Top Ten Tuesday » Top Ten New-To-Me Favorite Authors I Read For The First Time In 2015

This meme is hosted by the amazing Broke and Bookish. She has an amazing blog and some cool tweets to share so go check her out!

There were many "new to me" authors I read for the first time in 2015. Unfortunately, I can't remember them all, TTT always require a visit to my Goodreads page! Let's get started! :)

1. Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

2. V.E. Schwab, A Darker Shade of Magic

3. A.G. Howard, Splintered

4. Stephanie Perkins, Anna and the French Kiss

5. Maria V Snyder, Poison Study

6. Jandy Nelson, I'll Give You the Sun

7. Rae Carson, The Girl of Fire and Thorns

8. Susan Dennard, Something Strange and Deadly

9. Danielle Paige, Dorothy Must Die

10. Mary E. Pearson, The Kiss of Deception

That's it you guys! These are the Top Ten New to Me Favs I read for the first time in 2015. Hope you liked my picks, this was really tough! But every single one of these authors are perfectly amazing, and their books too! :) 

TBR Book Tag

This tag was created by Rachel from A Perfect Called Books 
I was tagged by SJ from A Tree Grows in Bookland
There are some rules!
1. Answer the questions truthfully
2. Once I complete this tag, then I gotta tag someone else!

Well, my TBR is long. I have a very large pile of books both at home and on Goodreads. But I consider the books on my To Read pile not part of my TBR, it's only part of my TBR if it's in my hands or on my kindle, which I don't use very often. Now let's get to it! :)

1. How do you keep track of your TBR Pile? 
Simple answer! I don't. I don't keep track of my TBR pile, I do constantly add books to my to-read list on Goodreads, but I buy my books. And keep getting more and more, so my TBR grows more and more. It's a really bad habit.

2. Is your TBR mostly print or eBook?
Print! I love to hold books in my hand, it's just so much better than kindle in my opinion.

3. A book that's been on your TBR the longest

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell has been on my TBR foreverrrrr! Omigosh, it's been on there for at least a year, I swear! 

4. A book you recently added to your TBR

Vicious by VE Schwab was very recently added. All of Victoria's works are fantastic so I had to buy Vicious ASAP. I even forced my dad to buy me the $25 hardcover because I'm going to meet her in February. 

5. A book in your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover

The cover is stunning. everything about this book looks stunning. Not arguing, the cover is stunning and I am judging this book by it's cover.

6. A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading

I don't know why, it just doesn't appeal to me. I got it for free, picked it up at SDCC and well, I don't think I'll be ever getting to it. 

7. An unpublished book on your TBR you're excited for

I am deprived of my Shadowhunters. I don't read TSA because I want the final print version, and I can't read one story a month like that. I've been deprived for over a year since COHF came out. I'm thirsty for more Shadowhunters. There are more books I'm excited for, but I am really excited for Lady Midnight!

8. A book on your TBR that basically everyone's read except you

I know shame on me. I even got an ARC of Illuminae from SDCC. And I still haven't read it yet. I will though, this Winter Break!

9. A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you
The Lunar Chronicles. I haven't finished the series yet, I already bought Winter even though I haven't read Cress, yes, I know I'm a mess. But when Winter came out everyone was spazzing out about "Oh Winter this oh Winter that" so I had to buy it. End of story.

10. A book on your TBR that you're dying to read

Okay, I don't own this book, but I really want to read it. LIKE I NEED IT. After hearing Ben from Benjaminoftomes talking about it and how great it was I wanted that book bad. I love books with fae in them and this book just looks spectacular. 

11. How many books are on your TBR shelf?
38 books! I own 38 unread books, which sounds pretty small, but it's actually really big and overwhelming since I constantly want to buy more!

That's it for this tag guys! I think I'm going to be making my own tag actually so that will hopefully be fun, but I have finals to study for so if my posts this week are sketchy it's because I'm busy studying. Yay. No I hate studying. All the posts are pre written if you were wondering.

Thoughts on the Shadowhunter TV Show

We've all heard about the upcoming Shadowhunters TV show that is premiering in 2016 on January 12 on ABC Freeform...AKA Family. If you haven't heard of Shadowhunters, well now you have! Shadowhunters is basically, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones which aired in 2013 as a movie and flopped horribly, but in TV show format! Honestly, I'm really excited for this, I'm a huge fan of all of Cassandra Clare's books and look forward to seeing some of my favorite characters on my TV.
      From what I've seen from pictures, I have to say I like the casting choices better. Alec, who is being portrayed by Matthew Daddario is such an awesome choice! In the original, City of Bones movie I felt the actor who portrayed Alec looked 30.
      From the trailers I've seen so far, the acting looks slightly iffy. I won't be soft about this, Kat doesn't look very good. She sounds really really whiny and every time she lets out a painful girly gasp I want to slam my head into a table. But everyone else looks really good! One thing that really doesn't help Kat at all is the horrible CG effects I've seen so far. There are moments when I truly don't want to see the show. But then again at the same time I really want to see Shadowhunters and I really want it to be successful and amazing!
      I want to tell you guys though that if, like me you are really nervous about Kat's acting and the horrible CG we have so far seen I want you to think for a second. We all know The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, our first experience with our favorite series flopped, and I assume you guys all expect Shadowhunters is going to be wildly amazing and learn from the original movie's mistakes. Am I right? Now put yourself in the writers of the shows shoes. How much pressure do you think they are feeling from us? They want to make a good show and we expect a good show, but what is the definition of a good show? What can the writers put together that we as readers will enjoy, but still make a great show?
      And that is why my friends I expect the Pilot to suck. And if it sucks I'm going to keep watching because I want this show to be successful, it looks awesome! So...let me ask the final question here. Are you going to be watching the Shadowhunters TV Show? Do you have high expectations? Share in the comments! :)

Review » Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Something Strange and Deadly
By Susan Dennard
Release Date: 7/24/12
Published by Harper Collins Teen
Genre(s): Zombies, Steampunk, Romance
Format: Paperback
Page: 388

Buy on Amazon | Buy on B&N | Add to Goodreads 

MY RATING: 5 Stars

DESCRIPTION IN 6 WORDS
Zombies, Steampunk, Victorian England, Ghosts, Secrets

Goodreads Description
There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper: The Dead are rising in Philadelphia. And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

      Something Strange and Deadly marked my first Susan Dennard book. And it's ridiculous that I'm only reading this book now considering it came out 3 years ago. SS&D was fantastic so if you haven't read it yet, go read it! Personally, I'm not big on zombie books, I've never found them interesting except for a select few (SS&D, Alice in Zombieland). So, if you are like me and have doubts regarding zombies, ignore those doubts and listen to what I'm trying to tell you, write to you...whatever and big up this beautifully written steampunk book. SS&D takes place around the same era as Cassandra Clare's, Clockwork Angel and I loved it. I honestly don't think this book would have worked quite as well if it had taken place in modern day. The era added an extra steampunk-y? twist to the whole story and added in a way a fun aspect. Okay, maybe not fun...maybe a little closer to a unique aspect. Which is a very good thing.
      The plot of SS&D wasn't fast. But that doesn't mean it's boring. The plot was more intriguing if anything, and not fast like, there is a fight scene going on and you need to read the next page and the next page to know what is gonna happen. But fast like, there is something lurking behind the corner, a mystery waiting to be unveiled and a romance that is most certainly blooming in the eyes of the reader. It's fast but not literally fast. Oh gosh, am I actually making any sense?!
      Eleanor Fitt, our main character is one of those girls that sees herself as plain but she most certainly isn't our typical girl of the era. She is desperate to seek answers and find her brother. She is a well rounded character and well, I love her! She constantly sought answers and was courageous which is always admirable in characters if you ask me. Daniel Sheridan is our man. Daniel works for the Spirit-Hunters and has a snarky, mean and annoying personality. We all know that's what we like and that's what Eleanor likes (kinda)! Anyways, Daniel is such a cute character, he keeps secrets from Eleanor, and he totally isn't afraid to annoy the crap out of her. Some of the moments between Eleanor and Daniel were just beautiful and...romantic. Another thing Daniel has in his character that I like is his facade, he seems to be very hung up on his past, but in the end conquers what he fears. Fear. Isn't that something we've seen a lot lately in YA novels? I think it started with Divergent. Anyways, Daniel seems like someone that holds fear, but at heart he is courageous and he shows that! That my friends is some real character development there, for both Eleanor and Daniel.
      As a whole, this book blew my mind away, one of the main reasons I actually read this book is because I'm seeing both Susan and Alex for the PassTruth Tour and well, I figured I should probably read there books! No wonder Truthwitch is such an anticipated release, Susan is such a great writer. :)

---

Being a Book Blogger » Important Tips to Know Before Starting Out

      This post is going to those of you who don't have a book blog yet. And if you do have a book blog, keep reading because I feel this post might help out some of you guys. If you don't have a book blog yet, and are thinking of getting one, then congratulations. You've finally completed the first step, deciding what you want to do! The next step is whether or not you want to use blogger or Wordpress, or any other blogging platform, but that will be in another post.
      I'm gonna tell you right now, I haven't been blogging long with BlankSlaters Books, a little over a month. But something you probably don't know about me is over the summer of 2015 I had another blog. A crappy blog. Yes, before BlankSlaters Books ever existed, there was madfourbooks and GreenLeafBooks. Madfourbooks and Greenleafbooks were the same blog, but I changed the URL and it gave me tons of crap organizing links. ANYWAYS, going into this blogging thing I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't set up a separate blogging email, I posted almost everyday, but wrote the post DAY OF instead of before hand. It was ridiculous. I had been blogging for a month already and I had one follower and like 2 comments. It didn't really encourage me to continue on. Along with that, all I wrote were reviews, LONG reviews that made me sound like the most boring blogger ever. You may not feel I'm credible, a blogger that has been blogging for a month. . . but after my experiences with my last blog, I've avoided what I did before and now blogging is fun for me and I learned from my mistakes. Let's get to the actual tips now!

1. Write how you feel, express yourself and write a review based on what you thought. Don't write what other people expect! 

• When I started out, I wrote SIX PARAGRAPH long reviews that screamed boring. Make the review funny, it doesn't have to be perfect, this isn't English class. Use asterix' and describe what you're doing (EX: *fangirls*, *dies slowly*). Just write what you felt about the book, there is no right way to write a review, a review is perfect as long as it includes how you felt! 

2. TWITTER! TWITTER! TWITTER!

• If you don't have a Twitter, I suggest you get one when starting your blog. Twitter has a HUGE book community and there you can find some awesome friends. Bookish people are typically super friendly so don't be shy if you come across one fangirling (i.e ME), join in on the conversation. Along with that, getting followers on Twitter isn't too hard usually, if you share your blog post on Twitter, BAM 100+ people already see your latest blog post on their feed. 

3. Use Memes! (Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday) 

• Memes are fun, they are something besides book reviews. They are weekly usually, some aren't, but most are. They are fun for me and gives me a break off writing reviews, or if you don't like the idea of meme's, then write posts such as this one. 

4. Be Yourself

• I don't know about you, but for me, the person I am on Twitter and on this blog is different than the one at school, well except when I'm around my friends. Reading books makes me so happy, and having people commenting and following my blog about the books I'm reading makes me ecstatic. So an important tip is to be yourself and have fun, if no one sees your blog, don't worry, your blog is for you and you only. If you like it, that's all that matters, and even better if other people like it.

5. Design to your best ability! 

• Designing your blog is fun. It is not only just fun, but it's really important. Though design probably shouldn't take a major role in your blog's success, but it really does. Honestly, I say content over looks, but if your blog looks nice, people will peek around in it and drop a comment or follow. Some key things to make your blog look nice includes: 
• A Nice Blog Header 
• Social Media Buttons 
• Pictures (I don't think you can use Pinterest without permission! Though I'm not sure...)
• HTML Skills

HTML is a scary thing, but I learned how to use it. Which means you can too! Another post will be added later about this!

6. Get a Bloglovin' Account

• I had never heard of Bloglovin' when I started out, but Bloglovin' is basically a site that has TONS of blogs on it, blogs you can follow on and comment. It helps find other fellow book bloggers and it makes your blog easier to follow. A common tip is to comment on other blogs, typically this gives you some views. 

7. Post your reviews EVERYWHERE

• Posting your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, I suggest posting half of your review and then add the link to the rest of your review on your blog underneath. If people want to keep reading they will have to click that link!

8. Planning is Everything

• Okay I'll admit I don't plan my posts. I literally just do write them when I have the time. But I'm getting started with planning, I'm planning on starting very soon. Planning your posts is super important because having a blog that post everyday - yes I said EVERYDAY, looks really good. So planning out these posts that you intend to do is great. Along with that, make sure to write your posts beforehand, don't write them day of then there won't be anyone to see them first thing!

That's it for my tips! For all you new bloggers like me (haha I'm a new blogger giving advice to other new bloggers), then listen to these! I've done them all, except the planning part, and they seem to work really well. Hope these work for well you too!