Top Ten Tuesday is an original book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s TTT is ‘Top Authors I’ve Only Read One Book From but NEED to Read More of.’  I was really eager to post this one because there are so many authors I’d love to read more of.

#1: Morgan Matson.
I read Morgan’s Second Chance Summer and LOVED it. Surprisingly enough, it was originally a DNF on my Kindle, and eventually I picked it back up when I ran out of any other books to read! I really need to look into reading more of her books!

#2: Katherine Reay
Okay, so maybe this one doesn’t count, because she only has one books out at the moment (Dear Mr. Knightley, which I plan to read again because I read it about a year ago now), but her next book, Lizzy & Jane, comes out October 28th and it sounds like it’s right up my alley! I’m going to pre-order it soon!

#3: P.L. Travers
I read the book, Mary Poppins, but it turns out there are three more in a series of Mary Poppins books! I definitely need to get those soon.

#4: Gail Carson Levine
I first read Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted when I was eight or nine and loved it! In fact, I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many more times I’ve read. Just look at my copy’s poor spine! I really ought to read more of her awesome fairy tales.

#5: Cynthia Kadohata
I read Kira-Kira sometime last year and cried like a baby! (I don’t see how anyone can’t cry, at least a little, when they read this book!) Though I did love the book. (You can see my copy next to Ella Enchanted in the picture above!) I really, really want to read Cynthia’s other book, Weedflower, next.

#6: C.S. Lewis
Some of you may remember my complaining*ahem* civilized protest about having to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as part of my required reading for my home-school curriculum. I read it this summer with my sister and really actually enjoyed it. I’m supposed to read The Magician’s Nephew, which is sort of a prequel to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, next, so I’m excited to read more C.S. Lewis!

#7: Stephanie Morrill
I read Stephanie’s The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet a while back and loved it! I may even read it again so I can post a review here sometime soon. I have the second book in the series, The Unlikely Debut of Ellie Sweet on my Kindle, I just haven’t gotten around to finishing it – so the next book is most definitely on my “mental” TBF (To Be Finished!) List!

#8: Katherine Erskine
I picked up Mockingbird three years ago for a reading bowl I was apart of – my goodness, it was… indescribable. Let’s just say I smiled through my tears! I’ve been wanting to read The Absolute Value of Mike, also my Katherine, for a while now, so I hope my library has it!

#8: Deanne Gist
My mom lent me her copy of Deanne’s Maid to Match last month and I finished it in two days! Looking at Deanne’s other books now, I think I’ll definitely be keeping my eye out for more of her books.

#9: Meg Cabot
I borrowed the book The Princess Diaries from my school library last year, and it was… a lot different from the movie. I really loved it, though, and hope I can find more books by Meg!

#10: Lois Lowry
Alright, so I’ve read two books by Lois Lowry – The Giver and Number the Stars (which so happens to be another required reading this year!) and I loved, loved, LOVED both of them. I think I’m going to check out all the Lois Lowry books from my library! Plus I have The Giver series quartet waiting for me on my bookshelves!

Well, that’s all ten! What about you? Are there any authors you’d like to read more books from?

Hello, everybody! First of all, I apologize for the lack of activity on For the Bookish lately. Second of all… are you ready for HUGE Stacking the Shelves?? (I’m not! I can hardly keep up with all the books I’ve wanted/been reading recently!!) Stacking the Shelves in a book meme hosted byTynga’s Reviews. It’s all about sharing the books you’ve read/gotten this week, virtual or physical.

Well, there’s my stack! It’s so big… I don’t even know how many books there are. I guess I should begin this (inevitably!) long post…

At the top is Ten Good and Bad Things About my Life by Ann M. Martin. I got it soon after reading Ann M. Martin’s Ten Rules for Living With my Sister, which I loved! I got it several weeks ago, but I got sidetracked by a few required reads for my home school curriculum… well, that and I had about four books I was reading at the same time… but never fear! I’m back on track and look forward to finishing that one very soon!

Below is The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by Erin Dionne, which I am super excited to read. I got it at a book sale at a festival in North Carolina last week when my family went there for a mini vacation. Beneath that is a book I finished this morning! A Maid to Match by Deanne Gist was… awesome! My mom actually lent this one to me, and she got it from the Biltmore in North Carolina back when we went in February 2013. The book is set at the Biltmore back when George and Edith Vanderbilt owned the enormous estate and I loved it!!! (By the way, if you’ve never heard of Biltmore, go Google it!!)

Next is The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer, which I found amongst some other books at the library! Also from the library I got Counting by 7’s by Holly Goldberg Sloan, which I’ve been dying to read and The Boy on the Front Porch by Sharon Creech (which looks short but I’m eager to read it because it also seems incredibly sweet!). Ten Rules for Living With my Sister (which I read a while ago… it’s probably overdue at the library!), was super good (check out my review!). I also got Wendy Mass’ version of Rapunzel, which I started but haven’t finished.

Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassedy had such an amazing blurb I was already hooked just by reading it! Leap Day, by Wendy Mass, is another book I’ve been wanting to read for… well, about three years! That was when I really went into a Wendy Mass kick, you could say, so I’m anxious to begin this one! The third to the last one, Carry on, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham is a required reading for home school that I’m doing and it’s dragging on really slow at the moment. I’ve got to read it by this Thursday, though, so I’ll let you know  my thoughts soon enough!

The last two, The Doll People and The Meanest Doll in the World,by Ann M. Martin, are so cute! I read The Doll People about a month ago, and then I read to my little sister who was hooked! She got to The Meanest Doll in the World before me and spoiled it! 😀 But I’m glad I hooked her. The first one was very well written, I loved it!

Well, that’s it! I’m going to be verrry busy! What books have you gotten/ read recently? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy August everyone! Did you know today, in 338 BC, a Macedonian army let by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and Aegean? And that it’s Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria’s 112th birthday (if he were still alive)? I bet many of you didn’t. Anywaaayy….

Ready for this week’s STS? Stacking the Shelves in a book meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It’s all about sharing the books you’ve read/gotten this week, virtual or physical. Since my last Stacking the Shelves waaaasss… a month ago, I’m going to talk a bit about the books I’ve read since then. (Oh, and the books I talk about aren’t in the order I read them. I don’t remember when I read them, I just know it was sometime this past month. Which would be July. For those of you who didn’t know.) And then I’ll share the books I got at the library yesterday.

Cinders and Sapphires, by Leila Rasheed, was pretty darn good. I wrote a review for it in a notebook, since I was grounded from the computer, so as soon as I type it up you’ll be getting the full report. I really liked it, and sped through it in a day and a half. I borrowed it from the library, and its sequel is currently on hold, so I can’t wait to be reading the next one!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In my last STS, I told you all I’d be reading this with my sister as a required reading for school. It was… different reading the book since I’ve heard so much about it and seen the movie before I ever read the book. Honestly, I was a little surprised at how simply written it actually is, because it’s such a resemblance to Christians of how Christ died for us, and as I’d read articles about it, it almost seemed like the book was written for adults. But I really loved reading it with my sister, and right now we’re reading The Magician’s Nephew, which is the second to the Chronicles of Narnia in some publications and the first in others.

BEST. BOOK. EVER. Highly recommended on my list; I went through many tissues and fell in love with the present-to-past thing going on, and how the two stories were connected. The “past” story took place in 1911, in the “present” story (which actually happens to be the past at this point, ha-ha) in 2011. I especially loved reading the present chapters, as it’s all about a woman mourning the 10th anniversary of 9/11/01 (otherwise known as my birthday!), her husband’s death, and telling her daughter the truth about the fateful day. (Again, also my birthday! Not so fateful after all! Ha-ha! … ha… mm.) Anyway. GO AND READ IT!

Eh. This was… an okay read. Very short; to-the-point, and I didn’t get close to the characters very much, which is the first thing I look for in a book. It was sort of a drag reading it. As a review I read for this book on GoodReads when I was considering buying it (so glad I didn’t! I borrowed it from the library!) said “I feel like the big grown up bully attacking the cute, freckled face kid on the playground with this review,” and that’s exactly how I feel. I didn’t hate it. I didn’t love it. I just felt like it was sort of mediocre. It could have been much better.

I believe those are all the books I’ve read in July… I told you I haven’t read very many! I just finished with When you Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, and I loved it! Now for the books from the library yesterday…

Okay, so on the bottom is Diamonds & Deceit, the sequel to Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed, which I can’t wait to read! Then is Ten Rules for Living with my Sister, by Ann M. Martin, and I actually finished that one about an hour ago this morning, and totally adored it! I’m going to put the sequel on hold now. The Doll People is also by Ann M. Martin, and I’ve always though it looks like such a cute book. Carry on, Mr. Bowditch, by Jean Lee Latham, is yet another required reading for school. And I picked up Behind the Attic Wall by Sylvia Cassidy at the library because I thought the blurb looked good. So hopefully I’ll have my hands full with books for a while! 🙂

So what books have you read/gotten/bought lately? Did you like them? Look for a mini review tomorrow on Hope was Here tomorrow =) Thanks for reading,

Stacking the Shelves in a book meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It’s all about sharing the books you’ve read/gotten this week, virtual or physical. This week, I got a ton of books! (The library is my new best friend.) I’m also trying to finish a book that I’ve been trying to get through for far too long. (The Lucy Variations. It’s really slow.) I’m trying to finish it, I really am. In the meantime, I have this stack to get through!

The first on the top is A Fall of Marigolds, by Susan Meissner. I got it at the Christian Family bookstore this week, and from the blurb, it seems a lot like the sort of story Sarah’s Key was – going back and forth from the past and the present. I can’t wait to read it! =) Then there’s The Voyage of Patience Godspeed by Heather Vogel Frederick. I tried to read this one a while back, but I had too many books on my hands and didn’t really get to it. I love Heather Vogel Frederick, though, so I’m looking forward to it.

I also got Little Men and Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott. I’ve never actually read the full versions of these, so I’m looking forward to these too. I’m well into Little Men so far, and I’m enjoying it =) Hope was Here by Joan Bauer is one I’ve wanted to read for several months, and Cinders and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed has been on my TBR for a while, too. I already mentioned The Lucy Variations (It’s really slow though!! It really is.) Theeen I also got The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, plus The Horse and his Boy, because (argh) I’ve never read the Chronicles of Narnia, and I have to read them before the first day of school.

(I kid, I kid!) I’m sure I’ll like it. Soooo be looking forward to lots of reviews next week. (I’m fresh out at the moment.) Oh! I forgot – I did a guest post over at The Measure of a Book recently on Camp NaNoWriMo – it was a ton of fun. I love Audrey’s blog, too. Check it out, maybe?

So what books have you gotten/read this week? Let me know! Happy Saturday!!

Since I didn’t get around to posting this week’s TTT, I decided to post it a little late because I loved the theme. I’m only doing 8 covers for today, but next Tuesday I promise to have an awesome TTT up! Top Ten Tuesday is an original book meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s theme is book cover trends I like and dislike. I really enjoy doing TTT’s because they’re never hard, and they’re tons of fun! So I’ll start with types of book covers I like first:

#1: Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper: I love this book cover because the picture has a very meaningful link to the book. The title isn’t something cliche like “Fish Out of Water,” but the picture still represents the MC, Melody, and her feelings as she can’t talk or even move. Love this!!

#2: The Minnow by Diana Sweeney: I’ve never read this book, but I absolutely, positively love the cover. (Well who doesn’t?!) It kind of has… I don’t know, a bit of mysterious look to it. I love that.

#3: Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards: I really love illustrations like this. While I’m normally not too keen on cartoon-ish looking drawings for the cover of a book, I love this illustration because it’s so beautiful. I think I’d hang the picture on a wall or something. The illustration isn’t too cheesy; it looks more like a painting you’d buy in a store.

Some covers I dislike…

#4: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: Like I said before when I was talking about Mandy, I don’t really like cartoon-ish illustrations… especially for this one. I think it goes well with the title, but I don’t know. I just don’t really like these types of covers.

#5: Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James: Great story!! … bad cover. I really don’t like covers with pictures of the MC, or a person in general. 😛 They’re too cliche, and not… very… intriguing. Just… no. If I ever publish a book, you will never see me have a cover like this.

#6: The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen: Again, a little cliche. I do like the fact that the picture kind of blurs the face of the person… I think this one is sort of in the middle. Too cliche, though… “the truth about forever”? With a girl pulling petals off a flower? Definitely a little too much.

I really like using the word cliche =) Oh well. Back to

covers I like…

#7: Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay: Of course this one was a no-brainer because it always pops into my mind as a cover I definitely like. It’s a very simple design, but the rose with the letters flying off gives it a very… elegant, classic look, in my opinion.

#8: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: I love this cover. When I see it, I think of the “domino effect.” To me, it really says a lot about the book.

It seems I have a sort of constant theme for all the covers I like – I want them to say something important about the book, but cliche (I really need to stop using that word!) covers that make the book appear cheesy don’t really catch my eye.

Stick around tomorrow for Stacking the Shelves =)

Skylar over at Life of a Random has nominated for a Liebster award! Thank youuu!! (My second one in only two months of blogging. Two months! Can you believe it?! It seems longer than that…) Liebster awards are always so fun, I love doing them and I love reading them. Plus Skylar’s questions are awesome. And I get to nominate nine of you fabulous bloggers myself. SO LET’S PARTY CAUSE WE BLOGGERS ARE FABU. Seriously. Where’s the cake?

But fiiirrssst…. the rules.

Soooo, first, I must list 11 facts about myself. Okaaayy, let’s see…

1. I don’t like sea food.
2. I was born on 9/11
3. My favorite season is Autumn
4. I sniff books. All. The. Time.
5. I am *slightly* obsessed with Taylor Swift
6. My new favorite food is frozen yogurt. (cake batter kind with cookie dough and strawberries)
7. I really began blogging at 8 years old, and it was kind of a personal blog (with my last name and location and basically I just blogged talking about myself and what I ate for lunch).

8. 

9. My favorite cereal is Cheerios. Except my family eats mostly all organic foods and we love going to our Farmer’s Market so I eat
   Cascadian Farm Organic Whole Grain Oat and Barley cereal.
10. My phone case is a teal color with little white turtles all over it. My friends named one of them Timmy (underneath my camera) and one Headless (because he’s on the  very edge and has no head.) Sometimes I remember to say hello to them, Timmy and Headless. Good turtles.
11. I want to visit Bath, England one day because it’s where Jane Austen grew up.

And noooowww for Skylar’s 11 (awesome) questions!

1. How did you come up with your blog’s name? Funny story (:D) I was coming up with names for my future bookstore (which will, as a fact, be awesome), and I thought about creating a book blog. Inevitably, one of the names for my bookstore was For the Bookish, and I loved the name for a “bookish” blog.
2. Given the choice between having blue hair forever or a dragon tattoo on your arm forever (duh), which would you choose? Dragon tattoo. I really love my hair. It’s a pretty auburnish-brown color with natural blonde and red highlights that really come out in the summer… plus, if you really needed to, you can cover the tattoo up with shirt sleeves or like, a band-aid or something. 
3. Do you like reading book blogs or watching booktuber videos better? Book blogs. Booktuber videos, in my opinion, tend to get cut really short and clipped, and they’re never as fun or sarcastic, I think, and you can’t include GIF’s and it’s kind of odd (again, this is just me), to see someone and hear their voice. I mean, I’ve had the opportunity to skype with people I’ve met on the internet, but I really love getting to know someone first (via their blog!) and then seeing them and making up your mind about them.
4. Do you have a bucket list? Yes! I want to visit Bath, England, and have a food fight!
5. I couldn’t live without my computer…or books, obviously. BUT, excluding your computer, books, and cellphone/phone (you know, the essentials), what is one thing you couldn’t live without? Excluding books? … tough one. But I’d have to say my family. (And my cat.) They’re always there for me, and no matter how much they get on my nerves (including my cat. He’s very whiny), I love them. And my parents pay for my computer usage, *some* of my books, and my cellphone and everything else, sooo. Yeah, without them, I wouldn’t have any of the other stuff I can’t live without.
6. What’s your least favorite food? Sea food! Tuna! Fish! Blech. (Except Salmon, by the way. I can deal with Salmon.) 
7. Do you make up new endings in your head for books or movies that stunk because they were so sad? YESSSS! Miss Potter and Becoming Jane are two of the worst. Mostly, what makes them the worst, though, it that THEY’RE TRUE. Miss Potter is the true story of Beatrix Potter and Becoming Jane is Jane Austen. (The WORST love stories.)
8. What does your handwriting look like? Picture, please. Well, I said please. Okaaayyy… 

9. What do you want to accomplish in five years? (Like major goals, etc.)  In five years, I hope to have graduated high school a year early. I want to get college credits and get a degree in Library Science and English Literature. I also want to have been on a missionary trip to another country to spread God’s love!
10. Hardcover or paperback? Hardcover. Is that a trick question?
11. What is your favorite sound? Thunderstorms. And also bacon sizzling… 

And NOWWWW…. *drum roll, please!* my nominations…

I nominattteee… Rosa over @ Bookish Findings, Samantha @ Bookish Serendipity, Adele @ Howling Evanescence, Abrielle Lindsay (or TW) @ Indonesia Around Me, Jillian @ Covers and Ink, Sarah @ Inklined, Anastasia Elizabeth @ Every Stinkin’ Page, Chloe @ Free as a Girl with Wings,  and Abigail @ Scribbles and Ink Stains.

Phew! That took a while. But look – all nine! I did it! 😀

Now here’s the 11 questions each blogger I nominated must answer…

1. Do you have a pet? What’s your favorite animal?
2. Have a favorite childhood book?
3. Favorite pastime, besides reading or writing?
4. Favorite color? Would you die your hair this color for a million bucks?
5. Is there a song that could be the soundtrack to your life?
6. Could I see a picture of your handwriting?
7. What is your favorite social media site? (Links, please?)
8. What is your favorite word?
9. What’s your favorite food? Do you like ice cream??
10. Have you ever read a book you absolutely hate?
11. What are a couple of your major life goals?

So that’s that!! I hope you wonderful bloggers I nominated can participate in making a post, I can’t wait to read your answers! Thanks again, Skylar, for nominating me! I had a ton of fun with this. Until next time!

Stacking the Shelves in a book meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It’s all about sharing the books you’ve read/gotten this week, virtual or physical. This week, I read two historical fictions (both I loved!) and two YA Contemporary that have been on my TBR for awhile. Actually, yesterday – Friday – I posted this thinking it was Saturday!! I was slightly confuzzled… I couldn’t find any other bloggers’ STS. Then I looked at my calendar and remembered it was Friday. Silly me! 😀

The first one I read, Sarah’s Key, by Tatiana De Rosnay,was… incredible. It made me cry more than once. I was really impressed with it =) The Red Umbrella, by Christina Diaz Gonzales, was okay. It was MG, which is fantastic, but I thought the the plot and conclusion was kind of cut short. It could have gone on a bit longer, in my opinion, but I still enjoyed it.

I’m currently reading To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, by Jenny Han, (on my Kindle) and I’ll be honest, it wasn’t at all what I had expected it to be. But I really like it thus far =) I also bought The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr yesterday morning, and I’m going to take it with me to summer camp next week, after I finish the one I’m currently reading.

So, on a random note, when my mom and I went to Barnes & Noble Friday morning, we also stopped at Starbucks!! I’ve recently discovered the Starbucks Secret Menu, and decided to try the cotton candy frappuccino – which is a Vanilla Bean frap with rasberry syrup. I just showed the barista the recipe on my phone and she said “Oh, sure!” I was slightly surprised at how easy it was to order it – but it was delicious!! Next time I want to try the cookie dough kind…

Until tomorrow! I’m going to be making a post and nominating some fabulous bloggers for my second Liebster award =)