The Best of 2013: Read

So I'm probably not going to reach my goal of reading 53 books this year, but I have read 39 already, and the even better news is that I thought eight of them deserved 5 stars! That means I absolutely loved more than 20 percent of the books I read this year, so I really can't complain about that. :) In no particular order, here are those eight special books:

Stocking Stuffers Under $20: The Book Lover

1. You all know I'm a huge advocate of Goodreads, but if you have a friend who stills prefer pen and paper, this library-card-inspired journal would be the perfect place for her to jot down books to add to her ever-growing TBR pile.

$10.95

Nonfic November: A Guest Post

Remember that post I promised you about fiction/nonfiction pairs for the autumn book challenge? Well, the day has come for me to share my ideas! But you'll have to head over to Doing it the Open Way to see the post; I'm guest posting as part of her Non Fic November series today. This post also coincides perfectly with Jessica's Book Chat link-up topic for the week: nonfiction. I love killing two birds with one stone. Check out the full post here.

Have you read any good nonfiction lately? What's your favorite topic to read about?

The Book Chat: E-books vs. Print

I've touched on my feelings about e-books a few times, but it's been a while since I've done a full post on the subject. After reading my Kindle almost exclusively last year while I was traveling and then moving back to a city with a library card a few months ago, I definitely have some more defined thoughts on the topic now. Luckily, Jessica chose e-books vs. print books for the Book Chat topic this week, so you get to read all about my opinions today! :)

all images via @mcstroup on Instagram

The Book Chat: Banned Books

I am pretty darn disappointed in myself right now. I was so excited to blog about banned books for Jessica's Book Chat link-up this week, and now it's almost 10 p.m. and I haven't prepared anything. I really couldn't miss such an important topic, though, so here's just a small handful of banned or challenged books I've read and loved (click on the book covers to see my reviews on Goodreads):

Everyone should read this book.

As soon as I saw the Book Chat prompt for this week ("a book everyone should read once"), I knew exactly which book I was going to choose:

Thirteen Reasons Why, Jay Asher

In fact, my review on Goodreads was simply:

"Wow. Just wow. Everyone should read this book.
It could change your life."

The Book Chat: Back to School

This week we are talking about those beloved/dreaded school-assigned books. Love 'em or hate 'em. What are your favorites or least favorites? Are there any books you think should be assigned, or have you ever been assigned something bizarre in school? (Also, special thanks to Jessica for letting me co-host this week with Allie! I'm honored!)

First, let me start by saying I didn't go to the most prestigious high school, so there were a lot of books I was never assigned that most of my peers from other high schools were (e.g. The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, any complete play by Shakespeare, etc.). But, there were a few commonly assigned books we did read, including:

The Book Chat: Chick Lit

Image via styles on the go

My first thought when I saw this week's Book Chat topic was, "But I don't really read chick lit." As usual, Jessica read my mind and wrote this in her newsletter: "You've probably read more than you think." She also included a link to this Goodreads list, which got me thinking about all the chick lit I've read. I was a little surprised to find titles like The Time Traveler's Wife and The Help on the list, as well as some Nicholas Sparks titles, so I did some research on "chick lit." Wikipedia says:

Chick lit is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly.... Although it sometimes includes romantic elements, chick lit is generally not considered a direct subcategory of the romance novel genre, because the heroine's relationship with her family or friends is often just as important as her romantic relationships.

Makes sense! The first two books I mentioned above are not what I would call lighthearted, which is probably why that threw me off. And Nicholas Sparks is definitely all about the romantic relationships; there aren't enough friends and family relationships in his books for me to call them "chick lit." After this meticulous research on the definition of the genre, I'm reading to give you my list. :)

The Book Chat: Memoirs & Autobiographies

While I'm more of a narrative nonfiction (also called "creative nonfiction") type of girl, I have read a memoir or two in my day. The first memoir that jumped to mind when I saw this week's prompt was Lucky.

Let me just preface this by saying I loved The Lovely Bones. If you didn't like that book, you definitely won't like this one. I know a lot of people who didn't enjoy The Lovely Bones because of its tragic, sometimes graphic material. If you're one of those, remember The Lovely Bones is fiction, but Lucky is the true story of Alice Sebold's rape. It's heartbreaking and haunting, and I seriously considered cutting my hair after reading this book because in one scene, Alice says she thinks she might have escaped if her attacker hadn't grabbed her ponytail.

The Book Chat: Let's Catch Up!

Image via Instagram // Pictured: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

It has been far too long since I've participated in The Book Chat, a weekly bibliophile link-up hosted by Jessica of The Tangerine (formerly called Sweet Green Tangerine). She has also been on a short hiatus from hosting, so this week we're just catching each other back up on our bookish lives lately. I have three main updates: my current and recent reads, the status of my reading challenge and my brand-new bookcase from Target! Continue after the jump to read more.

The Book Chat: Favorite Setting

I'm guessing I'm going to be in the vast majority of book chatters today when I pick the Wizarding World for my favorite setting. I usually try to stay away from the Harry Potter books for Book Chat prompts, considering I used them so often for my 30-Day Book Challenge series last year, but nothing else compares this week.

It's not just the beauty of the setting that caused me to pick the Wizarding World. Yes, Hogwarts is majestic and mysterious; and yes, Diagon Alley is bustling and bursting at the seams with magical glory; and yes, Hogsmeade is quaint and full of character. Even the evil settings in Harry Potter have a terrifying beauty about them (I'm thinking The Cave).

Source: oldfashionedreaming.tumblr.com viaMegan on Pinterest

The Book Chat: Abandoning Books

I don't know how Jessica keeps coming up with such great Book Chat topics week after week, but somehow she does! And this week is no exception:


I almost never abandon books. Books are our friends! I always tell myself it might get better, and I always want to know what happens in the end (which is why I picked up Fifty Shades Freed yesterday, even though I hated the first two books). However, I am always disappointed when I finish a book and know I should have spent my time reading one of the 291 books on my TBR list. Here are a few books I wish I had abandoned:

Happy Birthday, Book Chat!

Can you believe it has been a year since Jessica posted the first-ever Book Chat prompt on Sweet Green Tangerine?? I always thought I had been part of the link-up since the beginning, but when I went back to look at my old posts, I was sad to discover my first participation was actually for the second prompt. So today, I'm going to go back and participate in that very first link-up:

Favorite tragic couple: Chris & Emily | The Pact by Jodi Picoult (I feel really weird saying that considering how messed up the relationship—and entire storyline—is, but I think I am biased because this is one of my favorite books of all time.)

The Book Chat: Books on the Big Screen

Today's Book Chat topic is a lot of fun: books I would like to see made into movies! Plus, one of my all-time favorite bloggers, Melissa, is co-hosting with Jessica this week, so you should definitely check out her blog! If you like books, travel and/or music, both of these gals are great ones to add to your Google Reader. :)


I saw that Jessica cast the characters of the books she would want to see on the big screen, and I really wanted to borrow that idea, but I'm having such a hard time picking actors and actresses that would do my favorite characters justice. Kudos to you, Jessica, for picking such awesome people in your post! And, I realized there were several movies based on books that I wanted to mention in this post, so I jumped between a few different related topics. I hope you don't mind!

The Book Chat: Reading Resolutions Update

This week's Book Chat topic is rereading books. I don't typically reread books, as I mentioned during this post for the 30-Day Book Challenge last year, but there is one series I will make an exception for. I also think I want to start rereading some books from my childhood that I might understand better now (e.g. The Phantom Tollbooth, His Dark Materials series, etc.).


Because I already wrote about rereading on this blog (which you can read by clicking the link above), I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on my progress with my 2013 reading resolutions, which are also a product of the Book Chat.

The Book Chat: Short Stories

Photo via Contains Moderate Peril

When I first saw the Book Chat topic from Sweet Green Tangerine last week, I didn't know if I would have enough to post about. I don't typically read short stories, but there were actually a few stories that jumped out in my memory right away. I was also able to find the full text for all the stories online, so you can enjoy them yourself (just click the title links)! First: "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. I read it in high school, and it has stuck with me ever since. When I was searching for an image for this post, I saw the story has also been turned into a film, so I might check that out. Another high school assignment that really stands out to me was "The Necklace." Finally, my mom read us "The Gift of the Magi" when I was young, and it's definitely a classic. Have you read any of these?

Note: This Book Chat topic (combined with a great $1.99 Best American Kindle sale last week) inspired me to buy The Best American Short Stories 2012. Maybe I'll find a few more short stories to add to my favorites! I'll also definitely be checking out the other link-ups to get some new ideas:

The Book Chat: Currently Reading

I'm so excited to be co-hosting The Book Chat with Jessica from Sweet Green Tangerine today! This week's topic is: What are you reading?

I recently joined the Literary Junkies Book Club, hosted by Pink Heels Pink Truck and By the Porchlight. The January book was The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling, she of esteemed Harry Potter fame, so I was excited to finally have an excuse to start it. I had been waiting to buy it until I caught up on all my reports for work, and then the Kindle version was briefly available for only $8! I was stoked. Unfortunately, I'm only about 11 percent of the way through, so I wasn't able to participate in the monthly Twitter chat on Tuesday, but I am still planning to finish the book. If you want to join in on the fun next month, the February book is The American Heiress.

I was also planning to update you on the state of my 2013 reading resolutions today, but with all these technical difficulties I've been having, I don't want this post to be any later than it already is. So, check back tomorrow (or this weekend) for that update. Thanks again for asking me to co-host, Jessica! I'm so honored. :)

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Is this your first time at the Book Chat? Just follow these simple rules:
1. Please follow the host (Sweet Green Tangerine) and co-host (me!)
2. Visit a few other book chat links and show some support.
3. Link back here in your post. Or use the button provided.
4. Old posts are always welcome if you have blogged on the topic before.

Next week's topic: Short stories and novellas.

The Book Chat: Pet Peeves

I know I'm late to the party, but I really didn't want to miss The Book Chat this (last) week. I think it's a great topic, and although there are many different things that have annoyed me in specific books in the past, I wanted to focus on one peeve today: when authors write in dialect.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was so hard for me to get through. I hate having to read the same line three times to figure out what all the misspellings are trying to say. I understand that dialect does add something to the story, but it makes reading tedious when every single line is written that way. When I first started reading The Help, I was really worried I wouldn't like it because certain chapters are written in dialect, but it ended up not being an issue. How do you feel about dialect in books? Can you think of any books that use it well or badly?

See the other posts from this week's link-up by clicking the button below:

Next week's topic: What are you currently reading? Be sure to join in because I'm co-hosting! :)

The Book Chat: Reading Resolutions

I know I already said I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions, but I'm all about reading goals! :) Today's book chat prompt is reading resolutions for 2013, so I came up with four reading-related goals I would love to accomplish this year:

Photos via @mcstroup on Instagram

The Book Chat: Merry Christmas to Me!

Follow me on Instagram at @mcstroup! :)

I didn't get a single book for Christmas this year. Amazing, right? Instead, my siblings and I all got each other cute little trinkets (like the above mug!) from various Christmas markets during our European holiday, and our mother graciously paid for us to take this European holiday. However, that doesn't mean I didn't buy myself a few Christmas presents on my Kindle. :) Here are my three most recent purchases: