The Whimsical Mama

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Top Ten Tuesday #101: Ten Books That Have Been On Your Shelf (Or TBR) From Before You Started Blogging That You STILL Haven’t Read Yet August 23, 2016

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Ten Books That Have Been On Your Shelf (Or TBR) From Before You Started Blogging That You STILL Haven’t Read Yet

  1. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

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2. The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

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3. Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

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4. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

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5. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

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6. The Book of Dreams by OR Melling

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7. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

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8. Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

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9. Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

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10. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

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Required Summer Reading & Giveaway July 14, 2016

Honesty moment: I HATE required readings. I despise being told what I have to read. I think the only thing in school that I actually read when I was SUPPOSED to read it was my senior year readings. And I didn’t even read all of them! haha. Most things I knew I would have to read a grade or so ahead of time and would read them early. I was big into fanfiction in junior high and high school. I read one about Lily and James during Hogwarts and they did an international magical acting competition. Hogwarts did The Crucible. Enough of it was thrown into the story that I wanted to read the whole play. Eight grade me begged my dad to take me to Barnes & Noble to go pick it up so I could read the whole thing. I did. Not sure if it was over a break or what and my eighth grade English teacher asked if we’d read anything interesting lately. I said The Crucible. She asked if I understood the historical background and all that. (Not only the Salem Witch Trials, but the communism hunt) I did. She was impressed and said a lot of high school juniors didn’t understand it. My thought? They’re idiots! Anyway. That’s one example of one I read beforehand. Others I knew enough about that I could fake my way through it.

Punk is going into kindergarten. He has a required reading list for the summer. Seriously. I was like….. wut? Anyway. While looking at it, I came up with the thought of wondering if I could match YA/MG/Adult books to his list. His are all topics so you could match children’s books to it. I have to admit, this was much easier than I expected except for one topic! Anyway. The topics are Bears, Friends, ABC, Frogs, Fairytales, Ocean Animals, Pets, and Free Choice (this one had me spazzing for a minute until I realised it was whatever book Punk wanted, not literally about free choice!)

Here’s my required summer reading list based off of Punk’s kindergarten list.

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The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Bears: This was literally the first book that popped into my head. Probably due to me having just finished it when I had this idea. A big theme throughout the book is Sammy’s bear.

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Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

Friends: Again, literally the first book I thought of. Reagan and Lilah’s friendship is amazing as is this book. Emery Lord has such an incredible way with words! *sings Emery’s praises for days*

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ABC: This was the one that gave me a the most trouble. I initially thought to leave it at All Fall Down since it’s a children’s rhyme. Then I decided to do books with an A, B, and C in the title. I do have to admit, I haven’t read two of the three of these! I absolutely adore Code Name Verity though. It ripped me to shreds in all the right ways.

All Fall Down by Ally Carter

The Body Electric by Beth Revis

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin

Frogs: Okay, admittedly harder than the others, I finally came up with this one. I remembered the bannerman’s kids who come to join Bran as being from the swamp like area. And I’m pretty sure the boy was good at catching frogs. Or their sigil is a frog. Or something. Anyway. Swamp = froggy in my mind!

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The Hunter’s Moon by OR Melling

Fairytale: Yes, it was incredibly easy to jump to the Cinder conclusion, but I opted to go for a lesser known fairytale series. Woot for Celtic mythology!

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Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Ocean Animals: Obviously I would go for Waterfell! Though it also deals with animals, it talks about the Marianas Trench and various animals in the ocean. Win.

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Fire & Flood by Victoria Scott

Pets: Pandoras count as pets, right? I mean, they’re pets in a way. At least companions, and let’s face it, cats are not pets. They’re companions at best and definitely supreme overlords.

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

Free Choice:  Okay, so this one totally fits my initial thought of Free Choice. Feyre is faced with the choice of death or living in Prythian. She’s free to choose. Ha! This also fits free choice as in whatever I want to pick so I went with what I’m currently reading. Double win!

 

Thanks for making it through my post! Also, thank you for three wonderful (crazy) years of blogging. My blogging anniversary was actually on the 9th, but it snuck up on me and I forgot to write up a post. It’s definitely been a rollercoaster ride! Anyway, to celebrate my blogiversary, I have several giveaways I’m going to be hosting in the next few weeks so keep your eyes peeled! Up first is a giveaway for any book I have reviewed in the last three years. But! There’s more! I have a list of upcoming reviews that will be posted and those books will be included too. Check out my Reviews tab for a full list of books! Right now there will be one winner, but I might add more winners, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that too.

Giveaway!

This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL (and only open to the countries where Book Depository delivers to) Entrants must be at least  13 years old to enter. Those entrants under 18 MUST have parental consent. Giveaway is open July 14th 2016 (12am EST) through August 20th 2016 (12am EST). No giveaway accounts. I reserve the right to disqualify entries in violation of my giveaway policies (Please see my Site Polices for full polices). All entries WILL be verified. Winner(s) have 48 (FORTY-EIGHT) hours to respond to email/tweet. Good luck. May the odds be ever in your favor! (:

 

 

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Top Ten Tuesday #90: If You Like Underrated Fantasy Books, Try These September 29, 2015

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Underrated Fantasy Books to Try

I’m all about some fantasy, and these are some of my favourite underrated reads.

affiliate links used

1. Dark Metropolis by Jaclyn Dolamore


2. Waterfell by Amalie Howard


3. Chronicles of Faerie by OR Melling


4. The Falconer by Elizabeth May


5. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows


6. The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows


7. Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White


8. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer


9. Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch


10. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

 

Top Ten Tuesday #89: Series I Haven’t Finished September 8, 2015

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Series I Haven’t Finished

affiliate links used

The Taming of the Queen (The Tudor Court) by Philippa Gregory


Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer


Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy by Laini Taylor


Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead


A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket


Steampunk Chronicles by Kady Cross


Maids of Honor Trilogy by Jennifer McGowan


The Giver Quartet by Lois Lowry


Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth’s Last Days by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B Jenkins


Chronicles of Faerie by OR Melling


Defiance Trilogy by CJ Redwine

What’s on your list this week? I’m usually pretty good about finishing a series. I think all of these are complete series. You never can tell with Philippa Gregory though! (:

 

Top Ten Tuesday #77: Summer 2015 TBR June 16, 2015

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR

Here’s what I’ve selected on previous TBR lists: Winter 2013 6/10 Fall2013 3/10 Spring TBR 2014 6/11  Summer 2014 3/10 Fall 2014 2/10 Winter 2014 6/10 Spring 2015 5/10

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1. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
2. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
3. The Isle of the Lost by Melissa de la Cruz
4. Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
5. Most Likely to Succeed by Jennifer Echols
6. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
7. The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory
8. The Hunter’s Moon by OR Melling
9. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
10. The Archived by Victoria SchwabWhat are you planning on reading this summer?

 

Top Ten Tuesday #67: Spring 2015 TBR March 17, 2015

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Books on My 2015 Spring TBR

 Previous TBR posts (Winter 2013 6/10 Fall2013 3/10 Spring TBR 2014 6/11 Summer 2014 3/10  Fall 2014 2/10) After not doing well at all with my Fall 2014 TBR, I did much better with my Winter 2014. I read 6/10. True enough, I did have an extra month! Now for the books I plan to read this spring!

affiliate links used

1. Gilt by Katherine Longshore

2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

3. Artemis Fowl The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

4. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

5. The Archived by Victoria Schwab

6. Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel

7. Forged by Erin Bowman

8. Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

9. The Body Electric by Beth Revis

10. Chronicles of Faerie: The Hunter’s Moon by O.R. Melling

What are you planning to read this Spring? Anything I should take note of for this summer?

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!! (:

 

Top Ten Tuesday #55: Books I want to Re-Read November 4, 2014

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Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Books I Want to Re-Read

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling


2. The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis


3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer


4. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye & Jerry B Jenkins


5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo


6. Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas


7. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows


8. Chronicles of Faerie by OR Melling


9. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory


10. Everneath by Brodi Ashton

 

Top Ten Tuesday #49: Authors I’ve Only Read One Book by and Want to Read More September 16, 2014

b301e-toptentuesday

Each week, the girls over at The Broke and the Bookish think up a fun theme for the week and participating bloggers around the net join in. The theme for this week is:

Top Ten Authors I’ve Only Read One Book By

1. CJ Redwine (Defiance)

2. Aimee Carter (Pawn)

3. Rainbow Rowell (Fangirl)

4. & 5. Aime Kaufman & Megan Spooner (These Broken Stars)

6. OR Melling (The Summer King)

7. Sophie Jordan (Uninvited)

8. Joy Hensley (Rites of Passage)

9. Michelle Diener (In Defense of the Queen)

10. Victoria Scott (Fire & Flood)

 

Introducing Our Other New Feature! Flashback Friday May 23, 2014

A few weeks ago, Punk and Ladybug introduced their new feature Tot Time Thursday. This week, I’m introducing a new/revamped feature that will be starting soon here at The Whimsical Mama. It’s Flashback Friday! Basically the same concept as the Throwback Thursday reviews I did early last fall, I just changed the name and the day. Flashback Friday will feature books that I first read before I started blogging. For the time being, this will be an every other week feature. I currently plan on writing these reviews after I re-read them. I’m slowly getting caught up on ARCs, so I hope to have more time to re-read some favourites to keep this feature going. I hope to have some giveaways attached to this feature. Obviously if they’re worthy of multiple re-reads these are some of my favourite reads. What books will eventually be featured? Well, let’s take a look!

 

 

I’m really excited to re-read these favourites! This is only scratching the surface of the books I plan on featuring. As you can see, Jodi Meadows is on the list so you KNOW there will definitely be a giveaway for that one. I never pass up a chance to share the Sam love! (: