Top Ten Tuesday: Top 2017 Reads (so far)

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature/meme run by The Broke and the Bookish every week - I've taken part a few times previously but not in a while. And this weeks theme, as you can tell by the title, is a midway favorite books check in. I've read some great books so far this year and so am super looking forward to doing this list.

These are in any particular order - besides kinda being in the order I read them. (Also no rereads will be on this list) (and this is as of Monday June 26th, and I'm currently reading one I think could be on this list but not done quite yet)

• The Secret Lives of Rockstars by Suzanne Lazear

 I don't know what it was about this book that just made it click so much with me but I freaking loved this book. It was a little weird and I was just so into it. Our main character, Bitsy, is part of like a steampunk / punk band - there are costumes - and they're currently on tour. Also there's a whole underworld of fantasy creatures and shenanigans ensure (of course). And, for some reason, I just loved it? (goodreads)

• Binti + Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

You've probably heard people waxing poetry about Binti by now and it is nowhere near not deserved. This series, so far, has blown me away. It's gone in directions I didn't expect it to go, and just thoroughly amazed me. I am dying to read the third one and, also, to read something else by this author. I'm pretty sure she's officially an autobuy for me. After two novella's. (series goodreads)

• Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

This came out - I had no idea it was coming out - and so many people were freaking out about it that I just ended up picking it up because I knew: bi girl, conventions/YTers. And I go to, and love, conventions. And this didn't let me down? It was adorable and incredible. One of the characters is bisexual and Asian, another has anxiety and is on the autism spectrum. And I just - loved this? It was so cute at points I think I got cavities. (goodreads)

• Even This Page is White by Vivek Shraya

Whew. This was... a read. It was incredible - obviously, or it wouldn't be on this list - but it really reminded me to check myself. I'm constantly trying to better myself (I guess is the way to put it) and unlearn things society has tried to force on me. Generally, just be a person with empathy and I think I'm to that, but this poetry collection reminded me of how much I can't know because I'm white. Definitely recommend this one for all (goodreads)

• Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

This book. It's a YA contemporary and, for some reason, I never expect those to hit me in the gut but some of them do. This one, especially, for some reason. I think, probably, because there was no romance between our two main characters - one is bi, the other is demi. And it's said, on the page. He's still figuring it out but by the end: demisexual. I think I ascended to a higher plain of being? The friendships in this book, the characters, the WTNV references. Highly, highly recommend

(Trigger warnings: parental abuse (not to our POV character), dog death) (goodreads)

• Words of Radiance + Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

The Stormlight Archive series. Somehow, I' just never got around to the second one - I think I was mostly just terrified it couldn't live up to the first for me but also I get anxiety about books if I think about it too hard and never read them. The same with Bands of Mourning - Mistborn / Wax and Wayne #6. Neither disappointed, though, both were incredible. If you haven't checked out Sanderson yet: start with the original Mistborn trilogy, I promise it isn't as scary as it seems. Ignore the whole cosmere thing - just jump into that world first, you won't regret it. (stormlight) (mistborn)

• Injection, Volumes 1 + 2 by Warren Ellis, 

This series is fucking weird. And I love it. Technically I've read volume 1 previously but it felt weird to add volume 2 without 1, especially considering I can't really talk about volume 2. I don't even think I can explain the plot of this one. It's Warren Ellis and it has weird, fucked up elements. And I'm really, really hoping there's more? (series goodreads)

• Lumberjanes, Volumes 5 + 6 by Noelle Stevenson, 

This comic series is so good. It's just... so happy? It makes me feel like everything isn't going horribly wrong? They're battling problems but they can figure them out together and they're all adorable. There are bigger things lurking around the edges but, honestly, I'm fine with continuing with their camp adventures forever (literally forever. please never stop, Boom!) (series goodreads)

• 27 Hours by Tristina Wright

One of, if not my number one, most anticipated books of the year. It comes out in October and you've all have got to keep your eyes out for it. This book features five characters - 4/5 are PoC, 5/5 are queer (ones pan, ones gay, one ace, ones bi, one is trans and also not straight). And the plot isn't lacking in anyway, but the characters definitely kept me reading. They're just so... I love them? I want them to all be happy, together, and I just love them all together? For the actual plot - it's SciFi - goodreads.

(Honestly, I've read a lot of good books so far this read. Really good books. And I'm pretty sure this is my favorite of the whole year so far. And I'm sorry I'm shouting about it months before it comes out but I have a lot of feelings about it - October 3rd!!)

• Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee

I just was trying to decide between this one and others so I'm going to put honorable mentions down below. Anyway - this one. An asexual main character - the labels used. And there's a great flashback of her like basically googling and finding forums and just generally trying to learn about herself. (If memory serves both demisexual and greysexual are mentioned). And I just... this book was so fucking cute. And it made me so happy at the end even though it was predictable. (It also gave me severe Lizzie Bennet Diary vibes because of the webseries thing). (goodreads)

Honorable Mentions: Not Your Sidekick by C.B.Lee, Timekeeper by Tara Sim, Going Through the Motions (Stake Sauce #2) by RoAnna Sylver, Forest of Memory by Mary Robinette Kowal, So Sweet by Rebekah Weatherspoon, Defying Convention by Cecil Wilde, Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai, Sex Object by Jessica Valenti

Series Stuff (1) | All Finished Series (Through 2014)

I've been thinking about this for a while - about how there's so many questions about series. Which have you started? Which haven't you started? How many have you finished? Have you finished *insert popular series here*? And I was a little curious myself, I hadn't gone through and tallied everything, until now. Mostly because 2014 was such a good reading year for me that it made me even more excited to read and to talk about reading. First off, we're going to start with the series I've finished in this post (I was going to put it all of the information together, before realizing how freaking long the post would be.). I'm going to go by year, earliest to latest. (Also - I know there are probably some missing, I didn't always have Goodreads to keep a perfect track of everything. However, this is probably most of them).

Also, I'm going to put an overall series rating and I feel like I should put a disclaimer that some of these I finished many years ago, so it's fuzzy and I'm going off those fuzzy memories. I'd probably think a lot differently about quite a few of these series, giving how my reading taste has changed.

• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (5/5, 7 books. Still obsessed, of course, finished 2007)
• Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers (2/5, 4 books. My eyes have been opened to how abusive this relationship is, but it did get me into reading YA, which I didn't seem to know about until this series, finished 2008)
• Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya (5/5, 23 volumes. I devoured these after marathoning the show with some friends, who were obsessed. It was a - we're going down with this fandom and bringing you with us moment. And I'm currently surprised at how much this series affected me, I just reread it in 2014. It's funny, smart, strange, odd, quirky, heart-wrenching, and wonderful. Highly recommended. ?? - middle school)
• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (I almost forgot this one completely, somehow, but I'm sure there are others I have forgotten. Anyway - really enjoyed this series, did not enjoy the epilogue of 3. Finished 2010)
• Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr (4/5, 5 books. I love faerie books and these are dark and the second is what pushed my tattoo love to a slight obsession. I want to reread these books, finished 2011)
• Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan (5/5, 5 books. A ton of fun and I love these characters, probably the first series I marathoned straight through. Finished 2011).
• Strangely Beautiful by Leanna Renee Hieber (5/5, 3 books. I love this series, I might be a bit biased, looking back, as I read book one after spending a good chunk of time with Leanna, but these books are beautifully written, from my memory, and now I want to reread them. Finished 2011)
• Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (4/5, 3 books. Highly enjoyable and a lot of fun to read, and extremely interesting. I'd also love to reread this series. Finished 2011).
• Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld (5/5, 3 books. I don't see a lot of people talking about this series, but I loved it and really want to reread it. It's a fantastic, somewhat strange, and bitterly sweet series. Finished 2011).
• Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black, Tony DiTerlizzi (4/5, 5 books. Faeries, once again, and I marathoned this series during a read-a-thon, I believe, and it was a ton of fun. Finished 2013). (Also, did you notice a jump? Apparently I didn't finish any series in 2012? That's just embarrassing).
• Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (4/5, 7 books. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't enjoy this series as much. I gave most of them 5 stars, but reanalyzing what I remember, and seeing people talk about it... I had issues with the last book without thinking about it, they're just bigger now. It's still a good series, if you can ignore the heavy handed themes. Finished 2013)
• Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch (5/5, 5 books. I'd kind of like to reread this one, I remember it being hilarious and a kind of ride of 'I have no idea what's going on but I like it?' But also figuring it out after just confusion at first. A good series, very funny and smart and great characters. Finished 2013)

And now are the series I finished in 2014, which will probably be the most amount of series I ever finish in a year because I'm still confused how this happened.

• The Immortal Empire by Kate Locke (5/5, 3 books. Steampunk Victorian, with supernatural creatures of course. It was just - so good. And it's so pretty, the physical books but also the series. And I just kind of adore it).
• Maus Duology by Art Speilgelman (5/5, 2 graphic novels. This is a different series then all of the ones on this post so far. This one is.... kind of awful? In an emotional way because it's draining and the art style probably isn't for everyone, but I really understood what he was trying to do. These graphic novels are incredibly sad, poignant, and just really, really good).
• Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang (5/5, 2 graphic novels. About a time I haven't ever really read about, with some magical realism elements. Very good, strong, and almost hopelessly sad at points).
• Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (4/5, 3 books. Russian influenced high fantasy with enjoyable characters).
• The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (5/5. 3 books. Maybe my favorite series of the year? It surprised me. If you've read book one and felt a bit 'eh,' I'd suggest not stopping at one, book two is what picked up for me (and I waited between trying the first time and rereading, so I'm sure it was 'perfect time' kind of thing). That's what I did and I ended up loving this series. And this series hurts, you fall in love with these characters and, somehow, the way their emotions and emotional pain is described is just physically painful, you can feel their own pain. I loved it, no idea why because ow).
• Zita the Spacegirl by Dan (4/5, 3 books. Another graphic novel series, but this one is very different. There's a girl who finds herself on an alien planet and shenanigans ensue. It's a lot of fun and the characters are fantastic, and definitely not just the humans).
• The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (4/5, 6 books. I was a little surprised by this series in the end. I started it before the third book had come out, which was painful, and then I reread the first four in 2014 before continuing on. And it's so stupid at points, I'm sorry but they are they all so... teenager-y at points with their decisions and complaining, but I, overall, ended up enjoying it. They're fun, even if sometimes I wanted to strangle them).
• Anna and the French Kiss companion series by Stephanie Perkins (5/5, 3 books. I didn't expect to like these books because I've never been the biggest contemporary fan. Even though I've met the author and heard her read her embarrassing journal entries from when she was 17 to a room full of people. I ended up loving this series, Lola was probably my favorite, but I love this kind of thing, with other characters popping up).
• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (5/5, 3 books. I'm counting this as completed because it's the original trilogy, there are going to be two more trilogies in the same world, though. Anyway - fantastic series that will play with your emotions and wreck you. I highly recommend it).
• Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan (5/5, 5 books. I think the only reason I wasn't disappointed by the last book was because Nico has been a favorite character I've always wanted to learn more about. Also - Soloangelo. Just read this series - doesn't really focus on the PJ characters, but they're there, and the new characters are pretty fantastic).
• Curse Workers by Holly Black (5/5, 3 books. I read this series in like 7/8 hours and have no regrets. A fun, fantastic series - with characters with questionable morals, which I will fight anyone over who wishes they were moral).
• Kylie Ryans by Caisey Quinn (2/5, 3 books. I'm kind of ashamed this is on the list. Not because it's a new adult series, but because of how much I didn't like the books but kept reading them. Why? Because I make bad decisions when I can't sleep at 4am and these are like 200 pages. I'd only recommend this series if you like the idea and don't mind characters not communicating about their feelings. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't really enjoying them? I don't know, I'm confused as well).

And those are all of the series I've finished so far, which doesn't feel like a lot, at the moment. 23 series - completed, some to be reread probably. I think I'm going to make two more posts in this kind of series thing, well that I have planned, I'll probably post an update at the end of the year of the series completed. Two more posts about (1) series I've started but haven't completed and then (2) about series I haven't even touched yet. I thought of doing another about series I won't be continuing with, but I'll just include them in the started one, make it much easier, I think, and hopefully more organized.

So series! What ones have you finished? Which ones overlap with mine? And - any series you'd like to complete ASAP? 

Book and Audio Review: The Name of the Wind (Kindkiller Chronicles #1)

Title: The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles #1)
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: High Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
Page Count: 722 (mass market)
Publication Date: March 27th, 2007

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Innkeeper Kote narrates most of his tale to the Chronicler. Kvothe, when his family troupe of traveling players is massacred, spends years starving, beaten beyond count, in a crime-ridden city, then daringly enters a legendary school of magic.

Review:
I started this book one day by randomly starting to listen to the audiobook and got completely sucked in. I have a lot of problems with audiobooks, normally I can't focus on them to save my life - but there are just certain narrators who suck me in. This one, Nick Podhel, was amazing, completely fantastic. His voice and Rothfuss' words were perfect together.

I half-read, half-listened (I think more towards physical), and I kind of wished I'd been able to listen to more of it, but I enjoyed it in both forms a lot. Even though it took me forever to finish - because I was enjoying it and it was really, really good, but it's dense and long. It's beautifully written, poetic and beautiful, but it makes it a slow read. Although, I don't think that's a bad thing because I enjoyed being able to take my time with this, not rush through it, just - enjoy it and relax.

The story itself is incredible - the characters, the plot, the storytelling - and I found myself not sure if I wanted Kvothe to keep telling his story or if I wanted to read about him and Bast and Chronicler in 'present times.'

Overall thoughts? Read this book. My physical copy has one of my favorite stories behind it* and it's a fantastic and fantastical book, and I don't think you should know more then that.

*we were in Portland, in Powells in 2013 (LeakyCon) and there was this guy trying to get a girl to buy Ready Player One. And, as we were walking by, I added (as did Haley) that it was a fantastic book and she should read it. And he immediately turned and went "have you read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss?" and I told him no. And he told me to go and read it and I wouldn't regret it because it was phenomenal. So... I did, my copy has the Powells price sticker on the back. Thank you, random book recommending stranger.