Booktubeathon TBR | Reading With Danielle

Booktubeathon is coming up and I'm so excited for it! I don't normally do readathons, but I always attempt to do this one every year. And this year, I'll document the experience right here with you guys :)

I'll be mostly updating about the readathon here or on my instagram, so if you want to check it out you totally should!

Lastly, I'd like to say that I really don't know what any of these books are about (oops), so sorry for not describing any of them? Is that a thing I should be doing (lol)? Idk I'm not super familiar with book blogs- I'm more of a booktube-watcher. Also, you could recommend some book blogs for me to read!

And now, on to the seven books I'm going to try to read in seven days!

• Challenge #1: Read a book with a person on the cover

 For this challenge, I'm going to go with The Painting by Charis Cotter! This is one of the books I got from BookCon this year and there is a lovely picture of a girl on the cover. It looks like a fast read, which is always a plus for a readathon.

• Challenge #2: Read a hyped book

For this one, I'm going with a book I have owned for close to three years now (if not three years lol), which is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. I tried to read this one back when I first bought it (because of booktube!!) and didn't really get into it, but the hype was so wild I couldn't get myself to get rid of the book. So now, after so long, I'm going to attempt to read it!

• Challenge #3: Finish a book in a day

This is going to be doubled up with Challenge #5 since this book is so tiny. I'm choosing Life is Like a Musical by Tim Federle. This is an ARC that I got at BookCon this year and is less than 150 pages, so I think it should go by super fast and be easy to read in a single day.

• Challenge #4: Read about a character that is very different from you

This is a tough one to find, since most of the books that I own that could fit the bill are far too big to attempt in this time period. I might double up and could this one for Aristotle and Dante as well, but I'll try to find something else for this one.

 But if I do go with Ari and Dante, the differences are vast:

1. Ari is Mexican, while I am white.
2. Ari is gay, while I am not.
3. Ari is a guy, while I am a girl.

So, it'll be a very different perspective!

• Challenge #5: Finish a book completely outdoors

Like I said before, I'm doubling up on this challenge with Life is Like a Musical! It'll be easy peasy lemon squeezy to read it outside.

• Challenge #6: Read a book you bought because of the cover

This might be flubbing this one a little, but I'm going to go with The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett. I was already going to buy this book, but the cover I found on Book Depository is so amazing that I ended up spending a little extra money for this edition. Don't judge me lmao. (Yes, that picture is the cover I own!! It looks so nice in real life!!)

• Challenge #7: Read seven books

So, if you were counting you will have noticed that I've only picked four books so far... For right now, I'm going to only list six books and leave the seventh as sort of a wild card (lowkey it might just be The Last Olympian so I can finish my reread, but we'll see :p). I might try to make other books count for the two challenges I'm doubling up on, but I won't sweat it if they don't. I'll still be accomplishing them all.

I think one of my other reads will be Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown, which is yet another ARC I got from BookCon. It feels good to have a plan on when I'm going to get to some of them. (Don't tell anyone, but I still have some from last year that I haven't read yet... oops).

And the last one that I'm going to decide right now is The Balance Keepers: Fires of Calderon by Lindsay Cummings!

And that's all for now, folks! Be sure to check out my Instagram, which is mostly book related though I don't post super frequently. And let me know what you're thinking of reading for the Booktubeathon and it'll be like we're all reading together :)

Children's Books | T5W | Reading With Danielle

So, here's my first official Top 5 Wednesday post! And this one is gonna be a fun one, considering I'm a Children's Literature major in school, so these books are definitely my fave! As per requested in the July Topics post, I'm going to shy away from the obvious choices (like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson). I'll also try to avoid using the same author over and over, even though this could easily turn into a Brandon Mull recommendation post.

These are in no particular order (maybe). Well, they are in a least-to-most favorite order, but except for the number one spot, they're not set in stone.

5. Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

This is the most recent of all of my middle grade books on this list, but it is the only one I gave three stars on Goodreads. It was a good, solid book and I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't wow me. I think it shows Tahereh's potential in a middle grade setting and I'd like to see her write more in this age group!

4. Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz

This is only for the first book, not the second or third in the series! I actually really enjoyed this book. That's probably because I'm weirdly obsessed with it's partner movie Descendants. But it was so fun and had great characterization and I gave it four stars back when I read it! The second book was disappointing, though, so I'm just gonna stick with this book and the movie.

3. Fortunately The Milk by Neil Gaiman

This was such a cute little read! Neil Gaiman is a hit or miss for me, but this was definitely a hit. The story was goofy and adorable. The art was quirky and perfect for the story as well. Overall, this was such a fun little read.

2. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

This book caught me by surprise. I was not expecting a simple middle grade about a boy pretending to be a long-lost prince to be mind-blowing, but it ended up blowing my mind. While the other books in the series weren't quite as good as this one, I definitely recommend this book. (Also, there's some debate over whether this is middle grade or ya, but I definitely think it's middle grade, hence why it's in this post.)

1. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

Arguably one of my favorite series of all time, I absolutely had to put this book on the list. Fablehaven will always be one of my all time faves and it is such a fun middle grade series! All of Brandon Mull's books are fun middle grade series, to be completely honest, but this one is his best and the one I recommend the most.

And here are some honorable mentions, which are basically my favorites from back when I was an actual child, rather than an tennager/adult reading middle grade novels...

The Doll People by Ann M. Martin

I read the first two or three books in this series as a kid and absolutely adored it! It's about dolls who come to life when people aren't looking (like Toy Story, but funnily enough as a kid I found this one to be more logical about it all). I loved the art in the books and how it showed different types of toys (like the two main dolls are a new plastic-y doll made for a four year old and an old porcelain doll that was passed down from a grandmother). It was just such a fun read and I'm often tempted to re-buy these books and reread them all.

W.I.T.C.H by Elizabeth Lenhard

Don't get me started about W.I.T.C.H. This is actually a comic book that had a TV show and was also novelized. I read the first few books in the novelization as a child and adored it. I've always been a sucker for magical girl stories and this is no different. I still have fond feelings when thinking about this book.

Peter and The Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

I loved this book as a kid more than I love the actual Peter Pan story. This was so much fun and gave reasons to how Neverland was the way it was and I just ate it up. I read it multiple times but somehow never actually finished the series.

Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine

This is mostly a stand-in for all the Disney Fairies books that were out back when I was eleven or younger. I was obsessed with them and was constantly going to Borders and discovering new ones. These books still hold such a special place in my heart. Once I unpack all of my books, I'm half-tempted to reread some of them!

Don't forget to check out the Goodreads group!

Biggest Disappointments | Reading With Danielle

This is a list of some of the books I've read in the past year or so that I would say were some of my biggest disappointments. These aren't necessarily bad books (except for one of them, which I didn't like in the least bit), but they were just disappointing either because of the hype surrounding them or the preceding book in the series...

These aren't in much of an order, except for the fact that #1 is the one I hated/was most disappointed by.
So, let's start at #4!

4. Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

This was so hyped up and I was really looking forward to it, back when it first came out. I even got a signed copy when Susan came to my local bookstore. But the world-building was off for me, I didn't really get any of it, and I hated the budding romance. I could sense it from a mile off and was like "No thanks!!!"

I like the friendship aspect of it and it did make me wish I'd enjoyed the rest of the book, but I just didn't. I'm kind of bummed because everyone else seems to love this book and the next one, but it just didn't work for me.

3. Everything Leads to You By Nina LaCour

Now I really enjoyed this book, don't get me wrong! It was a super cute contemporary and I loved the movie set aspect of the whole thing. If I hadn't been reading it for the romance, it wouldn't have been a disappointment at all. But I was reading it for the F/F romance and I found it to be lacking? Like, they were super cute together and I liked how it worked out, but there wasn't enough of the actual romance! It was barely there and I just wanted more.

2. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

Now, I gave the first book 5 stars and a place on my favorites list, so maybe it's not super shocking that this wasn't as good and, thus, a disappointment. But this was just too political for me and there was barely any action. It was dull, and now thanks to this (and other recent enlightenments about the author) I don't know if I really care to finish this trilogy...

1. Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Oh. My. God. I could rant for days about this book and what a disappointment it was! For starters, the first book in this trilogy (Hourglass) was such a surprise and I adored it back when I read it. And I loved Kaleb so much (lowkey wanted Emerson to end up with him, even though I knew it wasn't going to happen). I was heartbroken to discover how difficult it was to get my hands on Timepiece, since the series had gone out of print. It took me a solid year to finally get my hands on a reasonably priced copy of this book.

And it was such a disappointment.

One, I hated the fact that the POV was changed. The change in voice did not suit the story at all. Plus, Myra McEntire basically just made me hate Kaleb, even though I had adored him in the previous book. He was such an asshole??? And so much less complex than in the first book. Everything I had liked about the first book was gone and this literally ruined it all for me.

Ugh! I am still so mad at how this book went. I couldn't even tell you anything that actually happened in it; I was too engrossed with being pissed. Needless to say, I did not try to get my hands on the third book. (I am so happy that I buy series one book at a time! I would have hated to waste the money.)

This book was just really not for me and ruined how good the first book was. 

**

So yeah, those are my biggest disappointments in books that I've read. It's very rare (as you can see) that I dislike a book/am disappointed by a book, since I usually just DNF it if I'm not enjoying it. But I finished all of these and was let down by each and every one of them.

What are some of your biggest disappointments in books? Or better yet, what are some of your best surprises?

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.