Stacking the Shelves: The Yearly Edition 2015

Tags

A Court of Thorns and Roses, Alexandra Bracken, Alienated, All Fall Down, All the Rage, Ally Carter, Ambelin Kwaymullina, Amie Kaufman, Amy Ewing, An Ember in the Ashes, Barry Jonsberg, Because You'll Never Meet Me, Bright Before Sunrise, Brigid Kemmerer, Champion, Cloudwish, Courtney Summers, Cynthia Hand, Dawn Kurtagich, Dead of Winter, Demon Road, Derek Landy, Dreams of Gods and Monsters, Ellie Marney, Every Move, Every Word, Far From You, Fiona Wood, Fleur Ferris, Frostbite, Half Wild, Happily Ever After, Harry Potter, Harry Potter Illustrated Edition, Hold Me Like a Breath, Holly Black, Illuminae, Illusions of Fate, In the Afterlight, In The Skin of a Monster, J.K. Rowling, James Smythe, Jane Austen, Jay Kristoff, John Flanagan, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Julie Kagawa, Justine Larbalestier, Kady Cross, Kathryn Barker, Kerstin Gier, Kiera Cass, Kiersten White, Kresley Cole, Laini Taylor, Lair of Dreams, Lauren James, Lauren Oliver, Leah Thomas, Legend, Leslye Walton, Libba Bray, Lisa M. Stasse, Maggie Stiefvater, Magnus Chase, Magonia, Margo Lanagan, Maria Dahvana Headley, Marie Lu, Meagan Spooner, Megan Miranda, Melinda Salisbury, Melissa Grey, Melissa Landers, Miss Mayhem, Pandora Jones, Panic, Percy Jackson, Pittacus Lore, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Prodigy, Queen of Shadows, Rachael Craw, Rachel Hawkins, Ranger's Apprentice, Razorhurst, Rebel Belle, Red Queen, Renee Ahdieh, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Risk, Rogue, Ruby Red, Sabaa Tahir, Sally Green, Sarah J. Maas, Sea Hearts, Shadow Kiss, Shiver, Sisters of Blood and Spirit, Skulduggery Pleasant, Soman Chainani, Sophie Jordan, Soulprint, Spark, Star Wars, Stephanie Oakes, Stray, Susanna Clarke, Tess Sharpe, The Darkest Part of the Forest, The Dead House, The Diviners, The Dream Thieves, The Fate of Ten, The Foretelling of Georgie Spider, The Forsaken, The Girl at Midnight, The Heir, The Iron Warrior, The Jewel, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, The Next Together, The Raven Boys, The Ruby Circle, The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, The School of Good and Evil, The Scorpio Races, The Sin Eater's Daughter, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, The Wrath and the Dawn, These Broken Stars, Thicker Than Water, Tiffany Schmidt, Trish Doller, Uninvited, Vampire Academy, Vanishing Girls, Victoria Aveyard, Way Down Dark, Where the Stars Still Shine

Stacking the Shelves is a thing where we talk about the books we’ve collected in the past week. These can be bought, delivered, ARCs, ebooks, etc.. Pretty self-explanatory.
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tygna’s Reviews

When I did this last year, it was so much fun I just had to do it again.

So, here are ALL the books I obtained throughout the year 2015.

Books Bought:

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, by Leslye Walton
Illusions of Fate, by Kiersten White
Hold Me Like a Breath, by Tiffany Schmidt
An Ember in the Ashes, by Sabaa Tahir
Illuminae, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Magonia, by Maria Dahvana Headley
Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
The Ruby Circle, by Richelle Mead
The Diviners, by Libba Bray
Lair of Dreams, by Libba Bray
Way Down Dark, by James Smythe
The Darkest Part of the Forest, by Holly Black
Pandora Jones: Admission, by Barry Jonsberg
The Last Time We Say Goodbye, by Cynthia Hand
Razorhurst, by Justine Larbalestier
Alienated, by Melissa Landers
Sea Hearts, by Margo Lanagan
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, by Stephanie Oakes
These Broken Stars, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh
The Dead House, by Dawn Kurtagich
Vanishing Girls, by Lauren Oliver
Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes, by Rick Riordan
All Fall Down, by Ally Carter
Ruby Red, by  Kerstin Gier
The Sword of Summer, by Rick Riordan
Rebel Belle, by Rachel Hawkins
Miss Mayhem, by Rachel Hawkins
The Fate of Ten, by Pittacus Lore
In the Afterlight, by Alexandra Bracken
Every Word, by Ellie Marney
Every Move, by Ellie Marney
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J.K. Rowling (new edition)
Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope, by Ian Doesher
Vampire Academy: Graphic Novel
Frostbite: Graphic Novel
Shadow Kiss: Graphic Novel
Legend: Graphic Novel
Sisters of Blood and Spirit, by Kady Cross
Far From You, by Tess Sharpe
The Sin Eater’s Daughter, by Melinda Salisbury
Uninvited, by Sophie Jordan
Soulprint, by Megan Miranda
In The Skin of a Monster, by Kathryn Barker
The Girl At Midnight, by Melissa Grey
The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater
The Dream Thieves, by Maggie Stiefvater
Risk, by Fleur Ferris
Ranger’s Apprentice #1, by John Flanagan
Because You’ll Never Meet Me, by Leah Thomas
Skulduggery Pleasant books, by Derek Landy
The School of Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani
Dreams of Gods and Monsters, by Laini Taylor
Rogue, by Julie Kagawa
Happily Ever After, by Kiera Cass
The Heir, by Kiera Cass
Half Wild, by Sally Green
Prodigy, by Marie Lu
The Foretelling of Georgie Spider, by Ambelin Kwaymullina
Queen of Shadows, by Sarah J. Maas
Box Set of Puffin Classics, various authors
Harry Potter Illustrated edition

The Shiver Trilogy, by Maggie Stiefvater
The Scorpio races, by Maggie Stiefvater
Champion, by Marie Lu

Books Won:

The Jewel*, by Amy Ewing
Spark*, by Rachel Craw
The Iron Warrior, by Julie Kagawa
Demon Road (signed ARC), by Derek Landy
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
Cloudwish, by Fiona Wood
In the Afterlight (signed), by Alexandra Bracken

I also somehow ended up getting a bowling ball.

*Won in 2014, received in 2015

Miscellaneous:

ARCs and Review Copies (requested and surprise):

Bright Before Sunrise, by Tiffany Schmidt
Where the Stars Still Shine, by Trish Doller
Stray, by Rachael Craw
The Next Together, by Lauren James
Thicker Than Water, by Brigid Kemmerer
A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, by Stephanie Oakes
The Sword of Summer, by Rick Riordan

Books I got through BooksForTradeAU:

Pandora Jones: Deception, by Barry Johansberg
Pandora Jones: Reckoning, by Barry Johansberg
The Forsaken, by Lisa M. Stasse
Cinder (ARC), by Marissa Meyer (Not pictured)

Presents (Birthdays, Christmas, etc.):

Panic, by Lauren Oliver
Dead of Winter, by Kresley Cole
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen)

Books I got for free (through various means):

White Time, by Margo Lanagan
All The Rage, by Courtney Summers
The Lost and the Found, by Cat Clarke
This Raging Light, by Estelle Laure
Pompidou Posse, by Sarah Lotz
Dumplin’, by Julie Murphy
Running Like China, by Sophie Hardcastle
We All Looked Up, by Tommy Wallach
Hidden, by Marianne Curley
The Astrologer’s Daughter, by Rebecca Lim
Lifespan of Starlight, by Thalia Kalkipsakis
State of Grace, by Hilary Badger
Cooper Bartholomew is Dead, by Rebecca James

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So…that was all the books I got my hands on 2015.

How was every one else’s year?

The Liebster Award

Tags

Amy Zhang, Bloodlines, Divergent, Falling into Place, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, J.K. Rowling, Kasie West, Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin, Percy Jackson, Pivot Point, Rick Riordan, Sarah J. Maas, Suzanne Collins, Throne of Glass, Vampire Academy, Veronica Roth

Funny story, this is actually the first thing I was nominated to do (so very long ago). It was also the last tag-thing I had to do, but then Monday’s post got delayed, so there’s on more coming.

I was nominated by Always Opinionated Girl, and now I have to answer these questions:

1. Which fictional character are you most like?

As I said in yesterday’s post, Luna Lovegood.

2. Which fandoms are you in?

Hahahaha…so many…
Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Vampire Academy, Hunger Games, Divergent, Mara Dyer…

Basically, this is my computer background.

3. What is your favourite book cover?

I love most book covers SO MUCH! I have no idea how I’m supposed to choose.

4. Which 5 books would you take with you to a desert island?

*sobs* Only five!?
I’m going to change this question to ‘series’…
Harry Potter
Percy Jackson (including Heroes of Olympus)
Vampire Academy (including Bloodlines)
The Mara Dyer trilogy
Throne of Glass series

5. What is your favourite children’s picture book?

I don’t remember a lot, but I remember loving the Franklin books.

And my favourite one I’ve read recently is Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and Grumpy Little King.

6. What do you like most and like least about book blogging?

Like Most- talking about books with people who understand books’ awesomeness.

Like least- The time consumingness (which is totally a word)

7. When was the last time you cried reading a book?

I cry very easily in books, but the most recent read that made me cry was Falling into Place, by Amy Zhang.

8. Which book are you most embarrassed to say you haven’t read?

I’m not embarrassed about not reading books…because it’s almost always a case of ‘haven’t read it…yet’.
Although some people act like I should be ashamed that I’ve read no John Green.

9. Why and when did you decide to start your blog?

I’d wanted to start for a few years, but I didn’t really get into it until earlier this year, shortly after #PTALive Sydney

10. What are three things about you that not many people know?

I find these questions hard, because I never know what to say…

a) I used to play muggle Quidditch, but quit because it was too social.

b) I love pop music from the late 90s, early 00s.

c) I got twitter so that I could enter a book giveaway, which I didn’t win.

11. What one book would you recommend I read?

Only One!?!? Probably The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin. Or Pivot Point, by Kasie West.

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Ok, now I’m supposed to nominate people to complete another 11 questions.

I think we’ve established that I’m lazy, and so instead of nominating specific people, I’m just going to say, if you want to do this, then go ahead.

And these are the questions:
1. How did you get into blogging?
2. Which types of books do you prefer (ebook, audiobooks, ‘real’ books, etc.)?
3. How do you sort your bookshelves (alphabetically, rainbow, genre, etc.)?
4. What’s your opinion on ebooks, kindles, etc. (love them, hate them, indifferent)?
5. Do you prefer buying books, or borrowing them from the library, friends, etc.?
6. Would you buy a book after you’ve read it?
7. Do you like owning complete series? Or are you happy to only own 1 or 2 books from a series (and borrow the rest)?
8. Do you ever DNF (Did Not Finish) books? If so, do you write DNF reviews?
9. Have you ever read the end/last page of a book early, just to see how it ends? Or have you ever looked the ending up on wikipedia (or a similar website)?
10. Have you ever been waiting for a book, only to accidentally read a massive spoiler online before you could get to read it?
11. What are some books that you would recommend to anyone/everyone?

If you’re lazy, like me, or if you’ve already done it, then just choose one or two of the above questions and answer it in the comments.

 

Top Ten Books that have Stayed With Me

Tags

Bloodlines, Blue Lily Lily Blue, Brigid Kemmerer, Cassandra Clare, City of Bones, Divergent, Gayle Forman, Gillian Rubenstein, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, If I Stay, J.K. Rowling, Maggie Stiefvater, Percy Jackson, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Space Demons, Spark, Suzanne Collins, Vampire Academy, Veronica Roth

I was tagged to do this one a little more recently than the others by the lovely Renee, who hangs out on Tumblr at Book Boyfriends. Now, I must talk about 10 books that have stayed with me. Let’s do this.

1. Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling

I think this sort of goes without saying…

2. Percy Jackson, by Rick Riordan

This series is the reason my sister reads. I will be forever thankful to Rick Riordan for writing these books.

3. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

This book was basically my ‘Welcome to Dystopian! There are things other than Twilight out there!” Before reading Hunger Games, I pretty much exclusively read Harry Potter and Twilight. There were other books, but The Hunger Games pretty much is the reason I read such a range.

4. City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare

Anyone who saw my series review of these books a few months ago will know that I have very mixed feelings about this series. But I think the fact that I read City of Heavenly Fire months ago, and am still thinking about all the issues I had with it warrants it a spot on this list.

5. Spark, by Brigid Kemmerer

I am constantly going back and rereading this, and it makes me cry every single time.

6. Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Every now and then I’ll almost start crying on the train because of the ending, but this was still a truly great series.

7. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman

If there is anyone who has read this book and it hasn’t stayed with them, I want to meet that person and ask them what is wrong with them.

8. Vampire Academy/Bloodlines, by Richelle Mead

I only began reading these in March this year, but I LOVE THESE BOOKS!!!

9. Space Demons, by Gillian Rubenstein

I have a bit of a funny history with this book, because we were in year 7 and we had to pick an Aussie author’s name out of a hat, and research that author and write a book report on one of their books. I got Gillian Rubenstein. Now, I did the assignment and everything (using a different book, who’s name I can’t remember), but then later went back to read more by this author. I immediately dismissed Space Demons because of the name. I then saw a book called Skymaze, which looked interesting until I realised it was the sequel to Space Demons. The same thing happened with Shinkei. So I was like “Fine. I’ll read Space Demons!” And I loved it. And I still love it, 8 years later.

10. Blue Lily, Lily Blue, by Maggie Stiefvater

This whole series, actually, but BLLB is my favourite (so far…there’s one more to go). They are just so amazing, and so different, and I just love them.

Top Ten Tuesday

Tags

Bloodlines, Books I Want To Reread, Divergent, Harry Potter, Hex Hall, Hunger Games, J.K. Rowling, Julie Kagawa, Let the Sky Fall, Lorien Legacies, Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin, Percy Jackson, Pittacus Lore, Rachel Hawkins, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Shannon Messenger, Suzanne Collins, The Iron Fey, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampire Academy, Veronica Roth

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Series I Want To Reread

I’m just going to start by saying that if I’ve read the book/series, chances are, I want to reread it.

1. The Harry Potter series
Yes, I am aware that I’ve already read it 9 times. However, the last time I actually got a chance to read through them was several years ago. I miss them.

2. The Percy Jackson series
I’ve only read this series 3 times, and again, it’s been a few years since the last read through.

3. The Vampire Academy series
I only read this for the first time in March, and since then I’ve been constantly rereading my favourite bits from both VA and Bloodlines, but I would love to be able to sit and just read through the whole thing again.

4. The Hunger Games trilogy
The movie’s coming out soon…

5. The Divergent trilogy
I loved Divergent and Insurgent so very much. Allegiant, not quite as much (and not just because of the ending). However, because of that ending, I haven’t actually been able to bring myself to reread the series since, and I really want to.

6. The Lorien Legacies series
I remember enough that I should be able to read Revenge of Seven without too many issues, but I would love to be able to read through them all again.

7. The Iron Fey series
Man, I miss this series. Seriously. I would love to have time to read it again.

8. The Mara Dyer trilogy
After a YEAR of waiting, RETRIBUTION IS HERE!!!
(seriously, it comes out today).
But, yeah, I love this series.

9. The Hex Hall trilogy
This was a great trilogy…unfortunately, the ‘spin-off’ series only has one book…and there’s unlikely to be more. But the original series is SO AWESOME!

10. Let the Sky Fall trilogy
No idea when book 3 is coming out, but the first two were SO GOOD!

Top Ten Tuesday

Tags

172 Hours on the Moon, Bookish locations, Everneath, Harry Potter, Masquerade, Percy Jackson, The Forsaken, The Iron Fey, Throne of Glass, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampire Academy, Wonderland

Top Ten Tuesday is a thing where we get given a topic, and we have to list our ‘top ten’ things for the topic. Pretty self-explanatory.
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit
I’m splitting this into two this week: places I want to go, and places I don’t want to go

5 Places Books Have Made Me Want to Visit

1. Hogwarts
As seen in Harry Potter. I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to go there?

2. New York
There are so many books set in New York, and I’ve never been there.
Honestly, it’s just a life goal of mine to ask the guy at the Empire State Building for a key to level 600.

3. Venice
As seen in Masquerade. I mean, come on. Who doesn’t want to go there?

4. Russia/Siberia
Just, the way it was described in the Vampire Academy series made me really want to go there.

5. Wonderland
I mean, some retellings make me really NOT want to go there, but other ones make me want to go…this ones more of an ‘on the fence’ type place.

5 Places Books have made me want to stay far away from

6. Adarlan
From the Throne of Glass series. Seriously, with a king like that, I’m never going there.

7. The Never Never
From the Iron Fey series. I mean, on the one hand it sounds interesting, but some of the things that happen there…

8. The Moon
So, in the book 172 Hours on the Moon, there’s this thing which goes around killing people…So, yeah, I’m never going there.

9. The Everneath
From the book Everneath…considering the reason people go there is to have their souls taken away…

10. The Wheel
In the book The Forsaken, when the government doesn’t like people they send them to The Wheel, where the average life expectancy is 2 years.

So…books haven’t yet made me want to stay away from any real places (except the moon, but let’s face it, I’m never going there anyway…), which I suppose is a good thing…

Top Ten Tuesday

Tags

Blood of Eden, Bloodlines, Cassandra Clare, Deltora Quest, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Emily Rodda, Harry Potter, Heroes of Olympus, J.K. Rowling, Julie Kagawa, Kiersten White, Lorien Legacies, Melody Carlson, Percy Jackson, Pittacus, Richelle Mead, Rick Riordan, Rondo, Sister Assassin, Supernaturally, Talon, Ted Dekker, The Infernal Devices, The Iron Fey, The Mortal, Top Ten Tuesday, Vampire Academy

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

This Week’s Topic: Top Ten Authors I own the most books from

1. Julie Kagawa
I own all of The Iron Fey and all of the Blood of Eden…I am now anxiously awaiting Talon.
Julie Kagawa has her own shelf in my bookshelves (there are 10 so far).

2. Richelle Mead
I have all the Vampire Academy books and all the Bloodlines books…as of today (Silver Shadows is coming out), that will make my total of her books 11.

3. Rick Riordan
I own all the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus books. I am yet to own the Kane Chronicles. That makes 9 of his books.

4. Cassandra Clare
I have all of The Mortal Instruments and all The Infernal Devices. And The Shadow Hunter’s Codex. That makes 10. I’m probably not going to buy The Dark Artifices, though. I’ll borrow it, and if it’s really good, then I’ll consider buying it.

5. Melody Carlson
I have the entire Diary of A Teenage Girl series, which makes 16 books.

6. Emily Rodda
Because I have all the Deltora Quest in Omnibus form, it looks like I’ve only got 6 books by her, but in reality, I have 4 series. (I have the Rondo series as separate books). So, in reality, I have 18 of her books.

7. Ted Dekker
I have a few of his series in omnibus, but I haven’t read half of them. Counting all of them individually, I have 13. I have read 6 1/2.

8. Pittacus Lore
I have all the Lorien Legacies, including the first Lost Files (the 2nd Lost Files is not yet available in Aus). This brings the total to 5. Come August, this number will increase.

9. Kiersten White
I have the Supernaturally Trilogy and both Mind Games books (although in Australia, Mind Games goes by the name Sister Assassin). This brings my total of Kiersten White books to 5.

10. J.K. Rowling
I own all the Harry Potter books, plus the textbooks. This brings my total to 10.