Stacking the Shelves: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

The second installment in the all-new series from the masterful, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater!

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after...

Eek! We got an ARC of the Raven Cycle #2,  The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater. Cue the happy dances. Crazy Camper is crushing the audiobook of the first one, and I read it last year and loved it. I am ready for more Gansey and Blue.

Happy Saturday! A big thanks to Tynga's Reviews for hosting Stacking the Shelves, a way to highlight the new reads we have picked up!  What is new on your shelves this weekend?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I'd Want On A Deserted Island

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is dedicated to "Top Ten Books  I'd Want On A Deserted Island." I am interpreting this as a list of books that I am happy to re-read. I am definitely a big re-reader of books. In fact I usually do not buy a book until I have read it and know I would want it around to reread. I don't want to end up stranded with a set of un-vetted books. What if I got stuck with Rapture. GASP!

1. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.  I have already read it more than once. It is a book that you can read one page and you are sucked back in again.
2. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. This book begs to be re-read so you can see all the clues leading to the big reveal that you missed. Ok, maybe you didn't miss it, but I did. This book is sneaky like a spy. (Pun intended)
3. Dragon Singer by Anne McCaffery. I LOVE when Menolly goes to Harper Hall. It is dragons + boarding school. For the win.
4. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Love it, BOUGHT IT. Like the rest of the planet. It is amazing.
5. Chime by Franny Billingsley. More people should read this. BOUGHT IT.
6. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. Love, BOUGHT IT.
7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  Because CC read them so so so fast, and in such a short amount of time,she is sure she missed things.
8. 13 year old CC would have said Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingles Wilder.  These books were read over and over.  Maple Sugar candy in snow? Pigs bladder balloons? ( on second though..who put their mouth to that to blow it up?)  "Too young for me now, but on an island, maybe again." -CC
9. Sookie Stackhouse, all of them, by Charlaine Harris. "Oh wait, I have done this, during heat waves, during snow storms, and once during a breakup.  Thank you Sookie." -CC

Want to know more about these reads? See our reviews of Chime, Jellicoe Road, Code Name Verity, The Scorpio Races, Sookie in Dead Until Dark and The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson (Goosie Mama's Review, Grad Student's Review). A big thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting TTT each week. Cheers!

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Names

PEOPLE Goosie Mama had a Brilliant Idea for this week's freebie Top Ten Tuesday.We are going with Top Ten Favorite character names. I got a big kick out of this, and laughed out loud at CC's choices.

Crazy Camper:

1. F'lar from Dragonflight by Ann McCaffery, any book that includes apostrophes in the names is pure fantasy.
2. Peeta from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, which I always imagine said in the "Wall-e!" voice.
3. Legolas from The Lord of the Rings: it is hard to imagine a more elfish sounding name.

Grad Student:

1. TOTALLY Nash Hudson in the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent. Dreamy name.
2. Richard "Dick" Gansey  (he goes by his last name) in The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. 
3. Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Which, Mrs.Who from A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Clever.



MS's artwork of Gansey. TALENT. via

4. The One Who Is The One from Witch and Wizard by James Paterson. What a great/funny name for a dictator to proclaim for himself!  

(Please note that the boy names I pick are straight from a Ralph Lauren fantasy. Who knew I loved the preppy names so much? Everyone should be fearful if I ever have a son, he will probably end up named Chadwick or something)

Bod, from the book's lovely
illustrations.

Goosie Mama:

1. Nobody "Bod" Owens from The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman- Mrs. Owens declares "He looks like nobody except himself" 
2. Kartik from A Great and Terrible Beauty The Gemma Doyle series by Libba Bray. - 2 K's in one name? I know 2 bloggers that will really like this!
3. Charlaine Harris is the champion of great character names (thank you, Luuuuusiana): a cop name Alsee (Al-say), Bill (no comment!!), Alcide Herveaux - what's not to love?!

As always, a toast of our whiskey sours to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting TTT. Salute!

Top Ten Tuesday: If you liked Graceling by Kristin Cashore, you will love....

For the love of YA, read
these books!

This Top Ten Tuesday is a list of suggestions for those of you who like strong, kick-ass female characters! If you liked Graceling by Kristin Cashore, then these books are for you! (we know Katniss isn't on this list, but you already know she kicks butt).

1.Alanna from The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce.  First female knight. 'Nough said. OUR ORIGINAL favorite strong female lead.
2.Anna from Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. She can rip off a person's head. And does.
3. Dru from Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. She spends most of this series in fights. And she says "Better to be strong than pretty and useless.” 
4.Frankie from The Disreputable History of Frankie Laudau-Banks by E. Lockhart. Criminal mastermind and rule breaker.
5. Ellie from Tomorrow When the War Began by James Marsden.When Australia is invaded my an enemy nation Ellie fights back as a gorilla warrior. I have read the first two, and they are gritty and awesome.
6. Allie from The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa. Vampire powers to kick butt.
7. Puck from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. She loves to be terrible and grumpy, but is also strong and determined to save her family.

8. Donna from the Iron Witch series by Karen Mahoney
9. Sookie from the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. She will non-nonsense you, throw you out of her house, or kill you with an iron trowel (if you mess with her tanning time.)

10. Heromine from the Harry Potter Series. Smarts can be kickass, too!
BONUS 11. Elisa from The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson wins most improved. By the end, she is totally invading-enemy-camps badass. Take that early shy wishy-washy Elisa!

Ellie being badass

 A cheers of our Whiskey Sours to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting Top Ten Tuesdays!

Want to know more about why we love these ladies? See our reviews for Graceling, Anna Dressed in Blood, The Disreputable History of Frankie Laudau-Banks, The Iron Witch, The Scorpio Races, Strange Angels, and The Girl of Fire and Thorns!

Top Ten Tuesday: "Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters In Books"

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is entitled "Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters In Books." Hosted by the Broke and the Bookish TTT is a weekly feature dedicated to book-list-mania.  I found this top ten hard to do--recent characters I read and liked, but had not necessarily upgraded to love status, crowded for attention. Sheesh (made-up) people, get in line! Not to mention I tend to love supporting characters best. I didn't realize it until I made this list! Without further ado, characters we love fall into these categories:

Ridiculousness Incarnate 

1. Peasebottom, Cobweb, Moth, and Mustardseed from the Theatre Illuminate series by Lisa Mantchev. I dare you to resist them! For example, this is such a funny play on famous first lines (as the first lines of Perchance to Dream, the second book in the series).  Ridiculous AND smart at once!

 “It is a truth universally acknowledged,” Mustardseed said, flying in lazy loops like an intoxicated bumblebee, “that a fairy in possession of a good appetite must be in want of a pie.” “Yes, indeed,” Cobweb said over the rattle of the caravan, “though I awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, I found myself transformed in my bed into a gigantic pie.” “It was the best of pie, it was the worst of pie,” was Moth’s contribution."

Exuberant characters!! Exclamation point!!

2. Eldric from Chime by Franny Billingsley. McDREAMY with an excellent vocabulary and a vivid imagination. (my review!)

3. Augustus Waters from The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.

“When surprised and excited and innocent Gus emerged from Grand Gesture Metaphorically Inclined Augustus, I literally could not resist.” --ME EITHER. Augustus loves life and I love him. He is my new favorite (made-up) person.

4. Joe Fontaine from The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. (my review!)

 “The guy is life drunk, I think, makes Candide look like a sourpuss.”

Spunky Heroines 
5. Alanna of Trebond from the Song of the Lioness books by Tamora Pierce. We talk about these books a lot. Alanna is the original gusty heroine in the reading lives of Crazy Camper and Grad Student. When my roommate ran in (last month) and said “did you ever read those books about the girl with purple eyes?” I KNEW EXACTLY what she meant. We love her still.

6. Hermione Granger from J.K. Rowling's HP. Smart and Sassy. What is not to like? Points to Crazy Camper for adding to the list.

7. Puck from The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. She loves being terrible! But is really awesome. (my review!)

8. Sookie Stackhouse from the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris. Sassy and southern. YES. This was Crazy Camper's second excellent addition. I think it says something that 12 books in we still get a kick out of Sookie.

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!