Top Ten Tuesday – Week 42

Top Ten Tuesday  is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists! Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join.

This week’s theme: Top Ten Favorite Books Usagi’s Read Since She Started (Book) Blogging

There are WAY too many to mention and it was really hard narrowing them down. So here are my top ten, in no particular order, followed by ten runner-ups and then, top ten manga/light novels. All of these books totally knocked my socks off with how awesome they were, so I’m just going to give you the titles – otherwise the descriptions might get really repetitive.

1. “Stormdancer” by Jay Kristoff

2. “1Q84” by Murakami Haruki

3. “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern

4. “A Song of Ice and Fire” series by George R R Martin (Cover featured: Book 4 – “A Feast for Crows”)

5. “Mardock Scramble (English Omnibus Edition)” by Ubakata Tow

6. “The Diviners” by Libba Bray

7. “Starcrossed” series by Josephine Angelini (Cover featured: Book 1 – “Starcrossed”)

8. “Horsemen of the Apocalypse Quartet” by Jackie Morse Kessler (Cover featured: Book 2 – “Rage”)

9. “The Elementals” by Francesca Lia Block

10. “The Curse Workers” trilogy by Holly Black (Cover featured: Book 3 – “Black Heart”)

TGIF: Week 19

Hosted by GReads!. Who’s ready for the weekend?!  I know I am!  I’m introducing a new(ish) feature for Fridays to re-cap the week’s posts & to propose a question for my followers.

This week’s prompt: Quotes That Make You Swoon: What are some of the most swoon-worthy quotes you’ve experienced in a book?

Answer: I’ll be honest – I don’t swoon very often when reading books. Maybe that makes me less of a girl than others, I don’t know, but here are some quotes that I really, really liked or got close to swooning over:

“The boy won’t talk. And If he does, I’ll kill him. Him, Ned Stark, the King, the whole bloody lot of them until you and I are the only people left in this world.” – Jaime Lannister, “A Game of Thrones” by George R R Martin

“Tears aren’t a woman’s only weapon. The best one’s between your legs.” – Cersei Lannister, “A Game of Thrones” by George R R Martin

“I shouldn’t have done that,” I said.
That was when I kissed him again.
May God forgive me for this and all these things I’ve done.” – Anya Balanchine, “All These Things I’ve Done” by Gabrielle Zevin

“She moved like a poem and smiled like a sphinx.”– Laini Taylor, “Daughter of Smoke & Bone”

“You know what you are, don’t you?” she asks. “You’re my salvation. My way to atone. To pay for everything I’ve done.”
“Anna,” I say. “Don’t ask me to do this.”

– Anna and Cas, “Anna Dressed in Blood” by Kendare Blake

 

 

 

What are your swoon-worthy quotes? Participate at GReads! this week!

Soundtrack Saturday 10: “Daughter of Smoke and Bone EP”

Hey guys! It’s a new feature! Everyone get up and dance!

No, really. Dance. Sing. This is Soundtrack Saturday, where you go ahead and pick one book you’ve recently finished (and liked) and make a soundtrack for it.

I’ll occasionally make up a challenge for the week, but otherwise, look above for the same prompt.

I’ll be hosting all of my mixes on 8tracks, a really awesome site that lets you make mixes and listen to others. It’s extremely easy to use. You can upload your own .mp3/mp4 files or choose those from users who have already uploaded the song you want to use. You must pick at least 8 tracks in order to publish your mix, so for this weekly meme, pick 8 tracks. Or if you’re not able to use 8tracks/upload, then give me a list of eight songs for the book you chose for that week.

Optional: for extra fun, create and upload cover art for your mix.

Please use the image to the left for your Soundtrack Saturday posts (and upload it to your own server!), and be sure to post your specific weekly link in the comments!

This week’s soundtrack: “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor

Review: “A Need So Beautiful” by Suzanne Young

Title: “A Need So Beautiful”

Author: Suzanne Young

Genre: YA, paranormal, romance, urban fantasy

Publication Date: June 21, 2011 (first printing)/May 22, 2012 (paperback – North America – HarperTeen)

Source: Publisher copy

Summary: We all want to be remembered. Charlotte’s destiny is to be forgotten.

Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth who feels the Need–a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.

But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility, and as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on her. And who she is–her very existence–is in jeopardy of disappearing completely.

Charlotte will be forced to choose: should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny–no matter how dark the consequences?

☆: 4.5/5 stars – one of my picks for best of 2011, and a lovely new way at looking at angels!

Review: In a sea of YA angel books, this is a refreshing, dazzling gem of a story that left me needing (no pun intended) the next book in the series. The idea of light versus shadows has always intrigued me, and Young weaves a gorgeous story of a girl trying to decide whether she should survive and be remembered, or sacrifice herself for others only to be forgotten. This was one of my picks for my best of 2011 list, and it still stands as thus.

Awesome author news!

So, two things in the BREAKING NEWS department, one you might have heard of already, one you might not have.

First, friend of the blog Leigh Bardugo announced the full titles of all three books in her “Grisha” trilogy earlier this week on her blog. They are:

Book 1: “Shadow and Bone”

Book 2: “Siege and Storm”

Book 3: “Ruin and Rising”

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m pretty excited for the next two books! You can read my review of book 1 here, and be sure to pick it up when it drops on June 5th in North America (other places, check with your local bookseller). She’s also running a contest here where you can win some limited edition swag for “Shadow and Bone”! So go check it out.

Now, for news item number two:

Randi Black, author of the awesome “Miss World” will be giving away free kindle copies of her book through Amazon US Friday, May 25, 2012 through Saturday May 26, 2012. You can click this link and it will you take right to the order page. Also, “Miss World” has a new cover! And guess who made it?

That’s right! Me. I made it. So: any other indie authors that need a new cover for the book? I’m your man (well, girl) for the job. You can contact me at usagiko at gmail dot com for more details.

Those who want paperback copies of “Miss World” might have to wait a little longer, though, as we get our new cover issues straightened out with the publisher. But stay tuned! When new copies are available, I’ll announce it here. But until then, you can get your free kindle copy tomorrow and Saturday, and you can read my review of “Miss World” here.

You can look forward to an upcoming interview with Leigh – it’ll be up in mid-June during the UK book tour of “Shadow and Bone”. It’s going to be awesome, so stay tuned!

Fun Stuff: Literary Games for the Book Nerd

Okay, so, I completely and totally blame Felicia Day and her Flog telling me about and getting me addicted to Failbetter Games’ “Fallen London” – a browser-playable social networking text-based RPG sort of game where you go through an alternate-history, steampunky London after getting out of jail. I’ve been having a TON of fun with it, and then when I poked around Failbetter’s site, I found this:

Yes, you heard me. “The Night Circus”, one of my favorite debuts of last year, now has a similar game from Failbetter (and it’s officially sanctioned by the author). And though I wish there were more graphics, this is an absolutely charming text game. No doubt a lot of people coming into it are going to be confused (as some of my friends were when introducing them to “Fallen London” and how to play), but “Night Circus” is far easier to learn, as it follows parts of the book that are written in second person POV, where you as the audience directly interact with the circus itself. It’s in the vein of the “choose your own adventure” genre of books (I LOVED those as a kid), as is “Fallen London”, where you can pick your routes throughout the circus and London (in both separate games) by clicking on the choices given to you with each card you draw.

Anyway, I’m having a blast, and I’d love to have more friends for both games. You can catch me here for “The Night Circus”, and here for “Fallen London”. If you’d like an invite to either game, shoot me a tweet and I’ll do so. I look forward to playing with everyone!

Soundtrack Saturday 08: “the wither ep”

Hey guys! It’s a new feature! Everyone get up and dance!

No, really. Dance. Sing. This is Soundtrack Saturday, where you go ahead and pick one book you’ve recently finished (and liked) and make a soundtrack for it.

I’ll occasionally make up a challenge for the week, but otherwise, look above for the same prompt.

I’ll be hosting all of my mixes on 8tracks, a really awesome site that lets you make mixes and listen to others. It’s extremely easy to use. You can upload your own .mp3/mp4 files or choose those from users who have already uploaded the song you want to use. You must pick at least 8 tracks in order to publish your mix, so for this weekly meme, pick 8 tracks. Or if you’re not able to use 8tracks/upload, then give me a list of eight songs for the book you chose for that week.

Optional: for extra fun, create and upload cover art for your mix.

Please use the image to the left for your Soundtrack Saturday posts (and upload it to your own server!), and be sure to post your specific weekly link in the comments!

This week’s soundtrack: “Wither” and “Fever” by Lauren DeStefano

Manga Monday – Week 8

So, I’ve seen this feature on a few book blogs out there, and decided to make this feature my own. After suggestions from friends, Manga Mondays comes to Birth of a New Witch! I’ll try to give equal billing to manga being released both in the US and in Japan, since US licensing takes awhile and I read manga in both languages. I want to cater to other fans out there who do the same.

Confused by some of the terms I use in this feature? See Week 1 for clarification on my most commonly used terms.

And now, to this week’s US and Japanese choices!

Week 8 (US Release): “Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Volume 1” by Magica Quartet

Title: “Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Volume 1”

Author: Madoka Quartet

Artist: Hanokage

Translation Company/US Publisher: Yen Press

Release Date: May 22, 2012 (North America)

Summary: When a new girl joins her class, Madoka Kaname feels she recognizes the mysterious, dark-haired transfer student from one of her dreams…a dream where she is approached by a cat-like creature who offers Madoka an opportunity to change destiny. Madoka had always thought magic was the stuff of fantasy…until she sees the transfer student fighting with the very cat-being from her dream! And just like in Madoka’s dream, the cat gives her a choice: Will Madoka become a Puella Magi in exchange for her dearest desire? What will be the cost of having her wish come true?

Usagi’s Take:  If you guys have been reading the blog for awhile, you know that I put all of the (original) “Madoka” manga on my best of 2011 list. Well, now it’s being released in English! In May! By Yen Press! This is going to be awesome! This may look like your typical Magical Girl manga at first, but boy, is it ever not. I hope that the rest of the spin-off manga has been licensed, because it’s just such a great series and the movies should be pretty awesome, too. This is one of my very favorite series, and one of the best of the 2000s so far – so you guys really can’t miss this one! It’s got everything for everyone – magical girls, witches, friendship, epic fight scenes, romance, and so forth. Seriously, this one is highly recommended so be sure and check it out once it gets published in May.

EYE ON INDIES 04: “Miss World” by Randi Black

Hipster cat is back, ladies and gentlemen, so that means it’s time for another installment of EYE ON INDIES! This month I’ve chosen Randi Black’s “Miss World”. It’s getting on blog tour this month through the lovely Greta & Darkfallen @ Paranormal Wastelands, and so I’ve decided to stop being lazy and finally give “MW” the boost it needs to succeed, and to get more of the attention it very much deserves.

As I said in my review last year, not only do I love the book, but I do feel it’s incredibly well-written. The characters are well-rounded, the world well-fixed and constructed, and it just flowed. As I blathered on in my review, it really struck a chord in me (no musical pun intended), and continues to do so as I get snippets of the next book in the series. Kim isn’t pretty on the outside until she learns to love herself and stick up for herself, and somehow, to some of readers, this message seems to have passed over their heads because of the way it was written (very raw, very detailed, and uncompromising on how ugly reality can be). Which is sad, of course, and disappointing, but to each their own. I urge everyone to try the book out and see how you feel about it, and then we can chat about it. It’s sad that bigger publishers passed this one up and I only hope one day they realize their gaffe in doing so. But we can’t always what we want, I guess.

Even if you didn’t enjoy the book, check out the blog tour and see what’s going on inside of Randi’s head when reading. It’s  going to be awesome. I’m just sad that Birth of a New Witch wasn’t able to make the list to help out. Still, I wish them well! So for the month of February, my indies pick is “Miss World”. Go and check it out!

2011 end of the year book survey.

The End of the Year Book Survey is hosted by Jamie at Perpetual Page-Turner

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?
Oh, this is ridiculously difficult! I’m equally torn between “The Night Circus” and “The Scorpio Races”. Both were so agonizingly gorgeous, I just can’t choose.

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?
“The Magnolia League”. It had such a wonderful plot/set-up, but the execution left much to be desired. I’m still going to be reading the sequel, though, because I just can’t resist.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?
“Anna and the French Kiss” – considering how squeamish I am about contemp YA, Stephanie Perkins made this such a fun book that I just couldn’t resist. And I did resist at first, and hard. It was too charming.