valentine's book tag.

Book tags are by far one of my favorite solutions to blogger writing block. When Ashlee from Her Geekery posted her answers to this tag, I knew I had to get on board, even though we're a little past V-Day now.

Standalone Book I Love

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - Maggie is my favorite YA fantasy author, and in The Scorpio Races she takes the Celtic myth of the water horse and creates a tiny, magical world: the island of Thisby, where brave and foolish men race the dangerous creatures each November. The main character, Puck, is a tomboy who dreams of racing and hopes to hold her family together.

Dystopian Book I Love

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - I fell in love with this series while I was still in college and I'm still amazed that it's not more popular. In the society where Tally lives, teenagers receive plastic surgery that makes them perfect and beautiful - but not everyone is on board with the procedure or the society's ideals. I loved that the series is really about Tally's relationships with her friends and how those ties are challenged as teenagers develop their own interests and passions and try to create an "image" for themselves in an world that is obsessed with appearances. I also enjoyed the standalone book Extras, which complements the series and serves as a commentary on our social media addicted society.

A Book That I Love But No One Else Talks About 

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - This YA science fiction series is romantic and creative - Aria, a girl from the most technologically advanced part of society, where life is lived basically in virtual reality and people are protected from the elements, must brave the wilderness to find her missing mother. She meets and falls in love with Peregrine, who lives in a tribal society "Dwellers" like Aria consider savage. The worldbuilding, and the romance between Aria and Perry, are so compelling, and this series deserves just as much acclaim and fame as The Hunger Games and Divergent.

My Favorite Book Couple

Jamie and Claire from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I don't think I'll ever get tired of gushing about the Outlander series or my darling Mr. and Mrs. Fraser. These two are completely protective of and devoted to each other, and they don't hesitate to put each other in their place when needed. 

They have an electric love that spans time and distance, from the Scottish highlands to the royal court of Paris, and a romance that is both tender and passionate. Diana Gabaldon is one of few authors that can get me to read 800+ pages at a time, and I keep coming back for more.

A Book That Other People Love But I Haven’t Gotten Around To Reading

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson - I added this book to my to-be-read list after listening to Kristin from My Life as a Teacup's review on her YouTube channel. Just based on the cover art alone, it looks awesome, and the fact that it's about a supervillain's sidekick is so creative and unique - as much as I love swords and sorcery, I always enjoy sarcastic takes on the genre. I suppose until I do finally get my hands on the book, I should check out the original webcomic by Noelle Stevenson.

A Book with Red on the Cover

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank - One of my all-time favorites, I discovered this bildungsroman, in the form of a collection of short stories, when I was in college, and the timing was perfect because I identified so much with a lot of what the main character, Jane, was going through. In the book, she deals with childhood friendships, changing relationships with her parents and brother, her first career in publishing, and several relationships. Bank's writing style is simple and funny, and Jane's voice came through as if the book was a memoir.

A Book with Pink on the Cover

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling - The book of essays that officially made me want to be Mindy Kaling's best friend. From her lack of athletic ability, to her move to New York, to "types of women in romantic comedies who are not real," to Irish exits, I laughed out loud so many times while reading this one The fact that I cannot currently call Mindy Kaling from my bathtub and share stories and giggles with her proves that we live in a fundamentally unjust world.

You Were Given A Box Of Chocolate, What Fictional Boyfriend Would Have Given Them To You?

Carswell Thorne from the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer - Although the chocolates would probably be stolen and Captain Thorne would surely have some sort of ulterior motive in giving them to me, how can anyone resist a character who is basically a younger, sassier version of Malcolm Reynolds?

You Are In The Book Store, All Of A Sudden You Get Shot With An Arrow By Cupid. What New Release Will You Love? 

Nicole Burstein's Othergirl - this book came out in 2015 and sounds adorable. From Goodreads: "Louise and Erica have been best friends since forever. They're closer than sisters and depend on each other for almost everything. Just one problem: Erica has superpowers. When Erica isn't doing loop-the-loops in the sky or burning things with her heat pulse powers, she needs Louise to hold her non-super life together. After all, the girls still have homework, parents and boys to figure out. But being a superhero's BFF is not easy, especially as trouble has a way of seeking them out. Soon Louise discovers that Erica might be able to survive explosions and fly faster than a speeding bullet, but she can't win every fight by herself. Life isn't a comic book - it's even crazier than that."

literary junkies!

1. What are you reading right now? Tell us about it. 

Despite having several Iranian-American friends in high school and college, I knew basically nothing about the Islamic Revolution until reading Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis in college. When I spotted Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi at a secondhand book sale, I recognized it from lots of recommended title lists. It's a memoir written by a literature teacher who attended college in America and returned to her home in Iran just as the revolution was beginning. After she took her first teaching job at the University of Tehran, Iran's laws became increasingly restrictive and eventually abusive toward women, and she was eventually forced to resign for refusing to wear a veil in the classroom. After the war with Iraq, an acquaintance convinces her to return to teaching, which she has missed terribly, although her more conservative students frequently challenge her choice of "decadent" novels like The Great Gatsby and Daisy Miller. She and a few of her most passionate female students decide to start their own book club, meeting on Thursday morning to discuss everything from Lolita to Pride and Prejudice, and along the way her "girls" become like daughters to her. The book really forced me to think about how dangerous fundamentalism can be when the lines of church and state are blurred and corrupted, and about how our perceptions of literature are shaped by our own backgrounds and experiences. I've added Professor Nafisi's syllabus to my TBR pile.

2. What book reminds you of summertime as a kid?

The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis - I finished my first reading of the Narnia books in the back of my parents' car while being taken to summer camp. When I got to the book's ending and realized, in a way my 11-year-old brain really couldn't put into words, that the whole series had been an allegory for God's kingdom, I started crying. My parents thought I was upset about going to camp and were ready to turn the car around until I explained as best I could that I was crying because my book made me so happy. They probably talked about what a weird kid they had after that.

3. What book did you have on your summer reading list that truly nailed it as a summer reading favorite?

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd - a really creepy novel inspired by H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau, but then I remembered how much I loved Rebecca last summer. I'd downloaded it because it was a Kindle deal and had a cool name, and got completely sucked in to the main character's desire to find her father and her inherited obsession with scientific discovery, the isolated island and the two men she feels torn between. For some reason, I guess I need to counterbalance hot, sunny summer days with suspenseful Gothic mysteries?

4. Who is your favorite author and why? Give us your top recommendation by them. 

As an English major and teacher, there is no way I can choose one favorite author, so I'll narrow it down to one genre. My favorite YA author is Maggie Stiefvater - not just because of her books but because she has a great online presence and I got to meet her at a reading conference for teachers! Her Raven Cycle series is really popular right now and has developed a fandom, but my favorite Stiefvater book is the stand-alone The Scorpio Races, in which she takes the myth of the water horse and builds a whole world. It's full of action, romance, and amazing description (I use it as a mentor text in my class!), and has a very timeless quality that I think will make it a YA fantasy classic.

5. Fall Book Reading lists are starting to make their appearances. What are you excited to read that's being released this fall?

Never Always Sometimes by Adi Alsaid (August 4th) - Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they'd never, ever do in high school.  Julia is beautiful, wild and impetuous. So when she suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. 

This sounds like such a perfect back-to-school read - I love books about male/female best friendships and how complicated the can be, and the "Never List" is a fun concept.

Dream Things True by Marie Marquardt (September 1st) - A modern-day Romeo and Juliet story in which a wealthy Southern boy falls in love with an undocumented Mexican girl and together they face perils when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) begins raids on their town. 

I cannot resist a Shakespeare retelling, particularly Romeo and Juliet which is the play that started it all for me. This sounds like a really unique, creative twist on the familiar story.

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling (September 15th) - Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether it’s falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when you’re constantly reminded that no one looks like you.

I love Mindy and I adored Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, so I'm sure her second collection of essays will be equally awesome.

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer (November 10th) - Princess Winter is admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, despite the scars that mar her face, and despises her stepmother, Queen Levana. Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, Winter might even have the power to launch a revolution and find their happily ever afters.

The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite recent MG/YA series, so I'm very anxiously looking forward to the conclusion. I hope Meyer can tie up all the lose ends in a way that is satisfying but not too perfect or cheesy.