Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books We've Read

Hello and happy almost Memorial Day Weekend....errrr, Tuesday. While we wait for the long weekend, it is time again for Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. (Thanks, ladies!) This week's TTT is dedicated to books with covers that we loved. It is hard to be an adult reading YA with all the terrible big faces and prom dresses, but here is a list of books we would be happy to be seen in public with. What made your list?

 

because its not embarrassing

 

"because show me a flowing hair shot that i DONT love."- Goosie Mama

    

because they are pretty

 

"For its simplicity in a world of insane graphics on YA book" -Crazy Camper

  

because they are badass

 

"Cinder because x-ray shots are super edgy....Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter is pretty epic too (also Pride Prejudice and Zombies - like i said, show me some bones on the cover (errr) and i can't pick it up fast enough)" -Goosie Mama

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

“The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night. 

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands. 

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.” (Good Reads)

 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is unlike anything I have read. The world it creates is surreal and  a bit voyeuristic. The present-tense narration juxtaposed by the short descriptive sections that describe how you, the reader, would experience the circus make it stand out, and emphasize how focused Morgenstern is on making the circus tangible. This is a book I would like to read again, so I can linger and enjoy more of the visuals that Morgenstern so masterfully paints.

Originality: 10. This is fantastical and fantastically unique. The possibilities are endless since each tent is a world unto itself. My favorite is the tent that is really a forest made out of paper, wherein the paper is sheets of love poems.

Absurdity. 8. But the circus is supposed to be surreal, so this is a sign, I think, that the book did what Morgenstern set out to do. I suspended belief and dove right in.

Level of Paranormal Romance: Dueling magicians falling in love? And then using the circus tents they build to express their love? SURE THING.

“Do you remember all of your audiences?" Marco asks. "Not all of them," Celia says. "But I remember the people who look at me the way you do.""What way might that be?""As though they cannot decide if they are afraid of me or they want to kiss me."" I am not afraid of you," Marco says.” 

 Level of Harry Potterness: 8. This writing! Wow! It is rich and enchanting (as fitting a book about magic). One thing my mom pointed out (my mom lets me foist books I like on her all the time. Moms are great) is that you don’t really ever connect to the characters. The main show (circus pun!?) is about the tents themselves and the visual spectacle. I was fine with this, but it might not be for everyone. I still give this an 8 because I love Morgenstern's atmospheric writing- see the posts on her blog, Flax-Golden Tales. MY FAVORITE AFTER THE BREAK.

Top Ten Tuesday: An Interpretation

Good Morning! Grad Student here! This is a (brief) nod of the cap to the Broke and the Bookish's weekly "Top Ten Tuesday" feature. This week's theme is Top Ten Book's I Would Give a Theme Song To. This is hard for my brain to figure out, apparently. I listen to music all day long, and read fiction all night (seriously, I am tired right now) but I cannot for the life of me match these two things up.

LUCKILY/IN LIEU OF there are some seriously fabulous authors out there who do.

1. I have wanted to share this playlist made by Erin Morgenstern who wrote the surreal and wonderful The Night Circus. If you haven't gotten involved with this book, so do ASAP. Morgenstern did an interview over at Largehearted Boy, a music blog, that goes into great detail about each song she would add to a playlist for her book (click the link to see it all)  including Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine (who Crazy Camper loves) and Fleet Foxes.  My favorite, though, is 
"Prelude" and "Rooftop," Bernard Herrmann (from the Vertigo film score) its perfect for this book! 

2. You know I think Maggie Stiefvater can do no wrong, and her playlist for Shiver is amazing. I love Set Fire to the Third Bar by Snow Patrol for this book.

Hope you have the time to check out these two author lists more, its neat insight into the writing process (and some great music). Can't wait to see what other people are actually talented enough to come up with!