Tag: bionic bookworm

AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tropes I’ve Had Enough Of

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Caveat: Any trope, done right, is still a joy to read. But done right usually means expertly written, with a new and unique angle. Anything else will induce groans and eye-rolling of epic proportions.

This week’s Top 5 Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Shanah the Bionic Bookworm, is the Top 5 Tropes I’ve Had Enough of.

Love triangles

Edward, Jacob, Bella. Katniss, Peta, Gale. Harry, Hermoine, Ron. Okay, that last one is debatable, but you get the idea. This seems needless, and should never be the focus of any book longer than a chapter or two. “Look, there are the two boys I like. I think I like that one better.” Done.

Instant Love

Probably a lot of love related tropes on my list. *shrug* The idea of instant love is kind of ridiculous. Instant infatuation, sure. Instant lust, of course. Love? No. What happens when you’ve declared your love for someone and then find out they clip their toenails while watching TV and leaving them in a little pile of the coffee table?

Absent/Dead Parents

I get it. Nothing builds character faster than someone forced into having to do everything for themselves with no help, but it just seems like every main character has dead parents or parents that for one reason or another just can’t be around. Why couldn’t Harry’s Dad be at the quidditch games cheering him on? All that other stuff still could have happened. “Go get em, son! Buy, that Snape’s a bit of wanker, eh?”

Damsel in Distress

Unavoidable, because everyone gets in distress sooner or later. But our female characters should be the hero as often as the damsel.

Love cures/solves everything

It’s not some super power. It can’t defeat an enemy. It can’t bring people back to life. I think we can all agree, love can be great, but it has its limitations. Like Aleeve.

Fun fact about this post: I’m sick. Not fun, but fact.
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Tropes I want more of…

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Time does NOT seem to be on my side this week! Normally I write this post on Monday, but here I am, on Tuesday, scrambling to get it up before the day’s over!

Tropes. We love them. We hate them. We have luke-warm ‘meh-ish’ feelings for them. Today, and next week, we’ll be talking about the ones we love and hate with the Bionic Bookworm’s Top 5 Tuesday meme. This week: The ones we love.

The ALL POWERFUL character

Gandalf, Voldemort, Darth Vader, SUPERMAN! There’s something about a character who just seems all powerful, and I can’t get enough. It’s especially delicious when the all powerful character is the enemy, making the odds stacked against the hero even higher, or when the all powerful character only shows up once in a while, so that life for our main characters aren’t too easy. Like seriously, Gandalf could have gotten rid of the ring of power so easily.

Full Government Control

I guess this is more the Dystopian genre. I still love it. The opposition. It’s almost like pitting the main characters against an all powerful character…. whoa…

Prophecies (for them or against them)

Who doesn’t love a good prophecy. Or what stems from it. After one has been handed down, we now get to follow some characters around as the struggle to make sure the prophecy comes true, or fight to make sure it doesn’t. The ones trying to disprove prophecy tend to be my faves!

Enemies Working Together

I love when a big bad enemy shows up and forces 2 previous enemies to become (at least) temporary allies.

He died… just kidding!

This is my favourite. You’re reading and someone dies, but you don’t actually see a dead body. And then later on (probably at the climax) BOOM! There they are, alive and well. Maybe not ‘well’, but alive. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a good guy or bad guy that pulls this little trick. I’m a fan.

Fun fact about this post: I’m so behind this week!
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Cozy Fall Reads

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Fall has… fallen? Or is it summer that fell? Well this cheesy pun went sideways in a hurry. Moving on.

This week on the Bionic Bookworm’s Top 5 Tuesday, we discuss our favourite cozy fall reads. To be honest, I don’t truly know what that even means. Books that take place in Fall? Books that feel like leaves falling to the ground? Books that give you the same feeling as being snuggled up, cozy and warm, while the weather is outside isn’t so warm? I just MIGHT be making this up as I go along. COME ALONG!

Harry Potter and the [Insert Random Object Here]

It’s probably something about the back to school aspect of each one, and the overall feeling that it’s a little cool during the day, but nice and warm in the house common room.

The Raven Boys

I can’t confirm that this took place during the fall, but again, it FELT like fall. I got the impression of people walking across/through leaves on the ground, and a chill in the air that wasn’t quite winter. And I’m pretty sure it was at the start of the school year. P.S. I have a terrible memory.

The Graveyard Book

Graveyards are beautiful, but not the warmest place. So how does this qualify as Cozy? I don’t know. Didn’t you read the part about me making it all up as I go along? When you look at a graveyard, unless there’s snow on the ground, it pretty much always looks like fall. It’s the relationships in this one are the warmth. We should all be so lucky as to have an entire graveyard looking out for us.

Something Wicked this Way Comes

I’m pretty sure this one talks about October over and over again. So, I think that’s where it comes from.

The Catcher in the Rye

Another one of those ‘feel‘ books. I think it takes place near the end of the school year, but it still gives me a strong impression of being inside, under a blanket, sipping hot chocolate by a fireplace.

Fun fact about this post: I’m gearing up for a brand new type of post that will hopefully make its first appearance THIS WEEK!
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 villains more interesting than the hero

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Happy Top 5 Tuesday, everyone! It’s my favourite book blog meme of the week, hosted by Shanah the Bionic Bookworm! This week is actually a suggestion from yours truly, and it was a lot harder than I thought.

I couldn’t just go and a top villains list, because some villains have counterparts that just as interesting, or more so. Like the characters in the Hunger Games or Red Rising series. Just about everyone is interesting! Okay, here it goes:

I am Number Four

I AM NUMBER FOUR
Five

It’s not tough for a villain to be more interesting than Four. He’s BORING. Always makes the right decision, says the right thing, is chivalrous, valiant and BORING! So anyone who comes up against him, whether for the whole series or just a chapter, is a more interesting adversary. However, I want to focus on number 5. He’s not really a bad guy, I know, but he has his moments. When the series was done, I desperately wanted a spinoff book all about number 5. Doubt I’ll ever get it, though.

HEX
The Black Rock Witch

The Black Rock witch is straight up fascinating. She walks around the town, her eyes and mouth sewn shut, going wherever she wants, whenever she wants, and everyone just deals with it. There isn’t really a hero that sits directly opposite of her, but I assure you, any of the characters that could be considered her opposite don’t compare.

THE STAND
Randall Flagg

Randall Flagg is basically the devil in Stephen King’s books. If there isn’t a bad guy named Randall Flagg, there’s probably one with the initials R.F. Makes me wonder if it’s the name of a schoolyard bully for King’s past. This guy isn’t just insanely powerful, he’s charming. He can explain his crimes to you, without hiding any of details, but he does it with a smile on his face and you have trouble hating him for any of it. The way Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays Megan really reminds me of Randall Flagg.

HARRY POTTER
Lord Voldemort

Let’s be real. We all wanted Harry to win. But at the same time, the most interesting parts of the series was when we got to delve into something in Voldemort/Tom Riddle’s past. Look at the way the Death Eaters flocked to him. His control of people as well as magic. In another Universe, Voldemort is just trying to live his life and this little hellion keeps showing up and killing him.

BATMAN
The Joker

Okay, so it’s not directly related to specific book, but is there any villain more interesting than the Joker?! He’s out there, in your face, not trying hide even a little. But at the same time, he’s shrouded in such mystery that they’ve never definitively said what his real name is. Did you know some comic historians have even reasoned that Joker has a superpower, and it’s super-sanity. SUPER-SANITY! You might have thought he was insane, but that’s only because you’re regular sane like a chum!

Fun fact about this post: Shanah recently threatened to take away my ‘bookworm card’ when she though I might have walked out of a bookstore without buying a book. (I didn’t)
Misc

Top 5 Books I want to re-Read

Posted on by J.W. Martin

It’s another Tuesday and another Top 5 Tuesday, hosted by the always amazing Bionic Bookworm, Shanah!

This week we’re talking about books that we want to re-read. Personally, I don’t often re-read books. I already don’t have time to put the smallest of dents in my TBR, and those are all new books. How is my situation going to get better with re-reads.

However, sometimes I look back on books that I “loved” and can barely remember a thing about them. Maybe there is something to this re-reading thing after all.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

As a life-long fan of comic books, I geeked out with this comic-based historical fiction. I feel like I remember a lot of it, but I definitely need to read it again.

American Gods

I enjoyed the first season of the show, but I couldn’t remember how close or far it was from the original book. People would ask me how close they were and all I could do was shrug.

Fahrenheit 451

Haven’t read this one since high school. I remember liking it, and I remember most of the plot points. But with the world going the way it is, I was to read it again and see how close we are to this “future.”

The Hunger Games

I really liked this series. And then the movies came out, and I thought they were really cool and really well done. However, years later, whenever I think of this series I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder. Like something about it left a bad taste in my mouth. I can’t for the life of me figure out why. Re-read required.

Wool

This is one of those rare books that pulled me out of a big-time reading slump. I’ve always wanted to continue the series, but I don’t think I can without re-reading this one first.

Fun fact about this post: You were expecting me to have Ready Player One on my list, weren’t you? You’re not wrong. I want to re-read it pretty much all the time. But I just re-read it before the movie came out.
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Character Driven Books

Posted on by J.W. Martin

It’s Tuesday! Do you know what that means? It’s time for another one of Shanah’s Top 5 Tuesday posts! What are we talking about this week? Character driven books. Plot is secondary, and sometimes not needed at all.

 

Neanderthal Opens the Door to the Universe & They Both Die at the End

These two are probably on my list because I read them very recently and they both blew me and my expectations away.

 

The Old Man and the Sea & The Catcher in the Rye

Classics both. It’s hard to even explain to someone why they should read either of these books. Trying to summarize them won’t make anyone want to read them, and then if you keep trying to explain them, you’ll start to wonder why you ever read them in the first place.

Choke

Highly entertaining. It’s one of the first books I can remember reading with a really unique voice.

Fun fact about this post: Too tired. Can’t think of anything funny.
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Summer Reads… if I knew what that meant

Posted on by J.W. Martin

I have to be honest with you. When I look at the books I’ve read, none of them stick out as books to be read in a particular season. Not any season. Some of them stick out as books to read around Halloween, or Christmas, but I connect them with occasions over seasons.

But I still wanted to do a post for Shanah’s Top 5 Tuesday. Therefore, I’m calling an audible, and I’m going to do the Top 5 Books I Want to Read This Summer.

Iron Gold

I’ve had this on my shelf since the week it came out. With the next book scheduled to come out at the end of this year, I definitely want to be ready for its release.

Nevernight

Nevernight

I have a little bookworm in my ear who’s been telling me I HAVE to read this for quite some time. As if I didn’t already want to read it really badly!

A Darker Shade of Magic

A Darker Shade of Magic

For about a year, I’ve been saying this book is at the “top of my TBR.” I have no excuses. I just need to do it already!

The Fireman

Previous Goodreads Choice Award winner, and I just feel like I have to read something Joe Hill. By all reports, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the King-Tree, but I want to see for myself.

Sleeping Giants

Sounds awesome, and another one of those books that I’ve had people saying, “You haven’t read this yet? What the hell are you doing?”

Fun fact about this post: Are any these actually summer books? Probably not.
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Suggestions for Top 5 Tuesdays

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Shanah’s on a justified hiatus this week (rest up, Shanah!) So there’s no Top 5 Tuesday topic, but since it’s always one of my favourite posts of the week I wasn’t going to let that stop me from putting one up.

Rather than coming up with my own random idea, I came up with 5 random ideas that Shanah is free to use as future ideas or completely ignore depending on how bad they are!

Top 5 Book Titles

Just the words. Not the font or its design on the cover. Just titles. The kind of titles you hear and go, “Ohh! What’s that about??”

Top 5 Villains more Interesting than the Hero

Vader. Voldermort. The Joker. You get it.

Top 5 Books/Series Where You Would Fit Right In

You know that book or world that feels like your life. The characters feel like people you know and would get along with. Everyone hates Mondays.

Top 5 Books With the Best Technology

Is this just an excuse to put Ready Player One on another list? Probably.

Top 5 Books You Read as ARCs

Mostly brought to you by the good people at NetGalley!

Fun fact about this post: One of my failed idea topics was ‘Top 5 Books That Were Off-the-Wall When Published, But Are Coming True Now’ but that could get a little scary…

 

MemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Covers with Green, Blue, or Purple

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Okay, last week, I scrolled through my Goodreads list, picked out the covers that went with the colour scheme, and then narrowed them down to my fav 5. An okay way to do it, but I’m switching it up this week.

This week, I found this week’s list on my physical bookshelf. And the top 5 were chosen on cover appeal, not story. I can confirm that with the fact that I haven’t read all the books on this list!

Armada by Ernest Cline

Simplistic design, but very effective. Draws the eye and doesn’t complicate the design. The font doesn’t come off as anything too unique until you really start to look at the letters and see they’re all doing different things.

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

Great font. The violin on black would have been enough on its own, but they went one step further, using the violin’s shape as a mask to show a little bit of scene.

Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

I’m not really sure what I’m looking at here, but I like it. Water, clearly, with a patch of blue sky. And, for me, Neil Gaiman’s name on the cover will always draw my eye.

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Okay, okay. Maybe the content of the book has biased me on this one, but it is still a great design. Part of its genius is probably its consistency across the trilogy. Black covers, feature colour, single element, vertical text. Done.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

There’s something about this concept. The cover torn to shreds with more stuff behind it. It’s done often and can be pretty cheesy when it’s done poorly. This one, I believe, has been done quite well. 

Fun fact about this post: My fulltime job (and college education) is in graphic design. While I don’t feel like this makes me more qualified to judge covers, it does give me a design-based vocabulary to make me sound more qualified (or more pedantic) 
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Book Covers using Red, Orange, and/or Yellow

Posted on by J.W. Martin

A week for the artsy-fartsies inside of each one of us. This week, The Bionic Bookworm’s Top 5 Tuesday is about covers with red, orange, and/or yellow. I hope there’s a future post that covers some other colours (wink, wink.)

Illuminae

Illuminae

This is the very first cover that shot to mind. It’s going in. 

Ready Player One

I’m cheating a little bit on this one. This is hardcover version, which I never read, but… it’s going in. 

The Daylight War

Book 3 of the Demon Cycle. Look at all that swirling red material! It’s going in. 

Golden Son

Originally I had Red Rising AND Golden Son on my list, but it seemed wrong to have two books from the same series, so… it’s going on. 

Fight Club

Is that red, or is it closer to pink? Doesn’t matter. It’s going in. 

Fun fact about this post: …it’s going in.