Top Ten Tuesday | Favorite Top Ten Tuesday Topics

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Since we were caught up with our Crazy for Summer Readathon last week, we did not have time to post the weekly Top Ten Tuesday. So, we are making up for that by doing last week's topic. 

In celebration of Top Ten Tuesday's 5th year anniversary, we are listing our favorite TTT topics. We have been doing the meme consistently for about a year, so we have plenty of posts to choose from.

Review | Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Flowers for Algernon

Author: Daniel Keyes

Release Date: 1959

Pages: 311

Review by: Cassia

Charlie has never been...the brightest being on earth. With an IQ of 68 and a big heart, he is taken advantage of by everyone, teased, and exiled by his own family. When the opportunity arises for him to have an operation that will increase his intelligence, he is eager to do it, despite the risks. As his intelligence increases, he remembers things about his childhood he never knew, learns about that world around him, and his morals become compromised, especially when he finds out that he’s been a laughing stock of society.

Crazy for Summer Readathon | Final Wrap-Up

Even though I bet all of you are tired of reading after a whole week devoted to books, I hope you will get the chance to read our wrap-up of the readathon.

We really enjoyed everything about this week. We replied to all of your comments with huge smiles on our faces and made an extra effort to make intelligent and witty comments on all of your posts. The Twitter chats were amazing (I followed more people this week than I did during my first week on Twitter).

Even if we did not get as much reading as we wanted to this week, we made more friends than we ever could have imagined. I hope we can all stay in touch even after this event. You should watch out for a load of comments on your blogs!

Max

Pages Read Today: 107

Total Books Read: 3

Total Pages Read: 1,255! I think this is pretty good considering I worked most of the week :)

Favorite Book: I loved them all! I really enjoyed The Winner's Curse, and The Probability of Miracles is an old favorite.  

Achievements Earned: Library Lover and Summer Sensation

Tessa

Pages Read Today: 210

Total Books Read: 3.5 
(yes, I am counting the half to make myself feel better)

Total Pages Read: 920
(Only 80 pages away from my goal of 1000!)

Favorite Book: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini
(The Summer I Turned Pretty was a close second.)

Least Favorite: The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
(The short stories were not my thing, but I loved the journalistic articles.)

Achievements Earned: Library Lover, Summer Sensation, and Genre Guru

This Week's Challenges

Day 1: Introduction and Two Truths and a Lie
Day 2: Where I am From Poem
Day 3: Letter to a Character
Day 4: Twitter Book Summaries
Day 5: Guess Who
Day 6: Recommended Reads
Day 7: Guess the Last Line

This Week's Wrap-Ups

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6

Also, if you can, please fill out this survey about the readathon. We loved hosting it and are considering planning another one for next year. We know that this week wasn't perfect, so help us improve for next year!

Soundtrack Saturday | Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Hey everyone! Cassia here! I know y'all haven't heard from me for a while, and I apologize. My life's been crazy the past couple months, but I'm back, and I'm starting up Soundtrack Saturdays again, like Tessa promised (quite a while ago, actually). So, here's my first post since "coming back" to the blog: a playlist for Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (review to come).

This is a meme hosted by Erin @ The Hardcover Lover. In this meme, I make a soundtrack of about 15 or 20 songs for a book I recently read, provide brief descriptions of the songs and what I feel they represent, and I'll have a link to the Spotify playlist.

Crazy for Summer Readathon | Last Lines Challenge

Welcome to the very last challenge of the Crazy for Summer Readathon! Everyone loves a great opening to a book, but we believe that a great ending is just as important. So, today's challenge is to pick a few of your favorite closing sentences from books and we will try and guess in the comments which book it is from. We hope you guys enjoyed these challenges!

Max

#1. "The scar had not pained him for nineteen years. All was well."

#2. "I am haunted by humans."

#3. "I clutch Tobias's hand, and there is a moment of silence like a withheld breath. Then the shouting begins."  

Tessa

#4. "I do, Augustus. I do."

#5. "So with that thought, I begin again -- thinking to myself that sometimes... the only real thing is now."

#6. "'You are so going to lose.' She took off down Half-Blood Hill and I sprinted after her. For once, I didn't look back."

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Day 6 Wrap-Up

We are in the home-stretch! Only ONE more day to read, finish your goals, and earn your achievements. Do not forget to email me or DM me on Twitter if you earned an achievement, so I can email the badge to you. Excuse me while I try to make up a whole week's worth of reading in under 24 hours.

Also, do not forget that the wrap-up Twitter chat is going to be at 8 PM EST tomorrow. Anyone can join in, even if you did not participate in the readathon. We will be using #CFSreadathon. Please help us spread the word!

Max

Books Started: None

Currently Reading: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Books Finished: None

Pages Read: 147

Total Pages Read: 1,152

Tessa

Books Started: None

Currently Reading: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Book Finished: None

Pages Read: 130

Total Pages Read: 710

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Day 5 Wrap-Up

Today starts the countdown to the end of the readathon. Only two more days left to read, earn achievements, and finish your goals! We know that you can do it!

Again, work took over our reading time and our page counts suffered for it. But, there will be a lot more reading time over the next two days!

Max

Books Started: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Books Finished: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Page Count: 344

Total Page Count: 1,005

Tessa

Books Started: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Books Finished: The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

Page Count: 60

Total Page Count: 580

Guess Who Answers

1. Harry Potter

2. Daemon from The Lux series

3. Will Herondale from The Clockwork Angel series

4. Karou from the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series

5. Anna from Anna and the French Kiss

6. Gus from The Fault in Our Stars

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Recommended Reads

   Today's challenge is a simplified version of what we do as bloggers--recommend books! Everyone hears about the hyped-up books, so we wanted to feature some of our favorite, lesser-known alternatives. Below you'll find our recommendations, in the form of "if you liked ____, you'll like ____" and the linky to share your recommendations!

Max

 If you liked Divergent by Veronica Roth, you'll like:

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

This book is awesome! It's a really interesting, action-packed mix between Divergent and The Hunger Games.


If you liked The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, you'll like:

The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

I absolutely loved this series, and I think the hunting demons/monsters aspect of the book will appeal to fans of TMI.


If you liked Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, you'll like:

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith



Just like Anna and the French Kiss, this book is completely adorable and set overseas(ish).

Tessa

If you liked The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, you'll like:
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder.




If you liked Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, you'll like:
Angelfall by Susan Ee.

Crazy for Summer Readathon | Guess Who

I love young adult books. I have a soft spot for fantasy books and bad boys. I blog at Crazy for YA. Can you guess who I am? (If you said Tessa you are correct). 

Can you guess what today's challenge is going to be? 

All you have to do is describe a couple of book characters and we will have to guess who they are in the comments. Good luck!

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Day 4 Wrap-Up

Another day, another wrap-up. I hope your week is going well, now that we are officially more than halfway through the readathon. Max and I really need to get our act together and start some serious reading, but everyone else is doing a great job! I have been sending out several achievements and the progress reports on Twitter are pretty great. Keep it up!

Max

Books Started: None

 

 

Currently Reading: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Pages Read: 179

Books Finished: None

Total Pages Read: 661

 

Tessa

Books Started: None

 

 

Currently Reading: The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

Pages Read: 60

Books Finished: None

Total Pages Read: 520

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Twitter Book Summaries

We are officially halfway through the readathon! I hope you are well on your way to a couple of achievements and deep into a couple of good books. Remember, if you reach any of the achievements, do not forget to email or DM me on Twitter so I can send you your graphic!

To give you guys a little bit of a break, today's challenge is a little bit easier.

All you have to do is describe a book in 140 characters or less, Twitter style. Hashtags are allowed and encouraged. Bonus if you summarize a book you've read so far in the readathon!

Max
 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Sad stuff happens during WWII. Lots of sad stuff. #Definitelynotcrying

#Justallergies

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

Girl meets boy, learns she has magical powers, and makes a string of questionable decisions #Pleasejuststop

Tessa

Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Infinite worlds. Infinite possibilities. Lily only has to save one. This should be easy, right? #notsomuch

 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Where are the tissues? #Ilosttheminthefloodoftears 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Apparently Percy's dad is Poseidon. And he can breathe underwater. And monsters are real. And they love to hunt him. #noproblem

Crazy for Summer Readathon | Day 3 Wrap-Up

       Welcome back, everyone. Congratulate yourselves--we are officially almost halfway through the week! You guys have already earned a few achievements, and everyone is doing so well. We hope we can keep up this great pace for the next few days. Below we have our progress for day three.

Max

Books Started: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski

Pages Read: 127

Books Finished: None

Total Pages Read: 482

Tessa

Books Started: The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan



Pages Read: 190

Books Finished: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Total Pages Read: 460 (I am finally catching up to Max!)

How did your day go? Did you finish any books? If so, how were they?

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Letter to a Character

Everyone loves to get mail. There is just something about seeing a crisp envelope with your name on it that excites everyone, including book characters. Considering they are literally made of words, our favorite (and maybe not so favorite) characters especially love to receive mail from their adoring fans. 

So, today's challenge is to write a letter to a book character. It can be anyone, a favorite hero or a hated villain. Tell them how you really feel about them or something that they need to know. Make it as sappy, sarcastic, or insulting as you like!

Crazy for Summer Readathon | Day 2 Wrap-Up

Hello, fellow Readathon-ers! We hope you enjoyed today's reading and challenge, and that you haven't fallen into the dreaded second-day slump. From what we've seen, everyone is doing awesomely, and we are so excited for you all to see what the rest of the week has in store!

Max

Books Started: None

Pages Read: 265

Books Finished: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski

Total Pages Read: 355

Tessa

Currently Reading: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini

Pages Read: 165

Books Finished: None

Total Pages Read: 285

(I fell into the second day slump at little bit. But in my defense, it is quite a long book.)

How is your week going so far? Have you gotten have achievements yet? Have you finished any books? If so, how were they?

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Where I am From Poem

   Congratulations, Readathon-ers! You've completed the first day! Today's challenge requires a little more creativity than yesterday's. Your assignment, if you choose to accept it, is to write your very own Where I'm From poem. A Where I'm From poem, originally created by George Ella Lyon, looks something like this or this, and we're asking you to write your own version about how books, blogging, and reading have affected you as a person. Please link yours below, where you will also find our poem.

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Day 1 Wrap-Up

This concludes the first day of our first ever readathon! I have to say, it went well. 

We had our first Twitter chat. I talked for over an hour with Sarah @ YA Bookaholic and Adriana @ She's Got Books on Her Mind.  We proved that you can have an awesome Twitter chat without dozens of people. We also managed to schedule a buddy read for Dreams of Gods and Monsters!

Our Progress

Max

Books Started: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski



Pages Read: 90

Books Finished: None
 

Tessa

Books started: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini



Pages Read: 120

Books Finished: None

 

Answers to Two Truths and a Lie

Max's second "truth" was the lie. We actually know each other really well in real life and met before we decided to make a blog together. 

Tessa's third "truth" was the lie. I have devoutly been on Team Gale since the beginning of the series and I always will be. I'm a little insulted if you thought otherwise.

Congrats to everyone who guessed correctly!

Crazy for Summer Readathon 2015 | Introduction

       The day has finally come--the start of our first readathon! We have been carefully plotting this event for over three months and it is incredible to finally see it happening! We'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who is participating! You can still sign up here if you're interested. Also, even if you're not participating in the readathon, we invite you to take a shot at any of our daily challenges and link them on our instructions post for that challenge. 

Instructions

Readathon-ers: listen (or read) carefully. Below are your instructions for the very first part of the Crazy for Summer Readathon--the intro post! Your intro post should have three parts, but feel free to add more!

1. Two Truths and a Lie

Yes, this is the awkward game that your teachers used to make you play on the first day of school to "get to know you" even though it took half of the year for them to get your name right. We promise, it won't be as awkward. 

Your goal is to come up with three facts about yourself and post them. The trick is that one of them is secretly a lie (so do not indicate which one is the lie in your post). Then, we will try to guess in the comments which one is the lie. You can make them as ridiculous or mundane as you would like, just make sure to stump us!

2. Introduction Questions

This is your introduction interview to the Crazy for Summer Readathon participants. This is your chance to tell everyone the most important things about you, like your favorite ice cream flavor and the name of your first pet. Follow our questions below, or check out your email!

3. Goals

This section will help you as much as it will entertain us. Here, you can post the books you want to read (we like putting in pictures), any challenges you want to complete, and achievements you hope to earn. 

Bedtime Book Tag

Hey everyone, Max here! We were recently tagged to do the Bedtime Book Tag over at Reviews of a FearStreetZombie, so here's my go at it!

Review | Bad Magic by Pseudonymous Bosch

Bad Magic

Author: Pseudonymous Bosch

Series: Companion to The Secret series

Release Date: September 16, 2014

Pages: 400

Review by: Tessa

Clay is not a stranger to bad words. He learned his first one at the young age of three. There is not much that he has not heard before. But, there is one word that causes him to cringe every time he hears it -- magic.  It is a word that crushed everything that Clay believed in. It filled his childhood with lies, empty promises, and confusion. Magic also caused Clay's older brother to disappear. He has not been seen since. Now, years later, magic has returned with a vengeance in Clay's life. He was expelled from school and banished to a isolated camp for "bad kids" because he was blamed for someone else's magic trick.
Earth Ranch: A Camp for Wayward Teens
As it turns out, isolated island camps are not as normal as Clay thought. Llamas are the primary residents along with a couple of campers and countless warrior bees that surround the camps border.
White vog (volcanic ash + smog) coated the island in a suffocating haze. The blackened lava and stifling heat made living on the island very different from your normal resort. But no amount of vog could cover the island's mysterious secrets, puzzling people, and the occasional ghost or two.White vog (volcanic ash + smog) coated the island in a suffocating haze. The blackened lava and stifling heat made living on the island very different from your normal resort. But no amount of vog could cover the island's mysterious secrets, puzzling people, and the occasional ghost or two.

Beautiful Blogger Award

Thanks to the amazing Ellie @ Elles Belles Bookshelf for nominating us for the Beautiful Blogger Award! We are honored that you choose to think of us for such a reward!

The Rules:

1. Link to the blogger who nominated you (see above).

2. List 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Nominate 7 creative, beautiful bloggers.

Random Facts:

1. I am a closet writer. Mostly of non-fiction, like journalism (yep I am a news nerd), but I have also been thinking about experimenting in fiction (like everything else). But, I like my sanity (and I am a little bit lacking in the writing self-esteem part of my soul).

2. I have lost track of how many reading slumps that I have fallen into.

3. Besides English, social studies (or history) is my favorite subject in school. I really like telling and listening to stories, and that is really what history is--the story of all of us. I also really like learning how the world has evolved, grown, and digressed.

4. I really like to paint my nails. Currently, my fingers are rocking gray with a purple polka-dotted accent nail. My toes are the most beautiful pacific blue.

5. I am a perfectionist. If something is wrong, out of place, or just does not look right, I have to fix it. This happens with the blog, my writing, and pretty much everything else in my life (except for my closet, which is a complete mess that I cannot even begin to tackle).

6. Fall is my favorite season. It is when everything starts: school, TV shows, sports, etc. Also, it is like nature's last minute beauty pageant to display itself before the grueling and colorless winter.

7. I have tried and failed to learn how to play the piano many times. Now, I have just accepted that the universe does not want me to get within five feet of any musical instrument.

I hope you enjoyed my random facts about me. Maybe you learned something, or maybe you just realized how crazy I really am, regardless, I hope you liked it.

I nominate:*

Erica and Christy @ Novel Ink

Jessica @ Bookish Serendipity

Nova @ Out of Time

*I am cheating a little bit with the nominate 7 bloggers rule. There are so many amazing, talented, awesome, marvelous, (insert compliment here), and most of all, BEAUTIFUL, bloggers that I cannot list everyone. So, I am keeping it to three. 

But, that does not mean that you are not appreciated. Everyone of you, regardless if you blog or are just an innocent reader, is amazing.

Thanks for the recognition, Ellie!

Top Ten Tuesday | Books We Will Be Reading This Summer

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Summer is officially here and that means endless time to read, blog, and relax. So naturally, both Max and I have a list of books to read that should probably keep us busy until next summer. These are the books that we are going to (hopefully) enjoy this summer.

Discussion | How to Appreciate a Library

I was the little kid who went to the library every week and came out carrying her weight in books. I have had dozens of different library cards because I used them until all of the writing was so worn out and the barcode would not even scan (I also had one that I sat on and it consequently snapped in half, but that does not count). 

I love going to libraries and reading, finding new books, talking with other bookworms, recommending books, and just enjoying the magical atmosphere of silence.

But recently, I discovered that I am in the minority of people who still appreciates libraries in all of their bookish glory.

My local library is woefully underused and under-appreciated. It is quite sad considering the endless potential that the small building holds. It is a center for the enrichment of the community: a place for everyone to learn, socialize, and enjoy themselves. 

Unfortunately, in this age where technology is always in our pockets along with infinite virtual entertainment, the library is forgotten in lieu of funny viral videos and whatever social media site is popular at the time. 

I believe that libraries are still an invaluable resource and should be appreciated to the full extent that they deserve. Here are a few tips to get started at your local library.

Review | Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Palace of Mirrors

Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Series: The Palace Chronicles #2
Release Date: September 30, 2008
Pages: 297
Review by: Tessa

Despite her rough clothes covered in dirt, one-room hut that would not even satisfy a royal servant, and old "grandmother" who is definitely not royalty, Cecilia is the true princess. 
Or at least that is what she has been took since she was born. 
She was also told that the disguise was necessary to hide from the evil that her parents, the king and queen, could not escape. 
For the time being, Desmia, a simple commoner, was put on the throne as a decoy to protect the throne in Cecilia's absence. 
But, Cecilia is becoming a bit impatient with waiting for the darkness to disappear before she can claim the life of luxury that is meant to be hers. 
Finally fed up with the secrets and lies, Cecilia decides to go to the Palace of Mirrors, her rightful palace, and set things straight. Until she discovers that Desmia believes that she is the true princess. 

The Cake Book Tag

There are only two things that I am always in the mood for: books and cake. 

So I am happy to be participating in The Cake Book Tag. 

I was tagged by the amazing Erin @ The Hardcover Lover (who just got a totally awesome new design that you just have to check out!)

Top Ten Tuesday | 2015 Releases for the Rest of the Year

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Earlier in the year, we did our most anticipated debut books for 2015. At the time, we were mostly excited for books that released in the first half of the year (we blame our impatience and relatively short attention spans) Now, we are going to focus on the books that are releasing this fall and winter. 

Top Ten Tuesday | Top Ten Books We Need to See on a Screen

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by wonderful bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish. 

Today is all about movie and TV show adaptations. This has really been a hot topic with the flood of YA books that are going to the big screen, including all of John Green books, Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner, and a ton more. Unfortunately, these adaptations are hit and miss (I am talking about you, Insurgent). Since readers are the best judge of a book's ability to survive on the screen, we are sharing our top books that should be make into movies or a TV series.