This week is dedicated to all of our favorite fictional cities in all of our favorite books. 1. Hogsmeade You may be noticing a trend — pretty much anything Harry Potter related is going to be included on any list that talks about my favorite things in literature. Who hasn’t daydreamed about walking around Hogsmeade with snow flurrying all around you and stumbling into The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer. Just me? Okay, that’s fine. 2. Oz I specifically think the Emerald City would be amazing to see. But all of Oz, with it’s winding yellow-brick road, would be a grand adventure to explore. 3. Middle-earth Because who doesn’t want…
Top 5 Wednesday: Book Series
This weeks Top 5 Wednesday is dedicated to those series you just wish had more books. I’m sure you can already guess a few that are going to be on my list. 1. Harry Potter by J.K Rowling But I don’t want more books, I want a whole new series about Harry’s kids lives, and world post-Voldemort. I think it would be so interesting to pop back into that world and get a sneak peak of how badly Albus Severus is teased and how great a Quidditch player James is and how adorable Hermione and Ron’s relationship is. I just want maybe one more book that outlines their relationships as…
Top 5 Wednesday: Tropes
A couple Wednesdays ago I posted about the character tropes I loved. This week is all about the ones I hate. Again, character tropes are overused themes in books. So let’s get started… 1. The perfect girl You know what I’m talking about — I’m talking about the girl who seems so perfect on the outside with her perfect hair and her perfect teeth and her perfect boyfriend, yada yada yada. But really, on the inside, she’s suffered a lot and just doesn’t know how to tell anyone. I’m really sick of this one, mostly because it gives a lot of girls the impression that they shouldn’t let their guard down and…
Top 5 Wednesday: Required Reading
This week is all about that dreaded required reading for school, and with classes starting soon, this is a very fitting topic. As a kid I loved to read, and as you can tell, not much as changed. But reading for my classes always seemed to be the worst thing I could have imagined. Of course I had some pretty bad experiences with required reading (ahem, “Romeo and Juliet” —it’s not a love story people!), but I also discovered amazing stories I never would have otherwise read. So here we go… 1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee I read this freshman year of high school, and it was the…
Top 5 Wednesday: Maps
This weeks Top 5 Wednesday is all about maps! Personally, I don’t own a lot of books with maps in them because I don’t read that much fantasy, but I will include some of my favorite maps, as well as maps I wish existed. 1. Hogwarts – Harry Potter How is it that after years of books and movies, the only “map” we’ve ever seen is glimpses of the Marauder’s Map? I want a real, full-blown map of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade so I can finally figure out what this place would really look like. 2. MIddle-Earth – The Hobbit This is real, and I loved it. It helped me follow along…
Top 5 Wednesday: Character Tropes
This weeks Top 5 Wednesday is all about character tropes, which are overused themes in books you can’t help but still love. Here we go! 1. Female protagonists. You have to admit, there are a lot of books, especially YA books, with female leads. And that’s great — I love them (hence why they are on this list) — but I understand how readers can get a little sick of reading about the dorky girl who got the guy. Books included in this: “Anna and the French Kiss”, “Divergent”, and anything by Sarah Dessen. 2. The human best friend to the superhuman/something other than human best friend. This is pretty typical is…
Top 5 Wednesday: Supporting Characters
This weeks Top 5 Wednesday is all about side characters that deserve their own story. This one’s going to be tough. 1. Severus Snape – Harry Potter If anyone deserves a series about their life, I truly believe it is Professor Snape. I would love to read a book from his perspective about being best friends with Lily, his time at Hogwarts, his life as a death eater and more and more and more. As I’ve said before on this blog, I love hearing both sides to every story. And Snape’s story is one of the most exciting ones I’ve ever almost heard. 2. Patrick – Perks of Being a Wallflower I like…
