Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Read the Most Books By

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is my most read authors.

How do I find my most read authors?

Unfortunately, it seems like Goodreads has deleted this feature off of its website. However, after playing around with some of the existing features, I discovered a way to find your most read authors. Below, I have a Twitter thread where I explain step-by-step how to now find your most read authors on Goodreads (click on the tweet to see the thread):

I was working on a future Top Ten Tuesday post (hosted by @ArtsyReaderGirl) about Authors I've Read the Most books by. It looks like @goodreads removed this tool feature, but I figured out a way to still find your most read authors, so I thought I'd share what I found (1/?)

— Brittany (@BAndBeanBoots) June 15, 2020

My Top Ten Most Read Authors

Now, here’s my top ten!

• Meg Cabot (24)

I am not surprised that Meg Cabot tops my list of most read authors. During middle school and high school, I primarily read and reread books by Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen. The Princess Diaries series alone takes up about half of the books that I’ve read by this author.

I have great memories of reading books by Meg Cabot. Mia Thermopolis was one of the first book characters that I really related to and her books were always light and funny, which I really enjoyed. Although I’m not particularly drawn to any of her recent releases, I will always have fond memories when I look back at books by this author that I really enjoyed.

My favorites: The Princess Diaries series, All-American Girl, Avalon High

• Sarah Dessen (14)

Like I mentioned with Meg Cabot, I read and reread many of Sarah Dessen’s books in middle school and high school. Some of those first books I read by this author, Just Listen and The Truth About Forever, still are some of my favorite YA books.

I think I enjoyed Sarah Dessen’s books so much, because like with The Princess Diaries, I could relate to the characters, even if they weren’t exactly like me. While there was a period was I wasn’t a fan of Dessen’s newest releases, I recently read The Rest of the Story, which was one of my favorite books of the year.

My favorites: Just Listen, The Truth About Forever, This Lullaby, Along for the Ride, The Rest of the Story

• Kasie West (12)

I had never heard of Kasie West until I started blogging, which surprises me, since I love contemporary and she is such a loved YA contemporary author. While Kasie West’s most recent releases have been a miss for me, I enjoy her books for being lighthearted and easy to read. While I really enjoyed some of Kasie West’s books now, I feel like they would have been books that I would have reread countless times in high school.

My favorites: P.S. I Like You; Love, Life, and the List, The Fill-In Boyfriend

• Miranda Kenneally (9)

It doesn’t surprise me too much that Miranda Kenneally is on this list as I have read the entire Hundred Oaks companion series. While I wouldn’t consider Miranda Kenneally one of my all-time favorite YA contemporary authors, her books are light-hearted and easy to read, which is my favorite type of book to read.

My favorites: Breathe, Annie, Breathe; Jesse’s Girl; Racing Savannah

• Marissa Meyer (8)

It also doesn’t surprise me to see Marissa Meyer’s name on this list because I loved the Lunar Chronicles, so with that series combined with the two graphic novels that followed, that’s already quite a large number of books. I will always look back fondly on the Lunar Chronicles series because it was a series that I picked up because of reading book blogs and watching book videos on Youtube.

My favorites: Cinder, Cress

• Jenny Han (7)

I was actually surprised to see Jenny Han on this list, but it makes sense considering I finished both her To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series and the Summer series, as well as a short chapter book by this author. Jenny Han’s books just encompass everything that you hoped high school would be, which is why I think I love her books so much. I particularly enjoyed her children’s book, Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream.

My favorites: Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream; To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before; Always and Forever, Lara Jean

• Janette Rallison (7)

Like with Meg Cabot and Sarah Dessen, I read many books by Janette Rallison, particularly in middle school. Janette Rallison’s books made me laugh out loud, no matter how many times I read them, which doesn’t usually happen for me with books.

My favorites: Just One Wish, It’s a Mall World After All

• Elizabeth Eulberg (7)

Elizabeth Eulberg was another surprise on my list. Even though I’ve read books by this author over the years and I have enjoyed several of her books, she’s never been on my all-time favorites list so I didn’t realize how many books I’ve read by her over the years. For Elizabeth Eulberg, her writing is always solid, but the stories themselves are always hit-or-miss for me.

My favorites: The Lonely Hearts Club, Prom and Prejudice

• Kiera Cass (6)

This doesn’t surprise me too much, considering I read the entire Selection series. Kiera Cass is by no means my favorite author, but The Selection series was just a lot of fun and quick to read. I don’t have any particular favorite books by Kiera Cass, but I can say that I wasn’t a huge fan of one of her standalone books, The Siren.

• Sarah J. Maas (5)

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Court of Thorns and Roses series despite not being a huge reader of fantasy. This series motivated me to pick up other fantasy books, like The Folk of the Air series, which I also really enjoyed.

My favorites: A Court of Mist and Fury

Who are some of your most read authors?

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Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday Turns 10! (Favorite Books that I Read from 2011-2020)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is a freebie to celebrate Top Ten Tuesday’s ten year anniversary! I’ve been doing Top Ten Tuesday since I started my own blog, so it is cool to celebrate something that I’ve been with for so long.

For my post, I decided to list some of my favorite books from the past ten years. These dates do not necessarily reflect when the book was published, but when I read that particular book. Here are my choices:

• 2011: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

I read Lola and the Boy Next Door multiple times a year whenever I was in high school. I loved this book so much that I was so upset when I misplaced it that I went out and bought another copy, which I’ve never done before. I think one of the reasons that I loved this book was because of Cricket, the love interest. At the time in YA, very moody and brooding bad boys were the most prominent love interests, and Cricket is the complete opposite of that type of character.

• 2012: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Bittersweet was a very timely book for me, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. At the time, I was really getting into hockey (Let’s go Pens!), so it was fun to read about a sport that I was growing to love from an author that I already loved. This book also featured cupcake baking which was huge at the time, and since I avidly watched DC Cupcakes, that aspect of the story was also right up my alley.

• 2013: Re-Reads of Sarah Dessen

When I can’t remember a particular book that stood out to me at the end of my high school career, I can remember a particular author. I started reading Sarah Dessen’s books in middle school, but every year, I checked out each one of her books again. This is the year when I graduated high school and headed off for college, which made The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen (which was released in 2013) a very relevant read to me. In fact, many of Sarah Dessen’s books feature girls during the summer after high school.

• 2014: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

When I read To All the Boys I Loved Before, I didn’t realize how big it would become. I loved Lara Jean’s character because, at the time, dystopian/fantasy books with the “strong female character trope” dominated the YA market, and while I liked those characters, I couldn’t necessarily relate to them. Meanwhile, Lara Jean was more girly and interested in the same activities as me. Little did I know back then, but I would eventually see this book turned to a movie and do a book merchandise haul for this series.

• 2015: Re-Reads of Sarah Dessen

In 2015, I was in the middle of college and so focused on school that I did very little reading for fun. Little did I know at the end of this year, I would recommit to reading and make my book blog on WordPress, and at the beginning of 2016, I would start posting on it. During this time, when I was reading for fun, I was mostly re-reading some of my favorite books from high school.

• 2016: The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson

This year was a great reading year for me. I only expected to read around 25 books, which I considered a stretch, but I ended up reading 66 books. One of my favorite books from this year was The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson. I remember actually going to Target and buying this book, and then going straight home to read it. I hadn’t done this in a long time and it felt great to be reading books for fun more consistently again.

• 2017: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

This year was a huge year for me. In 2017, I graduated college and I read the most books that I had ever read in a year (107 books!). This is the year I really hit blogging hard and discovered a lot of new books that I really enjoyed. I even branched out and tried some genres that I typically didn’t read, like fantasy, which led me to the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. A Court of Mist and Fury is a huge book, but I really enjoyed it from start to finish. If you asked Brittany in 2013 if she ever thought she would read a book like this, she would probably say, “No.” I’m glad that in the past ten years, I have expanded my reading outside of contemporary, even though that still is my favorite genre.

• 2018: Love, List, and the List by Kasie West

I had read a few Kasie West books in years before this, but I absolutely loved Love, Life, and the List and it still remains one of my favorite books by this author. I don’t usually sit and finish a book in one sitting anymore, but I didn’t put this one down until I finished it.

• 2019: The Wicked King by Holly Black

Another fantasy book! The Wicked King is one of the most solid sequels that I have ever read. I remember as I read this that I appreciated Holly Black’s writing style so much, which isn’t something that I’ve necessarily focused on in the past. I remember just clicking on words in my Kindle to read the definitions because she picked such strong, descriptive words and I just wanted to know everything about the way she phrased certain sentences.

• 2020: The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

This year isn’t over yet, but one of my five star reads of the year so far is The Rest of the Story. I bought this book when it was released, but I never got around to it. Recently, I decided to pick it up and I wasn’t disappointed. It has so many of the elements that I enjoyed from books I read by this author in high school, which I hadn’t really seen in Dessen’s last few books. I related to the main character Saylor and loved the characters in this book so much that I didn’t want it to end.

What are some of your favorite books that you’ve read over the past ten years?

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Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett Review

I don’t know about starry eyes, but I do give this book three stars.

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett follows Zorie, an overachieving planner who was stood up by her ex-friend Lennon at the homecoming dance the last year. This summer, Zorie expects an easy summer working as a receptionist at her family’s business and going on field trips with the astronomy club. However, Zorie carefully planned summer goes haywire when she is invited on a camping trip and ends up stuck with Lennon after she is ditched by the rest of the group.

Before this book, I have read three books by Jenn Bennet. First, I read Alex, Approximately which was only an average read for me. Then, I read Serious Moonlight which I seriously enjoyed. Then, this year, I read Catching Lucky which I absolutely loved. Over the course of these three books, Jenn Bennett’s writing just has constantly improved and now she is definitely an auto-buy contemporary author for me.

Of course, I had to check out one of the books that I skipped over in her line-up. Since it’s summer, I was immediately pulled in by the entire camping plot and I frequently enjoy the relationship dynamic suggested by the synopsis. That being said, Starry Eyes definitely falls in the middle of books by Jenn Bennet for me, just as it does in her progression of writing. While Starry Eyes does have some aspects reminiscent of aspects that I enjoyed in Serious Moonlight and Chasing Lucky, it also contains aspects that I wasn’t a huge fan of in Alex, Approximately.

Let’s start with what I really enjoyed. One aspect of Jenn Bennett’s books that she does really well is conveying the setting. The way she write captivating descriptions of a character’s surroundings really places a reader in the story. Since the setting of this story is extremely integral to the plot, it was necessary that it was executed well and Jenn Bennett definitely delivered in this area as usual. From her descriptions I was equally intrigued to go and see the places mentioned in the story as we all equally terrified of the threat of bears and mountain lions.

As for the romance, it was hit-or-miss for me. One aspect of Jenn Bennett’s characters that I loved is that she always slowly reveals the backstory, not only of the relationships between different characters, but of the characters individually as well. I think this brings a lot of depth and realness to the characters in her book. At the same time, Zorie and Lennon didn’t particularly grab me as a couple, and well they had some chemistry, I just couldn’t see what they had in common that really pulled them together. With a romance, you really have to click with it to be satisfying, and while Zorie and Lennon were okay, their relationship wasn’t particularly memorable for me.

As I mentioned earlier, there were some aspects in Starry Eyes that reminded me of Alex, Approximately that I didn’t like. Although I think Bennett did a good job of fleshing out the main two characters, I don’t think the relationships between other characters or other characters in general were as well fleshed out, which made them come across as caricatures. For example, all of the characters that Zorie and Lennon go camping with, as well as her father who plays a major role in the story, were so one-dimensional that there interactions came across as very unnatural. This really impacted the end of the story for me in particular where some of the conflicts between these characters were either unresolved or presented in a very unrealistic and overdramatic fashion that didn’t fit with the rest of the story.

Overall, Starry Eyes is a fun read that is perfect for the summer, especially if you’re in the mood to read a summer book not set at the beach. While it wasn’t my favorite book by this author, it was a fairly solid book that I enjoyed. I give this book three out of five stars.

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What I Read in 2019

Even though I am a little (read: A LOT) late on listing all of the books that I read last year, I always think it is fun to recap all of the books that I read in one year. Last year, I found myself in a bit of a reading slump, so I didn’t read as many books as I typically read in year. Additionally, I found myself not as invested in many of the books that I read in the last year. Fortunately for me, I’ve had a great start to the 2020 reading year and I hope it continues throughout February. Without further adieu, here are all the books that I read in 2019 (reviews will be linked to book titles):

• Snow in Love by Melissa de la Cruz, Nic Stone, Aimee Friedman, and Kasie West
• Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills
• The Wicked King by Holly Black
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne
• Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss by Kasie West
• Sadie by Courtney Summers
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
• Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
• There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon
• Call it What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer
• Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein
• Internet Famous by Danika Stone
• Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid by Jeff Kinney
• As Kismet Would Have It by Sandhya Menon
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo
• On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
• The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
• Real Friends by Shannon Hale
• Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
• Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis
• Maybe This Time by Kasie West
• The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
• Just Jaime by Terri Libenson
• The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
• P.S. I Like You by Kasie West
• The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
• Love, Life, and the List by Kasie West
• The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
• 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

 

What were your favorite books of 2020?

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord Review

Sometimes you just need a cheese-y romance.

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord is the author’s debut contemporary romance novel about two high school students who fall in love after a viral Twitter war. Pepper is an overachiever who tweets memes for Big League Burger, her mom’s fast food chain restaurant. Meanwhile, Jack tweets for Girl Cheesing, his grandma’s bakery. When Big League Burger steals the recipe for Girl Cheesing’s popular grilled cheese, an online battle ensues.

I never typically pay full price for books. I either wait for a Kindle deal or check out my local library for new releases, especially from authors that I don’t know. However, I heard a lot of hype for Tweet Cute and it sounded right up my alley, so I decided to purchase it soon after the release date. While I did enjoy Tweet Cute, there were a few aspects of the book that prevented me from rating it five stars.

My favorite aspect of this book was that it featured one of my favorite tropes: enemies to lovers. The banter between Pepper and Jack kept me turning the pages. I love how their relationship grew realistically throughout the book. Plus, it was nice to see both of their points of views as both were well developed characters individually. In dual perspectives, it is hard to make both perspectives interesting, but in this book, I enjoyed experiencing the story from both Pepper and Jack’s point of views.

One aspect of this book that wasn’t my favorite was the pacing. When I thought the book was reaching the breaking point, I was only at the 60% mark on my Kindle. At that point, I feared the book would drag on, and for me, it slightly did. The beginning of the book was fast paced with a constant back and forth between Pepper and Jack. In the ending, there were many rehashed conversations and some unnecessary drama that could have easily been cut without affecting the story. Towards the end, I found myself waiting for the actual end of the story because I felt like I reached the story’s “darkest moment” so many times before it actually happened.

Overall, Tweet Cute is a fun and enjoyable story that I think a lot of readers with enjoy, even if they aren’t a huge fan of contemporary books. That being said, the pacing at the end was a little off which negatively affected my reading experience. I give this book four out of five stars.

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory Review

I read this this book through for better and for worse.

The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory is the third book in The Wedding Date series, a set of companion novels by Jasmine Guillory. This book follows Maddie, the main character of the best friend from the first novel, as she helps her friend prepare for her wedding. Unfortunately for Maddie, she strongly dislikes Theo, her friend’s coworker and another member of the wedding party.

I was interested in The Wedding Party after I ranked The Proposal, the second book in the series, as one of my favorite contemporary books two years ago. I had never read, and still have never read, the first book in the series, but it never hindered my reading experience because The Proposal stood well on its own. Unfortunately for me, The Wedding Party did not meet my expectations, and after awhile, annoyed me as well.

I can’t count this against the Wedding Party, but unlike with The Proposal, I would recommend reading The Wedding Date before this one. While The Proposal seemed far enough away from the original story, The Wedding Date heavily relies on characters from the first book. Since I knowingly went into this book, which is open about including the wedding of the first two characters, I can’t list this as a negative, only as a precaution for others who may be interested in this book, but not the first of the series.

For me, a huge reason that I didn’t connect with this book were the characters. I liked Maddie and Theo for the most part, but their actions at the end seemed so vastly different from the characters I watched grow throughout the book. Their actions appeared to be more for the sake of drama rather than consistent with their characters. Also, Alexa, the main character from The Wedding Date, was extremely annoying. In fact, it makes me hesitant to ever read the first book in the series. Plus, Alexa’s sister only seemed added in to be able to extend the series later, which after I finished this book, I found that she would be in fact the titular character in the next book of the series.

Another reason I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped was the relationship. To me, there wasn’t a good balance between the physical and emotional aspects of the relationship. While I understand that the arrangement that Maddie and Theo makes attempts to take any feelings out of the mix, I would have appreciated a little more emotional impact than just a couple events at the end of the book to buy more into their relationship.

Finally, the pacing of this book really dragged on for me. The same events and conversations happened over and over and over again. By the end of the book, I was just reading to finish. Whenever I find myself in that situation, I know it’s not a book that I really enjoyed.

Overall, I was disappointed with The Wedding Date because I didn’t connect with it like the other book that I read by Jasmine Guillory. In The Proposal, the relationship seemed so real and natural, but everything in this book felt extremely forced. I give The Wedding Party two out of five stars.

Blogmas Day #27: New Year’s Resolutions Book Tag

As we move to the New Year, I’ve been thinking about all of my goals for the upcoming year. Today, I thought it would be great to share some of my bookish goals for 2020 with the New Year’s Resolutions Book Tag. Here are my answers:

• An author that you’d like to read that you’ve never read before

I haven’t read a book by Debbie Rigaud before, but Truly, Madly, Royally has been on my list for awhile and looks like the perfect cute contemporary to kick off a new reading year.

• A book you’d like to read

I’m a huge fan of Kasie West, so I’m extremely excited for the next book in the Love, Life, and the List companion series. While I loved Love, Life, and the List, I wasn’t so crazy about Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss. As a result, I’m really hoping Hearts, Heroes, and Heath Hall (also listed as Moment of Truth on Goodreads) lives up to my high expectations.

• A classic you’d like to read

I don’t typically pick up classics, but I know that I will read Peter Pan next year as it is used in one of the units in my classroom. Peter Pan is an exciting book to teach because it is the first “big book” that students typically study in my school.

• A book you’d like to re-read

Like I mentioned earlier, I love Kasie West’s books and I really enjoyed one of her 2019 releases, Maybe This Time. I usually re-read some Kasie West books every year, so I can see myself picking this one up again in 2019.

• A book you’ve had for ages and want to read

I’ve literally wanted to read this book for YEARS. However, come summer time, I usually look for happy, light reads. Knowing this will be sad, I typically don’t pick it up during summer. Hopefully, I can finally read it this year because I enjoy Morgan Matson’s books.

• A big book you’d like to read

Contemporaries seem to get longer and longer every year and The Rest of the Story was no exception in 2019. I didn’t get to this book during this year, so I hope to read it during the upcoming summer.

• An author that you’ve previously read and want to read more of

I enjoyed Serious Moonlight in 2019 by Jean Bennett, so I hope to pick up her latest book in 2019.

• A book you got for Christmas and would like to read

I didn’t receive any books for Christmas this year, but I did receive Archenemies as a gift last year… and never read it. Hopefully, I will pick it up this year so I can read the latest release in this series, Supernova.

• A series you want to read from start to finish

I won’t be able to read this series from start to finish since book one will be released next year, however, I hope to read it from start to finish once all the books come out. This will be a new series by Kiera Cass, the author of The Selection.

• A series you want to finish that you’ve already started

This is the third book in the When Dimple Met Rishi companion series and follows Pinky and Samir as they pretend to date. I enjoyed There’s Something About Sweetie, so I hope to enjoy the next installment of this series.

• Do you set reading goals? If so, how many books do you want to read in 2020?

I usually set a Goodreads goal of 50 books, but this year I will take it down to 25 books. I have been extremely busy recently and I don’t want to put myself under too much pressure to reach my goal.

• Any other reading goals?

Like always, I hope to branch out into new genres, adult books, and discover new favorite authors!

 

 

 

 

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Blogmas Day #4: The Christmas Song Book Tag

On the fourth day of Blogmas, a blogger gave to me The Christmas Song Book Tag.

• “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”: Name a villainous character you can’t help but love

Cardan is conniving and cruel, however, but he is a very interesting character to read about, especially in The Queen of Nothing. In the final book of the series, readers get to see Cardan’s cold personality, but also get to see other sides of him, including more about his twisted past.

• “All I Want for Christmas is You”: Which book do you hope to see under your Christmas tree?

For Christmas, I would like an Amazon gift card. I don’t have any more physical space for books, and I primarily read on my Kindle now anyway, so an Amazon gift card would be a more practical gift for me than a physical book.

• “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”: Name a character that overcomes major obstacles and learns to believe in themselves

In Real Friends, Shannon struggles with finding out who her true friends really are. However, at the end of the story, Shannon becomes more comfortable with who she is as a person.

• “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”: Which character would be on the nice list and which character would be on the naughty list?

Rowley and Greg are the perfect examples of the nice vs. naughty list, especially in this book.

• “Frosty the Snowman”: Which book melts your heart?

All of Kasie West’s nooks make me feel happy after reading them and Maybe This Time was no exception.

• “Feliz Navidid”: A book that takes place in a different country than your own

Eleanor Oliphant is the only book I read that completely takes place in a different country than my own. It takes place in Glasgow, Scotland.

• “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”: Which holiday themed book do you use to spread Christmas joy?

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is one of my favorite Christmas books. It is funny, but also has a powerful message for all people to hear at Christmas time.

• “Sleigh Ride”: Which fictional characters would you spend the holiday with?

I would love to spend the holidays with Sophie’s family in 10 Blind Dates. They all seem very close and that they have tons of fun!

• Baby It’s Cold Outside”: Which book that you didn’t like would you not mind sacrificing to a fire to keep yourself warm?

While I don’t necessarily think any book should be used in a fire place, Internet Famous was my lowest rated book of the year at 1 star.

• “Do You Hear What I Hear?”: Which book do you think everyone should read?

Out of all the books that I’ve read this year, I’ve recommended this book to the most people. So far, everyone that I have recommended this to really enjoyed it!

 

 

 

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What is your favorite Christmas song?

Blogmas Day #3: Top Ten Tuesday // Holiday Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is holiday reads. I love themes, so when December rolls around, I love to read books that include Christmas holidays and activities. Here are some of my favorites (reviews will be linked to book titles):

• Secret Santa by Sabrina James

Secret Santa has been favorite Christmas book of mine since high school. This book follows several characters at North Ridge High School who participates in their school’s Secret Santa gift exchange. While very predictable, it is a cute story that I wish Netflix would pick up.

• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is a holiday classic. I love all of the Herdman stories because while they are funny, they also hold a deeper message.

• The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

While not my favorite Christmas book, The Afterlife of Holly Chase is a unique read. Before Holly died, she lived out the classic Christmas Carol tale: three ghosts visited her and tried to make her change her selfish ways. The only problem? Holly didn’t listen, so now she must serve as one of the ghosts and save another Scrooge before they face the same fate.

• Snow in Love by Melissa de la Cruz, Nic Stone, Aimee Friedman, and Kasie West

Snow in Love is one of my favorite Christmas short story collection which does not feature interconnected stories. I particularly enjoy the first story by Kasie West.

• Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler is more of a winter book than a Christmas book, but it still takes place during that time period. I appreciate Ockler’s accurate portrayal of Christmas. In most books, everyone gets the present they wanted and everything is absolutely perfect in their life because it’s the end of the story. However, in this story, a family faces their lights being turned off their family business struggling during the holidays.

• Midnight by Rainbow Rowell

This short story collection overall wasn’t my favorite, but I really enjoyed Rainbow Rowell’s contribution. This is the only New Year’s story on my list, and if you’re interested, it is also published along with Kindred Spirits in its own short story book called Almost Midnight.

• My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff

I discovered My New Crush Gave to Me through a Kindle deal was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. This book also features a Secret Santa element, but has the main character work with a sworn enemy to pick out the perfect gifts for the person that she selected.

• Let in Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Let it Snow features three interconnected stories and was recently turned into a Netflix movie. In the book, I enjoyed Maureen Johnson’s story the most. This is a cute, easy read for Christmas time.

• It’s a Mall World After All by Janette Rallison

I’ve read this book countless times since middle school, but I still find myself laughing out loud each time that I reread it. This book follows a girl trying to find evidence that her best friend’s boyfriend is cheating. Meanwhile, she gets closer to his best friend, one of her enemies, to run a toy drive for Christmas.

• 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston

I’m only partly through 10 Blind Dates, but I can tell it will be a favorite. The dates are very Christmas themed, which makes it the perfect read for Christmas time.

 

What are your favorite reads around Christmas?

 

 

 

 

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Blogmas 2019 Day #1: I Won NaNoWriMo!

Hello and welcome to the first post in my annual Blogmas series, where I post everyday during the month of December. Today, I’ll be discussing my recent experience with NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, this past November. If you aren’t familiar with NaNoWriMo, it is a, annual month-long writing writing event in November that challenges you to write 50,000 words towards a new novel in thirty days. For more information, check out the official website here.

I have participated in NaNoWriMo once before, however, I only made it to about 35,000 words. This year, I was determined to reach the 50,000 word benchmark. Throughout the month, I faced a lot of challenges to reach my goal. I was sick for the first three weeks of November. Then, in the middle of the month, I was in the process of rearranging my room, which cost me several weekends of building IKEA furniture.

However, I prevailed on the last day of the month with only a few hours to spare in the day by writing more words than I have ever written before in one day… a little over 8,000 words! While I’m not completely finished with my first draft, I have a great place to start.

This year, I really focused on just writing whatever came to mind instead of focusing so much on making every single word perfect. While I have much to revise, I am still excited to meet my goal and have words written down that I can work on over the next several months.

On NaNoWriMo’s website, they provide several statistics about your writing experience. Here are some of my statistics:

• 50,075 words: This was my ending total word count.
• I’m a night owl–I wrote mostly between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.: This does not surprise me, considering I work all day.
• I mostly wrote at home: I only worked at home while writing, so this is also not a surprise.
• I wrote an average of 1,669 words per day: For NaNoWriMo, they suggest you write 1,667 words per day. For me, that number greatly varied. At the beginning, I tried to stick to 2,000 words. However, there was one week where I wrote 0 words. As a result, my word count spiked at the end where I tried to catch up, sometimes writing around 6,000 words per day.

 

Overall, I was excited to complete NaNoWriMo successfully for the first time. Did any of you try NaNoWriMo this year?

 

 

 

 

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