Top Ten Tuesday (10) - Ten Favorite Book Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is a an original feature/ weekly meme that was created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new topic is presented and this week's is:

Top Ten Quotes from Books I Read This Past Year

This is also an opportunity for me to update my favorite quotes section on Goodreads.

Luckily for me, I tend to dog-ear the pages of my favorite quotes/passages. 

But don't you think that it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life? 

- (Claire) Audrey Niffeneger, The Time Traveler's Wife

[Review] To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Rating: 5 stars

Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before #1

Release Date: April 15th 2014

Goodreads Synopsis:
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is the story of Lara Jean, who has never openly admitted her crushes, but instead wrote each boy a letter about how she felt, sealed it, and hid it in a box under her bed. But one day Lara Jean discovers that somehow her secret box of letters has been mailed, causing all her crushes from her past to confront her about the letters: her first kiss, the boy from summer camp, even her sister's ex-boyfriend, Josh. As she learns to deal with her past loves face to face, Lara Jean discovers that something good may come out of these letters after all. 

I've been meaning to get to this book for forever! Lately, I've been reading and reviewing very serious sci-fi's and fantasy books, and lighthearted contemporaries are something I find very hard to get into. But To All the Boys I've Loved Before did not disappoint! 

Our narrator Lara Jean Covey, reminded me so much of my high school self, because she's certainly young and naive about many things. She can be immature and she sometimes doesn't look beyond a person's 'cover', being quick to judge, but who wasn't like that in high school? Throughout the novel, we see her grow from that, as she grows fond of Peter Kavinsky. 

Peter Kavinsky himself was a very charming love interest. I usually do not like the popular guy, in books (and in real life haha!), but the more I read, the more I liked him! The banter and interaction between him and Lara Jean was adorable. The pretend relationship was adorable. He was adorable. Peter was funny, and understanding, and caring. He got along so great with Lara Jean's youngest sister, Kitty. He tried hard to be a great pretend boyfriend for Lara Jean. He even got her donuts! We all need a Peter K. in our lives. 

And, I'm going to be hypocritical, as I stated in my TTT trope post, that I do not like love triangles, but Jenny Han wrote out this romance so well, I couldn't hate it. I loved it. Was it even a love triangle? You should read to find out! It was hard, in the beginning, to chose who I liked more - Peter K. or Josh. They were both lovable and had their quirks. I eventually ended up choosing Peter K., and it was more so because Josh was better suited with Margot.

The plot made me think that the underlying message is that you miss a thousand of the shots you don't take. But in spite of that, when you do take a chance, something good may or may not come out of it. Lara Jean regretted not telling Josh her feelings, but it worked out in the end for her. Those shots of hers, being the love letters, opened up a whole new world for her. Now I wonder... if I did the same thing, would I have the same results? A girl can only dream.

Han's writing style is simplistically youthful, and contains all the questions we perhaps wondered about love. I dog-ear my pages whenever I find great quotes in books, and looking back, I did end up dog-earing a lot. Here are some top quotes!

"Do you know what it's like to like someone so much you can't stand it and know that they'll never feel the same way?"

"A hundred years ago eighteen-year-old guys were out there fighting wars with bayonets and holding a man's life in their hands! They lived a lot of life by the time they were our age. What do kids our age know about love and life?"

Ah, what it's like to be young! 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before was an awesome read! I loved the diversity and Lara Jean's half-Korean heritage, I loved the atypical love triangle, I love the not stereotypical popular love interest, I loved the close family bonds, and I love how fun and fresh and relatable it all was. If you're looking for a contemporary with all of that, this is the book for you! 

Now if only I had the sequel...

Top Ten Tuesday (8) - Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR!

Top Ten Tuesday is a an original feature/ weekly meme that was created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new topic is presented and this week's is:

Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR (in no order whatsoever!)

1. 

Queen of Shadows (Throne of Glass #4) by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows might actually be one of my later books on my fall TBR; I'm still two books behind. Nevertheless, I have my signed copy lined up to read what happens to our favorite female assassin! Also, don't reveal any spoilers for me hehe. 

Release Date: September 1st 2015

2. 

Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles is a great series, and Meyer does such a great job of creating a diverse range of characters. I finally caught up with Cress a few weeks ago, and I must say, I'm really glad Cinder and Kai are back together again! I can't wait to see what happens in Winter - I have faith in the Rampion crew! (Also really hope they get Scarlet back b/c it seems like she's going through hell)

Release Date: November 10th 2015

3. 

A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire #5) by George R.R. Martin

I've been reading this series since... Junior year of high school. And because of the extreme length, it has taken me years to finally get to this point of catching up. Actually, I've just been really lazy about books until this year. Nevertheless I can't wait to see what ADWD has in store, and really hope (although it probably won't happen) that Winds of Winter comes out soon!

Published: July 12th 2011

4. 

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

For a really long time, I've wanted to read this book, as the premise resonates so well with me! And I also read Shug as a child, only recently realizing that she wrote this book too. I wonder what happens, when you send out love letters to your former loves. I can't wait to read it - I just got it in the mail!

Published: April 15th 2014

5. 

Fire Falling (Air Awakens #2) by Elise Kova

Everyone on this blog can tell you how in love I was with Air Awakens. It was so amazing and poignant and wonderful - before I go on, I must say, I can't wait for Fire Falling to come out this November! I'm thoroughly anticipating this one (UGH SO MANY GOOD NOVEMBER RELEASES) because I need more Aldrik and Vhalla and Fritz and Larel in my life! This is also basically me throwing my recommendation to everyone to read Air Awakens!

Release Date: November 19th 2015

6. 

Ten Thousand Skies Above You (Firebird #2) by Claudia Gray

I picked up A Thousand Pieces of You while I was on vacation, and it blew me away. Romance across parallel dimensions written well - I loved how the Firebird technology worked, and how you can be yourself, and also the person of that dimension, when you dimension-hope. I might be explaining this in a confusing fashion, but it was a fast-paced compelling read for me I'm excited to get! I really want to hear more about the other dimensions, especially the Russia-verse. 

Published: November 3rd 2015

7. 

The Crimson Crown (The Seven Realms #4) by Cinda Williams Chima 

I got into the Seven Realms series because I was searching for a book with my name in it, and stumbled upon it. There are not that many books with a Raisa in 'em, and this one did not disappoint. Princess Raisa transformed throughout the books and she's now the most powerful Queen of the Fells. What will happen to her and Han in this conclusion? Or the Bayars? This is high fantasy and court intrigue at its finest. Also, all the chills reading about the awesome things 'I'm' doing.

Published: October 23rd 2012

8. 

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

My interest in this book came from the sampler I got at this year's Bookcon. From what I got out of it, it's really something different than my usual high fantasy or contemporary novels. It seems darker and much more mature, as well. Now, this is one of the books that is out in stores at the moment, but I don't have a copy of it yet. Hopefully I get one soon, as this looks like a read I shouldn't miss. 

Published: April 28th 2015

9. 

Illuminae: The Illuminae Files #1 by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I picked up the ARC of this at Bookcon, and this one takes a totally different style of writing than the usual left-to-right line after line. And that's pretty awesome! It's a futuristic dystopia out there, complete with the action and adventure. I'll be reading and reviewing this one sometime in October.

Release Date: October 20th 2015

10. 

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Coincidentally, today is the release day of Walk on Earth a Stranger! Check out my fellow blogger Yiling's post here with some release day blitz and giveaway fun. Does the sensing gold power seem similar to King Midas's everything he touches turns to gold, or is it just me? Regardless, it's a cool power, and it's a historical novel too! (I love my historical fiction)

Release Date: Today! 

Well that's my top ten fall TBR. Are any of these books on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments below!