Tag: bionic bookworm

AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Science-Fiction

Posted on by J.W. Martin

This week’s Top 5 Tuesday is all about Sci-Fi. I’m a big fan of all things sci-fi, but that’s something that’s only developed somewhat recently, so I don’t actually have a lot of experience from which to pull titles. But that’s never stopped me before.

p.s. Top 5 Tuesday is my favorite weekly meme, hosted by Shanah the Bionic Bookworm!

Ready Player One

Duh.

Red Rising Trilogy

Is this cheating? It kind of feels like cheating. Then I’ll change my pick to Golden Son. You really can’t go wrong with any of the books in this series, but definitely read them in order…

Gemina

Still haven’t read Obsidio. If I had, I’d probably be trying to cheat on this one, too. These books have a very unique format, but are supported by a very strong plot. Best of both worlds. 

Steelheart

I’ve read countless comic books, but very very novels with superheroes. And this, right from the prologue, is A. MAY. ZING!

Neuromancer

A groundbreaker. Definitely one of the fathers of modern sci-fi (at the very least, a really cool step-dad with a cool motorcycle)

Fun fact about this post: I’ve read a few books widely considered to be some of the best sci-fi of all time and most of them didn’t make this list.
MemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Series I Won’t Be Finishing

Posted on by J.W. Martin

This is a tough one for me. I hate not finishing things. Big ups to Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm for continuing to host one of my favourite weekly memes. 

The Parker Series

I’m not sure this counts as a series. It’s more of a number of books with the same main character. I read the first one because one of my favourite movies ever was based on the first book in this series, The Hunter. This is one of those rare cases where I liked the movie A LOT more than the book…

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Never say never, but I don’t think I’ll finish this one. I read a fair amount of YA, but I usually don’t feel like I’m reading something that’s “for kids”, but PJ makes me feel that way. Is it because it’s technically middle-school? Or maybe it’s because Percy is like 12 when the first book starts. I know Harry Potter was even younger, but for whatever reason, I just couldn’t connect with Percy Jackson.

A Song of Ice and Fire

I’m not sure ANYONE will finish this series. The date on book 6 has been pushed back and back and back. It’s expected 2020 at the moment, and book 5 was in 2011. So do we really think that book 7 (which I think is supposed to be the final) will be in 2021 when book 6 took 9 years?

Monster Hunter International

The first book was fun. Like reading a Jean Claude Van Damme movie, but for my personal taste, a little goes a long way, and there are 4 or 5 more books so far. I may end up reading another one somewhere down the line, but I can’t see myself ever finishing.

The Millennium Series

I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo when it was all the rage, and I fully intended on going through the other original 2, but it just never came to pass. This many years later, I don’t have much interest on reading the others. I can’t recall ever hearing a bad thing about either of them, but I can’t remember anything about them that makes me want to go back.

Fun fact about this post: I’m scrambling to get it posted and don’t have time to add in all the fun book covers and GIFs I normally would. SORRY!
MemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 books I predict will be 5 star reads!

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the multi-talented Bionic Bookworm. April’s just about over, but soon the topics for May will be out, and that’ll be your chance to jump in!

This week’s list was kind of a slam dunk for me. I’m not always up to date on the newest releases, so this list was pulled from the portion of my TBR that’s been recommended from bloggers that I trust implicitly. Hell, a few of these books have been recommended by every blogger on the entire internet!

Read ’em and weep!

A Darker Shade of Magic

You didn’t think there was anyone left who hadn’t read it, did you? There’s still someone, and it’s me! I don’t think I’ve seen a single person posting that it’s anything less than 4.5 to 5 stars.

Nevernight

Nevernight

Another one where I’m one of the last known survivors. Not only have people been raving about this book, but I’ve seen people saying Kristoff is their new favourite author. That’s pretty huge props.

Obsidio

Loved Illuminae. Currently loving Gemina. ‘Nuff said.

The Fireman

This one is actually a bit of a leap for me. I haven’t heard a ton of people talk about it, but the synopsis sounds good. And by all reports, Joe Hill is potentially just as fantastic as his dad!

Iron Gold

Holy crap! A thought that I put together all on my own! I’ve loved every book in the Red Rising series, so why would this one be any different?

Extra credit: Warcross, They Both Die at the End, and both of my current reads (Macbeth and Gemina!)

Fun fact about this post: *shrug* I just got back from having a week off.
MemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 characters that would win the show Survivor

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Shanah the Bionic Bookworm. Each week, we discuss 5 books (or at least something bookish.) If you haven’t been taking part, what’s going on? Are you against fun? Are you punishing yourself for something?

This week, we’re talking about the top 5 characters that would win the show Survivor. Remember Survivor? Or is that still a thing? I watched the first season, and then I was done. But anyway, I guess this list should be people that can eat bugs, survive on an island, and stab the other contestants in the back at the most beneficial time. Shouldn’t be too hard.

Six of Crows book cover

Kaz Brekker

I’m going to call it right now, Kaz shows up on more T5T lists than any other character. If he doesn’t already have a plan to win the entire thing, even if things didn’t go as planned and he kept finding himself on the losing end, he’s like a cockroach that just won’t be squished.

Illuminae

Kady Grant

Resilient AF.

Darrow of Lykos

Not even death can bend Darrow to his will.

Katniss Everdeen

She wouldn’t even want to win, but somehow she’d still do it.

Severus Snape

I don’t think anyone would even see Severus working behind the scenes until the final elimination. The other final contestant—hell, even the host of the show—would be like, “He’s still in the game? I thought he was gone in the first week.” But, no. He’s been in the deepest part of the island jungle, surviving on almost nothing at all, and pulling everyone’s strings.

Fun fact about this post: I feel like I should have said Mark Watney, but I haven’t read The Martian… YET!
AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 contemporary/fiction

Posted on by J.W. Martin

What’s contemporary fiction, you ask? Excellent question. It’s real-life fiction. A story set in the real world with events that could actually happen in the real world. No space aliens, no magic abilities, no supernatural creatures or beings. Sound boring? Maybe at first. Although I like my stories with a little something extra in them, some of my favourite books are contemporary fiction.

And this week, on Top 5 Tuesday, Shanah wants to know about my top 5 contemporary fiction books. (and she wants to know yours, too, so join in!)

The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway

This might be a controversial pick. Maybe it’s considered more like a classic, maybe it’s literary fiction (whatever THAT is!) But I’m keeping it. Such a smooth read. It’s not a big book, but I read it in a single sitting.

The Corrections
by Jonathan Franzen

I had no idea what to expect when I picked this book up, and what unfolded in front of me was a wonderful story about a family that was all kinds of dysfunctional, but by the end I was left feeling like I could do anything.

Choke
by Chuck Palahniuk

This is one of the books that inspired me to give writing a real attempt. It was unlike anything I had ever read before. I’ve read a few like it since, but none that have done it on the level of Choke!

The Art of Racing in the Rain
by Garth Stein

I mean, come on. Do I have to say more about this book? It’s a heart-melter.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
by Michael Chabon

Possibly another controversial pick. This one could qualify as a historical fiction, maybe it even is. It’s about a duo that creates a successful comic book in the 1930s during the rise of the comic book superhero!

Fun fact about this post: I had to look up a definition of ‘contemporary fiction’ before I could make this list.

MemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 books that lived up to the hype – Top 5 Tuesday

Posted on by J.W. Martin

This week on Shanah’s Top 5 Tuesday, we’re having a look at the Top 5 books that lived up to their hype. Not all of them do, but there’s a reason these books get hyped up in the first place. I have a bunch of books on my shelf that are over-flowing with hype, but I haven’t gotten around to a lot of them. So this week’s list is actually kind of tough for me. But I’ll give it a whirl!

Harry Potter

I didn’t pick up the first HP book until the 4th or 5th was already out. The movies had begun, so the hype machine was in full effect. Was not let down at all.

Illuminae

Illuminae

I read this one on hype alone. I didn’t even read the synopsis, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Six of Crows book cover

Six of Crows

This was the first hyped book I read after entering the book blogging community. I didn’t even know there was much hype behind it at the time. The Bionic Bookworm recommended it, I read it, I loved it. It was only then that I saw how hyped it truly was!

Ready Player One

This one wasn’t hyped when I read it, and I’m still not sure that it’s as hyped as it deserves, but everyone should read it.

Red Rising

Same reasons as Ready Player One.

Fun fact about this post: It made me realize how much reading I have to do! Sitting on my bookself is Gemina, Warcross, Invictus, Nevernight, and A Darker Shade of Magic! TALK ABOUT HYPE!

 

AllMemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 authors I want to meet!

Posted on by J.W. Martin

Top 5 authors I want to meet?! Are you kidding me, Shanah?! I have to pick 5! This is worse than the time you asked me to pick my 5 favorite book covers. How on Earth am I supposed to pick? I’ll do 10, not that it’s going to make it that much easier! AND, to narrow it down further, I’ll stick to living authors.

Chuck Palahniuk

His books are delightfully dysfunctional. I get the impression that the man’s brain runs on a kind of genius that the rest of us just can’t comprehend.

Stephen King

He’s a legend. And while I haven’t read his entire catalog, you can’t ignore the footprint he’s left in the literary world.

Ernest Cline

Just for Ready Player One alone. We could sit and have a few beers and just throw pop culture references back and forth for infinity hours.

J.K. Rowling

She’s on everyone’s list, right?

Brandon Sanderson

I’m just starting to get into his books, but I’ve been listening to his writing podcast for years.

V.E. Schwab

I just want to bask in pure creative genius. Just to see what it’s like.

Pierce Brown

I’d shake his hand, tell him how nice it is to meet him, and then yell at him for wasting his time talking to me when he should be at home writing! I need more Darrow in my life!

Neil Gaiman

The guy has written just about every medium that’s out there and excelled at it. Do you think he’d consider writing my obituary?

Chuck Wendig

This is another that I’ve only started getting into his books, but I’ve been reading his blog since forever. I get the impression that I wouldn’t stop giggling the entire time we spoke.

George R. R. Martin

If only to tell him to hurry up and to threaten violence (not really) if he kills off my favorite characters.

Fun fact about this post: I’ve never had so many brain farts while writing a single post. I forgot first names, last names, how to spell names. It was terrible. My wife might have to put me in a home.
MemesTop 5 Tuesday

Top 5 Bookish Pet Peeves

Posted on by J.W. Martin

SHE’S BAAAACK! The Bionic Bookworm has returned (practically from the dead) to host another week of Top 5 Tuesday. This week, we moan and complain about our biggest pet peeves as bookworms .

Having to wait for a Paperback version

Don’t get me wrong, I like hardcovers, but they’re not the most economical option. Plus, sometimes if you already have paperbacks of a series, you want to continue getting the paperback versions. By the way, I’m not talking about trade paperbacks. Those are a nightmare for people like me who despise a cracked spine. Speaking of…

Cracked Spines

Yes, I’m one of those people. That’s why hardcovers and paperbacks are so nice (again, not trade paperbacks). Most of them can sit flat on a table, stay open at whatever page you’re on, without any damage to the spine.

When a WAY better cover is printed after you already own the original crap cover

Do I really have to explain this one? We all have those books that we love, but the cover is just plain ugly. Imagine walking into a store and seeing a beautiful new cover. Something that matches the book’s inner-brilliance. What do you do? Buy a second copy just to have the new cover?

Stickers that don’t come off nicely

I don’t mind when my books have stickers on the covers. Sometimes, it’s what draws my attention and ultimately sells one more copy of that book. In those cases, that sticker did its job. However, most of the time, those stickers peel off nice and clean. 1 pull, not too much effort and it’s done. And then there are times where it’s a disaster. Tearing dozens of times. Coming off in tiny little pieces. Having to scratch with your fingernail to get that last little bit. And if it’s a particularly evil sticker, there may even be a permanent reminder that it was ‘Heather’s Pick.’

Books with covers based on movie adaptations

Maybe it’s because the book is always better than the movie, maybe it’s just because it’s a reminder that the book sold extra copies due to theatrical success, or maybe it’s just because that design belongs on a DVD cover and not a book.

Fun fact about this post: I mean, it’s not like you ever see book covers on movies posters!
Book Tag

Bookish M.A.S.H. Tag

Posted on by J.W. Martin

This interesting little tag was set upon me by the Bionic Bookworm, Shanah. I can honestly say I’ve never done one like it. Which is something that I can really appreciate. Thanks, Shanah!

THE RULES:

  • Link back to the original post on Kyera’s Library so she can see all your answers! (Be sure to do this via pingback, she won’t get notified if you just tag the URL)
  • Thank the person(s) who tagged you… show the community some love!
  • Obviously, come up with your wonderful answers!
  • Don’t forget to tag others to keep the tag going!

HOW TO PLAY:

You have ten different categories and you want to populate each of them with four different answers. You can do four good options or two good and two bad. The second makes the game a little more exciting because you are worried you’ll end up with a bad option.

In the classic game, you would be doing this with another person. They would tell you to close your eyes and draw a spiral. When they tell you to stop – you stop and count the number of lines in your spiral. Essentially, if you drew a line through the center of the spiral, how many times would it intersect? That is your magic number.

If you’re by yourself, you can always just pick a number and use that as your magic number. Here’s a link to random number generator: https://www.random.org

Starting at M.A.S.H. count each option until you reach the magic number then cross it off. For example, if your magic number was 3 you would count 1 – M, 2 – A, and 3 – S. Then you would cross off S. H would become your new 1. You continue this through each category, crossing off as you go until there is one option left for each category.

What you have left is your YA story!

GENRE:

Science-fiction
Fantasy
Western
Dystopian

LOVE INTEREST:

Jazz Bashara (Artemis)
Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games)
Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter)
Professor McGonagall (Harry Potter)

SETTING:

The TARDIS (Doctor Who)
District 13 (Hunger Games)
Hogwarts (Harry Potter)
Lou’s Tavern (Fight Club)

BEST FRIEND:

Bilbo Baggins (The Hobbit)
Sevro au Barca (Red Rising)
Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones)
Arlen Bales (The Warded Man)

VILLAIN:

President Snow
Randall Flagg
Sauron
Setrakus Ra

PET:

Bernie Kosar
Enzo
Krpyto
Hedwig

JOB:

Timelord
Race Car Driver
Bounty Hunter
Hot Dog Salesman

TRANSPORTATION:

The TARDIS
Blue Mini-Van (what I drive in real life)
Invisible Jet
Several Jet Skis tied together

POWER:

Flight
Flamethrowing
Clairvoyance
Invisibility

TROPE OR TWIST:

Dead (not dead)
Love Triangle
It was all a dream
Villian is your father (or mother)

The world is under the iron fist of an all-powerful government, led by Sauron. The world’s only hope is demon-killer turned bounty hunter, Arlen Bales and his best friend, Joe Martin. While hunting Jazz Bashara, a mysterious owl named Hedwig leads them aboard the TARDIS. They chase their bounty through the inner workings of the TARDIS, running through different rooms, each a small part of an alternate universe. They catch up with Jazz in a hallway that gives everyone the ability to fly, which is the same place that Joe realizes he might be falling for Ms. Bashara. She reveals that they’re too deep within the TARDIS and now the only way to escape is several jet skis tied together. But does he still want to escape? The TARDIS has turned the world upside-down so many times that he can’t be sure escaping wouldn’t mean waking up from a wonderful, yet confusing, dream.

Fun fact about this post: I kind of wanted McGonagall to be the love interest. How hilarious would that be?

 

MemesTop 5 Tuesday

Buying books on the cover alone? Guilty… Top 5 Cover Buys

Posted on by J.W. Martin

This week’s Top 5, created by Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm, is top Cover Buys. Books that had such an impressive, eye drawing, or intriguing cover that you decided to buy it before hearing anything about it, or even reading the synopsis.

Sea of Rust
by C. Robert Cargill

The colours on this are what drew me in. It’s just metal pre- and post-rust, but it looks so amazing.

Lock In
by John Scalzi

I like the representation of the red figures. I didn’t know what they represented when I first saw this cover, but I didn’t really care. I just wanted to read it.

Batman: Nightwalker
by Marie Lu

To be fair, this probably had more to do with Batman than it did with cover design, but come on. It’s still a wicked looking cover.

hell divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

Hell Divers
by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

This one looks like an action movie.

Life L1k3
by Jay Kristoff

This one. Great googly moogly! The font! The background pattern! The distressing of it all. It’s all awesome. There isn’t a single thing on this cover that seems like it went the wrong way.

Fun fact about this post: This is the Bionic Bookworm’s meme, and her blog was the first place I saw the Life L1k3 cover. She’s like a drug dealer… but with books.