Let's Talk: Authors I Have To Read

Let's Talk is a weekly meme hosted by Melissa at i swim for oceans. Each week, there's a new topic to discuss. 

This week, let's talk about Authors You Can't Help But Be Loyal To.

Do you ever read books simply because they're from an author you love, rather than because of the book itself?  

Oh yes, yes indeed. There are a couple of authors who I can't help but buy their books, but the number of those are very few, and lucky I'm always interested in the book. For example, I read everything Marian Keyes publishes, and I own most of her books. I've been reading her novels since I was in 7th grade. So, every time I hear/see that a new Marian Keyes novel is being released, I know I have to buy it. It has to sit on my bookshelf with the rest of my collection. Luckily, I'm always interested in the book.

Another good example is Louise Rennison. I read her Georgia Nicholson series when I was younger and absolutely loved it. So when I discovered her latest series, Misadventures of Tallulah Casey, I had to buy it. I even went so far as to buy the second and third novel before I'd even read the first one, because they were by Louise Rennison. I don't think this series is as good as the Georgia Nicholson series, but I'll read it all.

There are a couple of authors who I've only discovered in the past couple of years who I know I'll read again. Michelle Hodkin, Laini Taylor, Marissa Meyer, Veronica Roth, A.G Howard are some, just to name a few. I might not be completely sold on the book, but since I've already read novels by them and thought they were amazing, it's pretty darn likely that I'll read and enjoy whatever they write. 

So in answer to the question, yes, I read book purely because of the author, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. If you've had a good experience with their novels in the past, it's almost always a safe bet that you'll enjoy their next book.

Let's Talk: Halloween Reads

Let's Talk is a weekly meme hosted by Melissa at i swim for oceans. Each week, there's a new topic to discuss. 

This week, let's talk about Halloween Reads.

With Halloween being next week, what are your favourite creepy/spooky books? 

To be honest, I don't read much horror fiction. This year, so far I think the only thing classed as horror that I've read has been Anna Dressed in Blood, and I didn't even find it that scary. If we consider some creepy books, then I think the Mara Dyer series qualifies. Seriously weird stuff going on there. But it's also sooo good, seriously, if you aren't reading the Mara Dyer series then you really need to.

When I was younger, I was very much into the Goosebumps series (as I think almost every kid was). I remember they used to spook me real good, and so did the TV show that was based off the books. I vividly remember one episode where a boy finds a ventriloquists doll at a garage sale, but it turns out the doll is evil and turns the boy to wood, making him effectively a ventriloquists doll too. Downright creepy stuff there, espeically for my 8 year-old self. 

But besides that, horror isn't generally a genre I can do. I'm not big on scarying myself, espeically since I tend to read a lot right before bed.

What about you? Are you a fan of the horror genre? If so, any recommendations? 

Let's Talk: Re-reads

Let's Talk is a weekly meme hosted by Melissa at i swim for oceans. Each week, there's a new topic to discuss. 

This week, let's talk about Re-reads.

Do you ever re-read books that didn't work for you the first time around and have them work the next time? Has it ever worked the opposite for you? 

I'm just not the type of reader who re-reads. I don't think I've ever, in my entire life, re-read a book, unless it was required reading. For me, I just think that they're are so many great books out there, waiting to be read, that the time spent reading a book I've already read before could be put to better use reading one of the many books from my TBR. There are just too many books to read and not enough time!

Also, I tend not to DNF books, so trying  to re-read a DNF isn't likely. Furthermore, I don't really see the point in re-reading books you didn't enjoy the first time around. If you didn't enjoy it initially, what makes you think you'll like it the next time? I'm sure there are some books I've read that I found mediocre, but I'd enjoy the second time around, but then we get back to the too many books, too little time problem. 

Given that I don't re-read, there are actually quite a few books on my bookshelf that I hope to re-read one day. Maybe next year I'll sign up for some type of re-reads challenge, to actually push me to do it, because I really don't see myself doing it otherwise. 

Just a selection of the books I hope to one day re-read. 

Let's Talk: Reading Put-Offs

Let's Talk is a weekly meme hosted by Melissa at i swim for oceans. Each week, there's a new topic to discuss. 

This week, let's talk about Reading Put-Offs.

Which books have you been putting off reading for a long time and why?

There are so many books that I put off reading. Shadow and Bone, Across the Universe, Delirium and Mila 2.0 have been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of months now, even though I've heard great things about them and obviously want to read them at some point (hence why I bought them). But, for some reason or another, whenever I finish one book, it's a different book that I pick up to read next.

There are also heaps of series that I put off starting, for one reason or another. The Wicked Years series by Gregory Maguire is something I've been wanting to read for years, but I've only just now gotten around to reading book one. It was the same with the A Song of Ice and Fire series - I kept putting it off because the books are sooo long and I didn't think I had the time for them.

It's not that I put off books because I don't think I'll enjoy reading them - if I didn't think I'd enjoy reading them, I wouldn't add them to my TBR in the first place - it's just that there are soooooo many books out there to read. Its always a struggle to pick which book to read next because there are quite a few to choose from, and inevitably, some are going to keep getting pushed back because you've picked something else. Ahh, the struggles of the never ending TBR - so many books, so little time!

Posted on Let's Discuss hosted by The Fiction Conniption and Oh, Chrys! 

Let's Talk: Required Reading

Let's Talk is a weekly meme hosted by Melissa at i swim for oceans. Each week, there's a new topic to discuss. 

I just discovered this meme only yesterday, and I thought I'd give it a go. I've been thinking about doing discussion type posts on here for a while now, but I'm terrible at coming up with ideas, so this serves as a great prompt!

This week, let's talk about Required Reading.

Which books from your required reading days (high school/middle school) made the biggest impact on you?

I remember that in high school, there was always one book that you actually enjoyed reading, and the rest you absolutely loathed. I don't know how much of an impact these books have had on me, and considering I'm struggling to remember some of them, let's talk about the ones I do remember - that one book each year that I was actually happy to read. 

In Year 7, it was Exodus by Julie Bertagna. This was one of the first dystopians I ever read - little did I know how much I would come to enjoy dystopians in the future. And, just now researching this book to find the author's name, I've discovered that it's part of a trilogy - and now I'm actually considering going back, re-reading the first novel (which I never do), and then getting into this series. Whether that actually happens is fairly unlikely, but just the fact that I'm even thinking about it should convey that I did really enjoy this book, way back when I was 12 years old. 

I honesty don't remember any of the books we had to read in Year 8, so lets skip forward to Year 9. That year, I was content to read Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos. I say content because at the time, I wasn't into reading deep and emotional books that tackled the feelings and emotions related to eating disorders, but for that year, that was the best book. 

In Year 10, it was To King a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This one's a given, although I do think the play Oedipus came a close second, just because it was so messed up. To King a Mockingbird is such an iconic novel, pretty much anyone who's read it loves it, or enjoyed it at least. 

In Year 11, it was The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. Now, I didn't actually finish this book, but I did like the bits I read...I guess that speaks volumes for the books we had to read in Year 11. Actually, we spent the majority of our time studying a movie called Jindabyne. I think that movie's stuck with me the most, not because it's any great movie masterpiece, but rather, because it's the complete opposite. 

In Year 12, it was Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. Even though this novel is full of the technical devices that English teachers love (which isn't surprising, since Guterson was a teacher before becoming a novelist), I really enjoyed it. It's a great murder mystery with some racial prejudice in there to spice it up and make it quite interesting to read. 

So there you go, a look into some of the novels that have stuck with me from my school days. Was this interesting at all? I realise I didn't actually say much about each novel I mentioned, simply because I find it hard to remember what they were about. Required reading for me just wasn't all that memorable; most of the novels I just read because I had to, and then as we began to dissect them, I found I liked them less and less, until I positively hated them. What about you? Did you have any required reading that really struck a cord with you? Or were you like me, and hated almost anything you studied in class?

Posted on Let's Discuss hosted by The Fiction Conniption and Oh, Chrys!