Exploring My Bookshelves: May

Hello! It’s the last Friday of the month so that means another Exploring My Bookshelves post. Exploring My Bookshelves is a weekly (but adapted as a monthly meme on here at Xingsings) bookish meme by Addlepates and Book Nerds.

This month I had a hard time finding a single title to fit each weekly topic so I ended up taking pictures of entire shelves. Because of this I didn’t explain each choice as well. Also, some of my pictures will show a lot of books in series out of order. It bothers me too, but I didn’t want to retake the pictures just for that reason. But for those of you that have OCD tendencies like me, rest assured, I did fix them on my actual bookshelves.

Okay, let’s get started!

---

So part of the rules is posting your bookshelf. Here’s mine as of current:

---

10. May 1, 2015: Your Least Borrowed Book

A lot of my friends don’t really read so most of my books haven’t ever been borrowed, but if they did read more, I think my shelf of adult, classics, and plays/poetry books would have the least borrowed books . Most classics are free on ereaders now or really cheap in the mass paperback editions. Also, my few friends that do read, seem to enjoy ya more.

Top Ten Tuesday: Great Beach Reads (Dessen Edition) and Books I Plan to Have in My Beach Bag This Summer

Hi! So I took a break from posting Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme by The Broke and the Bookish, for the past month but I’m back because I couldn’t pass up talking about this week’s feature: “Ten Books I Think Make Great Beach Reads or Ten Books I Plan to Have in My Beach Bag This Summer.”

I’ve been in a Sarah Dessen mood ever since reading Saint Anything the beginning of this month so I thought I’d make a mini-list of Great Beach Reads, Sarah Dessen style. I also included 10 Books I Plan to Have in My Beach Bag This Summer (basically, a peek of my summer TBR).

Okay, let’s do this!

---

5 Great Beach Reads (Sarah Dessen Edition)

As you guys know, I’m a huge Sarah Dessen fan and I think her books would make perfect summer reads.

My favorite is, obviously, The Truth About Forever but Just Listen and This Lullaby both come as close favorites. Along For the Ride and Saint Anything didn’t make me as awestruck with the story but they both still showcased Dessen’s beautiful and lyrical writing and proved that they were enjoyable when I read them.

As for the other titles, it’s been at least 5+ years since I’ve read them so I can’t exactly recommend them since I can’t remember. And I still haven’t read Dreamland or The Moon and More yet.

---

10 Books I Plan to Have in My Beach Bag This Summer

• Adult
  • Where’d You Go, Bernadette
  • Me Talk Pretty One Day
  • Naked

• Young Adult
  • If I Stay (Reread)
  • Where She Went
  • The Summer I Turned Pretty (Reread)
  • It’s Not Summer Without You (Reread)
  • We’ll Always Have Summer (Reread)
  • Eleanor & Park
  • Fangirl

So most of the books on my summer TBR are pretty much fun, light contemporary reads. There’s even some humor in the adult ones.

---

I made this week’s list much shorter and less detailed than I normally do with T10T posts mainly because I feel like I overwrite and sound repetitive in my older ones. So I’m working on being more pithy and concise. I hope you guys don’t mind this new format!

And what do you guys plan to read this summer? I’d love to know! 😀

---

the #bookishflip tag

Blog @xingsings | Instagram @readxings | Twitter @xingxings

Maximum Ride Forever by James Patterson, Entire Series Recap

Maximum Ride Forever by James Patterson
Series: Maximum Ride #9 (9/9)
Published by Little, Brown and Company on May 18, 2015
Genres: [Young Adult] Science Fiction
Pages: 383
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books a Million

Rerated: 3 Stars
4 Stars, Completed May 22, 2015

– highlight* to reveal SPOILERS –

*Quick warning: If you’re using WordPress’ Reader the white text will remain as visible black text and you’ll see spoilers regardless of whether you highlight the text or not. Make sure to read this post on my actual blog for the white text to appear and therefore the spoilers to be concealed; this is the only way for this method to be effective. Sorry for the inconvenience!

(Skip below to the red text if you only want to read the actual review of Maximum Ride Forever.)

Beware of this being a long review. (But when are my reviews short anyway? I did make sure to bold the main points this time though.)

As some of you guys know, I got into reading when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released the summer of 2007. Another series I particularly enjoyed after I found my newfound love for reading was the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. Crazily enough, since 2007 I’ve kept up with the releases for Maximum Ride until the last book, Nevermore, which was published back in 2012. So imagine how confused I was when I discovered another would be released this year. To help clear some confusion for you guys: Nevermore was and is the intended last book of the series; Maximum Ride Forever is a special extended epilogue or encore if you will.

I joined Twitter! And The Random Questions Tag

Hello! So guys I joined Twitter sometime last month but never really told anyone. Now I’ve decided to go public about it, so yeah. If you want to take a look, that’d be awesome! I’ll also try to follow you if I recognize you, of course! (Or you could just let me know in the comments, that would help!)

So I felt super weird to just make a post about Twitter, so here’s another tag. Sorry, but not sorry.

---

I was tagged by Joey to do The Random Questions Tag…back in March. (Even with this past week being full of tag posts, I’m still not caught up.) Make sure to check out his blog, there’s lots of bookish content and cool randomness (the good kind)!

I Am More Happy Than Not Tag

Hello everyone! So I know I have many great tags to get to but this is a new one I’ve recently been tagged in but couldn’t wait to do. The I Am More Happy Than Not Tag was created by Shelumiel @Bookish and Awesome but originally made in response to the “What makes you #MoreHappyThanNot?” question inspired by Adam Silvera’s upcoming debut More Happy Than Not. (You all know I adored Simon in Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. Well I discovered this title from Becky Albertalli’s praise. I am so psyched for this release! So the rush for this tag was partially due to the upcoming release date as well, hehe.)

---

The Rules –

1. Answer the question in whatever way you prefer, whether it be a list or in a narrative form.
2. Link back to the original creator’s post.

Update May 17, 2015: Sorry I lied, one more rule that I’m sure Shelumiel would really appreciate. Make sure to add your link to the link collector (or whatever those are called) on his original post! It’ll be cool to see how many bloggers participated, and Shelumiel can see his handiwork on getting this tag started. I’m sure he’d love to read your response to this tag!

---

So let’s get started, shall we?

Mine doesn’t look that great compared to Shelumiel’s but it was still fun to draw all the emojis!

Versatile Blogger Award!

Hi everyone! I’m sorry for being absent these days, but I promise to get back into the routine of posting. Lately, I’ve fallen into a newly discovered abyss called Netflix ever since the Spring semester has ended. I literally finished four seasons of Nikita and caught up to some other shows I’ve neglected since college started including Sherlock, Big Bang Theory, and Modern Family. So I have read nothing in the past week, but I will post a book review hopefully sometime soon! Hang in there with me!

So since I haven’t been reading, I thought I’d catch up on some overdue tags and awards I’ve had in the queue, one of them being the Versatile Blogger Award! I don’t even feel like I deserve this since my blog isn’t that versatile in terms of content, but thanks all the same to these brilliant bloggers: Alysyn, Maria, Shintobhisha, Erika, Joyce, Bea, Evy, and Trey.

Semihiatus From Top Ten Tuesday, Spread Love Challenge

So yesterday I had an incredibly rotten day and I thought it might be fitting to post a somewhat inspirational tag this week, the Spread Love Challenge. But before I start, I just wanted to say that I’ve decided to take a semihiatus from Top Ten Tuesday, the weekly meme I have religiously been posting for a couple of months now. If you’re curious to why that is, you can click here. This semi-break may seem pretty normal to you all since I know a lot of bloggers don’t participate in this meme every week anyway.

Anyway onto the challenge!

---

The Spread Love challenge is a non-bookish post, but a fun one nonetheless. I was tagged by Baby Ruth. Yes, her name is chocolate bar, which is totally adorable. She’s also uber sweet and runs a wonderful writing/musing blog. I don’t follow a lot of non-book blogs, so I promise hers is great!

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Published by Viking on May 5, 2015
Genres: [Young Adult] Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Pages: 417
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books a Million

Rerated: 3 Stars
4 Stars, Completed May 2, 2015

– SPOILER free –

For the past couple of years I haven’t been buying books unless they’ve been marginally cut down in price, but, after reading the preview for Saint Anything back in early March, I knew I had to grab this one upon release. Rarely do I do this anymore due to my buying books full price ban, but I was browsing the teen section at my local bookstore a few days ago and by some miracle I saw a prereleased copy. Naturally, without thinking I grabbed the book and ran, giddy, to the register (not an impulse buy at all), and from there I began my journey of devouring this book in less than a day.

Simon Versus the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon Versus the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Published by Balzer + Bray on April 7, 2015
Genres: [Young Adult] Contemporary, LGBTQ+
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million

5 Stars, Completed April 24, 2015

– highlight* to view SPOILERS –

*Quick warning: If you’re using WordPress’ Reader the white text will remain as visible black text and you’ll see spoilers regardless of whether you highlight the text or not. Make sure to read this post on my actual blog for the white text to appear and therefore the spoilers to be concealed; this is the only way for this method to be effective. Sorry for the inconvenience!

This fantastic book was on my goodreads TBR shelf for a while now, but after seeing Justin fanboy (yes, I just made “fanboy” a verb) in his review I had to get a hold of a copy as soon as I could.

Simon Spier is a Harry Potter fanboy, music enthusiast, theater boy, and Oreo addict, but among these many characteristics, he’s also a closet gay. Simon has a quirky family and close group of friends, however the only person that knows his secret is his somewhat online boyfriend, Blue. He and Blue have been emailing each other for months after Blue’s post about loneliness on the school’s tumblr, Creeksecrets, an internet outlet used by the student body to post anonymous confessions and secrets. The book begins with Martin Addison logging on the school computer and accidentally discovering Simon’s sexual identity and his secret email correspondence with the careful Blue. Martin also screenshots the emails and blackmails Simon into helping Martin get together with Simon’s close friend, Abby. (I hope that wasn’t too confusing to follow…) From there several misunderstandings arise and Simon’s world is a pandemonium.