The Year of Rereads | Reading With Danielle

So, I used to be the queen of rereads.

That may sound odd, but it was true. Before I started watching booktube, I was such a picky reader that the majority of the stuff I read was rereads. If I couldn't find anything new I wanted to read (and I was so picky that this happened more often then you might think), I would reread Harry Potter or Twilight or Fablehaven. The same happened if I didn't have money for new books. This is the main reason why I've read Harry Potter nine times, Twilight 12+ (don't ask), and Fablehaven five times.

But then, when I discovered book videos on Youtube and subsequently booktube, that all changed. I was suddenly having my eyes opened to all sorts of new books that I would never have even thought to pick up before and I've been loving it ever since.

The thing is, though, that I love to reread books. That's even how I decide whether or not I want to keep a book or get rid of it. I think, will I ever want to reread this and if the answer is yes, then it stays. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't go back and reread my favorite stories. To me, it's like what's even the point? If it meant anything to me I'm going to want to experience it again.

This became something of a problem as my TBR pile grew. I started feeling guilty when I wanted to reread a book since I had so many new ones to read... It's pretty clear at this point that I'll probably never be at the point where I can't find anything new to read so I have to reread something. And because of this I haven't reread a whole lot since the end of 2013. Sure, I've managed a few here and there, but there hasn't been a whole lot.

That's changing this year. I have so many books I want to reread and I'm gonna try to make at least some of them happen. I've actually reread more than I thought I was going to so far this year. So here's a list of the books I have reread this year!

1. The Archived and The Unbound by Victoria Schwab

I actually started my year off with these two, and it was such a good choice! These are my favorites by my favorite author, so it was great.

2. Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya (volumes 1-23)

This is one of my favorite stories ever and I hadn't reread it in, like, six years, so I was happy when I dug these out and read them! This actually didn't effect my TBR pile too much, since I read these when I normally wouldn't be reading at all.

3. Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, & The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan

So, I got to go see the Percy Jackson musical back in April and it sent me down a Percy Jackson spiral and I started listening to these bad boys on audiobook! I haven't been able to get my hands on The Battle of the Labyrinth yet, so this reread has been put on pause for a little bit, but I really want to finish it and start rereading Heroes of Olympus!

4. ACOTAR and ACOMAF by Sarah J. Maas

These two were kind of a last minute choice. I actually ran to the library to check out ACOTAR only two days before ACOWAR came out. I blew through these two before going on to the finale, which was definitely the best way to read this series.

5. InuYasha by Rumiko Takahashi (volumes 1-9)

I read the first 19 volumes of this manga years ago and I want to finally finish the series, so I had to reread the beginning first. I'm about to start volumes 10, 11, and 12 soon. I'm hoping to at least be to the end of the rereading portion of the series by the end of the summer.

So, I've reread a lot already this year, and I hope it doesn't stop any time soon. I've been enjoying rereading books so much!

BookCon Book Haul | Reading With Danielle

Check out my most recent post to read my BookCon experience! This is just going to be discussing the books I managed to acquire during the two day convention :)

These are not in the order that I got them or else in any particular order, but my favorite/the most exciting ones will be at the end. I'm also counting down for... dramatic effect (or something lol).

25. The Painting by Charis Cotter

This was a random one my mom grabbed, but the cover is pretty! I think it's middle grade and I like middle grade a lot, so I'm hoping it'll be a good read.

24. Feral by James DeMonaco and B. K. Evenson

This is one that I don't know if I'll actually read. I'm pretty much a huge scaredy cat and this looks like it might be too scary for me. But my aunt grabbed it while I was in a couple lines, so I took it home. My mom likes scary stuff, so maybe she'll like it.

23. Life is Like a Musical by Tim Federle

I was a theatre geek growing up and will always hold anything theatre related close to my heart, so when I saw the signing for this book and the line was short, I jumped right in! It's really short, so I hope it's cute and funny and real. I also got a copy for my sister, though she was never as big a theatre geek as I was.

22. The Nightingale Won't Let You Sleep by Steven Heighton

This one sounds kind of creepy.... I'm not sure how into that I am. I'm not usually into that kind of book, but this had a deceptively pretty cover and it was free and the last one they had, so I grabbed it. I hope I end up liking it.

21. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

I like just about anything to do with ravens, so I hope I like this ARC that I got! This was one I think my mom grabbed in passing and I'm glad she did- it looks really good. It's also really tall, which tends to be a trademark of good high fantasy.

20. The Readymade Thief by Augustus Rose

This one looks cool. I have no idea what it's about, but it just looks like it's gonna be a good book. This was from the table of four ARCs that I passed on my way to the Harlequin ARC drop and this one alone makes me so happy I stopped and grabbed the books.

19. Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

This was one I got from the Shadow Mountain booth after spinning a wheel. There was a whole row of books you could choose from and out of them all, this looked like the one I would most like. All I really know is that it's middle grade. But it's also pretty small and should be a quick read, whenever I get around to it.

18. Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One. by Ginger Zee

This is one of the ARCs I got from the table of four on my way to an ARC drop, so I didn't really look at it before I grabbed it. But I mean, it sounds interesting? It's a memoir, which is something I don't read a lot of but would like to.

17. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

This cover is so pretty and has me soo intrigued! I have no idea what it's about, but I managed to hop in the tail end of a book drop for it, so I got it. Hopefully the story will be as good as that cover is :p

16. Water in May by Ismee Williams

At this point, I'm not 100% sure when I got this one?? I think it was from the table with four ARCs on it, but it might not have been. I know this was one I just sort of grabbed in passing, though, which is why it hasn't made that big of an impression yet.

15. The Language of Thorns (Sampler) by Leigh Bardugo

This was a fun thing to get! It's also super pretty and pretty damn big for a sampler. I wasn't too interested in the book before, as I've only read Leigh's Six of Crows duology and am not too keen on reading the Grisha trilogy. But I like having the sampler and who knows- maybe it'll convince me to get the book when it comes out.

14. A Court of Thorns and Roses (Coloring Book)

This counts as a book, right?? I'm counting it anyway, since we bought it and all. Plus, it has Sarah's signature stamped on the inside along with a little BookCon 2017 stamp. I already love coloring in it, though it's a little more ornate than I would like.

13. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

This one was very exciting, since I got it from the Owlcrate box my mom won! Also, I already had this book on my TBR from back when everyone was hauling it from their subscription boxes, so it was really nice to have gotten it. Now, I just have to actually read it.

12. Maud by Melanie Fishbane

I have no idea what this one is about, but it was a free finished copy and it has a pretty cover, so that was good enough for me!

11. The Crown's Fate by Evelyn Skye

So, technically I got this from the Strand Bookstore, not BookCon, but it was on the same trip, so I'm counting it anyway :p

10. Warcross by Marie Lu

No, no, I did not get my hands on the ARC! The line was way, way, way too long for that (though I did try). But I did end up with a teeny, tiny sampler. Which is better than nothing, right? Right? I don't know if I'll actually read it since I'm not the biggest fan of samplers, but it's something cool to have.

9. Jackaby by William Ritter

This is one I had on my TBR list for a long time and eventually took off because I didn't think I'd actually ever buy it. I wouldn't have bought it at BookCon either, but my mom had pointed it out and I have trouble saying no to her, so I ended up with it. Still, I'm excited to read it, I just wasn't actually planning on it ever.

8. Rosemarked by Livia Blackburne

Okay, two things about this book first: 1) that stand-in cover is pretty enough to be the real thing, 2) I'm stealing the author's name for a future novel. But anyway, this was one of four books that was on a random table right at the beginning of day two and I just sort of blindly grabbed all three when they said "free books!" I have no idea what it's about, but I want to find out.

7. Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer

This was one my mom bought me. I've never heard anything about it and it is a finished copy, but I'm really excited to read it. It's a Sleeping Beauty retelling, which is something I don't think I've read before. The cover is really pretty, though, and I hope I read it somewhat soon :p

6. Because You Love To Hate Me (Sampler) Anthology

There's a fun story about this sampler in my BookCon Experience post, so make sure you check it out! But anyway, this is a little sampler with a couple of stories from the anthology, including Victoria Schwab's (which, incidentally, is the one I'm most excited to read). It's not a huge sampler or anything, but it's pretty neat because there's at least two or three full short stories in it. This is also one of my more anticipated reads, so I'm pumped.

5. Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

This was another actual purchase, but I've been waiting for this book for so long that I didn't care a whole lot! My mom bought be a couple books while I was in line for the Sarah J Maas signing and one of them was a book I'd already read, so we exchanged it for this one. I can't wait to read it, since I loved Francesca's other novel Made You Up.


4. A Court of Wings And Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Now, I already had a copy of this book, but I got a ticket for Sarah's autographing at BookCon and a book purchase was required, so I had to buy it again :p I don't mind a whole lot, since I can just give my other copy to my sister. But I loved meeting Sarah and the book means so much more to me now that it's signed :)

3. Carry On (paperback) by Rainbow Rowell

Much like ACOWAR, this purchase was because of a required book purchase for the Rainbow Rowell signing. I was a little miffed as I really don't like this cover, but at least it looks different to the copy I already own. Besides, it's one of my all-time favorite it books and it's signed, so I really can't complain.

2. All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

They didn't have ARCs of this one to give out at BookCon, but they said they could mail me one and they did! I was ecstatic when it showed up in the mail- I didn't think I'd really get it. I cannot wait to read it.

1. Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

I was determined to get an ARC of Zenith as soon as Lindsay announced on Twitter that they would be available. And boy, it was a journey for me to get my hands on this one. I literally could have cried, I was so relieved when I finally held it in my hands. And funny thing, I was unable to go to the Zenith signing at the Harlequin booth (check out the previous post for the story), and yet when I got home and started reading the book, I found that my copy was already signed!

It really was a lovely surprise :) And so far, the book is very good!

And that's all I got from BookCon this year! It doesn't feel like I got 24 items, but somehow I did. I hope I actually read most of them and enjoy the ones I read.

BookCon Experience | Reading With Danielle

So, this was my third year going to BookCon and I thought it would be fun to share my experience. I spent about three and a half days in New York City altogether and had a very interesting trip outside of the con as well, but we'll stick to what happened while I was at the Javits Center.

To start off, I'd like to say that I have been to this convention three times now and this was probably my least favorite of the three. Sure it was still fun and I got a lot of books and met authors and had a great time, but I had a lot more complaints than in the previous two years. There were just so many people, you could hardly breathe! Much less jump into lines, unless you wanted to wait an hour just to spin the wheel for a chance at a fucking tote bag. Sorry. I'm still a little bitter.

But let's talk about the fun stuff.

DAY ONE

My aunt Annette went with me on the first day, and we got into the show floor at about 10:30. We spent the morning just browsing around, looking at all the booths and picking up a few books here and there. We spotted a book that was a critical analysis of the show Breaking Bad, which would have been cool if I had ever seen that show. I asked about All The Crooked Saints ARCS (I want one sooooo bad) and ended up giving my address because they said they could mail me one. I don't know if it'll actually happen, but my fingers are crossed!

After eating lunch at the food court (the baked ziti was to die for), I headed back to the autographing area for the Rainbow Rowell autographing. I ended up talking to the boy, Justin, in front of me for the majority of the two hour wait and to the girl behind me as well (I feel awful, but I don't remember her name). It helped pass the time and was really nice. I ended up sending my aunt to the Harlequin booth when I heard about a Zenith ARC drop, but they were all gone by the time she got there :( I also missed the only Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding ARC drop, which was a bummer as well. But meeting Rainbow was so nice! I even told her how Fangirl is my favorite book ever. She's such a sweetheart and considering I missed out on meeting her at my first BookCon, I was so happy to get this chance now.

I was supposed to do the Marissa Meyer signing right after the Rainbow Rowell one, but my feet killed me and I didn't really care much if I met her. That sounds mean, but she was my backup in case I couldn't get the two signings I really wanted and I got both of them, so I wasn't too sad about not getting her book signed.

This is when it gets interesting. If you hadn't already surmised, I really wanted to get my hands on an ARC of Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings. If nothing else went right at the convention, I would have been happy as long as I had it. And while my aunt and I were resting our feet (she had been busy collecting books for me and getting a book signed by one of my favorite authors, Brandon Mull), Sasha and Lindsay starting doing a "find us and get an ARC" game on Twitter. I was too tired to go running around the show floor just then, but then they posted a picture of them sitting at a table outside the show floor. My aunt pointed out that it looked like they were right downstairs and I ran for it. I couldn't run down the escalator, though, because there were people in front of my. This was my demise. I watched, painfully, as a group of girls got to them before I could.

Needless to say, I was bummed. But I still got to talk to the girls and get a hug from Sasha, so it was nice. I also got a nice Zenith button for my lanyard.

I also missed out the last ARC after that for the same reason- damn people on the escalators! We went back into the show floor and looked around for a bit, but people started closing down really early. Like, the show floor was open until 6 and by 4:30 half of the booths were empty. We ended up leaving about then because I didn't feel like going to the only panel I was interested in that afternoon and we went back to our hotel.

DAY TWO

My mom got to go with me this time, which was so great. I love my aunt, but my mom just sort of makes things better, you know? Anyway, since my mom is a disabled veteran, we got medical stickers and got to go in right after the VIP people did, which was so nice because we had a game plan for that morning. There was going to be a Zenith ARC drop at 10:30 and I needed to make sure I got a copy. So as soon as we were let in, we were booking it to the Harlequin booth. Or rather, I was booking it and my mom was going as fast as her back would let her. I did get sidetracked at a booth that had four ARCs just sitting out there and somehow I ended up running with my arms full of books at full speed to the Harlequin booth.

Somehow, I was still number 22 in line. My mom was 23 and I gave her the slip of paper I was given. I had to get to the Sarah J. Maas signing, which had started right at ten. I waited in that line, chatting with a super nice girl from the Philippines who was behind me in the line, and got to meet Sarah!! She's so pretty in real life, it's not even funny.

We weren't allowed to get real pictures, so the girl behind me and I made a deal to take pictures for each other! After that, I went back to the Harlequin booth to find my mom. She still hadn't told me if she'd gotten the Zenith ARC or not.

I found her in the Little Golden Bus and could have cried real tears when she told me that she'd gotten not one, but two copies of Zenith. One was for my sister, who was sick and couldn't come. After that, we wandered for a little. We ended up buying a few books, along with some for my sister and an ACOTAR coloring book for me. It's glorious and I love it. Just as my mom grabbed me a sampler for Because You Love To Hate Me, Victoria Schwab walked by! She's my favorite author and I've gotten to meet her a few times and have all of her books signed (which was why I didn't try to do her signing) and she signed the sampler for me! She only signed for a couple people, though, since she was trying to get to a panel she was on in a few minutes.

After that, I went (an hour early, mind you) to get in line for the Zenith signing. I figured it wouldn't matter if I was far back in the line since I already had the book, but the line was already capped and they wouldn't let me. Boo. (Please don't get me started on the whole line situation there- it's so fucking nuts.)

My mom and I ended up waiting for, like 45 minutes for the Owlcrate wheel and my mom actually won the box! I got the March box, which was full of tons of goodies. It even had a book I wanted and the prettiest mermaid washi tape!

We waited in a couple more lines and talked to a few more people, but ended up leaving kind of early. I was tired and the only other thing I wanted to do wasn't for two more hours and we really didn't want to wait around.

And that was my trip to BookCon this year! I may have skimmed a couple, things, but that's the gist of it. I had a lot of fun, but I think last year was better. I'm debating whether or not I'm going to go next year...

If you went to BookCon, I'd love to hear about your experience :)

Reading With Danielle | An Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Danielle, welcome to my brand new book blog. This post is just going to be an introduction to me and what you might end up seeing if you choose to stick around! I'm new to the book blog world, so if you have any criticisms, comments, suggestions, or recommendations of blogs to check out, I'd love to hear about it. I'm really just winging it at this point.

But anyway, I'm twenty-one years old and going into my senior year in college. I'm studying children's literature and hope to go into publishing once I graduate. I also really want to be an author and am currently working on a series called The Magically Gifted. Currently, I'm working in a library and loving it!

Bookwise, I'm pretty strictly YA. I do stray into middle-grade and adult, but the bulk of what I read is young adult. Particularly, young adult fantasy. I'm very much a fantasy person. My favorite books include: Harry Potter (obviously), Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus, The Raven Cycle, Carry On, Fangirl, Fablehaven, and ACOMAF. Victoria Schwab is my all-time favorite author, as well.

I'm pretty active on Goodreads if you'd like to follow me there, and I also have a mostly bookish Instagram if you're into that kind of thing.

I have high hopes for this blog. I absolutely love reading and have no one, really, to talk to about the stuff I read, so hopefully this will give me a place to do that. Hopefully, there will be a lot of reviews and Top 5 Wednesdays and maybe even some fun tags! I'll have to start looking at other book blogs to see what else people normally post and get some ideas.

That's all I have for you for now! I hope you'll stick around :) Happy reading!