Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings Me...

So I know that Santa isn't bringing me any books this year....my Santa actually gave me this:

Complete series of the Gilmore Girls! And I am super stoked!

But it would be great if I use some of my book buying Christmas money for...

1. Lies My Teacher Told Me : Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen 
2. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
3. The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry
4. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
5. The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate by Robert D. Kaplan
6. How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster
7. 40 Days with the Savior by Connie E. Sokol
8. If Life Were Easy, It Wouldn't Be Hard: And Other Reassuring Truths by Sheri Dew
9. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
10. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

All of these are books I haven't read...but really want to read--maybe if they are in my house I would! (Ha ha ha :P)

Top Ten New Authors To Me 2013

http://www.brokeandbookish.com/

I am going to separate this into books that I read this year in which I discovered a new author and new authors that I've heard of/recently published but I haven't had a chance to read yet.

1. Charlotte Bronte...yeah hadn't read anything really by her before Jane Eyre
2. Brandon Mull...absolutely loving his writing and I love how I found out he was in Divine Comedy at the Y
3. Veronica Roth...she has written what has so far been a great trilogy...can't wait to finish it
4. Shawn Inmon....this was cool as it was an author that contacted me through my blog and asked for feedback from me....the first time I really felt validated as a blogger

Authors that I Have Added to TBR Pile

1. Christine Haggerty-- She has been published!! So excited to read her book Plague Legacy: Acquisitions
2. Karey White--Excited to read My Own Mr. Darcy
3. Suzy Turner--Met her over the blogosphere and I'm interested to read the Raven
4. William Makepeace Thackeray---OLD author...wrote Vanity Fair, after seeing a read-along with this book, I am hoping to read it soon.
5. Norma Bannister--A Holocaust survivor that wrote her story...I have been wanting to read it since I found out about it

Hmm...I tried for ten I guess it just gets to be 9...

Top Ten Tuesdays: Recommendations for High School Students

Tonight I thought for Top Ten Tuesday I would do recommendations for my students.  What should I read if I completely hate reading and I am a high school student?!

If you like futuristic/reality
1. The Hunger Games--if you haven't read it you are seriously missing out!
2. Divergent--this one is really good...especially if you liked The Hunger Games

If you like drama/suspense
3. The Face on the Milk Carton--Kidnapping and family drama all in one :)
4. The Pelican Brief--Who killed who? Why did they do it? And there's more by John Grisham too.

If you like Downton Abbey
5. Pride and Prejudice--It is a great story, and a romance to top it off. And if you like that go to Emma
6. Anne of Green Gables--This old-fashioned story has always been really sweet and then I love keep reading the rest of them.

If you like romances
7. The Truth About Forever--super sweet love story!! And it is a high school love story :) And you can read more Sarah Dessen if you like this one
8. The Last Song--Nicholas Sparks is a great author to read...I like starting with this one because it is more high school friendly

If you like historical fiction
9. The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas--It is a great story from a different perspective.
10. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society--I love how this whole book is in letters and you learn so much about history :)

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Books to Read During Halloween

Hmm....this one might be interesting but still very important---I just don't read "scary" books so lets see what I come up with.

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.....I feel like this is appropriate
2. Harry Potter series....something about magic and wizards says Halloween to me
3. Alanna series (Tamora Pierce)....being a girl dressed up as a guy is not exactly Halloween...but the dress-up part is
4. Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier...the whole is there a ghost or isn't there thing says Halloween
5. Dracula....of course

Okay so I am out of book ideas....but I do have short story/novella/poem ideas

6. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving....of course
7. The Tell-Tale Heart--what's spookier than a beating heart beneath your floor?
8. The Raven---You have to watch the Simpsons Halloween special on this one
9. The Birds by Daphne DuMaurier---They are coming to get you!!
10. A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner--Creepy creepy!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Tuesdays: Unusual Character Names

Today's top ten Tuesday is all about names that we read in books that are just plain strange.  Here is my list:

1. Katniss--Hunger Games....just weird
2. Renesmee--Twilight/Breaking Dawn....double weird
3. Alanna--Alanna the First Adventure....not super weird but unusual
4. Hermione from Harry Potter....no one knew how to say it until the 4th book :P I always wondered if she did that because everyone was saying it wrong.

Hmm....that was what stuck out right away....its been a long day or I would probably think more.

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Books I Was Forced to Read

Being an English major and going through honors English in high school, never mind teaching students Shakespeare...I have been "forced" to read things that I probably wouldn't have picked up on my own and I LOVED!

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier--My absolutely favorite book from English class high school
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas--It was a great story from high school!
3. Richard III by William Shakespeare--I read this because the festival did it....and it was SO hard to get through at first, but I really enjoyed it.
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee--This is one of my FAVORITE books and I wouldn't have read it without high school English and loved it more with teaching.
5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald--My first exposure and it was great.
6. Macbeth by William Shakespeare--Great story of the tragic hero!
7. Death by a Salesman by Arthur Miller--Great story of the American dream.
8. The Crucible by Arthur Miller--Inspired my thesis!
9. Hamlet by William Shakespeare--I learned what true writing was with this play.
10. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield--A fellow teacher assigned this and I wanted to read it with the students in my Social Studies classes and it was a great book.

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Tuesday: Best/Worst Endings in a Series

I feel like I've done this before....but maybe not.  We'll see how many I come up with.

Best

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows--loved and I didn't feel like I needed more!
2. Rilla of Ingleside--I loved the ending, it is a great send off for the characters

Worst

1. Mockingjay---I have said before that I'm not a fan...and its not great
2. Breaking Dawn--Not a fan..could have ended differently

Hmmm...I didn't think of anything else that really stuck out.  It is moments like these when I feel like I don't read as much as I should!

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Best Sequels Ever

This list might be tricky to make....because I like series....sequels aren't exactly series...but they are kind of like series....so we go with it :)

1. The Alanna Series by Tamora Pierce---this is a great quartet!
2. Catching Fire is a great sequel to The Hunger Games....but Mockingjay was not my favorite
3. The DaVinci Code is a great sequel to Angels and Demons
4. Anne of Green Gables series....the second book, Anne of Avonlea is a great addition to the first book..and I like the rest of them too
5. Little Men is a good sequel to Little Women
6. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants...the second one is good for sure...I can't remember the third one and I'm not sure if I've read the fourth
7. Harry Potter series....each book seems to get better which is nice :)
8. The Face on the Milk Carton...this quartet is great...but it is actually has five books in it--the fifth book was published earlier this year and I'm excited to read it, someday :)
9. Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, Emily's Quest...also L.M. Montgomery...this is a great trio too :)

Ok so I couldn't come up with a 10th...but I did think of this: Steve Berry wrote the Cotton Malone series..I have only read one--not knowing it was like the 7th...it was called Jefferson Key.  I thoroughly enjoyed it...and I want to read this series....in actual order now.

Top Ten Tuesday: Fall Books!

This week I am going to be making my list of books I want to read this fall.  The funny thing is....this list needs to be a "crap 2013 is almost over" list.  This list also kind of two parts.....books to finish and then start :)

To Finish

1. Guernesy Literary and Potato Peel Society
2. The DaVinci Code
3. To Kill a Mockingbird (so close with this one!)
4. Mansfield Park (this one will be easier said then done)

To Start

1. The Lost Symbol
2. Inferno (yay new book!)
3. Northanger Abbey
4. Emma
5. Persuasion
6. Lady Susan

Remember I wanted to finish Dan Brown and Jane Austen...so we'll see if I can actually do this. Ha...ha...bets start now if I will actually finish! I'll take $20 on she won't ;)

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Top Ten (Five) Tuesday: Books That Should be Made into Books and TV Shows

Okay first of, I almost didn't do this question because I don't feel like a book should ever really be made into a movie/tv show. I am honestly not sure if I can think of ten....but I'll try.

1. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen--this book is awesome and would probably make a great movie.
2. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld--this whole series might get a good movie following like Hunger Games
3. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier--there might be a movie on this one already, but this would be a great one

Alright....so that's all I could think of but I did think of a couple that could use a remake...

1. Merry Wives of Windsor--I have only seen a BBC version and it is really not that great.  The play is better live and it would be nice to show students a better version if you can't go see the play.
2. Ella Enchanted--The current movie is a shame to the book...so it might be nice to see a new version.

What books can you come up with?

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Top Ten Tuesdays: Classics Paired with Current

I am so excited about this Top Ten Tuesday in which we pair a required reading or books that should be required readings.  The English teacher in me is sooo thrilled.  So here we go :)

Pairings
1. 1984 with The Giver--You have to do the utopian thing together
2. Romeo and Juliet with West Side Story--yes I know its not really a book but a musical...but Romeo and Juliet is a play so deal :)
3. Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities-- I did this in my class last year and LOVED IT!
4. The Diary of Anne Frank and Number the Stars--Holocaust from a female perspective plus the whole non-fiction and fiction
5. Mississippi Trial, 1955 and Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of Emmett Till--These were written to serve together as a companion and this should totally be required readings!

Should Be Required Reading
1. The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas--Great book that makes kids thing about the Holocaust
2. Rebecca--I absolutely love this book and it was required in my high school but I don't think many use it
3. Pride and Prejudice--A lot of people don't like to touch this because the boys won't like it...but seriously it is a good book!
4. Speak--This book is more relate-able than most books students read and it is written very well
5. Little Women--Because I simply love it!! :)

Top Posts of August

It is now September.  I was just realizing that the other day that there are four months left of the year.  How crazy is that?! Because it is a new month, we look back on the old and see how we did.

3. Top Ten Tuesday: Secondary Characters--This post was actually a lot of fun to do. I enjoy participating in Top Ten because I get to use my literary brain sometimes!

2. Bout of Books Goals--This kicked off my crazy idea that I might finish Mansfield Park that week. Ha! That book is a bit boring. I am still determined to finish, but wow that was an ambitious goal!

1. Top Ten Tuesday: Making Blog Life Easy--This was an easy post to write because I kind of do this for a living now.  I am all about trying to make our school blog easy to use!

It is no coincidence to me that by jumping on these events with other bloggers is what is on for this month top posts.  I did a lot of stuff with other groups this month and it has made coming up with what to write about easier but not feel so restrictive.  Thanks to my fellow bloggers who put in the effort to do something like that. Maybe some day I will too :)

Seemed appropriate...
http://upfront.ngsgenealogy.org/2013/02/official-genealogy-bloggers-sought-for.html

Top Ten Tuesday: Secondary Characters

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is all about secondary characters.  To me a secondary character is like a supporting actor...he/she helps the main character be their best and/or move the plot forward. So with that criteria, here are my top ten secondary characters:

1. Calpurnia from To Kill a Mockingbird--She really keeps the family together!

2. Diane Barry from Anne of Green Gables--I love her and she helps Anne be the best character!!

3. Melanie from The Host--Because she is just really a body....and kind of a mind....I thought it is a good secondary character to Wanderer.

4. Maximilian Kohler from Angels and Demons--Because of Max the story moves forward.  He is very important to moving the plot forward.

5. James and Lily Potter from the Harry Potter series--They are not alive for really any of the books, but they support Harry throughout all of the books and are forefront in his mind.

6. Mrs. Everdeen from The Hunger Games series-- She is not in the books very much, but I love the influence that she seems to have on Katniss.

7. Cinna from The Hunger Games series--I could not just pick one character from this series.  I loved Cinna, and I think he was a great motivation for Katniss.

8. Hannah from Little Women--She is the March's cook and really seems to do well for the girls and effectively becomes their second mom.

9. Mrs. Bennett from Pride and Prejudice- As Elizabeth's mom, she is a great influence on her and her personality.

10. Lydia from Pride and Prejudice- As Elizabeth's sister who runs away, she is really what brings Elizabeth and Darcy together!

Top Ten Tuesday: Making Blog Life Easy

So today's Top Ten is all about making your blog life easier....what tools/gadgets/etc. do you use?  I am not sure if I use ten...but I do use some so here it goes.

1. Hootsuite--If you have never used and you want more of a social network presence you NEED to!  You sync up all of your stuff (ie Facebook, Twitter) and post directly from there. I can do the same post to both with one click. I can schedule posts to go up at certain times. I can shrink links for Twitter, confirm my picture that shows up on Facebook etc.  It is awesome!!!

2. Scheduling on Blogger---I can write a post the day before and schedule it to post the next day.  So convenient when I know I won't have time to blog the next day---or at work when I write like three posts in a day so I can space them out a bit. (See our school blog here)

3. Fellow Bloggers--Doing this every day gets easier as I find other bloggers to read and participate in stuff with like Top Ten and Bout of Books!

4. Feedly---I am not using this to its full capacity yet, because I haven't organized everything into my lists--but I love having lists of topics for the blogs....all of my book friends together etc. so that I can see everything easily in one place :)

5. Pinterest!! OH my goodness don't know where I would be without the inspiration that I get from this site AND the ultimate list maker.  Seriously like I use to just bookmark stuff or try not to forget about what I saw...now I just save it to Pinterest and I know it will be there later when I want it.

6. Having "go to's"--When I finish a book or watch a new movie--instant blog post...each Friday I do something with current events...or if I'm out of ideas I can think about what I'm doing in school right now and talk about some techniques there.

Well I guess it only ended up being 6.....I have been trying to think of more with little success.  Happy Blogging everyone!!

Bout of Books Update for Day 1: Today I started Mansfield Park---jury is still out on whether I like it or not.  It took quite a bit of thinking to get all of my characters straight...I have a feeling this one might have the same problem as Sense and Sensibility.....too many characters.  I am at chapter 8....so I am still trying to have an open mind. I also did a bit of reading in To Kill a Mockingbird---lots of plane time switching between the Kindle and the actual book.  Feeling really successful about today!

Top Ten Tuesdays: Foreign Country Books

This week's Top Ten Tuesday has us pick a favorite setting and make a list of the books that go with.  I decided to do books that take place in foreign countries because I like being able to go to a different place.  Surprisingly enough, I do not have a passport because I have never been to a foreign country--just in books :)

Top Ten Books that I Love in Foreign Countries

1. Anne of Green Gables series--really...anything by L.M. Montgomery--all of her books take place in or around Prince Edward Island

2. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society...which takes place on the Channel Islands

3. Angels and Demons--takes place primarily in and around Vatican City

4. Da Vinci Code--takes place in Paris, France

5. Jane Austen books--all in England :)

6. The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas--Germany/Poland (not sure because the book really doesn't specify)

7. Cry the Beloved Country--South Africa

Ok now I duplicate countries because I can't think of other non-in those countries

8. A Tale of Two Cities--England and France (though mostly France)

9. Harry Potter--England/fantasy world

10. Downburst--half US/half Canada

Top Ten Tuesdays: Sequels of Books

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is about books that you wish had a sequel.  I have a cavat to give to this list before I do....and we'll see if I end up at 10...but I understand that authors are done writing about the characters.  There isn't more to tell in the story, there isn't more that is needed to say...but sometimes I wish there was more to the story!! I am sad to end the world with these characters...which is how they ended up on the list. So in any order, here they come.

1. Harry Potter...prequels or sequels--I was just hoping to have more about the characters.
2. The Host...some people stay away from Stephenie Meyer, but I loved this book and she has talked about a sequel, so I am patiently waiting for it.
3. Mockingjay....I want to know more because I did not like how it ended!
4. Downburst...this is a little known book by my friend Kate Robison (check it out on Goodreads) and she is working on a sequel...but I just can't wait!

Hmm...I guess that's all of them!  I wonder if I'll think of more later, and then add to this list!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Words/Topics That Will Make You NOT pick up a book

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

So I am hopping in again on Top Ten Tuesday...with the house closing last week I completely forgot about it!  I would like to make this a weekly thing....so this week's topic is why I will not read a book. However...there are very few things that I will never ever ever read....and a lot of things that I won't grab on my own.

So stuff that I will never read

1. Horror--really don't like the whole scary thing
2. Zombies...I don't even watch movies/TV shows based on this---I don't get the point
3. Erotica....I will never ever read 50 Shades of Gray...despite what anyone says about how great it is
4. Supernatural....i.e. demons, really creepy witches etc....though this does not include Harry Potter

Books that I will occasionally read...especially with recommendations

1. Vampires...as the main pull...Twilight started this craze--so this is my exception
2. Stephen King---see reason above; I have not read anything by him...however, 11/22/63 is on my list to read...so I will probably break that rule
3. Autobiographies....like those one by famous celebrities...nope never--I have however read a few of celebrities that I care about....though I can actually only think of one
4. Poetry...I read it strictly for school/academics.  I will NOT read poetry on my own (and yes I am an English teacher)
5. Aliens....though I have read The Host and Ender's Game
6.  Science fiction.....very rare for me--I will read the occasional but not on my own

Top Ten Tuesday: Movie Adaptations of Books

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/

Today's Top Ten Tuesday link up is all about movies that took our books and made them new....for good or ill so here is my list

Top 5 Best (for the record, I don't know if any movie will really replace a book)

1. The Pelican Brief--This actually is a pretty good adaptation, but I still like the book better.

2. The Notebook--Stays so close, and I felt like I was reading the book when I watched it!

3. Angels and Demons--Again like DaVinci code it follows it very well, I think even better than DaVinci

4. DaVinci Code--It actually follows it very well.

5. The Time Traveler's Wife--This was a great movie adaptation to a book. (though I highly recommend reading it first! I think it will help the movie make more sense)

Top 5 Worst

1. My Sister's Keeper--This movie made me SO mad!! They changed the ending!!!! Read the book then see the movie if you really want to.

2. Harry Potter #5--Holy crap I could barely recognize the book in the movie

3. The Count of Monte Cristo--I honestly I am not sure why I didn't like this movie....but it really didn't remind me of the book at all.

4. Bourne Identity, Supremacy etc.--I haven't read the books, just seen the movies--my husband has read the books and he has told me that all the movies stole was the basic premise--a spy named Jason Bourne that doesn't remember anything.  That's it! I have been meaning to read the books because apparently they are SO much better!

5. Twilight movies--They really aren't that bad, but the acting leaves something to be desired compared to the books.