TGIF: Comfort Reads

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads. Every Friday she posts a new question and it’s a really fun way to discover new blogs.

This weeks question is: Comfort Reads. Which books do you go to for comfort & familiarity? Is there a type of book you seek out when you’re needing that extra bit of comfort in your life?

There are a few books that I find myself revisiting time and time again when I am in need of book-shaped comfort. These are the books that get me excited about reading and manage to pull me out of whatever slump or pit of despair I have found myself in.

The best part is that the books that I turn to for comfort range across all genres. Sometimes the comfort I need comes from being able to have a good cry and sometimes I take comfort in reading about others experiencing epic love and happiness.

These are the top three books I find myself returning to time and time again when I am in need of comfort.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

There’s nothing quite like turning to a book when you are in need of comfort. What are some of your comfort reads? And why?

 

Top Ten Tuesday, in which I cheated.

It’s Tuesday again and over at The Broke and the Bookish that means it’s time for another Tuesday Top Ten! This week’s topic is the Top Ten Characters Who Remind Me Of Myself Or Someone I Know In Real Life.

And, I tried to do the topic, I really did. But I couldn’t find even two or three characters that really reminded me of people that I knew. So, I’m cheating and I picked an older topic that I had skipped a while back. So, here are my Top Ten Characters I Would Want As Family Members

1. Anna from Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I want her as my younger sister. I absolutely adored her and her quirkiness, I think she’d fit right into my family!

2. Charlie Weasley from Harry Potter by JK Rowling. Um, who wouldn’t want a dragon trainer as a big brother? It’d be so awesome to be able to visit him in Romania and see the dragons up close! And, bonus! I bet he has cute dragon trainer friends 😉

3. Gandalf from Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. He’d make the perfect kooky old uncle. And, he’d tell the best stories at parties! Also, maybe bring some fantastic fireworks.

4. Dumbledore from Harry Potter by JK Rowling. He would be the kooky uncle from the other side of the family!  And he and Gandalf would be constantly trying to one up each other with stories. I can just see them, Dumbledore with his bowl of candy and Gandlf with his pipe, dueling stories!

5. Marilla Cuthbert from Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery. She’d be the strict aunt whose house you would always dread going to visit. She’d be so particular about how her house looked, but she’d sneak you cookies on the side when your parents aren’t looking.

6. Peeta from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I would like Peeta to marry my real life younger sister. They both love to bake and Peeta could join her in opening their own bakery. And then I would get to eat there for free all the time.

7. Mara Jade from Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. Mara gets to be my kick ass older sister. And she’d take my on adventures and teach me to use a lightsaber and the force. Besides then Like Skywalker gets to be my BiL, which is just awesome.

8. Adam from If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman. He’d be my cousin who I love dearly, but also think can be a total idiot. Maybe if he were related to me I’d be able to knock some sense into him long before he hit rock bottom!

9. I adore the parents that I have, but if I had to pick fictional parents then I for sure want Arthur and Molly Weasley from Harry Potter by JK Rowling. They are basically the best book parents ever. And I’d get to live at the Burrow, which would be amazing.

10. Jase Garrett from My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick gets to be my fictional boyfriend. He’s my current book crush and if I get to have him in my “family” it’s because he’s older and now we’re dating.

Honorable Mentions:
– You all know of my love for Adrian Ivashkov from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. BUT, it would be impossible to have him in my family because it’s really awkward being attracted to a relative.
– The same is true for Fred and George Weasley. Also, Neville.

Did anyone stick to the assigned topic? I’d love to see who you from the books you read reminds you of people in real life!

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday Rewind – Ten Books That Broke My Heart A Little!

It’s Tuesday again and over at The Broke and the Bookish that means it’s time for another Tuesday Top Ten! This week’s topic is a Top Ten Tuesday Rewind! So, since I never got to do it I picked “Top Ten Books That Broke My Heart A Little” (originally done on Feburary 14, 2012).

I may need tissues for this list, as the books that break my heart a little usually tend to turn me into a weepy mess. Here we go!

1. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman. This book has me in tears at multiple points every single time I read it. You’d think it would get easier upon multipel readings, but nope no such luck. if anything it breaks my heart a little more each time.

2. If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman. These books are so beautifully written and capture the emotions of Adam and Mia more perfectly than anything else I’ve seen. There were times in both books where I simply wanted to shake both of them and try to talk some sense into them, even though I know they wouldn’t have listened.

3. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I knew how this book was gonna end, but I kept reading anyway. I think that’s what hurt the most in reading it is that Claire knew too, yet she still opened her heart to this man. Yet, I think that’s what love is, we get involved even when we know we’ll be hurt, it’s worth it to feel that rush for as long as you can.

4. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.This book is incredible and inspiring. I won’t give away the moment where it makes me dissolve into a teary mess, but it hurts. It’s worth it though.

5. The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank. This one is pretty self-explanatory I think. I can’t read any book about the Holocaust (and believe me I read quite a few) without weeping uncontrollably. I’ve pretty much learned to expect it and prepare with a box of kleenex at my side at all times when reading.

6. Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. I know after reading the first book in the series that my heart was gonna break as I went on and it did. It hurt to watch Katniss make the choices that she did, it hurt to watch Peeta stand silently by as she made them, it hurt to watch characters I’d grown to love fade from the pages in death. And it hurt to know that all of it was necessary to achieve the freedom that they so desperately needed.

7. I Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. That song, the one that the mother sings to her son every night, it breaks my heart. I love this book and even though it’s a kids picture book I still get tears in my eyes when reading it as an adult.,

8. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I know, I know. I actually strongly dislike Nicholas Sparks, but this book resonated with me long before I saw the movie. And as I got older it hurts me even more to read it because I mourn the loss of my first love and know that we will never have the reunion and the life-long love that Allie and Noah had. Even though many times when I was younger I wished that would be different.

9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. This book had me in tears almost from the very beginning. So many people died and I had become so attached to all of that, that each new death was another tiny pinprick in my heart. And Fred. Fred. He’s my favorite (no surprise there, right?) and I could barely stand it.

10,  Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin. I reviewed this book back when I first read it and I could barely write the review I was so emotional when I finished it. This is the only book on this list that’s a true stray as as a result it hurt more than any fiction book ever could. I’m not a parent yet, but I do think I can understand a bit of Matt’s grief and I can only hope I’ll never have to experience it for myself.

I can’t wait to see what other rewind topics people picked! The rewind topics are always the most fun because everyone’s list is totally and completely different!

Also, don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what books broke your heart, maybe it will give me something to add to my summer reading list!

 

TGIF: Supporting Characters

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReads. Every Friday she posts a new question and it’s a really fun way to discover new blogs.

This weeks question is: Supporting Characters: We tend to gush over those main characters the most, but what about those supporting roles? Who are some of your favorites? 

I usually tend to gravitate towards supporting characters in books even more so that the main characters. So this is hard to narrow dow. I’m gonna have to go with a top 5 supporting characters list!

There may be spoilers ahead so proceed at your own risk!

Fred and George Weasley from the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. I know I go on and on and on about my love for the twins, but seriously it never wavers. I love the back and forth conversations, the jokes, the teasing, their bravery and their unwavering loyalty to their family. From the first time this mischievous duo appeared on the pages of Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone I was enamored. And clearly I was not the only one  who loved the twins as their roles got increasingly larger as the series went on.

Also, Fred wins out as favorite twin by the tiniest smidgen of a vote.

Also from Harry Potter is Neville Longbottom. For being a supporting character he has quite the character arc starting in Book 1 and ending in Book 7! It’s fascinating to watch him move from being this shy, unsure boy into a confident and brave young man. I was cheering for him all long and loved that he was given his moment of glory. A true Gryffindor til the very end!

Prim from The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Prim was, by far, the most important of the minor characters. Wanting to save her and protect her is what drives Katniss to volunteer in her place and then fight to win. She wants to give Prim the life that she never had and to save her from the reality of their situation. I found myself crying in Mockingjay when Katniss is talking to Prim late at night and she comes to realize that her sister has grown up without her even realizing it. In just a year Prim has gone from this scared and unsure little sister someone whom Katniss can depend on and trust with her life.

Winter Celchu from the Star Wars Expanded Universe (first introduced in Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn). Winter was raised as a sister and companion to Princess Leia Organa and later worked for the Rebellion as a soldier and a spy. She had both a holographic and an audiographic memory which made her a kick ass spy. In Heir to the Empire she serve’s as Lei’as aide and confidant, even going on to help hide her children away when they are threatened.  I loved Winter as Zahn wrote her and desperately wanted to get more and more of her backstory. I guess that is the sign of a fantastic supporting character!

 

 

Oh, no list of favorite supporting characters would be complete without Adrian Ivashkov. I LOVE this character so much and he gives me ALL THE FEELINGS. And obviously, so does Richelle Mead, as she made sure there was a place for him in the spinoff series Bloodlines! When i read the series I found myself grinning every time Adrian graced the page. His wit and snark are the perfect foil to the other characters who see things in such black and white terms. In fact, I love him so much I’ve having a difficult time putting into words exactly why. So you’ll just have to read it to understand.