Have I Read You Yet?

Hey'a, everyone! I'm currently recovering from getting my wisdom teeth out, so weekend Sarah wrote and scheduled this post to save midweek Sarah a bit of stress. (Note from midweek Sarah: reports of wisdom-teeth-recovery-frustration were greatly exaggerated. The fact that I'm staying off any strong pain meds probably helps. But since weekend Sarah went to all the trouble . . . on with the post!)

So, four years ago (plus a few days), I wrote a Top Ten Tuesdays post about popular authors whose books I'd never read. Having recently rediscovered said post, I thought that revisiting it would be fun so I could see how many of those popular authors I've now read and how many I still haven't.

Have I Read You Yet?

1. The Author: J.K. Rowling

I said then: "Harry Potter is one of the few series that my parents have ever specifically said I'm not allowed to read. I'm ok with that."

Have I read her?: So, I seriously planned to go my entire life without reading Harry Potter . . . but then, one by one, friends who I knew and trusted read it and told me how awesome it was. And somehow, I ended up reading so many theories and headcanons and fanfics and "Friendly reminder that . . ." posts that I basically knew most of the in-jokes and a fair bit of the plot. And at that point, I was curious enough to say that, if I was going to know this much about the fandom and be this invested in it, I might as well just join it. So I'm currently reading the series, though I'm a bit stuck between books 3 and 4 because of schoolwork and reviews and travel. (So far, Lupin, Sirius, and the Weasleys are the best, though I'm not as in love with the novels as I would be had I read them earlier.)

2. The Author: Rick Riordan 

I said then: "The whole descendants-of-gods thing kind of turned me off. It's one thing when it's the actual mythology; it's another when it's set in modern day."

Have I read him? Again, I was planning to never actually read these . . . but then friends kept talking about how great they are, even more so than Harry Potter. And my roommate happens to be a huge fan of these, and these happened to be the most easily accessible urban fantasy, plus I was on a Greek kick last school year, and . . . yeah. They're pretty awesome, or the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series are. I haven't read the Trials of Apollo or Magnus Chase yet, and I'm not sure if I will.

3. The Author: Ally Carter

I said then: "I've said a few times that I'm going to try one of her books. It obviously hasn't happened yet."

Have I read her? Yep. Heist Society is pretty fun and I might eventually reread it one of these days. Gallagher Girls I wasn't as impressed with, but it was still fairly enjoyable.

4. The Author: John Green

I said then: "No, I haven't even read The Fault in Our Stars. I don't plan on changing that. There are other books that interest me much more."

Have I read him? Still haven't read The Fault in Our Stars, but I did read Turtles All the Way Down and really enjoyed it! Plus I'm an avid vlogbrothers watcher, so there's that. 

5. The Author: William Shakespeare

I said then: I've read several adaptations of his work, but never the actual plays. I will have by the end of this school year, though. Romeo and Juliet I'll be reading for literature, and I still want to read Hamlet at some point too."

Have I read him? Yes. I've read Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Much Ado About Nothing, plus I listened to a dramatization of A Midsummer Night's Dream. So far, Much Ado is my absolute favorite, mostly because the hate-to-love trope is so much fun and Beatrice and Benedict are magnificent snarkmasters. I still haven't read Hamlet, though. Shame on me for that. 

6. The Author: Brandon Sanderson

I said then: "I think he's popular? I know several people who really like his books. I haven't heard much about them, but I'm pretty sure they're fantasy and I'm considering looking into them over the summer. (Or whenever I run out of new books to read. Whichever happens first.)"

Have I read him? Well, one of his books has appeared near the top of my "Best of" lists every year for the last few years . . . and I've developed a whole AU combining Mistborn and Berstru . . . and I've made a Mistcloak . . . and I apparently yell about Sanderson's books so much that one of my friends associates me with him on the same level that Cait Grace is associated with Maggie Stiefvater, so . . . I think that answers the question.

7. The Author: Erin Hunter

I said then: "Are the Warriors books even still popular? Anyone know? I used to know several people who were into them. I even joined a roleplay or two based on the books. (I'm weird that way. I joined a Hunger Games based RP before I read THG.) But I never actually read them. "

Have I read her? Nope. Are these still even a thing? They can't possibly still be a thing, right?  

8. The Author: Cassandra Clare

I said then: "Her books sound interesting, but also very much  . . . not sure what the word is, but I don't want to get into it."

Have I read her? The word 2014-me was looking for was mature, or possibly sketchy, and due to those two descriptors, I still haven't read Mortal Instruments or whatever else she writes. I have been tempted once or twice, but then I look at what I know and I'm like, "y'know, no." 

9. The Author: Stephanie Morrill

I said then: "I'm a big fan of the Go Teen Writers blog, which she writes for. I have e-copies of two of her books. I think that her Ellie Sweet series sounds pretty cool, what with the main character being a writer and all. But I have yet to actually read any of her work."

Have I read her? Still no. I want to read Ellie Sweet eventually, but when there's so much epic fantasy and steampunk and so on, well, it's hard to find the motivation for contemporary, even writer-contemporary.  

10. The Author: Stephen R. Lawhead

I said then: "I thought about reading one of his series, I think the King Arthur ones, at one point. But I couldn't find them at the library, and I think I heard something about mature content, so I decided not to. "

Have I read him? No, but I really want to read the Bright Empires series because Deborah O'Carroll keeps raving about it. I actually got the first book out over Christmas break, but I ran out of time to read it. Oh well. Maybe this summer . . .  

How many of these authors have you read? Are thre any authors who you thought you'd avoid and then ended up reading and loving? Please tell me in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

 -Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books/Series I Read in 2014

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Book-wise, 2014 was a really awesome year. I discovered new series to love, branched out into a genre I usually wouldn't consider, and added Brandon Sanderson to my top three favorite authors. My reading adventures took me from the Shattered Plains to Middle Earth, from the Gallagher Academy to Adarlan, from Goldstone Wood to Newcago, and so many other places. I met new character-friends and revisited old ones. With all that, choosing my Top Ten Books- or even Top Ten Series- of 2014 will be difficult, but I'm going to try my best. (Though . . . I may go a few over just ten.)

1. Golden Daughter by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

This book was insanely amazing. There is one Tale that I like better than it, and that one is Heartless. I stayed up until almost midnight on a school night reading it, and I never do that. Never. Except, obviously, for this book. If you want to hear me obsess over it more, you can read my review.

2. The Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
The Mistborn trilogy was mind-blowing. I'd be reading them, and I'd be like "Ok, this is really cool" one minute, and then the next I'd be like "Oh my pumpernickel what just HAPPENED?" I saw next to nothing coming- and yet I'd think about it and realize that the clues were there; I'd just missed or misinterpreted them.

3. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Like Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive is seriously mind-blowing. The worldbuilding, the twisted and tangled plots and backstories, the characters- it's all seriously incredible and definitely deserving of the title "epic". Also, Words of Radiance evoked the largest emotional reaction of any book I've ever read. I am not exaggerating. 

4. Shadow Hand by Anne Elisabeth Stengl
This wasn't my favorite of the Tales of Goldstone Wood, but it was still awesome. It's hard to say a lot without giving out spoilers, but  . . . Time is a very interesting thing. Also, I never thought I could like Foxbrush as much as I did in this book.

5. The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
This series isn't quite like anything I've ever read, which is part of what makes it so amazing. I love the characters, especially Eugenides. Also, the author has a way of giving you just enough information that you think you know what's going on and then springing a twist on you with that one piece of information that you didn't know. My favorite in the series was The King of Attolia, but they're all awesome.

6. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
I've read a lot of books about dragons, but none portray these magnificent (if sadly fictional) beings in quite the same way Seraphina does. Rachel Hartman takes traditional dragonic features, gives them little- but powerful- twists, and then adds in new elements to create a very unique take on dragons, which I loved. I also liked the mystery in the story; it was very well done.

7. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Superheroes gone bad? Sounds awesome- but that's only the start. Add in amazing characters- Cody and David in particular- a dystopian city of steel, and Brandon Sanderson's insane plotting skills and you get this amazing book. If you like action or superhero stories (or even if you don't), you should definitely read this book.

8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
These books just keep getting better! Cress is definitely my favorite Lunar Chronicles heroine- maybe because she's so much like me. I loved just about all of this, particularly the ending- no spoilers, but it was beautiful. Except for the cliffhanger, which was . . . not so beautiful. But it was worth it. 

9. The Knight and Rogue series by Hilari Bell
A good fantasy-mystery can be hard to find, which makes the Knight and Rogue books that much better. I heard about this series several times from a friend of mine, but never tried it until this year. Oh, am I glad I finally picked it up! Really getting into the first book took a chapter or two, but once I'd picked up a few things about the characters and setting, I really enjoyed it, and the next two books are awesome.

10. The Word Changers by Ashlee Willis
Bookish girl gets stuck inside a book? It sounded like it would be right up my alley, and it was! I especially loved the idea of characters in books having lives of their own (and the explanation of why, in some books, you're always discovering details that you didn't remember before), and of what might happen if they rebelled
against their Author.


11. The Hollow Kingdom trilogy by Clare B. Dunkle
This trilogy reminds me of Howl's Moving Castle in some ways. It's lighthearted, humorous fantasy with just the right twist of unexpected romance. The characters were great, particularly Marak, and I liked the somewhat unusual take on goblins and elves and their rivalry.

12. Five Glass Slippers by Elisabeth Brown, Emma Clifton, Rachel Heffington, Stephanie Ricker, and Clare Diane Thompson
Five unique Cinderella retellings in one book? What's not to like? Each of the five stories is awesome in its own way. My favorite is "The Windy Side of Care"- I love the dialogue, the characters' plotting, and the twist of humor.

Honorable mentions go to the Girl of Fire and Thorns series and the Throne of Glass series, both of which are also awesome but have some romantic stuff that's borderline on what I'm comfortable with. (I had to skip one scene in particular in the second Throne of Glass book.) What about you? What were your favorite books of 2014? Please tell me in the comments, or feel free to make your own Top Ten Tuesdays post!

Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)  

Top Ten Tuesday: Places Books Have Made Me Want To Visit

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Hello, everyone! Book-related places to visit seems to be a fairly popular subject. I've already done two posts on the subject: one about fictional worlds I'd like to visit, and a collab with Emma of Awkwordly Emma on real-life book locations. However, I'm very happy to do another, especially since my list keeps expanding with almost every new book or series I discover! To keep from repeating myself too much, I'll be focusing on specific places that I'd like to visit, rather than general locations or worlds.

1. The Shire (The Lord of the Rings). I'm going to try to minimize the number of LOTR-related places I put on this list, simply because if I don't, it'll turn into my itinerary for a year-long tour of Middle Earth. However, I do very much want to visit the Shire, especially Bag End. No doubt the hobbits would wonder about the strange human girl wandering about their hills and roads, but I'd be too busy trying to see everything (and meet my favorite hobbit characters) to pay much attention to their stares. Of course, since I've no chance of seeing the real Shire, I'll happily settle for the New Zealand version. (The same can be pretty much said of any locale from the LOTR books/movies.)
2. The Haven Library (Tales of Goldstone Wood). Some of you may recall that I've mentioned that I want to work here, not just visit. However, I'll settle for the latter if Dame Imraldera isn't looking for another assistant. With all the stories contained there, and all the interesting people who seem to pass through, it's probably my favorite location in either the Far or Near World!
3. Cair Paravel (The Chronicles of Narnia). Picking just one Narnian location to visit is difficult, since I've loved that world so long. In the end, I decided that Cair Paravel has probably made the biggest impression on me, and so that's where I'd go. 
   
4. The Shattered Plains (The Stormlight Archive). No, the Shattered Plains- particularly the warcamps, which is where I'd want to spend most of my time- are not a particularly pleasant place. However, there are certain not-so-pleasant places that I'd want to see anyway, simply because they sound interesting. The Shattered Plains are one of these, particularly since they play such a large part in the books. (Of course, the world of The Stormlight Archive in general is one I'd want to visit because it's so different from anywhere I've read about before.)
5. Rivendell (The Lord of the Rings). Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to put too many LOTR locations on this list, but I love Rivendell too much to leave it off. It seems like such a peaceful,
   
   beautiful place. It would be grand, true- it's the home of elves, after all- but not the imposing kind of grand like Minas Tirith (where I'd most likely feel perpetually mouse-like, if you get my meaning). 
6. Elendel (The Alloy of Law). Much as I love the Mistborn trilogy, I don't think I'd want to visit during or before the time it occurs. That world sounds absolutely miserable. Afterwards, however, is a different matter. I'd love to see for myself what the Mistborn would becomes after the trilogy ends, and Elendel seems like the best place to do that.
7. Fenworth's Castle (The DragonKeeper Chronicles). It's a castle . . . in a tree . . . which mostly consists of a massive library. Aside from its location (in the midst of a swamp), I cannot see anything about this that isn't rather awesome. 
8. The 12-Year Market (Tales of Goldstone Wood). The 12-Year Market could be considered more an event than a location, but I'm counting it anyway. Visiting a Faerie market would be quite exciting (and much safer than venturing into the Wood)! Who knows what I might find among the stalls- or who I might meet among the Faerie folk tending them? 
9. Great-Uncle William's House (House of Many Ways). This house might seem unassuming at first, but just how big is it inside? With one door leading to any number of rooms, it's hard to say. I'd love to explore and see what I could stumble upon. I'd probably get lost fairly quickly unless I borrowed Charmain's map, but I think the adventure would be worth it.
10. 
    
    

    Howl's Castle (Howl's Moving Castle). This is mostly because I want to know what it looks like. Is it just a castle that inexplicably moves around? Does it float? Is it like the movie, where there are leg thingys that seem to move it? Does it look like a traditional castle, or something else? (I usually imagine it as looking fairly traditional and floating a foot or so off the ground, but I do wonder.)

Well, there's my list. I meant to include some real places as well as fictional ones, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Of course, considering the kind of books I usually read, my lack of real locations shouldn't be surprising. What about you? What book-related locations, whether real or fictional, would you like to visit? Please tell me in the comments!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books I Want to Read (But Don't Own Yet)

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As a rule, I don't buy books I've never read unless I'm very familiar with the author and/or series. This usually doesn't inhibit my reading much; my local library has a lot of the books I might want to try, and what I can't find at the library, I can often borrow from my friends. Unfortunately, my system doesn't work all the time, especially when the books I want to read are recent debuts, self-published, or both. So, here are all the books I want (sometimes terribly) to read but can't. Yet.

1. The Word Changers by Ashlee Willis

Girl reads book. Girl gets stuck in book. Book characters are rebelling against the Author and the Plot. Can I just say: ridiculously awesome idea?

2. Resistance by Jaye L. Knight

3. One Realm Beyond by Donita K. Paul

For a while, my library had all of Donita K. Paul's books. Then they stopped buying her new books. I was not happy.

4. The River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergen

 

5. The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill 

As a rule, I do not read contemporary fiction. But as an author who has, on multiple occasions, threatened to put annoying people into her stories, reading about someone who actually does that sounds pretty fun. 

 

 6. Kestrel's Midnight Song by J.R. Parker

 

7. Quest for the Ivory Sword by Emmarayn Redding

Several of my friends have written and self-published books through CreateSpace or other self-publishing programs. Quest for the Ivory Sword is one of these, and it's one of the ones I most want to buy, since Emmarayn hadn't posted the story online beforehand, as some people had.

 

8. Stasis by J. Tobias Buller

Another self-published book by a friend. It just came out for Kindle a few days ago, and it looks awesome.

9. Tattered Heart by Annie Jackson

 

10. Relic by Heather Terrell

11. The Ryn and The Remedy by Serena Chase

I keep hearing so many good things about these books, but I just can't seem to get my hands on them.

12. Five Glass Slippers by multiple authors

 

There you have my list! What about you? What are some books you'd like to read but can't (yet)? Please tell me in the comments!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Top Ten Tuesdays: Deserted Island

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Hi, everyone! I love this week's Top Ten Tuesday topic: Characters I Would Want With Me on a Deserted Island. Doesn't that sound like it could inspire some awesome fanfiction? Good thing this is write-whatever-you-want week for me in Camp NaNoWriMo, because I might be in trouble otherwise. Anyway, let's get started!

1. Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. If I'm going to have to survive in any situation away from civilization, Aragorn would always be my first choice. As a Dunadain Ranger, he'd certainly know how to make sure we both survived until help arrived. Plus, he's awesome. 
2. Bard Eanrin from Tales of Goldstone Wood. As a faerie and a Knight of Farthestshore, I feel fairly certain that Bard Eanrin could find a way off the island without much trouble at all. Even if he couldn't, at least I'd have excellent company while we waited for help.
3. Kale from The DragonKeeper Chronicles. Kale and her minor dragons would definitely be a lot of help on a deserted island! Even if she couldn't make a gateway to get us out of there, her hollows are stocked with all sorts of useful things, and she is a fairly talented wizard. Also, she seems like she'd be a lot of fun to be around, so she and I could help each other keep our spirits up.
4. Finnick from The Hunger Games trilogy. THG characters do not make a lot of my Top Ten Tuesdays lists, but in this case? Finnick would be an excellent person to have around. Being from District 4, he knows plenty about the sea and fishing and stuff, and as a Hunger Games victor, he obviously knows how to handle himself against danger. Plus, he's one of my favorite characters from THG. 
5. Howl Pendragon from Howl's Moving Castle. Howl could, potentially, be very useful to have around in a crisis- after all, he is a very powerful wizard. On the other hand, he might be rather less than useful, considering that he tends towards laziness and unwillingness to be pinned down to anything (like taking me with him once he finds a way off the island). Either way, alternately fangirling and arguing with him would certainly keep me too occupied for me to freak out! 
6. Dame Imraldera from Tales of Goldstone Wood. I tend to forget about her past, but all things considered, she would quite possibly know a good bit about how to stay alive. And she's awesome- I would love to meet her and talk to her, even if I had to get stuck on a deserted island to do it. And as long as she's with me, I know Bard Eanrin will be trying to find a way to rescue us. 
7. Hadyn from Legends of Karac Tor. I don't know how much help Hadyn would actually be, but I like him, and I think he'd be good company if I were trapped just about anywhere.
8. Ewan from Legends of Karac Tor. For pretty much the same reasons as Hadyn. Any chance I could be stuck with both brothers so I don't have to choose? 
9. Vrell Sparrow from the Blood of Kings Trilogy. So we'd both be pretty much useless in this situation. We'd figure it out. And Vrell can bloodvoice, so we'd at least have some help. In general, though, my main reason is that I think she and I would get along pretty well.
10. Jason Silver from my novels. Ok, this is kind of cheating because I'm pretty sure these are supposed to be from published books, but I currently don't care because Jason's one of my favorite characters I've ever written. He'd probably drive me crazy within a few days- but I'd drive him crazy right back, because I'm his author and I know his secrets and it would probably end with him trying to deny everything I said and I'd just be silently laughing at him. Or maybe not so silently. But yeah. And at least as long as Jason was around, I'd be certain help was coming. He has certain connections that make that a certainty.

Well, there are my picks. (Should I be concerned about the fact that my list is mostly guys?) What about you? Who would you choose? Please tell me in the comments, or make your own blog post! Thanks for reading!
Garo arad vaer!
 -Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Top Ten Tuesdays: Favorite Movies

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Hello, everyone! I'm finally getting back into Top Ten Tuesdays just in time for the one Top Ten Tuesday that isn't about books: Favorite Movies or TV Shows. Since I don't really watch TV, I'm going with my favorite movies.

1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Best. Movies. Ever. (Especially if you watch the extended editions like I do.) They did an amazing job of capturing the books' epicness, even if they did leave out or change a few things. The actors, the scenery, everything is absolutely incredible. I could rave about them almost as much as I do the books!
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Another amazing movie- not quite as good as the LOTR trilogy but still great. I wasn't all that crazy about the addition of Azog and all that, but the other stuff they added in with the White Council and Thorin's backstory and such? I loved it. Also, I've mentioned this before, but I love how the movie turns the Indistinguishable Background Dwarves (basically everyone except Thorin, Balin, and Bombur) into unique characters, each with their own story and personality. 
   
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Smaug. Oh. My. Pumpernickel. He pretty much made this movie for me. And considering that it takes a lot to impress me with movie dragons (mostly because I'm rather particular about how I think they should look), that's saying something. The action scenes were pretty intense too, especially the battle between the dwarves and Smaug. However, there were certain things things that disappointed me- like how quickly they passed over Beorn and Mirkwood- and others that just made me mad (*cough*Kiliel*cough). 
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is another great book-to-movie adaptations; it's probably the best of the Narnia movies (though it can't measure up to LOTR). I like that they stayed fairly true to the book, and the casting was great- all the characters looked exactly like I imagined them! Not even LOTR accomplished that, though it did accomplish the opposite (after a while, I started picturing all the LOTR characters the way they looked in the movies). 
5. Tangled. "Frying pans! Who knew, right?" Flynn cracks me up, and he has a ton of great quotes- he's
   
   pretty much one of the fallbacks for my sister and I when we play the Quote Game. (That's a game where we take turns quoting a book or movie and the other person has to guess where the quote is from.) Besides how hilarious Flynn and the movie in general are, I really like the character development of both Flynn and Rapunzel. Plus, it's a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. Awesome, no?
6. The Avengers. I haven't watched a lot of superhero movies (mostly because I didn't realize I was interested in them until last summer), but I love The Avengers. The dynamic between the characters is great, and Loki? I'm not a fangirl, but he's super cool. (No pun intended.)
7. The Chonicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this movie. On one hand, Voyage of the Dawn Treader used to be my favorite Narnia book (until I decided that I preferred The Silver Chair), so I was kind of upset when the movie changed the story so much. On the other hand, looking at Dawn Treader as a movie in its own right? It's pretty awesome. And unlike certain other movies I could mention, they didn't make the characters act like idiots for the sake of more excitement. (Not that Dawn Treader needs more excitement . . .)
8. Beauty and the Beast. Beauty is another of my favorite fairytales, and the Disney version is just wonderful. I love everything about it, pretty much. One of my favorite parts, though, is the music. The songs from Beauty and the Beast often seem to get forgotten amidst songs from newer movies (like Frozen), but they're still lovely.
9. Frozen. It was kind of overhyped, but Frozen is still a great movie. I love that the biggest relationship-related plotline isn't a romace; it's the sister relationship between Elsa and Anna. The characters are great, and, of course, the music is awesome. 
10. Howl's Moving Castle. This is another book-retelling that's vastly different than the original story. I still love it, though. It kind of reminds me of a Beauty and the Beast type story in a lot of ways. Also, Howl. Howl is awesome. Just sayin'.

Honorable mentions go to Brave, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Princess Bride, which are also awesome movies but didn't quite make the list. What about you? What are your favorite movies?
Garo arad vaer!
 -Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)