Top Ten Tuesday #3

You can find out all about Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and Bookish Blog

Top Ten Books I HAD to Buy...But Are Still Sitting on My Shelf Un-read!

Haha! Be glad this is a list of 10 or you could be here aaaaaaaall day ;)

1. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

2. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson - it seems like everyone has read this book!

3. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon - I finished Outlander (or Cross Stitch) but then I left too long between finishing it and getting my hands on Dragonfly in Amber so I still have to read it. Maybe there is a re-read of Outlander in my near future?)

4. Seeing Redd (Book 2 - The Looking Glass Wars) by Frank Beddor - another case of reading book 1 and leaving too long to get hold of the 2nd. By the time I got it I had lost any sense of urgency I had to read it. 

5. Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson - It seemed like a good idea at the time... *whistles*

6. Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris

7. The Time Machine/The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

8. I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett - I LOVED the first 3 books in the Tiffany Aching series, but there was too much of a gap between the 3rd and the 4th. I jumped to but it but I have been dragging me feet to read it ever since. 

9 & 10. Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay and Between the Lines by Jodi Piccoult and Samantha Van Leer

These are both books that I LOVED the idea off and just haven't got round to yet. *scuffs floor*

I haven't seen the Dexter TV series either so it is going to be a complete surprise when I get round to reading it! :)

Happy Tuesday y'all! Hope you have a good and safe week!

A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons (How to Train Your Dragon Bk #6) by Cressida Cowell

It's Hiccup's birthday, but that's not going to keep him from getting into trouble. To save his dragon, Toothless, from being banished, Hiccup must sneak into the Meathead Public Library and steal the Viking's most sacred book. But the Vikings see books as a dangerous influence, and keep them locked up and under heavy guard. To save his friend, Hiccup must brave the Hairy Scary Librarian and his dreadful army of Meathead Warriors and face off against the formidable Driller-Dragons. Will he make it out and live to see his next birthday?

(Description from Goodreads)

Thumbs Up

In Hiccup’s world books are seen as ‘a highly dangerous civilising influence’ and because of this they are kept in the Meathead Public Library – a castle guarded by hundreds of men, driller dragons and, worse of all, the Hairy Scary Librarian who will actually kill you if he catches you. And thanks to Toothless destroying ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ by Professor Yobbish (that Gobber the Belch stole from the library) Camacazi , Hiccup and Fishlegs set themselves a mission – to get a replacement from the library.

I love how Camacazi, Fishlegs and Hiccup are all becoming closer to each other even though Camacazi’s mother is the chief of another tribe she is game for anything and jumps right in with Hiccup and Fishlegs when they are in need of help.

Thumbs Down

With this book there isn’t a great deal of pages dedicated to the story. There is about 200 pages of story and then a good chunk at the back of the book is made up of ‘Dragon Profiles’ and a ‘Dragonese Dictionary’ – fantastic fun for younger readers! (Ok, I admit I tried some dragon lingo out on my mum, she just looked at me funny,”

“You dear reader, I am sure cannot imagine what it is like to live in a world in which books are banned.
For surely, such things will never happen in the Future?Thank Thor that you live in a time and a place where people have the right to live and think and write and read their books in peace and there are no needs or Heroes anymore…And spare a thought for those who have not been so lucky. “

Top Ten Tuesday #2

You can find out all about Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and Bookish Blog

Top Ten Books on My Spring 2013 TBR List!

I am assuming this is books that I want to read in the spring and not books that are coming out in the spring that I want to read, yeah?

Well, I'll work on that assumption. 

I have a TBR pile that will kill me in my sleep should it ever fall over (no change there) but there are some books that I am wanting read and out the pile. 

1 & 2. How to Steal a Dragon's Sword and How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel by Cressida Cowell

This is book 9 and 10 in the How to Train Your Dragon Series! Believe me when I tell you it is a miracle I have stuck with this series. Not because there is anything wrong with the books! But because my attention tends to wander - most of the series I read have 6 books max!

3 & 4. The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie R. King and Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch

Both of these books are the first in a series and I have been meaning to re-read them for months so I can re-fresh my memory (and love for them - they were AMAZING) and read the rest! 

5 & 6. Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

I read and thoroughly enjoyed Hunger Games but I couldn't get any further than page 100 (or so) in Catching Fire. But they are still sitting on my shelf eating up space. The one thing that is putting me off bunging then in the 2nd hand-shop box is that so many people have told me that Catching Fire was their favourite of the series. 

I am going to try and give them one more try!

7. Misery by Stephen King

I have never read a Stephen King - I don't like watching horror so reading it is an absolute NONO in my books. 

But it seems like everyone has read at least 1 so I picked what I could figure was a not so freaky one. 

Once I have read this I can officially say I have read a Stephen King novel. 

8. Jaws by Peter Benchley

DUDE! Just look at the cover! Classic!

(enough to put me off of open water for life)

9. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

I seriously need to get this read already!

(I love the old-school fantasy covers that have a scene (or character) out of the book :))

10. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I am going to surprise myself with number ten I think! :)

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Dear Dork (Dork Diaries Bk #5) by Rachel Renee Russell

Nikki Maxwell develops a sudden interest in student journalism that may or may not (okay, definitely does) have to do with the fact that mean girl Mackenzie has started writing a gossip column. And there just might be some juicy info involving Nikki's crush, Brandon, that Nikki doesn't want Mackenzie reporting to the world. So Nikki joins the school newspaper staff--and ends up as an advice columnist! It's fun at first, answering other kids' letters. But when Miss Know-It-All's inbox is suddenly overflowing with pleas for guidance, Nikki feels in need of some help herself. Fortunately she has BFFs Chloe and Zoey on her side--and at her keyboard!

(Image and Description from Goodreads)

Umm…to say that I bought this book a few days after it came out – because I loooove the series – it has taken me almost 4 months to finish reading it. Yeah…

Thumbs Up

The artwork is just as amazing as ever. The pictures work as brilliantly as they always have at portraying what is going on in Nikki’s head.

Thumbs Down

Nikki’s immature attitude to thing started to grate.

A prime example of this is her lying to her father about where he is to pick her up from a party. Why? Because she doesn’t want anyone to see her being picked up in his works van – because he is an exterminator it has a giant bug on the top. So she writes down the wrong house number. This would have been fine but the house number doesn’t even exist on the street she is on. But she lets her dad keep thinking that it is HIS fault that he got the address all screwed up.

I could have slapped her!

And then there is the whole drama that was going on through the book where she thinks that she is going to be thrown out of school. Blah, blah, blah. Drama that (by the way) she brought on herself.

I just couldn’t bring myself to care enough about what was happening to her.

Final Thoughts

I just didn’t like this book as much as I have the others.

I was really disappointed in it, which made me kind-a sad as this is a series I have grabbed since the first book. I was loving the series so I don’t know what magic was missing from this one but I just didn’t care a fig abut Nikki. I didn’t care if she was expelled (actually I think she would have deserved to face some kind of consequences), it just didn’t interest me.

I am really hoping that the next book will do the trick when it comes out in the summer. 

Top Ten Tuesday #1

I am taking a wee break from re-painting my room to do this - I have half an hour to wait until the paint dries and I can move the furniture :) It is going to look so pretty! Eeeeek.

Anyhoo.

You can find out all about Top Ten Tuesday at the Broke and Bookish Blog :)

Top Ten Series I'd Like To Start But Haven't Yet

(pssst like 8 of these are already all on my shelf waiting to be read or I have the first book :))

1. Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin

(I have the first 2)

I think this one really goes without saying! I have only seen clips of the tv series - I want to read the books before I see the series (yes, I am one of those 'that's not how it was in the book' kind of people ;)) - and it all looks EPIC! 

PS - I think I am going to turn out to be a Sandor/Sansa lover. Just saying...

2. Lily Bard Mysteries by Charlaine Harris

(I have them all *faints*)

Soooooo these were being sold nice and cheap by the Book People so I have had the whole series on my shelf for *cough* and embarrassingly loooooong time. 

It seemed like a good idea at the time and I was going though a crime phase. 

3. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George

(I have them all - 3 of them :)) 

Woohoo. I love me some dragons! And dragon stories with a girl as the main character are even better!

4. Doona by Anne McCaffrey 

(I have the 3 of them)

I just stumbled across this series by accident when I was checking out Anne McCaffrey's back-list.

5. Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell

(I have the 3 - again, it seemed like a good idea at the time CURSE YOU EBAY)
I was going through an Anne McCaffrey phase but I wasn't in an Anne McCaffrey mood and so I ended up with all of these instead. Of course, by the time they dropped through the letter box I had moved onto something else. Still, I can't wait to get stuck into them when I get the chance.







6. Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

(I have the first book)
I was in search of something to replace the How to Train Your Dragon series after I finished book 10 and thought I would give this a try :)









7. Parasol Protectorate Series by Gail Carrigar

(I have the first book)
This is a series that a friend of mine has been going on, and on, and one about for years but I kept smiling and nodding my head when she talked about it and then putting it out of my head - vamps etc aren't really my thing. But after becoming just a little but addicted to Kresley Cole's Series I figured I would give them a shot.
I have a feeling this is going to be a book I will be kicking myself for not picking up sooner.





Now it is time for books I don't have. Phew!

8. The Dark Tower by Stephen King

I am wanting to broaden my reading and I think this would be a good way to do that :)










9. Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter

This group was mentioned in one of the Immortals After Dark books so I would love to check them out and see is Nix (favouritest character EVER!) makes an appearance.








10. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein

I LOVE fantasy but I have never, ever, ever read the Lord of the Rings (or the Hobbit - shhh don't tell anyone). I am hoping to fix that this years though :)










Ok, break over and back to painting and furniture shifting.

Tatty Bye! :)