Friday Favorites

Welcome to another Friday Favorites :) This week, I'm going to talk about my favorite characters from books I've read. Please feel free to comment on some of your favorite characters :)

Now, I'm breaking it up into a few categories because I have different types of favorites: there are the girls who are kickass and are just plain awesome and boys who are awesome and who are practically my fictional boyfriend(s).

 Kickass Females:

1. Hermione Granger from Harry Potter series
Do I even need to explain why she's number one? I mean, the series should have been "Hermione Granger and That Time I Saved Everyone". Seriously! The girl is smart, and isn't afraid to rock it! She's confident in herself and loyal to her friends, and she throws a mean punch when push comes to shove (right, Malfoy?) The girl is straight awesome!






2. Cress from Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3)
I went back and forth a lot on this one. Truth is, I love all the main females in this series (had the hardest time between Scarlet and Cress though). I like Cress because I feel she is a huge dreamer, like I am. I love the little fantasies she gets and scenarios she puts herself through because I do it too (friend's don't call me daydreamer for nothing). And when push comes to shove, she can handle herself :) If I ever had the chance to meet her, I think we wold be insta-BFFs <3






3. Celaena from Throne of Glass series
What can I say about Celaena? Besides that she is a total BAMF! She's hardcore, kick you in the teeth if she doesn't like you kind of personality mixed with a softer feminine side. She knows when to act like a lady and when to start bashing skulls. The perfect mix! I haven't even read the most recent book yet but I absolutely love this character. She is definitely a girl I would want on my side.





Drool-worthy Dudes:
1. Qhuinn from Black Dagger Brotherhood series
The steamy (not sparkley) vampire <3 This was one of the first romance series I started reading and it still is (and forever will be) one of my favorites. I got my friends hooked on it and we all have our favorites. Qhuinn is definitely mine :) He is loyal to a fault, despite his background, and is always striving to do right by other people, even if it costs him his freedom and happiness. Not to mention he has the sexy vampire thing going very well for him ;) I love his relationship with the other brothers and his friends and when I finally got to see him get his "happily ever after", I was beyond ecstatic! Definitely will always be one of my boys <3



2. Sage from The False Prince
Gotta love my sarcastic, witty guys <3 A story I randomly picked up one day since it sounded good and I needed a book and have been happy I did ever since. Sage is confident, sarcastic, and crafty and he uses his skills to get what he wants. This also includes making fools out of many people, which I many times found very hilarious. I absolutely loved reading about him and finding out what would happen next to Sage was the main reason I devoured this book so quickly. There are even two other books I need to read to catch up on Sage's adventure!! 




3. Harry Dresden from The Dresden Files series
The original sarcastic funny guy <3 Oh Harry... my original sarcastic, witty, all around good guy, who happens to be a wizard and who happens to also get himself into heaps of trouble at every turn. His wit and humor throughout the novels is amazing, and I always love a guy who can make me laugh. I have the added pleasure of listening to this series as an audiobook, narrated by freaking James Marsters! (don't know who James Marsters is? You may better remember him as Spike from Buffy... I'll let that sink in... Oh and the whole book is first person, so James Marsters is pretty much the voice of Harry Dresden, which makes me a very happy lady).

So tell us... who are your favorite characters? got a book boyfriend? Share it! We'd love to hear!

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

Author: J.K. Rowling
Goodreads Rating: 3.77
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pages: 112 


I've always been a huge Harry Potter fan, but I have no idea why it took me so long to get my hands on this book. I saw it on my boyfriends bookshelf and devoured it in a few short hours (it took that long because of NCAA). 


Goodreads Synopses:


The Tales of Beedle the Bard contains five richly diverse fairy tales, each with its own magical character, that will variously bring delight, laughter and the thrill of mortal peril. 

Additional notes for each story penned by Professor Albus Dumbledore will be enjoyed by Muggles and wizards alike, as the Professor muses on the morals illuminated by the tales, and reveals snippets of information about life at Hogwarts. 

A uniquely magical volume, with illustrations by the author, J.K. Rowling, that will be treasured for years to come.


My review after the jump.

The Hunger Games Party

So if you've ben paying any attention to my blog, you will know that my mother works for a Barnes and Noble and I love the Hunger Games. With the movie release being on March 23, Barnes and Noble has decided to host parties the night before and the night of the Movie release. (Basically there is a party on March 21 and March 22, and the movie is out on March 23)

If your local Barnes and Noble is near a movie theater (like in the same shopping center as a movie theater, chances are the party will be on Thursday night and then you can walk over to the theater for a midnight viewing of the movie.) If you aren't sure, your best bet is to call your local Barnes and Noble by clicking here. I'm not sure if other local bookstores will be hosting parties as well, but you can always find out.

I couldn't find a picture of my
from the release party, but this
one shows my fandom in high school.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good"

I think going to the parties are the best because (at least the way my mom does it) its a lot of fun especially when people get dressed up and go all out for it. I have a Mockingjay necklace, and pin that I'm going to wear and I'm even getting my hair done to be dressed like the capitol. It's mean to be a good time where we can let out inner geek out. I remember getting dressed up for when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out (If I can find the pictures I will share them with you). There was the time that I convinced my mother to host a party for Breaking Dawn also, (I met a really great friend that night.

So call your Barnes and Noble or local bookstores to get in on the action, because tomorrow night is bound to be a good time, and if you're lucky enough to have two Barnes and Noble's near you, like myself, then go to both of them! (I have one in a mall with a theater and one that isn't, so I'm going to hit up both!) I know at my mom's store there is going to be trivia and giveaways and all sorts of fun!

Why Audiobooks Aren't as Bad as You Think

I can distinctly remember going to the community pool with my aunt and my two younger cousins. I must have been in my early teens and we were talking about books since I've been a book worm my whole life. Back then e-readers weren't even a thought and I had so much time, all I did was read. While we talked about books, my aunt mentioned how she had started to listen to audiobooks since she was so busy. I will admit I scoffed at the idea of listening to a book. Why listen to it when you can just sit and read?

Needless to say I grew up, I took on more responsibility, I was busier, and I started to drive. I had plenty of time to read books until I started college, and thats when I almost stopped reading for leisure. Then, the summer after my freshman year, I got my first audiobook. Since then I've been listening to them on long car rides and while I drive and work out.

There are five reasons why I think audiobooks are good for people that are too busy to sit down and take the time to read. See if any of these fit your needs, then maybe you should consider using audiobooks.

1. They're great for long car rides.
When you're listening to music every so often you get a song you don't want to listen to, and so you pick up your iPod and change the song. Recently, there has been a flood of new laws called the "Distracted Driving Law" which states use of a handheld device is illegal. While most people assume that this only pertains to cellphones, it could potentially spread to iPods as well. With an audiobook all you need to do is hit play and listen.

2. They're great for multitasking.
If you need to do anything else, but all you really want to do is read, you can listen to it instead. Making dinner, cleaning the house, painting, working out, or doing anything else while your hands are otherwise pre-occupied. This way, you get to finish a book all while doing things you may have done in silence.

3. You can put them on your iPod.
No need to only listen to them in the car when you can put them on your iPod. By being able to transfer them over to easily, you're able to do so much more with your audiobooks. I have two different iPods, a new one that I use for music and an older one that I listen to my audiobooks on, that way I can have my music when I want it without having to hear random bits of my audiobook in the middle of it.


4. You can get them from the library.
One big downside to audiobooks is that they can be very expensive, sometimes ranging from $30-$50 to listen to a book that could have otherwise cost you far less. However, just as the library is a great source for regular books, the library is also great for audiobooks as well. Not only that but through my library, Ramapo Catskill Library System, I can get them right offline without having to go into the library to take them out. These books can also be really cheap through websites like half.com and amazon where they are selling used and sometimes brand new copies for as low as .75 cents.


5. You can revisit a book through audio and have it brought to life.
Just before the last Harry Potter movie was released, I wanted to re-read it so that all the details of what happened in that book would be fresh in my mind as I watched the movie. As we all know, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is not a book you pick up for light reading so instead I got the audiobook from my library and I listened to it. Not only did I get to revisit a favorite, while getting to read other books at the same time, I was able to have the story come to life through the narration of Jim Dale, who is a great reader.

Audiobooks can be great even if you're just listening to them occasionally. If you have found yourself in a reading slump and need to find a way to bring the joy of books back into your life, audiobooks might be the way to go. Even if you listen to one book a month, you may find thats more than you've been able to read in a long time.

Top 5 Series

I have read a lot of books in my short 20 years without including every book that I've read, my Goodreads.com total of read books is 488. Of course, that includes children's books, but still book's that I've read. Some of them have made a huge impact on me and they're counted among my favorite books. Since its been a while since I've read some of them a while a go, I won't include a full blog post about them, but here are some of my top books. I've also decided that I'm going to do a separate post for individual books because series and individual books are so different.


The list after the jump!