are some of the most important books in my reading life, they got me reading. My favorite from the series is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I have so many memories of these books and I just adore them.

I wish that they would make hardback or paperback copies of
the books with these covers, but if they did I would want them. 

7.)  Book that I had the most difficulty reading- 
      🍁 Moby Dick by Herman Melville. The reason I had so much difficulty with this book is because of how dense it was. It was not hard to understand though, it just bored me. I am proud of myself for finishing it.

My edition of it is gorgeous.
I love the Reader's Digest editions of classics.

8.)  Book that I will feel the most sense of accomplishment finishing-
     🍁  So this is not just one book, but I have a bind-up of all of them. It is my goal to finish all of them in the near future and that would be Shakespeare's plays. I have read eleven of them so far and I have a lot to go.


     🍁 The whole Discworld series by Terry Pratchett which I have made my goal to complete in the next couple of years. I have read four of them so far this year. They are amazing!

Books You've Read Because of Booktube/Blogging/etc. - Top Five Wednesday

Books You've Read Because of Booktube/ Blogging/etc. 

(Top Five Wednesday)- September 27th, 2017

These are some of my favorite books that I found because of Booktube, Blogs, and Goodreads.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group created by Lainey of Ginger Reads Lainey on Booktube. It is now hosted by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes on Booktube. Here is a link to the group on Goodreads if you are interested in joining:

5.) The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary by Laura Shovan: I picked up this book because I heard Peter Monn highly recommend it multiple times. It's a great book and I am so glad that I decided to read it. 

4.) The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: I heard about this book on Epic Reads from an interview with the author. She interested me herself and I knew I wanted to read the books that she had written. So I read this book and adored it. I will be picking up her other book This Monstrous Thing next month for Halloween. It's based on Frankenstein and I am thrilled to read it.  I can't wait. 

3.) The Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo: I don't remember whose BookTube channel I first saw a review of this duology, but I'm glad I did. This quickly became one of my favorite series and I really love Leigh's writing. I was hesitant to go into this series because of the hype but I can say that hype is well deserved. I read each book in a day each last year and was thoroughly engrossed. Also, the books are stunningly designed. I will be picking up the rest of Leigh's books soon.

I have heard that there are similar elements in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. That will be a series I'm going to read in December.

2.) The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: Last year I was doing a search on Goodreads List option: Listopia for Greek Mythology retellings and came across many different books that looked good. One of those books was The Song of Achilles. This was not the first time that I had heard about this book but after reading the synopsis again, I decided that I wanted to read the book. It has become one of my favorite retellings of all time. She has another book coming out next year about another Greek Mythology character Circe, which is my most anticipated read of next year. 

I love this cover. 

1.) The Insanity Series by Cameron Jace: Three years ago I began to actively look up Alice in Wonderland retellings and again I went on Goodreads' Listopia option. This is when I found Cameron Jace's Insanity (book 1)  and Figment (book 2). At the time two of the books in the series were out and I bought them both. I read them in about a day and now the rest is history. I'm glad that I found this series because it is definitely in my top five series. It will be great when the rest of the series comes out, but I know I'll miss new books coming out. Also, the author is really great. 

The Book Blogger TMI Tag

🍂 Tag Tuesday: The Book Blogger TMI Tag- September 26th 🍂

Created by Lindsey on her blog, https://bringmybooks.com/2016/07/14/jg/

How old are you?
🍁 23

What book are you reading?
🍁 Mort by Terry Pratchett and Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller

What are you wearing?
🍁 Jeans and a t-shirt

OTP?
🍁 Pacey and Joey from Dawson's Creek

Blogger or WordPress?
🍁 Blogger

Going outside being active or staying in and reading a book?
🍁 Reading a book, though I really love going for walks.

What is the last book you read?
🍁 The Library of Souls by Richard Denney

What is the book you're going to read next?
🍁 Either The Pigman by Paul Zindell or Sourcery by Terry Pratchett

Ebooks- yes or not?
🍁 Yes, but I do prefer to have a physical book.

Where do you prefer to read?
🍁 My bed or a comfy chair in my living room.

Who is the last person you tweeted?
🍁 Rhett and Link

Whose blog did you look at last?
🍁 Erratic Project Junkie: I looked at her fancasting for Top 5 Wednesday

Who is your favorite blogger?
🍁 Cameron Jace

Who is your favorite book-tuber?
🍁 Richard's Book Nook, I love Richard so much.

What do you do when someone tells you reading is boring?
🍁 Mostly I don't really hear this comment because most of the people that I am around like to read at least something. I would ask them what they are interested in. I've gotten students to read just by asking that question and then suggesting books.

Who is the last author you spoke to?
🍁 In person, the last author I spoke to was Nick Flynn who came to my university to speak to our creative writing class. He was a great person and I enjoyed my experience with him.

Who is the last person you texted?
🍁 My friend Lauren.

Who is your all-time favorite book character?
🍁 There's just too many to choose from: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ponyboy, Claire and Henry from The Time Traveler's Wife, Jay Gatsby, Achilles, Charlie Brown, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, Granny Weatherwax and Death from the Discworld series, Mother Goose from The Land of Stories series, the Hatter from Alice in Wonderland, The Pillar from the Insanity series, Percy Jackson, Simon from Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda and I could continue on for awhile.

UKYA or USYA?
🍁 I would pick US because I live there and that is what I mostly read but I have loved UKYA also. Obviously, one of my favorite series is from the UK (The Harry Potter series)

What is your preferred drink while reading? 
🍁 Water or tea

If you hated reading, what would you be doing instead?
🍁 Watching movies or tv

How many bookshelves/ bookcases do you have?
🍁 6 bookcases plus a few extra selves

If you had the choice to meet all of your favorite book bloggers or all of your favorite authors, which would you pick? You can only pick one.
🍁 Favorite authors. Gosh, it would be awesome to meet them all.

Insta-love: yes or no?
🍁 This really depends on the book but mostly no.

Favorite author?
🍁 Too many: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Chris Colfer, J.K. Rowling, Cameron Jace, Rick Riordan, Douglas Adams, Rainbow Rowell, Madeline Miller, Carrie Fisher, William Shakespeare, S. E. Hinton, C. S. Lewis, John Green and many more.

What is the number-one book on your wishlist?
🍁 From a Certain Point of View, which is by many different authors. It's a book of short stories from different perspectives of Star Wars characters.

Do you prefer books with female or male protagonists?
🍁 I actually like both.

What is the last song you listened to?
🍁 "Since You've Been Gone" the version from Pitch Perfect

Which do you enjoy reading more – negative reviews or positive reviews?
🍁 Positive reviews, but I do love watching negative movie reviews.

Banned Books Week September 24th- 30th

Banned Books Week 2017: September 24th- 30th

Top 15 Banned/ Challenged Books I Have Read

Below I have listed some of my favorite books that I have read that were banned or challenged for many different reasons.  Most of these books I read for the first time while in school, whether that be elementary, middle, or high school. I will give a brief explanation of why the book was banned or challenged and also why I like the book. 

I am a firm believer that books should not be banned in schools or in some cases, censored.

Key:

Elementary school: 📕

Middle school: 📙

High School: 📗

College or afterward: 📘

These are in no particular order. 

📗 15.)  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: This book has been banned in schools for its story of a girl who stays silent the whole school year because she was sexually assaulted at a party. Many schools have banned it for being considered, as they say, soft porn. This book is far from anything of the sort. It deals with issues that many teens deal with whether that be sexuality, drugs, or alcohol. Laurie Halse Anderson does not condone this type of behavior and sure does not glamorize what has happened to her main character Melinda. If anything, this book is teaching its readers a lesson on speaking out and letting people know what is going on in their lives.  

I remember reading this book when I was in ninth grade. I was the same age as the protagonist Melinda and I could never have imagined something like this happening to me. It is a hard book to read in the fact that we are reading from the perspective of a young girl who has been broken by a horrific experience. The reader learns about speaking up for themselves. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage will inspire her readers.

📗 14.) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky: Perks... has been banned in many schools for the use of sex, homosexuality, "the glorification of drugs and alcohol", suicide, etc. This is another book banned because of many situations that teenagers do deal with. 

The author has also spoken out about his book being banned in schools and I feel that his quote explains this so well, "It creates dialogue about issues that young people face," he said "...The classroom legitimizes these issues and by taking it out of the classroom we denote these things to 'dirty little secrets' and they're not dirty little secrets; these are things young people face every day." I find what he says here important to think about. This books and books similar to this are meant to help young people not harm them. He does also state before this that a parent has every right to choose if their child should be able to read a book, but that another parent should be able to choose too. 

If you would like to read more about this case here is the article: http://cbldf.org/2015/04/author-responds-to-connecticut-ban-of/

Perks is another book that I read in ninth grade when I was the same age as Charlie the protagonist of the novel. I remember at that age reading this book and being similar to Charlie. I was shy and did not really express my opinions too much. I had a small group of friends that I was close with and I was happy with that. Charlie learns a lot about himself during his freshman year of high school. He learns not only to participate, enjoy life, but also to speak out. Reading a book like this is not going to make students go out and do these things if they are able to learn from mistakes of others. I know I never did any of these things and I read this book young. 

📕 13.) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl: When I saw that this book has been banned in previous years I was surprised. I could not imagine why this would be on the list and the reason surprised me just as much as it being on the list. One of the reasons it has been banned was because many have said that it promotes a bad philosophy of life and that Charlie has no positive traits just has an absence of negative qualities. This is not the only book of Roald Dahl's that was banned. Matilda and James and the Giant Peach have also made this list.

I have loved the story of Charlie since I was a child. It's a story of this boy, who is living a terrible, awful life. Charlie and his family are not only hungry and poor, they are destitute. This little boy is literally starving to death, but he still is kind and polite to those around him. He's a well-behaved boy that gets a once in a lifetime opportunity when he goes to Wonka's factory. Yes, he doesn't have bad qualities, but that's sort of the point of the book. It might be a little over exaggerated to have a perfect child, but really it's meant to teach children about behaving. It's enjoyable. 

📙 12.) The Giver by Lois Lowry: Banned for sexual situations and death. The first reason this book has been banned does not make any sense to me because there are no sexual scenes in this book. The main character has a crush on a girl and that's the extent to that. 

This was an important book for me in school and I just really enjoyed reading it. It is considered one of the first dystopian novels and is showing how this perfect world that was created has gone wrong. 

📙 11.) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson: Banned for disrespect for authority and language that some people have found offensive, especially blasphemous dialogue (it uses Oh Lord and Lord) This is one book that has become a classic over the years and really I can see why. I remember fully enjoying reading it and loving the book. Children can learn a lot from this book.

📕 10.) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein: Shel Silverstein is known for his poems and has become a classic over the years. This book was banned because many parents were afraid that it promoted violence and disrespect. Also that it's Satanic. 

I have not read this book since elementary school, probably second or third grade. From what I remember of this book, it was funny, humorous, and first got me into poetry. Most likely it was probably one of the first poetry books that I ever read and loved. 

📙 9.)  A Separate Peace by John Knowles: One of my favorite books that I ever read in school. I still remember to this day acting out scenes from this book in English class. Now, I will say that I have not read it since, but I still remember it fondly. This will be a book that I pick up sometime soon.  

This has been challenged and banned in schools because of the graphic language used. 

📕 8.) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle: Similarly, to another book on this list, this has been banned because of the use of witchcraft, crystal balls, and demons. 

I remember loving this book when I was a child. The main protagonist of this book is a girl named Meg, who is such an empowering character. She's a character that I could very much relate to. She's smart and the book deals with the importance of family and working together. 

📙  7.) The Pigman by Paul Zindel: Banned for offensive language and sexual themes.

This was actually one of the first books that I fell in love with that I read in school. I read each of the sequels and probably read this one, three or four times in the same year. I do not remember everything about the book and plan on reading it this week for my Banned book. 

📗  6.) The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien: Banned because of the dark and descriptive depictions of war. This book was written to show how dark and horrible war can be, so obviously, there would be graphic scenes. I read this book in my senior year of high school and it is very descriptive of what Tim O'Brien witnessed while he was in the Vietnam war. This is not a book I would recommend for younger readers that are not mature enough for the read. It was a powerful book that I will never forget. 

📗  5.) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: A major reason that this book has been banned is because of the use of the n-word. Now this one really frustrates me. This book was created to learn from and it is being edited and changed in schools to not include hurtful content. Historical fiction books should be used to learn from the past and to grow as people. I'm sorry to say it but we cannot change the fact that many people in America had slaves and this is the way they talked. We cannot erase our history and pretend that it does not exist. This is a book that students should read in schools. 

I have had both a love and hate relationship with this book over the years. When I was in tenth grade I could not stand Huck or his narration. Then in my junior year of college, I read the book again and found a new appreciation for it. Not only is this an important book, but it also is a well-written book. 

📗 4.) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: Similarly to number five, this book has been banned because of language, slurs, and other racial themes, also for pornography because of mentions of rape. This is another amazing book that young people should be learning from and should not be banned. It represents an important part of our history as a country. We should learn from it and not forget it. 

📙  3.) The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton: Banned for the use of drugs, violence, and unchristian values

This is a book that I actually got the opportunity to teach last year with three classes of seventh graders. One of the ways that my co-op and I taught the material was to introduce the time period of the 60s to the students. The time period is an important aspect of the story. Ponyboy deals with struggles that today's students might not understand. I have loved this book since I was in eighth grade and I believe it is an important book that should be taught. 

📕📙  2.) Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling: This book has been banned for viewpoints that call it Satanic and occult because of the use of magic. Many have believed that this goes against religious beliefs and is encouraging the use of magic. All I can say to this is that this is fiction.

The Harry Potter series is one of the most important series for my time as a reader. It is the reason that I love reading the way I do. This series has been a major part of my life for almost fifteen years and I don't know what I would do without it. These books represent values that are important to us as people.   J. K. Rowling did not decide when she wrote these books to spread values that were not religious. This series shows the value of friendship, family, love, loyalty, etc. We grew up with Harry and learned along with him. These books clearly show that the values that Voldemort holds so dear are not something we should want. 

📘  1.) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Banned for language, sexual references, violence, drinking, partying, etc. 

So, this book had to make this list for me because it is in my top three favorite books of all time. I love this book. It is again not a glorification of any of the aspects I have mentioned above. If anything, this book shows the problems with living in such a society. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote this book as a commentary on the society that he lived in. This is another example of a historical fiction book that is taught in schools to learn from. Teaching this book is not condoning the actions of the characters. 

These are not all of the banned books that I have read in my lifetime. There are many more that I have read and enjoyed, these are just my top fifteen. A major thing to think about with these books is that they are fiction and are meant to teach their readers. Yes, parents have the right to tell their children what they can and cannot read, but this should not take away the books from other children. If children are taught the right way to behave these books will not be harmful for them to read. They actually can be very helpful. Also, many of these books have been banned for reasons they should not be banned for. J.K. Rowling is not trying to form a colt of wizards, Mark Twain was representing a specific time period (and guess what, that's the way they talked.), and that's just a couple of examples. 

I don't believe that books should be banned. If we take the time to teach students through these books and about these topics, they will learn about life. There are many topics used in these books that make parents, educators, and others feel uncomfortable, but they represent life. It is so much better for these young people to learn about these topics from a book than not at all. Or in some other place but in an unsafe way. 

If you want to see a full list of books that have either been banned or challenged, here's a link: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks

Have a good week and read some banned books. 

In honor of Banned Books week, I will be picking up an old favorite The Pigman by Paul Zindel. It will be the first time in about ten years that I have read this book.

Favorites of the Summer

☀️  Ten Favorites Things from Summer 2017 ☀️

1.)  DuckTales 2017 Reboot: "DuckTales... Woo-oo!" was a great reboot to the classic Disney tv show from the 80s. I was very excited to watch this show and I am so happy that it was good. So far there has only been one episode. The second comes out tomorrow and I can't wait. I hope they continue to put them on YouTube so I can watch them. Also, the animation is so great. I love the style. 

"Life is like a hurricane

Here in Duckburg" - Sorry if I got it stuck in your head.

2.) Brandon Stansell: This summer, I found Brandon Stansell. I believe in June or July. His music was a great addition to the summer. My favorite song of his is "Slow Down". His full album will be coming out next month. 

3.) America's Got Talent Season 12: This season of America's Got Talent has been incredible and there have been so many great acts. The finale yesterday was great with all of the performances. I'm glad that Darci Lynne won. What an incredible, talented, little girl. Such a sweetheart. 

4.) My Funkos that I got this Summer: This summer, I got three of the Star Wars: The Last Jedi pops: Leia, Luke, and Poe Dameron. They go great with the rest of my Star Wars pops. I also got the Leia Mystery Mini. She's adorable. 

5.)  My New Journal: I got a new journal from Walmart in August to write notes for my second book in my series that I am writing. It's really a great journal that I am getting a lot of use out of. Perfect size and it's beautiful. Also, I put some great stickers in it to add more to it.

6.) The Nostalgia Critic: I have been watching the Nostalgia Critic for about five years but recently I have been making it a weekly thing to watch the new reviews when they come on YouTube on Wednesdays. The Nostalgia Critic is one of my favorite YouTubers and also my favorite movie critic. 

7.) Will & Grace: This is another new love of mine. I have started to watch clips from the show on YouTube and would like to watch the whole series when I finish the show I am watching now. 

8.) "Symphony" by Clean Bandit: The music video is not only beautiful for this song but it is also heartbreaking. I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it and could not get enough. I have listened to it constantly ever since. The idea of someone being the music in your life is so relatable. This breaks my heart a bit each time I listen to it. Beautiful. 

9.) "Praying" by Kesha: Earlier this summer, my friend introduced me to this song. I have liked Kesha since I was a senior in high school, but this song is different than what she has ever written before. It's very personal and touching. I love it. 

10.) Reba TV Show: I first watched this show years ago. It was on the Family channel (now Freeform) every day during the summer and I would watch every single episode. I'm pretty sure I watched most of them if not all of them that summer. I fell in love with this show. A few days ago, I decided that I am going to start from the beginning and watch them all again. They are just as good as I remember them. So funny. Also, the cast might be bringing it back and I will watch it if they do.

I love this dysfunctional family so much. 

Favorite Fancasts/ Top Five Wednesday

🎞️ Favorite Fancasts (Top Five Wednesday)- September 20th, 2017 📚

Here are the top five actors that I would like to play some of my favorite characters. These are in no particular order.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group created by Lainey of Ginger Reads Lainey on Booktube. It is now hosted by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes on Booktube. Here is a link to the group on Goodreads if you are interested in checking it out.

5.)  David Tennant as every character ever. Okay in all seriousness, I would want him to play Death in an adaptation of any of the books in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I think that he would play the character perfectly and it would be interesting to see him do this role.

It's funny because before I heard that they were actually making Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman into a mini-series, I actually thought David would be perfect for Crowley. So I guess I got one right. I cannot wait for this show. 

David Tennant as Crowley and Michael Sheen as Aziraphale

4.) Hailee Steinfeld as Sammie from The Memory Book by Lara Avery: I just think Hailee would play the role of Sammie well.

 

3.) Ezra Miller as Baz from Carry On by Rainbow Rowell: If there ever a movie made of this book I really would love Ezra to play this part. He, I believe would make the perfect Baz. He is actually who I thought of when I read the book and I never really think of fancasting when I read books.  

2.) Chris Colfer as Froggy from The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer: This is a series that I have mentioned countless times on this blog and that is because I just adore it. I first got introduced to Chris from the tv series Glee. His character was my favorite on the show from the beginning and he is also one of my favorite actors from the show. Then I started reading his books the day that the first book came out and loved his writing even more than the show. It was just the perfect series for me. I believe that Chris would play the character of Froggy well and I am not alone in this idea. Many who love the series feel this way. Now that we know that we are getting a movie series I wish that he would play the part but I know that he doesn't want to. He would be my pick though.

1.)  Mark Hamill as The Pillar from the Insanity series by Cameron Jace: This is one of my favorite series. It's self-published on Amazon and I fell in love with it so much. Cameron is a great writer and I love his twist on Alice in Wonderland. This is a creepy series with menacing characters, especially Carter Pillar. Mark Hamill, I believe would be the perfect choice for this character. His menacing voice that he has with his voice acting is incredible and it would just make my day to see him play this part. He could go between the humorous scenes of Professor Pillar and the more brutal scenes well. Also, he's one of my favorite actors of all time so he had to make this list.