Let’s Talk: Reading Challenges and Competitive Reading

Happy Friday everyone! So, we’re coming to that time of the year when everyone is setting New Year’s Resolutions, deciding their reading goals and getting ready for new reading challenges.

Which means it’s time for another session of RYANN MAKES A BAD BOOKWORM CONFESSION!! studio audience cheers I didn’t reach my 2017 Goodreads goal. I was close, but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. And, given the year I’ve had, I’m definitely okay with that.

Over the summer, I tried to participate in a few reading challenges to try to help me meet my 2017 reading goal. And it made me realize, while I can definitely appreciate having a reading goal, I have some mixed feelings about reading challenges, and this sort of idea of competitive reading.

---

Top 5 Top 5 Tuesdays!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope you had an awesome Christmas! Or that you’re having an awesome winter break if you don’t celebrate Christmas!

So Shanah, the incredible Bionic Bookworm herself, is on hiatus for the holidays, so there wasn’t supposed to be a Top 5 Tuesday topic for this week. But then one of her followers got in touch with a whole bunch of us, and suggested we do something nice for Shanah to show her how much we appreciate her and the work she puts into hosting T5T! (Shoutout to JW Martin for this awesome idea!)

So, without an further ado, here are my Top 5 Top 5 Tuesdays!

---

Let’s Talk: Navigating YA Gender Geography

Just an FYI- for this post, I’m mostly talking about YA Fantasy. That’s the main genre I read, and it’s the one I think most of my non-reader friends could really get into.

The whole idea for this post came about a loooong time ago, when my little brother and I went to the movies, and (no exaggeration) every preview we saw except for one was a YA novel being turned into a film. After about the fourth one, I head my brother kind of mutter under his breath “Yay, another movie about a girl saving the world.”

And, at first, I wanted to fight him, because, hey, I did my time. I have read book after book, “classic” after “classic,” and seen movie after movie where I had to try to identify with a male protagonist and his male mentor and his male villain and his only-there-for-eye-candy love interest.

At first, I was angry. I wanted to say, “Yeah, another girl-saves-the-world movie. And it’s about damn time!” But then it got me thinking.

Top 5 Books I’d Give for Christmas!

Happy Tuesday everyone!! It’s time for another Top 5 Tuesday, hosted by Shanah, the brilliant Bionic Bookworm herself! This week’s Top 5 Tuesday is extra special, because it’s the last one of the year!

But, I have a bit of a confession to make. The actual topic this week is “Books I Want for Christmas,” but, like the terrible book lover I am, I actually don’t really enjoy getting books as gifts. It’s crazy, I know, but I’m always so picky about my books, and sometimes even if I’ve wanted a book for ages, it ends up sitting on my shelf because I just don’t feel like reading it. And then I feel bad because someone bought me a book they thought I’d love, and 8 months down the road, I still haven’t read it.

So, I’m gonna change it up just a little bit, and instead of listing five books I’d like to get for Christmas, I’m gonna share five books I’d buy other people for Christmas, even if they’re as picky as me!

So, without any further ado, here are the Top 5 books I’d want give for Christmas!

---

An Incredible Sequel to a Stunning Fantasy Story

Buy it from Amazon, or through the publisher!

Title: The Girl in the Tower
Author: Katherine Arden
Type: YA Fantasy
Length: 363 pages
Published by: Del Ray
Pub date: Dec 5, 2017
Format: e-arc
Source: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: ★★★★★

See other ratings and reviews on Goodreads, then check out the author’s website!

---

The short version: While I enjoyed the first book a bit more, I am still 100% in love with Arden’s writing, and I can’t wait to read the last book in the trilogy!

Top 5 New To Me Authors in 2017

It’s been a crazy long day, but it is still Tuesday, so I’m sneaking in my Top 5 Tuesday before the end of the day! Today’s Top 5 Tuesday (hosted by the wonderful Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm) is all about authors who were new to us this year! I just started my blog this year, so there have definitely been quite a few new to me authors!

So without any further ado, my top 5 new to me authors of 2017!

---

Monthly Wrap-up: November 2017

I’ll explain why this is late later on in this post, but for now, let’s just pretend this is 100% totally on time.

Happy December all you awesome people! I love this time of year because, without a doubt, Christmas is my favorite holiday! I already know what I’ll be getting most of my family members, I just have to actually go out and buy the presents, and then I am ready to go!

But before all that, I want to give you guys the rundown of what went on here at Ryann the Reader during the month of November!

---