End 2013 - Start 2014

It is, at last, the end of 2013 and the beginning of a new year that will hopefully be filled with wondrously wonderfully new books by all of our favorite authors!

It was not long ago that I decided to work on this little blog of mine. I've found out that being a full time university student takes a lot out of a person's day; so much in fact that reading in the pace I'm used to in the past is almost impossible! x.x

BUT! But but but...

Things will be different during 2014. New semester, new schedule. So what have I done? I've made sure that I would have plenty of time to read, blog, and be more involved in the book blogging community.

So farewell 2013! I'm ready to take on another year of reading, reading, and even more reading.

Happy Bookish Holidays

Happy Holidays everyone! I don't know what you celebrate exactly, but I know for a fact that t'is the time to appreciate books and their authors!

What did I wish for this Christmas? Books, duh! Books, books and more books! And I did get books, from myself? I suppose no one would know which ones I wanted better than me. xD

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday. And remember, the only way to make it a great holiday is to curl yourself up with a good book in hand.

Teaser Tuesdays - December 17

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

Re-reading an old favorite. <3

A Leave of Sorts

I have been absent for quite a bit of time, and I will continue to be absent for some time longer because of internet connection problems, and there's the subject of the anticipated finals.

But do not fret, I will be back in due time.

Teaser Tuesdays - November 19

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

Today's (really long) sentences are from a very very interesting story that I'm reading for and English course. Very very interesting...

Teaser Tuesdays - November 12

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

I've just realized that for weeks now, I've only been posting one sentence and not two. Silly me.

Fluent Fridays 2 - Picking Favorites

"What's your favorite book/series/author/etc?"

One of the hardest things about being a reader, I think, is having to pick favorites. Favorite books, favorite authors, covers, characters, etc.

I chose to briefly discuss the cruel concept of having to pick favorites because of the currently running Goodreads Choice Awards 2013.

Related: Goodreads Choice Awards 2013 - Opening

What makes it hard to pick who or what I love most about books? I think it's because there are so many options out there; we are surrounded by literature, and when we think we've fallen in love with one, a new book comes out and blows us all away!

For the longest time, I didn't have any novels that I would do anything to get my hands on. I mean, I (really really) liked a lot of them, re-read some of them a couple of times, but nothing ever err stirred my blood? o.o' That is, until I read a certain title called The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. And then I read and re-read and re-read and re-read Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes in one sitting. Immediately after, I discovered The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. All in the timeframe of a couple of months.

  

When it comes to series, I've fallen for so many this year. I'm obsessed, addicted, and consumed by the series and, by default, their authors:

The Raven Cycle
by Maggie Stiefvater

1 - The Raven Boys
2 - The Dream Thieves

I've lost count of how many times I've read The Raven Boys while I was waiting for The Dream Thieves to come out. And now I own the second Raven Cycle title which is signed and doodled on by Stiefvater herself!

Book 3 comes out sometime in 2014. Book 4? 2015. Which is not OK at all.

INEEDMOREGANSEYANDRONANANDBLUEINMYLIFE!!!

Throne of Glass

by Sarah J. Maas

1 - Throne of Glass

2 - Crown of Midnight (THE TWISTS)

Sarah J. Maas is a tremendously wonderful writer. And if you have never heard of or read this series yet, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? BUY THEM BOTH NAO!!

Books 3-6 come out from 2014-2017. TT.TT

The Selection

by Kiera Cass

1 - The Selection

2 - The Elite (Be prepared...)

3 - The One (May 6th, 2014)

Kiera Cass puts an interesting twist on the classic story of Cinderella. She is also a funny author who likes to connect (a lot) with her readers.

The Chronicles of Elantra

by Michelle Sagara/West

9 kickass books so far

10 - Cast in Flame (2014)

There's already 9 books out (with one expected to be published in 2014) and yet the story has JUST BEGUN. I own title 8, Cast in Peril ^^ but still haven't read title 9, Cast in Sorrow. Not by choice!

The Undead

by MaryJanice Davidson

12 heated titles so far

12 - Undead and Unsure

Vanpires and werewolves and all things that go bump in the night... This series is hilarious, bloody, and dirty. But mostly, it's hilarious and I love it all!

So would I say that these are my favorite books/series of all time? Yes but no. I feel like the term "favorite" is too limited. I am infatuated with the titles listed, but there are so many others that I will never forget and will never 'get over' because it's hard. And most of all, I don't want to have to pick this over that.

Why can't other people get that? Why do they expect me to have one that I prefer above all others? e.e 

Stop asking me that question.

Teaser Tuesdays (On a Thursday!) - November 7

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

I've been busy with school projects lately, but I will always find the time to read very entertaining books about the Roaring Twenties. Accidentally read the last volume of the series first a few of months ago. Oops.

GOODREADS Choice Awards 2013 - Opening

Hooray! The Goodreads Choice Awards 2013 is here!

The Very Bookish Event

The event is an awards show type of thing that happens once a year where readers vote for their favorite nominated book in any and every one of the categories.

This year, there are twenty (20) categories: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Horror, Memoir & Autobiography... *breathes* History & Biography, Nonfiction, Food & Cookbooks, Humor, Graphic Novels & Comics, Poetry, Debut Goodreads Author, Young Adult Fiction, Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction, Middle Grade & Children's, and Picture Books.

Wow, what a list! And the voting schedule is as shown below:

November 4 - 9                 Opening Round

November 11 - 16             Semifinal Round

November 18 - 25             Final Round

This is my first time participating because I didn't know it existed (my life was sad before Goodreads).

I'm extremely glad and proud that stuff like this exists in the bookish community.~

However... it makes me feel like I don't read enough?

I go into most of the categories and am like, "I HAVEN'T READ ANY OF THESE AWESOME BOOKS WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!?!"

I truly want to cry a little.

Some of the books I recognize and have originally had interest in them but never got the chance to add them to my TBR list. And it seems that my list is so full already (I call it virtually clutter, and having claustrophobia, this does not bode well for me).

But. But but BUT! I have decided that I will add at least one book from each of the categories to my TBR, maybe even more than that from the categories like Middle Grade & Children's, and Picture Books.

Which books did I vote for (so far) during the Opening Round?

And when I got to a Certain Category, I could no longer complain that I "don't know any of these titles!" because six of them are favorites.

This was the hardest decision I had yet to make this week...

For which title will you be rooting?

For This is the Night - October 2013 in Full

The picture is of a cosplayer, reading. Why a reading cosplayer? Because today is the last day of October and is Halloween night and this is a book blog! Although I do not participate in festivities like this... HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

(This picture is not mine)

What did we do in October?

Reviews

The Rules of Dreaming by Bruce Hartman
The Sharing Moon by Christy Campbell
Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Cover Reveals

Strange and Ever After (Something Strange and Deadly #3) by Susan Dennard

Events/Segments

Teaser Tuesdays - October 15

Teaser Tuesdays - October 22
Fluent Fridays - Why Will I Read Thee? I

Teaser Tuesdays - October 29

What's Next?

More reviews, of course. 

Reviews

Fearless/Sam/Run by Franscine Pascal

Lombaro's Amulet (Relics & Wonders #1) by Kevin Mullikin

The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Events/Segments

Teaser Tuesdays

What the WHAT?!? Wednesdays
Fluent Fridays

Currently Reading - Soul Thief/Forbidden by Jana Oliver, Dance of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

Recently Finished - Fearless/Sam/Run by Franscine Pascal

To be Read - Lombaro's Amulet (Relics & Wonders #1) by Kevin Mullikin, The Forever Ones (The Iduna Project) by Marjorie DeLuca

Teaser Tuesdays - October 29

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

This week's book (the entire series, really) is published with two different names... which I think is unnecessary.

Fluent Fridays 1 - Why Will I Read Thee? I

        Judging.

It's the thing of which most of us don't like to admit we're guilty. Why? We've always been told that it's "bad" for us, that we'll end up burning in the pits of hell or something if we do it. There are signs everywhere screaming "DON'T JUDGE!!!" I mean, we do it anyway and we know that every body else does it but we always act like we don't which is ridiculous. Well today, I have a confession to make...

The truth is, I judge a lot. Like, a lot; the amount of judging that demands the underlining of the words 'a lot'. If I didn't, there are a lot of books that I probably would have never read. Which brings me to ask the question - What motivates us to pick up certain books but not others?

For me, it's most often the cover of a book that's luring. It took me a while to realize that I judged books by their covers, though; It was such a shocking revelation! "What? I do this?!?!?" After contemplating whether or not to change this "bad" habit, I decided to pay more attention to it instead. What I found out was this:

I'm particularly fond of hardcover books with girls wearing flowing dresses featured on the cover. Which I find kind of weird... because it's so random? I don't know, it's just weird to me. What's weirder is the fact that more than half of every book I pick up was the same thing: girl, in flowing dress, flowing hair, dark atmosphere.

   

Furthermore, if there's a girl on the cover (or any body parts that suggests it's a girl), I will read it. No flowing anything required.

    

Seriously, my read list has been invaded by girls! Or more specifically, kick-ass chicks who don't know when to give up. And why am I so attracted to such covers? It's more than just "Oooh! It's so pretty!" (Although there is that, too). It's the power of femininity. I'm intrigued by it. I want to read about it and experience it every chance I get. We live on a world that's too crowded with males here and males there (I feel). We don't hear enough about women who did something that meant something even though they exist. And that, my friends, 'erks' me to the point where I have to go find such stories elsewhere.

Maybe it's a really unusual reason for deciding to read a book? But for me, this is how it starts: with the promise of the importance of a female role. And dresses. Lots and lots of dresses.

Teaser Tuesdays - October 22

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

Currently reading a really interesting and informational book that I wouldn't recommend to everyone, but...

The Fate of this Blog - September 2013 in Full

As weeks pass by, I have realized that I don't get to work on this blog that often at all. I don't post as many reviews as I should, or do anything that I would really want to do when it comes to blogging. The trouble? School. As a new college student, I'm finding it hard to have the time to do the things I want to do. Things are especially difficult because I commute to school by bus. I am blogging not only for my sake, but for (hopefully) the enjoyment of my fellow reader-peers. So, what can be done so that this blog will be saved? I have barely done anything to really make Forest of Words be part of the book blogging community, and I would HATE to have to end things now.

Teaser Tuesdays - September 24

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

This week, it's a random free Kindle book that I got from Amazon.

Teaser Tuesdays - September 10

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

This week, I'm participating in a Weekly Theme Reading Challenge on a Goodreads group. This week's theme is to read a "Contemporary" book, which I try to stray from, and I have decided to share a quote from my selection of a contemporary read.

Teaser Tuesdays - September 3

Teaser Tuesdays, a weekly bookish meme, is brought to you by Should Be Reading. This meme is where I will share two (2) random "teaser" sentences from a random page of whatever I'm currently reading and try to pull you guys in.

Want to play along?

•     Grab your current read
•     Open to a random page
•     Share two sentences from somewhere on that page
•     Be careful not to include spoilers
•     Share the title, author, and page of the book

For our very first Teaser Tuesdays...

Why Internet? - August 2013 in Full

My wireless router has flat-out refused to work for more than a week now, and the fact that (for reasons unknown) my pc refuses to connect to anything but wireless is even more baffling! What does this mean for FoW? It means that my schedule regarding the blog has been pushed back and back and back until who knows when. There are so many reviews that are just itching to be written and read, but I haven't had the chance to do so. My life as a college freshman is beginning, however, so I know I'll get all the internet access I need to allow this blog to live.