I Get It Now: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Story time. I bought The Raven boys when it first came out in 2012. Actually, the story starts way before that. I was fangirling for this book before it was even released. I remember there was a preview that had been featured somewhere, it was like the first 30 pages? Well, I was obsessed! I tweeted and fangirled right there with the rest of the book community months in anticipation of the book. So when the book was actually released I ran off to the store (my aunt had told me she would buy me some books) and ripped it off the shelves and brought it back home with me. You would think the logical thing to do is read it, and to that I say, you are correct. But that's not what I did at all. A year later I attempted my first read of it. It didn't go so well, and then several times after that I attempted to read through it and nothing. This time I was so determined but I didn't go into it with any expectations. I picked it up one day and JUST READ.

Oh my goodness, I'm so glad I was able to get through it this time. I feel like it was the perfect time to read The Raven Boys because I ended up loving it (like I knew I would). I fell in love with the story. It's so strange, it has an almost dreamlike quality to it. The writing is fantastic and it created these images in my head, while I was reading, that took me places. I also didn't expect the story to be so uncomfortably creepy at times. There were moments when I was looking around my room making sure nothing else was lingering in the dark. I'm going to give this book huge props for being the first in an EXTREMELY long time to actually surprise me. I was shocked at this particular scene. There was no way for me to have guessed what happened and that's really a first in years. I was so shocked that I ran to Twitter and asked around to talk to someone that had already read The Raven Boys. I just needed to discuss the craziness with someone and that someone happened to be Sashana from @SheFierce1 on twitter.

The boys. Oh, the boys. I'm not sure who I love most, but I would probably say Ronan. He's complicated and special in his own way. There's just something about him that gives off this rude, I-couldn't-care-less attitude, but deep down he's probably the most caring out of all of them. It was also refreshing to see the inner workings of their friendships. They're all so unique and different that it just works. They're so close and several times during the story Blue emphasizes how in sync they are with each other. They understand each other without words, through looks and gestures. 

So I just want to say I GET IT NOW. I understand why everyone loses it over this series (or at least over this first book). I need to read the second one right now. Ronan is on the cover and that's all I need to know at the moment. Nothing else really matters. 

Discussion: Anticipation Killers

I need to get this off my chest and I thought, what better way than talking to fellow book bloggers. For the past few years I've been noticing a trend on my tbr shelves. I'll add a book to my most anticipated releases, I'll talk about it, think about it, dream about it non-stop and buy it as soon as it's released. That's all wonderful, so you're probably asking what the problem is. The problem is that I don't end up reading them until months or even years pass. I've come up with a few reasons why this might be happening to me:

1. Hype: This happened just last month with Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. It was my most anticipated book of the YEAR so I obviously went out and bought it the week it was released. But it also turned out to be the Booksplosion book of the month. Even though everyone absolutely adored it, there's now so much hype around it that I'm scared to read it.

2. Expectations (goes hand in hand with hype): Then there are the books where I create these extremely high expectations and once I actually get the book I become scared that they'll never live up to them. This happened with The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Dearly Departed by Lia Habel, and Across the Universe by Beth Revis (I still haven't read any of these).

3: Time (More books come out, less time to read them): The amount of books that are released every Tuesday is frankly getting a bit overwhelming. Tiffany and I were just discussing this the other day. Even if we were genuinely interested in every book coming out, there's no way we would have time for all of them. The young adult market is growing every day and I just feel like I can't keep up. I could be missing out on a real gem that might have the potential to become a favorite and this kind of terrifies me.

4. Friends: This one's pretty simple and to the point. A new book is announced that sounds awesome, I talk about it all day to my friends, I buy it, friends want to read it, I'm in the middle of something else, I let them borrow it and then I never see it again until months later.

5. Permanence: Once I read them that's it. Reading a book for the first time is an experience and once it's over you can never get that back. Yes, you can reread the book, but it's never the same as that initial first time you met those characters and experienced that story. I just want to make sure I read the book for the first time at the right time in my life. I'm currently going through this with To All the Boys I've Loved Before [Edit: since writing this post I've read AND ADORED To All the Boys]. It's staring at me from my shelf but once I read it, I know there's no going back. That's it, it's over. I flew through all three of The Summer series books in April and loved them so so so much. I want to pace myself with this one.

Does this happen to anyone else? Am I crazy or do you guys go through these stages? Do you guys have a system to reading your most anticipated books? Do you pace yourself or do you devour them the moment they're in your hands? Let's discuss!

Lit Ladies (Discussion): Deal Breakers or Automatic Buys

So, as you may know, I'm part of a Youtube group called Lit Ladies. We post every two weeks on different topics, and this week, I liked the topic so much that I thought I'd share it on my blog. Hopefully this can spark some discussion.

Here are the things that will make me automatically pick up/put down a book:



The last deal breaker is a little confusing to explain (about why I don't like reading books where one of the main characters speaks Spanish), but to explain a little better than in the video, I'm hispanic, most of what I speak at home is Spanish, and we never speak the way it's written in books. Most of the time, the authors just throw in a bunch of stereotypical Spanish words and call it a day. I want authors that actually research the culture. I've read a couple of good ones but I want more, so if you guys have more suggestions please leave them in the comments!

Let me know in the comments if you agree or disagree with my deal breakers and automatic pick ups and we can discuss!

Discussion: A Million Series, No Time

Yeah, my TBR is pretty legendary.

Recently I've felt a little weary of series because I know I don't have time for all of them. I feel torn because if a book is a standalone, I'll often find myself wanting more of the characters but when it's a series, I never keep up with the next books. The only series I actually kept up with and finished were the Hex Hall series and the Unearthly series. They're both some of my all time favorites but lately, even when I like the first book, I won't pick up the second one because there's always another series I'd rather start.

This happens a lot at bookstores. I'll be looking around and I'll see the sequel to a book I enjoyed but end up buying the first book in a new series instead. I feel like I already know that world and I want new worlds. But I've been sticking more with contemporary since most of them are standalone books. I also get a little frustrated because some books don't even need sequels yet there they are, being released a year apart.

I know a lot of us (especially book bloggers) suffer with this (Mel talked a little about this in her post, Life of a Reader) and I want to know how you deal with it. Do you keep track of the series you want to finish during the year? Do you keep track of their release dates and stalk the stores? I need a new system to help me out next year because I really do want to finish/continue my series.

This gif relates how I feel about series so accurately. When I hear of a new series I feel like throwing everything but then I pick the book up and add it to my infinite shelves. You can't expect me to just LEAVE IT THERE.

Here are just a few of the ones I want to continue:

       
   

I could sit here ALL DAY and the list would be infinite but there's no time for that (I need to go pick up a sequel)! What do you think? Do you like all the series coming out or do you feel like there should be more standalone books? What first book have you loved but still haven't read the rest for lack of time?

Discussion Time: Reading Slumps

Today I wanted to make a quick discussion because I've been stuck in this terrible slump. Nothing I pick up seems to catch my attention and the books I have been reading seem to bore me and fall in the 3.5 stars range. I don't know what to do anymore and I know we've all been there before.

While I was discussing this with a friend last night she suggested I take some time away from reading. Catch up on some tv shows, watch some movies, do something else with my spare reading time. This sounds fine until I look at my shelves and long for the wonderful writing and the crazy worlds I know are within those pages. I want to read!

(something that will make me do this to anyone who attempts to approach me)

So I was thinking maybe a really great murder mystery that will keep me turning the pages through the night would be a good way to drag me out of the slump. Or maybe rereading one of my favorite books, for example City of Bones, since the movie is coming out soon anyway. Or even picking up a fun contemporary, something that will make me laugh.

I just really need to get out of this reading slump and back to enjoying what I love to do. I would love to hear your suggestions and ideas as to how you get out of those oh so dreaded slumps. Any go to genres you have when you know you're about to fall into a slump? Any go to rereads? Or do you take a step back and go do something else like my friend suggested? Maybe one of your ideas will end up helping me!