So lately I've been looking into volunteering again because I could use experience in certain places and more importantly I miss doing it. Helping out others or donating to charities is an amazing thing to do. This thought came up because from April 20-27 is the huge book sale here in Winnipeg and all proceeds go to the Children's Hospital. I've been going to this sale my entire life! I just donated two bags of books and throughout the week I will likely buy just as many to replace them. I have a serious book addiction as I own more books than I will probably ever read! One of these days I will hopefully get onto a reading spree again and get that tbr pile down at least a little bit. But anyways, back to the concept of charities, do any of you have these sales for books for charity or is it only a Winnipeg thing? Also what do you do to help your fellow  people out or what would you do if you could?

Sequels that drive you crazy and not in a good way

First off I just want to apologize for not getting a post out for so long. As Ashley said Mondays had become pretty much impossible for me as I never seemed to be anywhere near my keyboard! Life's been pretty busy for me again of late with a possible job opportunity and a new relationship. Therefore I have had much less reading time than I would like.

However what I am currently reading is a sequel, and it is driving me crazy. So this post is a rant to those sequels that annoy the daylights out of you. I'm sure you know the type, the first book is fantastic or at least really enjoyable and then the second one... it feels like a different series altogether! The characters you have come to love are now just irritating.

The book that has me feeling this way right now is That Wedding by Jillian Dodd. The first book, That Boy, I really enjoyed. I liked the main character JJ, she was a girl who went after what she wanted, played sports with the boys and enjoyed life to the fullest. Then we get her in the sequel and she is nothing but a whiny brat who has to get her way in everything and cannot deal with any type of conflict. She must be right about everything and win every fight or the person she is arguing with is stupid. I realize the author had to do something to make the book interesting, but this was not it! I am finding it difficult to read more than a chapter or two at a time and the chapters are really short.

I know there have been more of these than just this but I can't seem to think of them right now. So what about you, what is a sequel you wish had been done differently or maybe never even written at all?

Top Ten Tuesdays

Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme hosted at Broke and Bookish! The top ten of this week:

Top Ten Authors That I'd Put On My Auto-Buy List (basically an auto-buy list is no questions asked..you love this author so much that no matter what they wrote next you'd buy regardless of genre or subject matter)

In no particular order:

1. Kathy Reichs everything she writes is well researched and the plots are awesome

2. Kelly Armstrong while I am not completely caught up on her stuff I am working on it and will continue to read anything she writes.

3.Katie McGarry she wrote Pushing the Limits, enough said

4. Gayle Forman, after reading If I Stay and Where She Went I will pick up anything and everything this woman writes.

5. Jim Butcher I am working on reading his Codex series but after the job he has done with Dresden he will be on auto-buy forever.

6. Patricia Briggs love the way she writes and I am looking to finish gathering all of her earlier series

7. Juliet McKenna fell in love with her Einarinn series and have been looking for the rest ever since

8.Michelle Sagara writes one of my favourite ongoing series right now the Cast series. If I can ever find them I will read anything that has her name on it

I guess I only really have 8, there are a whole bunch of others I really enjoy but it pretty much has to be part of a series of theirs I am already reading for me to pick it up without looking.

What about you guys? Who are the authors for you that it doesn't matter what it is, just that it is written by them?

Books that weren't worth the time

We all have those books we've read that just weren't all that wonderful. These are some of my least favourite reads.

Dragon's Tears by Dean Koontz


One of the worst books I have ever read in my life. One of those books with an interesting concept that never gets off the ground. I didn't like any of the characters and was thankful when I was done.









Feast for Crows/Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin

I LOVED the first three books of this series and I wish it would have ended there. Between the waiting for 6 years for books and the fact that the story line basically doesn't move killed these for me, I still haven't finished ADwD. I hated that he chopped the books into two parts so that you dont get all POVs in one book. Not a fan, but sadly I will probably finish the series assuming it ever ends.






Siren's Call by Devyn Quinn

There isn't much in particular to like about this book. Characters were relatively one dimensional and the mermaid mythology was boring. Not a series I wish to continue.










Hades' Daughter by Sara Dougless

This is a bit of a cheat as I haven't quite finished it yet. I wanted to love this book, I expected to. It's based on the labyrinth of Greek myth, on of my absolute favourite time periods of history. This book has been nothing but a terrible let down. It's predictable and slow. Nothing really starts to happen until about page 423. That's far too long to wait for a book to get interesting. Even now it's still only mediocre. The explanations for the 'game' are long and drawn out but somehow not explained fully. I'm sure I could go on, but you get the point.




So I know you've read them too, what are some of the books you've read that you really wish you hadn't wasted your time in doing so?

World's to live in

If you could escape into any book world which would it be and why?

Here are a few of my favourite worlds to escape into.

The world of Einarinn is a place where magic is hidden from everyday people and gambling is a common pass time in the inns. It may not be the safest world with its 'invisible' island of wizards and its nearly impossible to cross ocean but it is a place I would like to live in. I'd love to go play a game of runes, just not against Livak thanks. This is a world of mostly good people and honest work. 

The world of the Cast series is a place I would love to live in, as long as I lived on the right side of the tracks so to speak. This is a place filled with different races and laws. I would love to be a part of the Hawks and protect the city of Elantra. Travel here someday and you'll understand what I mean.

While the Dresden Files take place here on Earth it is not the same place we are used to living in. This would be an infinitely more interesting world in my opinion. A place where every supernatural creature is real and fairy tales are based on true characters. This to me would be the coolest place to live.

I'm sure I could think of many more places that I would like to visit or live in permanently. What about you where would you go if you could?