The Book Blogger TMI Tag!

Hey there internet!!

I was stuck for a blog idea for today, and i was almost, almost, tempted to just forget today's post and just post again next week.

But that's not what 2016 is about!

So as i was reading through a whole bunch of old posts from various book blogs i stumbled across the Book Blogger TMI tag and thought it was a perfect fun little post for a day when i just have no thoughts left in my brain.

So here we go!

How old are you?

I'm 23 and i am not looking forward to turning 24 this year.

What book are you reading?

Currently i'm reading Death Note Black Edition Vol.6, Anna and The French Kiss, and Nine Stories. All very different.

 What are you wearing?

Black jeans, star wars tshirt, and an american flag gap hoodie. Really the height of style here at Not Quite Alice.

Blogger or WordPress?

Blogger. Everyday. I could never get on board with WordPress, i have no idea why, but all the blog's i've ever had are run through blogger so.

 What is the last book you read?

Death Note Black Edition Vol.5. Great book. 5/5.

What is the book you're going to read next?

When i finish the three i'm currently working through i think i might pick up My Life Next Door, or maybe Room....I'm not sure yet.

eBooks: yes or no?

Yessssssss. I love the ease of eBooks tbh.

Where do you prefer to read?

On my bed. I can get all comfy with cozy blankets.

Who is the last person you tweeted?

Probably my friend Marygrace tbh.

Whose blog did you look at last?

Ashley's, which is a personal blog you need a password for so i'm not going to link it, but it's a great blog.

Who is your favourite book-tuber?

Raeleen. Ariel. 

What do you do when someone tells you reading is boring?

Say they're reading the wrong things, but also you do you.

Who is the last person you text?

Stephen, it was about a 5sos song. As always.

Who is your all time favourite book character?

Holden Caulfield

UK YA or US YA?

I think i actually end up reading more US YA than UK YA. I think i just love reading about somewhere that isn't all that familiar to me?

What is your preferred drink whilst reading?

Water is almost always my preferred drink so.

If you hated reading, what would you be doing instead?

Watching films 24/7. I love films, but i'm usually reading more than i'm watching them so if i didn't like reading i think i'd definitely be watching more films.

How many bookshelves/bookcases do you have?

I have two bookcases and then like two shelves on their own?

Insta-love: yes or no?

No.

Favourite author?

Stephen King, J D Salinger, Kody Keplinger.

What is the number one book on your wishlist?

The classic cover edition of Catcher in the Rye. It's just so beautiful and i need it in my life.

Do you prefer books with male or female protagonists?

I don't really care tbh.

What is your favourite book-to-film adaptation?

Peter Pan (2001)

What is the last song you listened to?

Body Parts by Courtney Act

Which do you enjoy reading more: positive reviews or negative reviews?

It depends on the book. If i love the book or i'm excited about it then positive reviews all the way. If i don't like the book or i'm not that excited about it then i'm all about the negative reviews.

Meghan xxx
                     

 

Top Ten Books of 2015

Hey there internet!

I think i'm probably the last person ever to do this, but hey better late then never right...?

Anyway here are the top ten books i read in 2015!!

  

10: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

I feel like i was insanely late to the Maze Runner hype, but i watched the film, left the cinema, walked to the book shop and bought the entire series. Then they sat on my shelf until March 2015 when i went on holiday and wanted something exciting to read. And oh man i am glad i took this with me. I think it is a really strong start to the series, and hey maybe this year i'll actually get round to reading the other books?!

9: Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson

 

 This is possibly the best impulse kindle book buy i have ever made. I knew literally nothing about this book but i quite liked the name so i downloaded it and started reading...then i didn't stop until i had finished the book and it was somehow 4am. I loved this story so much. The characters were real people and i could imagine just hanging out with them, and i just loved all the friendships and romantic relationships happening. I want to read books about these characters forever.

8: George by Alex Gino

 This was hands down the cutest and most heart warming book i read in 2015. It's a story about a trans girl named George who wants to play Charlotte in her class' performance of Charlotte's Web, but her teacher won't let her because she believes George is a boy. This book made me cry, laugh, and want to hug George so hard. I think it's a book everyone should read, no matter your age.

7: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

The cutest contemporary i read in 2015? Without a doubt! I loved Maddy. I loved Olly. I loved their love. While i did guess the ending of this book and the ~big twist~ wasn't all that much of a surprise to me, i was so happy with what was happening i didn't care. I just wanted everything to work out. I loved the way emails, texts, diagrams, and worksheets were incorporated into the story, it was just this little extra thing that made me fall in love with the book even more.

6: A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger 

Girl sleeps with boy. Girl doesn't want anything to do with boy. Girl finds out boy is about to become her step brother. Meghan falls in love with another Kody Keplinger book. There's something about her books that i just adore and i can never get enough of them! I'll admit i was putting this one off because i couldn't see myself getting that into a story that involved step brother/sister getting it on - but apparently i don't care and i will fall in love with them insanely fast. Whitley was ace, Nathan was a babe, and all the interactions with her family/soon to be family/friends she's refusing to admit are her friends were all incredibly well written. Kody Keplinger can do no wrong basically.

5: A Work in Progress by Connor Franta

I've already written about how much i love this book and how much i got out of it on this blog, so i won't ramble on here. Just know that i still very much love it and i am still incredibly sorry for judging it as "another youtube book" before i read it because oh my gosh is it so much more than that. 

4: Hey! Let's Make a Band! by 5 Seconds of Summer

Listen i just love 5SOS okay. I love them and this book was funny, cute, interesting, and just wonderful. I loved it. I love reading about bands. How they got together, issues they've had, things they don't talk about anywhere else - i'm a total sucker for it. And this was one of those books where i just wanted to keep reading forever because it was like having a front row seat to your favourite band talking about how they got together. 

3: Something Like Thunder by Jay Bell

I mean...would it even be a list on this blog if it didn't include at least one Jay Bell book?? I love this series. I love Nathaniel. I love Jay. I love it all. This was probably my second favourite book in the series so far, just coming in slightly under Winter - but no one will beat my Tim, let's be real. But Nathaniel comes pretty damn close. I loved how twisty turny (real words) this book was! I loved finding out about his relationships with Ceaser, Kelly, Marcello. Finding out how he fits into the world started by Ben and Tim was a moment when i had to put my kindle down and just freak out for a minute because only Jay could throw in curve balls like that. Anyway, much like the other five books before this, i love it and i can't wait to read more.

2: The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins

I had zero interest in reading this book. Then i was wondering round an airport bookstore waiting to go on holiday and suddenly decided that hey why not read a murder mystery while lying on a beach. And OH MAN AM I GLAD I DID. I was hooked from the beginning and i just had to keep reading until i knew what had happened, who had done it, and why they had done it. And i wasn't disappointed. After years of almost exclusively reading murder mysteries it's rare that i'm surprised by the ending, but i was with this one! I'm sure i was the most interesting person to be around for the first two days of our holiday because all i wanted to do was read this book - i just loved it!

1: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 

My whole heart. I adore this book so much. It's been over a year since i read it now, and i still think about it all the time. It's one of those books that i will re-read for my whole life and that will just always be around me - much like Catcher in the Rye. There's something about the way this book is written that made me just fall instantly in love with it. I loved Guy. I loved the world. I loved everything. I just can't get over how long i waited to read something that instantly became one of my all time favourite books. 

Meghan xxx  

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell | Book Review

Hey there internet!

Today i'm here with the first book review of 2016!!

The first book i read this year was Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

3/5 stars

Now this might just make me the most unpopular person in book world but...i'm...not the biggest fan of Rainbow Rowell books?

This is the third book that i have read by her and yet none of them have received more than a generous three stars...i don't get it?!

On paper her books are everything i love, especially Carry On! But yet again i found myself reading it only to make me finish it faster so i could move on to something else.

Book One dragged so much for me that i genuinely thought that i wouldn't finish the book. I just couldn't see there being any possible way of me enjoying the next 500+ pages.

Then Baz came along. 

Now i loved Baz. Baz was the saving grace of this book for me. 

He was interesting, funny, different, and very Malfoy like...He was great.

I loved the developing friendship with Simon and Baz. I loved the secret little crush. I loved the romance. If this whole book was from Baz's perspective i would have absolutely loved it.

Instead it was from Baz, Simon, Agatha, Penny, Lucy, and god knows who else's perspectives. It was just too much.

It's very hard to read this book and not compare it to Harry Potter. Or more accurately: not compare it to Harry Potter fanfiction. It was clear that in this story Simon was Harry, Baz was Draco, Penny was Hermione, The Mage was Dumbledore, The Humdrum was Voldemort....when will the vampire/magician AU Harry Potter end?!

Now i don't want this to be a "oh man i hate this book" post because, honestly, this is the best Rainbow Rowell book that i've read. I was far more interested in what happened in this story than in Fangirl, and definitely didn't feel the hatred i felt for Eleanor and Park.

Carry On definitely had moments where i couldn't put the book down, and it had moments (mainly from Baz) where i just felt so much love for a character. I just don't think, overall, her books are for me. And that's okay.

Honestly this book has taught me something very important: you don't have to love every book you read. 

It's okay to just like a book. Or to finish a book and go "eh i didn't really care about that".

Books don't have to be either loved or hated, they can just be meh books. And that's totally fine!!

Meghan xxx 

2016 Most Anticipated Books!

Hey there internet!!

First things first, today is a big day here at Not Quite Alice because this

post right here is the 100th post on this blog!!

I can't quite believe there's 100 posts here, but i am so so so happy that

people are still reading my silly little ramblings about books.

You have no idea how much i love this little blog and how happy it makes me,

so this is my little thank you for putting up with all my ramblings and terrible schedule keeping. I love you lots. 

Okay! Now for the good stuff!!

My most anticipated releases of 2016!!

There is literally no order to this, i am just very excited about all of them.

End Of Watch - Stephen King

The Bill Hodges Trilogy - Book Three

Release Date: June 7th

I am always excited about new Stephen King, but especially when it's concluding a series! I love Mr Mercedes and Finders Keepers, and i am hoping that this last installment of the trilogy will be as equally gripping and wonderful.

Lady Midnight - Cassandra Clare

The Dark Artifices - Book One

Release Date: March 8th

OH MAN I AM EXCITED! A new shadowhunter book?! Sign me right up! I adore Cassandra Clare's writing and i am so excited to read about what's happening in the shadowhunter world post-heavenly fire. And i am especially excited to read about Emma and Julian, who i loved when we met them in TMI.

The Unexpected Everything - Morgan Matson

Release Date: May 3rd

Confession time: i have never read a Morgan Matson book. BUT i am going to change that this year because this book sounds exactly like something i would love. I am intrigued by everything about it, so hopefully in May i can finally get in on that Morgan Matson hype that the rest of the world is living in.

Run - Kody Keplinger

Release Date: June 28th

New Kody Keplinger! New Kody Keplinger! OMG i am Excited! I adore everything i have ever read by Kody Keplinger, she is definitely just an auto-buy author and this book sounds so fantastic and i am so gutted i have to wait til June to get my hands on it! I know this book is going to be an instant love like all the other books i have read by her.

When We Collided - Emery Lord

Release Date: April 5th

Okay first of all is this not one of the most beautiful covers you have ever seen? I am in love. Second, this book sounds so freaking cute. I can already feel that this year is going to be the year of the cute contemporary YA book, and this is definitely going to be up there as one of the best - i can feel it.

P.S. I Like You - Kasie West

Release Date: July 26th

Okay let's get over the ridiculously cheesey and not very nice cover, and focus on the fact that Kasie West can make you fall in love with characters almost instantly. Up until the abrupt ending i was so in love with the writing in The Distance Between Us, so hopefully the writing here will be just as beautiful with a less disappointing ending.

The Year We Fell Apart - Emily Martin

Release Date: January 26th

First of all, that cover is Beautiful. Second, thank you Emily Martin for not making me wait too long for this book! I am so looking forward to getting my hands on this debut novel and it sounds like it will make me fall in love with characters and cry a lot - which i can't wait for! I love a book that can make me feel all of the things and i think this book has the potential to do that!

The Marked Girl - Lindsey Klingele

Marked Girl - Book One

Release Date: June 21st

Honestly this series sounds like it could easily become one of my favourites. The plot sounds fantastic, i'm excited to get to know the characters. And if all the covers look like this one then i'm going to need about 10 copies because it is so freaking pretty. I'm very excited to start some new series this year, and this is up there as one of the ones i'm most excited for.

The Way Back to You - Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott

Release Date: May 3rd

Friendship, broken people, road trips - perfect. I am so so so so excited for this? I think it could be one of the best releases of this year to be honest, it has so much potential and i can't wait to go on this, slightly creepy, roadtrip with Cloudy and Kyle.

Please Don't Tell - Laura Tims

Release Date: May 24th

YA thriller's are My Jam. Oh man do i love a bit of a dark, twisty, blackmail-y, revenge-y YA. I am so freaking excited for this book. I think it's going to be fantastic. I've heard nothing but great things about it already, and i can't wait to get my little hands on it!!

What books are you most looking forward to getting in 2016?

Meghan xxx