Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.
This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten Books On My Spring 15′ TBR
Initial Thoughts:
This list will not hold up an hour from now. Guaranteed.
I mean, I didn’t even include Spring TBR releases that I’ll probably end up finding non-reasons to instabuy and reading.
All images link to their respective Goodreads.
Way of Kings / Words of Radiance – Brandon Sanderson
These two books could basically be my entire TBR for this coming season (it’s like 2k+ pages maannn. my heart hurts already). But thank you, Book Outlet, for making dreams come true and giving me the chance to finally lug around this hardcover behemoth in public. Yes, I think I’m cool for doing so. Don’t hate.
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soiless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
Ru – Kim Thuy
As my initial non-academic foray into CanLit, this read should fly by easy peasy since it is rather short. Plus, it’s currently being defended in Canada Reads 2015. That’s pretty exciting.
Ru. In Vietnamese it means lullaby; in French it is a small stream, but also signifies a flow – of tears, blood, money. Kim Thúy’s Ru is literature at its most crystalline: the flow of a life on the tides of unrest and on to more peaceful waters. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and sly wit, we are carried along on an unforgettable journey from a palatial residence in Saigon to a crowded and muddy Malaysian refugee camp, and onward to a new life in Quebec. There, the young girl feels the embrace of a new community, and revels in the chance to be part of the American Dream. As an adult, the waters become rough again: now a mother of two sons, she must learn to shape her love around the younger boy’s autism.
The Merit Birds – Kelley Powell
This is an ARC I’ve been holding off on reading till the release was closer (this Spring) and it is CanLit numero deux.
Eighteen-year-old Cam Scott is angry. He’s angry about his absent dad, he’s angry about being angry, and he’s angry that he has had to give up his Ottawa basketball team to follow his mom to her new job in Vientiane, Laos. However, Cam’s anger begins to melt under the Southeast Asian sun as he finds friendship with his neighbour, Somchai, and gradually falls in love with Nok, who teaches him about building merit, or karma, by doing good deeds, such as purchasing caged “merit birds.” Tragedy strikes and Cam finds himself falsely accused of a crime. His freedom depends on a person he’s never met. A person who knows that the only way to restore his merit is to confess.
Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard
I don’t believe I was conscious at the time of purchase. Perhaps I was under the influence of hype as I walked out of Indigo with this book in hand. I don’t even think I’ll be reading this anytime soon. Well played, hype, well played.
The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change. Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
Trouble – Non Pratt
I did read a few pages before switching over to an ARC but I can’t really say much about it so far other than it being a light read thus far. Plus, it’s narrated in both guy/girl voices.
When the entire high school finds out that Hannah Shepard is pregnant via her ex-best friend, she has a full-on meltdown in her backyard. The one witness (besides the rest of the world): Aaron Tyler, a transfer student and the only boy who doesn’t seem to want to get into Hannah’s pants. Confused and scared, Hannah needs someone to be on her side. Wishing to make up for his own past mistakes, Aaron does the unthinkable and offers to pretend to be the father of Hannah’s unborn baby. Even more unbelievable, Hannah hears herself saying “yes.”
The Waking Dark – Robin Wasserman
Came across this during my recent haul order and it seemed like a painfully fun read that I could see myself enjoying.
They called it the killing day. Twelve people dead, all in the space of a few hours. Five murderers: neighbors, relatives, friends. All of them so normal. All of them seemingly harmless. All of them now dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. She doesn’t even know why she killed—or whether she’ll do it again.
Guardian – Alex London
I recall promising myself to read Proxy prior to Guardian’s release last year (so I could follow through and binge Guardian). I did end up reading Proxy but didn’t get around picking up Guardian.
The pulse-pounding sequel to Proxy! Inspired by The Whipping Boy and Feed, this adrenaline-fueled thriller will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent.
(I refrained from linking the real synopsis save for spoilers.)
Nil – Lynne Matson
A pick-me-up placeholder dystopian fiction for when I’m in a slump (which I guess I’ve been on since the beginning of the year—I’ve only read 3 books lololol).
On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. Exactly 365 days–to escape, or you die.
Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s lying naked in an empty rock field.
Boy Nobody – Allen Zadoff
Someone mentioned I should read this in my blog survey last year—and I ended up snagging a copy in my recent haul.
Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school in a new town under a new name, makes a few friends, and doesn’t stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend’s family to die-of “natural causes.” Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, moving on to the next target.
Afterthoughts:
But yeah, the only books that I’ll actually try to put an effort to getting to is The Merit Birds and Way of Kings (it’s in transit right now–such excites). But then again…I lie to myself in most of these TBR lists and I’ll probably find myself reading something else entirely based on mood. lololol I’m so fail. Considering also Big Brother Canada starts next week oh derp goodbye reading time.
So tell me: are you most looking forward to finally getting around to reading something that’s been forever chilling on your TBR or are you amped up for a Spring release?
Cheers,
Joey
thoughts and afterthoughts. 
Want. Copy. Of. Red. Queen. Now.
I keep saying that, then I head out to the bookstore, and I purchase all these other books that is NOT Red Queen. Or half the other things that are on my priority list that I still don’t have copies of.
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If shipping was free, I’d share and mail my copy to you.
I get sidetracked by discounts all day. Doesn’t even have to be book-related. It can be like the most useless gadget or stationary or whatever being advertised for super cheap and I’m sure I can spend time amusing myself (and/or distracting myself) with it for a while.
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hahaha. You crack me up and I love it. My list probably won’t hold up, either, but it was still fun to make one. I really really wish you’d read Red Queen, just so you can review it/rip apart the hype. It’s on my list, too. It’s the hype that’s made me leery of trying it.
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LOL DON’T TELL THE WORLD MY PLANS! But seriously, if this ends up being another We Were Liars..oh boy… OH BOY. It might play out like this:
*removes cufflinks*
*rolls up sleeves*
“Hold my cufflinks, Brandie.”
*exhales*
[Internet implodes]
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These lists are always wishful thinking for me as well. I try to list books I really want to read and then I almost never get to them. We’ll see if that changes this time.
Way of Kings is also on my list. It’s massive size is intimidating, but I really want to get on the Brandon Sanderson bandwagon.
I understand your hesitation with Red Queen. I just picked it up myself – the mixed reviews make me curious to see what I think. Either way, I didn’t spend too much on it (got it at Half Price Books with a 50% off coupon), so I won’t be devastated if I hate it.
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Wishful thinking indeed! I only have one limb on the Sandy-bandwagon but I really want to get into his deeper stuff (Stormlight Archive, being that depth read).
Man, I wish I had a discount when I purchased Red Queen. Hype will be the death of my wallet 😦
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Lmfao Big Brother always steals reading time to me too, I love it! I want to pick up The Way of Kings and Red Queen too so we’ll see!
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Do you/are you going to follow BBCAN3? I’m even more excited now that they released who the houseguests are.
I’m hoping I do follow through with my intended reading of Way of Kings immediately after I finish my current read. But 1k pages? Hot damn.
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Red Queen is amazing! You should totally read it the first chance you get. Boy Nobody is also a great book; I can’t wait for the third one in the series.
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I question my buying of it so quick LOL seeing as how I’m juggling the hype versus my willingness to read it versus my need to read Sanderson’s behemoth. I’m such a derp.
Wait–is Boy Nobody a series? Or is each one a standalone (but still part of a series)? Damn, I really should have checked before I added it to my cart LOL.
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It’s the first book in the series, and I don’t think you can read them as standalones (maybe you can? I’m not really sure :/)
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I’m questioning whether or not I should read the synopsis of the second book LOL. I’m hoping this doesn’t turn out to be like those many times that I read a book with visceral pacing and it ends up at a cliffhanger and I’m thinking “wait…wat? wat?! IT’S A TRILOGY?!”
Yes, I am made of so much fail ):
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It doesn’t really end in a cliffhanger, but you will want to know more, so…
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My list consists of both spring releases and books that I’ve had on my TBR for a while. I’m probably going to tackle it based on mood. I started reading Red Queen and got sidetracked by another book, but it seems really interesting and different to other YA fantasies I’ve read.
My Top Ten Tuesday
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Yeah mood reading can sometimes take precedence in my next read but I think I might just have to delve into some of these reads for the sake of reading them haha. I’m hoping Red Queen stands up tall against all the hype surrounding it though!
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Yeah, these lists are 50% wishlist really – we couldn’t possible read ALL THE BOOKS!
Lynn 😀
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50% sounds super optimistic–I think I’d err closer to 150% Eek.
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I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on Trouble! I loved that it was a book that was really open/realistic about teen sexuality and pregnancy without being preachy!
My TTT
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Yeah I’m definitely hoping it paints a realistic picture of both gender perspectives–and it’s definitely smooth sailing so far from the 20-some-odd pages I’ve read!
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Boy Nobody is really good. The sequel is on my list.
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Awesome to hear! Truthfully, I didn’t know it was a series! Or if it was, I imagined it to be one of those standalone series. You can tell it was an impulse purchase, huh?
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Red Queen! I actually really want to check that one out even though there’s a ton of hype. The author seems super cool when we’ve interacted on Twitter and it just sounds so good. Read it, Joey. You OWN it.
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Hype is a scary thing indeed! Here’s to hoping that it lives up to all the positive vibes I’ve received from everyone and their pets who’ve read Red Queen.
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I really enjoyed Trouble! It’s light but fun, and I liked the characters’ voices very much. I’m not familiar with most of the rest of these, but I see a few that I’ll want to check out! Happy reading this spring!
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I’m hoping Trouble becomes a breeze of a read (well, not thematically but in terms of the length/pacing) and that the guys voice (at the very least) is “well represented”. So many books I’ve come across have comments attached to them that “oh the males voice is realistic” but when I read it it’s like “nope, this just panders to the male archetype”.
Here’s to hoping!
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Ohhh Sanderson! Just read my first last month! 🙂
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Awesome! I hope you enjoyed it enough to continue venturing into his other works.
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I loved Trouble. Can’t wait to see what you make of it. I’m hopefully going to read Red Queen soon. We’ll see…
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Seems like so many of you have enjoyed Trouble that I’m becoming weary of it (the hype!) Perhaps you can read Red Queen in between all of your deep contemporaries!
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Red Queen DID get a lot of hype, and still prolly does I guess. The cover is elegant tho. Hey, if you get around to reading Guardian, I’d be interested to hearing your thoughts!
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And thoughts you shall hear! Except I don’t know if I remember what happened at the end of Proxy. It was kind of a whirlwind D:
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Go reread the final chapters, perhaps?
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