T10T [2] - My Most Recommended Books

T10T [1] - Books I HAD TO BUY but are still UNREAD (vlog)

Hello all! I've wanted participate in Top Ten Tuesday (T10T), the meme created by The Broke and the Bookish, for a while, but I never felt like doing them on the blog (I have weird aesthetics on occasion - like how I think the number 2 is ugly - and this just happened to be another one of them).

However, I've been making some videos lately and decided to do the T10T meme via vlog. So here is my first one and I hope you guys enjoy and share your own thoughts on today's topic! ^_^

Off-line Update [2] - Happy Saint Patrick's Day! (vlog)

Off-line Update is my new feature where I can give you quirks a little heads up into what is going on in my life when it is not involving reading, writing, or YA.

Space Takers [1] - Underhyped Books (vlog)

Hello! I've been messing around with making videos and vlogs for a while and I finally did! Here is the first video in my vlog series Space Takers, which is all about books that take up space on my shelves. Enjoy! ^_^

2013 Goodreads Rundown [January - February]

A new year, a new and improved update post! To be honest, not much has changed for these posts except the name, but if you aren't familiar with my Goodreads Reading Challenge updates, this is where I give more detailed stats on what I've read so far this year.
 
My goal number this year is 90. I read over 100 last year with a goal of only 75 so I figured I would increase it a bit this go-round. From the looks of things so far, I'm off to a pretty descent start again this year!

Reading the stats: In my #/# calculations, the first # pertains only to the current months; the second # is the total thus far for the year.

Main Breakdown 
Books read to date: 23

Books read in January: 16

Books read in February: 7

Average books read per month:11/11

Books reviewed: 6/6
 
Type Breakdown
YA books: 21/21

Non-YA books: 2/2

Print books: 9/9

Audiobooks:14/14

 Genre Breakdown
Paranormal: 11/11

Contemporary: 1/1

Fantasy: 1/1

Science Fiction: 5/5

High Concept: 0/0
Historical: 2/2
Dystopian/Apocalyptic: 2/2
Mystery/Thriller: 0/0
Classic: 1/1
Reference/Craft: 0/0

 Title and Review Breakdown
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Maximum Ride by James Patterson

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

 Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Witch by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

Prodigy by Marie Lu (WQ Review)

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (WQ review)

The Wedding of Antanasia Jessica Packwood and Lucious Valeriu Vladescu by Beth Fantaskey

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

School's Out --- Forever by James Patterson

Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson

The Final Warning by James Patterson

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain (WQ review)

The Lost Letters of Brother Gabriel by Bree Despain

The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman

Max by James Patterson

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (WQ Review)

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (WQ Review)

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (WQ Review)

Ninth Key by Meg Cabot

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

How are you doing on your reading challenge?

Link a review or post if you wish! ^_^

Ink Anticipation [9] - March 2013

This old feature has a new use!
Ink Anticipation is now for sharing what books I am looking forward to that will be released during the following month. Clicking on a book cover will either take you to the book's Goodreads page or to my review. Don't forget to share your most anticipated releases in the comments!

March 1st

March 5th

March 12th

March 19th

March 21st

Reading Challenges Update [February 2013]

Hey quirks! I've decided to split up my reading updates due to how many challenges I am participating in this year. In 2012, I was only keeping up with my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I liked how I did that one and all the stats I kept up with, but I'm going to call them something different. The new title for those updates will be "2013 Goodreads Rundown" and they will appear bimonthly.

This series of posts I'm calling Reading Challenges Update is for all the other challenges I am trying to complete. These updates will be less detailed as far as stats go because I will just be listing the individual challenges and which books fit under them that I read during the previous month.

February: 3 --- Total: 14/24

Max by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #5)
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (Fairytale Retellings #2)
Ninth Key by Meg Cabot (The Mediator #2)

February: 3 --- Total: 14/25+

Max by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #5)

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky #1)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

February: 1 --- Total: 1

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

February: 1 --- Total: 2/12

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (Fairytale Retellings #2) [Keyword: Sweet]

February: 5 --- Total: 11/36

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (Unearthly #1)

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce (Fairytale Retellings #2)

Ninth Key by Meg Cabot (The Mediator #2)

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

February: 1 --- Total: 2/12

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (Unearthly #1) [Creature: Angel]

Ink to Image [2] - Beautiful Creatures

Did I read the book or watch the movie first?
Seeing that the movie just hit theaters on Valentine's Day, I definitely read the book first, but I was there on the 14th to see the movie (what can I say, I was excited!).

Which was better?
This is tough. The screenplay was much altered from the story in the book, but the movie was so good you guys. Still, I really missed all the things they left out and changed, so I'm going to go with the book. To me, the lore, details, and some events were really important and they made more sense to me than the direction the movie took. But the movie is a very close second because it was funny and quirky and I adored Ethan and Lena all over again.

What made me read/watch?
From the first time I heard about Beautiful Creatures, I wanted to read it. The southern setting, magic, and mystery were right in my wheelhouse. Reading and loving the book is what made me want to see the film. (The phenomenal casting didn't hurt either.)

Will I read/watch more if available?
I will definitely be reading more. I've currently read the first two books in the series plus the available novella, and I have the third book on my TBR shelf just waiting for me. I will also be watching the movie again, and will watch any more movies they make for the series so long as the actors stay put (because, again, Ethan and Lena were amazing!).

That's it quirks! I hope you enjoyed my assessment. Have you gotten to see the Beautiful Creatures movie yet? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments!?

*Click on a book's cover to be taken to the book's Goodreads page, click on the movie poster to be taken to the movie's IMDB page, and click on the movie banner to be taken to the movie's website.

Reading Challenges Update [January 2013]

Hey quirks! I've decided to split up my reading updates due to how many challenges I am participating in this year. In 2012, I was only keeping up with my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I liked how I did that one and all the stats I kept up with, but I'm going to call them something different. The new title for those updates will be "2013 Goodreads Rundown" and they will appear bimonthly.

This series of posts I'm calling Reading Challenges Update is for all the other challenges I am trying to complete. These updates will be less detailed as far as stats go because I will just be listing the individual challenges and which books fit under them that I read during the previous month.

So without further ado, here is my first Reading Challenges Update!

January: 11 --- Total: 11/24

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson (Little Blue Envelope #2)
Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3)
Prodigy by Marie Lu (Legend #2)
The Wedding of Antanasia Jessica Packwood and Lucius Valeriu Vladescu by Beth Fantaskey (Jessica #1.5)
School's Out -- Forever by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #2)
Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #3)
The Final Warning by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #4) 
The Lost Saint by Bree Despain (The Dark Divine #2)
The Lost Letters of Brother Gabriel by Bree Despain (The Dark Divine #2.5)
The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (Sally Lockhart #2)

January: 11 --- Total: 11/25+

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson (Little Blue Envelope #2)

The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #1)

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #2)

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3)

Witch by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié (Wicked #1)

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (Sally Lockhart #1)

School's Out -- Forever by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #2)

Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #3)

The Final Warning by James Patterson (Maximum Ride #4)

The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (Sally Lockhart #2)

January: 0 --- Total: 0

January: 1 --- Total: 1/12

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman (Sally Lockhart #1) [Keyword: Smoke]

January: 6 --- Total: 6/36

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson (Little Blue Envelope #2)

The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale 

Witch by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié (Wicked #1)

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (Jessica #1)

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain (The Dark Divine #2)

The Lost Letters of Brother Gabriel by Bree Despain (The Dark Divine #2.5)

January: 1 --- Total: 1/12

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (Jessica #1)  [Creature: Vampire]

The Archived Book Birthday Giveaway Winner!

Hey quirks! As you might remember, I celebrated the release of THE ARCHIVED by Victoria Schwab by giving away a copy from The Book Depository.

Yesterday I had the chance to go to the launch party for The Archived and Victoria herself was kind enough to take a photo for me announcing the winner, and the winner is:

Congrats Daniela! Be on the look out for The Archived arriving in your mailbox in the next couple of weeks.

A big thank you to all who participated, and even if you didn't win, you can still get your own (Beautiful! Amazing! Spectacular!) copy of The Archived at the following online sites (or your own local book seller, of course):

Amazon / Indie Bound / The Book Depository

Ink Anticipation [8] - February 2013

This old feature has a new use!
Ink Anticipation is now for sharing what books I am looking forward to that will be released during the following month. Clicking on a book cover will either take you to the book's Goodreads page or to my review. Don't forget to share your most anticipated releases in the comments!

February 5th

February 12th

February 19th

February 26th

Write Stuff [24]

Write Stuff  is based on the Wannabe Writers meme hosted by Sarah at Confessions of the Un-Published. This meme is what prompted me to start Writer Quirk, so I am thankful to Sarah for creating it.

I use this meme to talk about the ups and downs of writing, what I'm working on, and, in November, to chronicle my NaNoWriMo journey.


After a nice break through most of December, I got back to working on my WIP (purple progress bar on the right). Since starting up again I've added about 5k words to it, but I can't seem to keep up my motivation.

Then recently I ran across The Writer's Dojo and their revamped NiNoWriMo (Ninja Novel Writing Month) and decided to sign up. My goal is to write at least 3k words a week. That won't get me to meeting my own personal deadline of the end of March, but hopefully it will get me in a better pattern so that I'll at least be closer. For more info on The Writer's Dojo and what all great things are going on over there (there are dojos for revising and querying too!) click on the graphic below.

Are you working on any writing projects? What goals have you set for yourself? Let me know in the comments! ^_^

Ink to Image [1] - The Twilight Saga

Hey quirks! I've decided to do a new feature that focuses on books that have been adapted for the silver or small screen. Rather than just reviewing the books/movies/shows, I plan to discuss what makes one or the other better, why I chose to read the book or watch the movie/show, and my plans, if any, on continuing to read or watch. I kind of want to give you an idea of how this will work, so for my introductory post, I decided to use a franchise that is well-known, well-loved, and well-hated: The Twilight Saga*.

I'll begin with 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?' question: Did I read the books or watch the movies first?
I had just started reading the first novel, Twilight, when I watched the movie, so I say I watched the movie first. But for the rest of the series, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, I read the books first.

Which was better?
Neither the movie franchise nor the book series is the best of what each medium has to offer and the pitfalls of both have been well-documented. Still, I found both forms of the story to be entertaining, and each had some great aspects. I liked some of the additions in the films, specifically the twist in Breaking Dawn Part 2 and the higher level of action throughout the series, but overall I think I enjoyed the books more because of all the details that were in the books but ultimately left out of the movies. (This is a common issue with book adaptations and will likely be mentioned frequently in my Ink to Image posts.)

What made me read/watch?
The Twilight movie buzz was just a hum when I became aware of it, but then some of my friends who had already read the first book invited me to come along when they went to see the movie. Having been informed by them that it was based on a book, I decided to read the story as well. I was more interested after seeing the movie, and then became enthralled (like pretty much everyone else) after finishing the first book, so I completed the series.

Will I read/watch more if available?
I do not think the world of Twilight needs to be revisited on screen for a very long time. That is not to say I wouldn't eventually watch a related film or show, but I would do so reluctantly if they appear within the next decade or two. However, if Stephenie Meyer wrote more Twilight stories/books, I would definitely read them. Not only do I want to know more about what happens to certain characters (not the main two) but I enjoy the lore. I read the novella that came out a while back (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner) and loved it. I think not only does Meyer have some good story foundation to go with but she is also getting better as a writer, so it would be great to see her do something else with it beyond the scope of Bella and Edward.

That's it quirks, short and sweet! I hope you enjoyed my first foray into this feature. What are your thoughts on this book to movie comparison? Let me know in the comments! ^_^

*Click on a book's cover to be taken to the book's Goodreads page and click on a movie poster to be taken to the movie's IMDB page.