Goodreads and Listopia Saved Me

cute-puppy-pictures-morning-people

That’s me on the left.  I am the annoying person who wakes up, on a daily basis, long before I “need” to.  But who’s to say what is the appropriate amount of time that someone requires before leaving the house to begin their day?  For me, I need to ample time to naturally wake up, where coffee only supplements the process.  I prefer to be able to visit my top five websites before hitting the pavement:

  1. Tumblr
  2. Facebook
  3. WordPress
  4. Pinterest
  5. Goodreads

So in the wee hours of the morning, I have been trying to discover my next great book love affair, and have been spending a lot of time on goodreads.com.  I love a great website that allows you to thumb through specified content, sort of window shopping if you will, but also has the opening for a connection between users.  Well here’s Me, growing in my Bookie status (not a scheister bookie who makes dollar deals in back alleys, but someone who loves a good book over almost anything else) going absolutely gaga over the Goodreads.com website.

Good Reads

I’ve been trolling through the listopia section of goodreads, and here’s what I’ve found:

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I am so excited to tell you that I’ve finally pulled myself out of my finifugal funk!

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AND

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I have read the first two novels in the “Matched” trilogy by Ally Condie, and had totally forgotten about the third installment, Reached because quite frankly I really fell out of love with the series.  The first novel, Matched was beautifully written, the plot had an engaging tempo, and the cliffhanger begged to be completed.  About five chapters into Crossed (Matched #2) I became a die-hard Society supporter; I stopped caring about whether Cassia, Ky, Xander, or Buffy, Biff, or Crusty found one another or got out of the chasm.  Typical sequel trap: can’t live up to the first in the series, so just walk away.  Silly me had forgotten that I auto-purchased Reached, so when I saw the title pop up on Goodreads, I decided to give it the Ferrari Five Chapter Tryout.

By tonight I should be able to make a clear assessment.

May Reading Challenge

I thought that since today is May 1st, and I’m always up for a challenge, I would set out not only a running goal, but a reading one as well.  I am going to call this, “Clean Out Your Kindle” Challenge.

Here is a list of all the books that I want to read in the month of May that are currently clogging up my Kindle:

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

When unworldly student Ana Steele first encountered the driven, damaged young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and ultimately repelled by Christian’s singular sexual tastes, Ana demanded a deeper commitment; determined to keep her, Christian agreed.

Now, together, they have more – love, passion, intimacy, and a world of infinite possibilities. But Ana always knew that loving her Fifty Shades would not be easy, and being together poses challenges neither of them ever anticipated. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own integrity, identity or independence; Christian must somehow overcome his compulsion to control, and lay to rest the horrors that blighted his past and haunt his present.

Just when it seems that together their love can conquer any obstacle, misfortune, malice and fate combine to make Ana’s worst nightmares come true. Alone and desperate, she must face down the poisoned legacy of Christian’s past.

Seductive, shocking, sad and funny, Fifty Shades Freed is the compelling final volume in the Fifty Shades trilogy

Hate List  by Jennifer Brown

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman’s boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Shot trying to stop him, Valerie inadvertently saved the life of a classmate, but was implicated in the shootings because of the list she helped create. A list of people and things she and Nick hated. The list he used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating rocky relationships with her family, former friends and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life

I, Iago by Nicole Galland

Everyone knows Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of friendship and betrayal, love and jealousy: Othello. But the real story lies deep in the culture and biases of Venice and the childhood of a young man named Iago who could not escape his status as “runt of the litter” in his family nor his “distasteful” tendencies toward honesty that made him a social outcast.

In Nicole Galland’s I, Iago we follow Iago from his childhood days playing pranks with young, naive Roderigo to falling in love with Emilia to betraying his closest friends and family, sealing his fate as one of the most notorious villains of all time.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs… for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature

 

 

 

 

Thank you to GoodReads for the synopses, and Amazon.com for the purchasing option.