Books I've read in 2015

It's no doubt 2015 started off a slooooooow reading year for me. On top of everything, I graduated and reading was put on the backburner. Never thought that would happen. I always like to have something to read especially when I get stressed and need a break. Despite all that, starting off the year by skipping TWO months and reading kind of slow, I'm happy with all the books I read this year because I enjoyed them. And that's a goal all itself.

It's been a tough year and a struggle to stay consistent in my reading. The months that are missing, I didn't read any books. 

MARCH

She Went All the Way by Meg Cabot 

APRIL 

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan*

 Pines by Blake Crouch* 

MAY

Wayward by Blake Crouch* 
The Last Town by Blake Crouch**

*Very highly recommend
**I recommend only if you've gotten two books in to the Wayward Pines series 

New Year, New Post

Here we are again for another --let's face it-- post of excuses to why I haven't been posting. 

To be honest 2015 was the beginning of the end. In January I was in my final semester of my final year of school. I had a lot of writing to do and when I wasn't writing I wasn't reading because I was relaxing until I had to start writing again. Over the summer I got an internship to read scripts and as 2015 continued I got another internship where I read scripts. And here in the beginning of 2016 I'm reading scripts at both internships. So I've replaced reading books with reading scripts. It's not what I wanted to happen but it did. 

Since my last post I finally finished Room by Emma Donoghue, saw the film and got my hands on the script. Hopefully there will be a Novel Adaptation post about it. I'm not going to say in the near future because I don't think it will be in the near future. I'm debating whether I should post the books I've read in 2015 as reading last year was a bust for me. This year I'm hoping to do better and with one book done and dusted I think I will. 

Lately I've been really enjoying shows that SyFy is producing. I only ever watched the channel for The Twilight Zone marathons, but I watched a couple of their shows on Netflix and really liked them. While I was watching The Twilight Zone marathon on New Years the same promo for the show The Magicians kept playing. I was hooked by the third time I'd seen the third version of the promo. It looks high quality like SyFy shows are getting these days and funny. Somehow --I don't remember how; probably during my research of the show-- I discovered the show is based off a trilogy of books by Lev Grossman. And that trilogy is what I'm reading now. There's no way I'll be able to finish the first book let alone the trilogy before the show premieres as it premiered last night at 9pm. But I don't mind reading the books along side watching the show. I'm eighteen pages into The Magicians and I'm curious so far. Hopefully this trilogy will take me into February and after that who knows what I'll read or where all be. Just know I'll be somewhere feeling just the right amount of bad about not posting on here consistently. But you, you keep reading and let me know what you're reading at pulledfromthebookshelf@gmail.com. 

Should we take bets on when I'll post next? 

Jonathan Tropper: One of the Greats

Jonathan Trooper is an amazing author who knows how to hit and stun you with emotion. His novels are the greatest depictions of every day life I've ever read. He manages to be incredibly heart wrenching while still being able to make you laugh. It's truly a treat reading his novels.

This list is not in the order I read them. Enjoy the pictures!



This Is Where I Leave You: Favorite. Wonderful, artful and skillful blend of comedy and tragedy.

Plan B: Tropper's first novel and my second favorite. I always can identify with the main characters, but in Plan B I identified on a whole bunch of different, deeper levels.

How to Talk to a Widower: Haunting and hilariously how real and true to life it was.


One Last Thing Before I Go: My least favorite

The Book of Joe: The most emotional Tropper novel in the group. I felt it all while reading The Book of Joe.

Everything Changes: Surprising and in a three way tie with How to Talk to a Widower and Plan B as my second favorite Tropper novel.



                      


I recommend you read all of Jonathan Tropper's novels! They're brilliant and he's amazing!

Thank You for keeping me entertained, Jonathan Tropper.

Reading List!: September 2015

September is all about from print to screen. 

Looking Forward...

And just as quickly life can surprise you, it can and will surprise you again. But this time maybe not in the way you planned.

You may have noticed I took another unscheduled, unannounced, unforeseen, unexpected hiatus. To give a simple explanation, without going into too many details of my personal life, the Universe had some different plans for me than I had for myself. So I needed some time to regroup and recover. This summer has been refreshing and lazy. Just exactly the break I needed after four hardworking years in college. Now summer's over and I've taken the time I so desperately needed and I'm ready to come back. I have a lot of time now to read and write new fresh posts for you and I plan on doing that. I really do. I've already requested a bunch of books from my local library. I should be picking them up as soon as Monday! I can't wait to read them, they're some very exciting picks. You'll have to wait until I do a reading list for September to see my picks. But worry not! That post is queued up and ready to post within the first week of September.

In the future, when I feel I need to take another break or if something happens where I'm forced to take a break, I'm going to be more conscious of warning you first. I feel I owe that to you. You've read my blog maybe for a some years now. Maybe you like it and are disappointed when I abruptly don't post for several months in a row. I feel the same way about blogs I follow. But we're only human, right? Sometimes things don't go according to plan. If I pull another hiatus without notice, I'm sorry in advance. I hope you'll enjoy my old posts or be reading a book most compelling to distract you from my absence. I'll also try to have scheduled posts to keep you satiated in my absence.

Meanwhile, get ready for a new month of new posts! I'm working on giving myself a schedule. Maybe starting at posting twice a month then working my way back to posting once a week like I did in 2013.

Have any recommendations for me? Send them to me at pulledfromthebookshelf@gmail.com

P.S.: How do you like the new look? I figured a change on here would be good.

Welcome to Wayward Pines

Wayward Pines: The Series Review

Population: YOU 

Reading List!: MAY 2015

Welcome to my first reading list post of the new year! I don't have much on my list. I'm not sure what I want to read anymore. I'm really into series at the moment and keep finishing them faster than I can find a new one. May is half over so by the time I posted this, I've finished The Last Town.  Two weeks ago I was browsing Barnes & Noble and discovered that Chuck Palahniuk published a new book last year. I immediately knew I had to read it. I'm even more excited to read it than I am to finish the Wayward Pines series. Last week I missed my chance to pick up Beautiful You from the library so I had to re-request. Now I'm waiting for it to be ready. In the meantime, I'm finally going to finish The Defining Decade. This is the second time I've checked this book out and I've had it since the middle of March. And I picked up another David Sedaris book on a whim. It was there, it's on my To Read List so I checked it out. His collection of essays/short story novels always give me and laugh and make me feel better. 

The Last Town by Blake Crouch 

Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk 

The Defining Decade by Meg Jay
When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

What's on your reading list?

Stay tuned for more exciting, colorful, picture filled posts! 

A New Chapter

I HAVE RETURNED 

It's no big secret I've been MIA for almost six months. I have a grocery list of reasons for my absence, the number one being I've been working very hard on my thesis. I honestly just found time to start my reading habit again. And also, if I can continue to be candid, I did enjoy the time away I had from this blog. Over the three years I've had this blog, I may not have posted a lot, but I've written a ton in those posts. It takes energy and positive vibes to create content I'm happy with and want to share. I never want this blog to be work and I never want to publish subpar posts. Everyone needs a break now and then, so forgive me in advance if I take another loooooong break.

In other most excellent news, I FINALLY got my hands on Blake Crouch's Wayward Pines series! Feels like I've been wanting to read this series for a year. At the end of 2014, I couldn't even request the book from my local library and I thought all hope was lost. But I was blessed the day I got an email about Pines being ready for me to pick up and nearly a week later, I finished it and had the second novel in the series, Wayward, in my eager hands. To say I thoroughly enjoyed Pines is an understatement, but I did! I've only read three books so far this year, one of which I did not enjoy at all and one I liked a lot. But Pines was the change in the game! I'm thinking about reviewing the series; maybe a quick post including all three of them. If I decide to do that, I'm not sure when it will come out because the final book is taking forever to come to my library. I fear I may not finish the whole series before May 14th, when the "Ten episode event" on Fox premieres. I am VERY curious to see what the writers and producers decided to do for the series. Will they burn through the first novel, Pines, like HBO did with The Leftovers? Or will all ten episodes include elements from all three books? That's why I want to finish the series before May 14th. Sidenote: I love adaptations because it's a combination of both my favorite storytelling mediums, novels and films/TV shows.

Anyway, I don't want this Return of the Jedi post to turn into me fangirling over Wayward Pines. I will save that for my review post, whenever it gets published.  The last I will mention about Wayward Pines is that I'm currently rapidly reading Wayward, the second novel in the three novel series. Although I'm sure I already mentioned that in the previous paragraph. I just wanted to say it again. Wayward Pines!

I don't have a plan this year, no reading goal. I just want to read as much as I can and enjoy the books. Considering I started off the year in a two month hole (of not reading anything) and then read a book I didn't completely enjoy, all I can ask from myself is to read and be delighted by the books. I have a some novels I want to read this year and depending on where my life takes me, I may finally be able to finish the Sophie Katz mystery series by Kyra Davis.

Expect semi regular posting starting today. I'm still in the throngs of my final year of school, preparing for life after and graduation. I may still be slow on the uptake, but the posts are coming! As always, email me any and all suggestions for posts or books you want me to read at pulledfromthebookshelf@gmail.com.

I hope you caught up and read all the books I've written about here while I was away! What are you reading now?

Feels good to be back!

The Five Best of 2014

I did not have the best year in 2014 as stated by my previous post. I looked back at 2013's Ten Best and realized this post will be half as many and a major step down from the energy in that post. I do hope that the lack of glamour in this post doesn't defer you from checking out my favorite books of 2014. Brace yourself, because in no particular order, here are the Five Best Books of 2014:

Books I've read in 2014

I definitely don't need to sit back and reflect on 2014, nor do I want to. This year was a bad reading year for me. I didn't even get to read thirty books, which is beyond disappointing. Negative into a positive, the books I read this year, I absolutely loved. Check them out!

JANUARY 

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot*

FEBRUARY 

Hollywood Said No!: Orphaned Film Scripts, Bastard Scenes, and Abandoned Darlings from the Creators of Mr. Show by David Cross and Bob Odenkirk with Brian Posehn

MARCH 

Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16 by Moshe Kasher*

APRIL 

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
Size 14 Is Not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
Big Boned by Meg Cabot

MAY 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green*

Paper Towns by John Green

JUNE 

Teen Angst? Naaah by Ned Vizzini

JULY
The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp*

AUGUST
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta*
Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot
The Bride Wore Size 12 by Meg Cabot

SEPTEMBER
How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper*

OCTOBER 

The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini

The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot* 

Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot
Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
Hemlock Grove: or, The Wise Wolf by Brian McGreevy
Plan B by Jonathan Tropper*
The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper*

NOVEMBER
Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis

DECEMBER

Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper*

I'm really looking forward to 2015, setting a new reading goal and most of all, discovering new books! I hope you all read some delicious books this year as well! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 

*Very highly recommend 

Reading List!: December 2014

Welcome to the final Reading List of 2014!

I actually thought I had a plan of what I wanted to read this month, but honestly, I don't. I'm currently in possession of Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan, but we're eight days into December and I haven't even read the introduction. I did want to reread the Queen of Babble series by Meg Cabot this month, but I don't know anymore. I think I'm not sure what I want to read anymore because I'm kind of bummed I finished all of Jonathan Tropper's novels. I enjoyed reading those novels the most this year. I've also been waiting about two months for Pines by Blake Crouch to be available at my library. I feel like it never will and I was really looking forward to reading it and finishing the series before the show starts. I really don't feel like reading anything else. I also know at this point, I won't make my reading goal, so that's another reason why I can't decide what I want to read. Maybe I'll take this month off and start fresh in the new year. By December 17th, the fall semester will be over and I'll have a lot more free time and I'm hoping by then, I'll suddenly be inspired to read something. 

Here's a list of what I'll read this month, if I feel like:

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot 

Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot 

Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot 

How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper (reread)

What are you reading? 

Happy Holidays!!! 

Reading List!: November 2014

As November is more than halfway over, I thought it only appropriate to post the books I plan to read in the month.

I had some trouble this month deciding what I wanted to read. It's painfully obvious that I won't be able to read fifty books this year, (another failed reading goal; just like last year) so I'm trying to make it to (at least) thirty books. Which means the minimum amount of books I need to read for the next two months is four. Who knew trying to find four books would be so difficult. But obviously it would be hard if I don't have a clue what I want to read.

Here's what I decided to read:

Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper

Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis

Pines by Blake Crouch

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

In the request queue at my local library, I'm third to receive Pines and ninth to get Food: A Love Story. Who knows how long that's going to take. Not sure how many weeks that will take and Pines is the first novel of a series I want to read. I don't really have two back ups if I don't get these books in time to read them in November. I was thinking about rereading The Queen of Babble series by Meg Cabot which I own. But I haven't decided. Hopefully I get Pines in time to read it. I was really looking forward to finishing the series before January when the TV show adaptation premieres on FOX.

To make up for the lack of photos, here's a mini review of the first book I finished this month. It took me forever to read Word Freak. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be, but I still gave it a chance. It wasn't worth it. Word Freak is about the competitive world of Scrabble. I thought it was going to be a fictional novel, but I was wrong. It turned out to be more like Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Capella Glory by Mickey Rapkin, only much more BORING. Word Freak is written by Stefan Fatsis, a sports journalist, but I got no sense of his writing style while reading his book. Mostly Word Freak was a history lesson about how Scrabble was created and how it came to be owned by Hasbro. Fatsis talks about the tournaments and his experiences in them, but it was written like he was recounting a murder to the police. I got no feel for his emotional connection towards the game and no part was funny. If you decide to read Word Freak, good luck.

Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis

Anyway, see you in December! Lots of posts coming in December. 

The Boy Series

It's very fitting and exciting that for my 100th post I get to talk about the most intriguing, unique book series I've ever read, The Boy series by Meg Cabot! This series is not unique and compelling so much for the ploys, but for the method the stories are told. I have never read anything novel quite like these.

Reading List!: October 2014

There's no denying that October is very much halfway over and this post is more than a couple weeks late, but if you were curious about what I'm reading this month, I posted this for you. After reading all of ONE book relatively quickly in September, struggling to finish another, and waiting a month for all the books I really wanted to read, the time finally came. The universe was on my side for once this month. 

This post is really late because I didn't really have much free time. But I'm happy to say since I checked out all these books at the beginning of October, I've read five of them. That's the most books I've read in one month this year. (More on that in December when I post my round up of all the books I've read in 2014.) 

I picked a good bunch of books to read this month. I thoroughly enjoyed the refreshing feeling of reading something new. And now without anymore babble, here's my reading list for October 2014:

The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot 

Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot 

Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot

Hemlock Grove: or, The Wise Wolf  by Brian McGreevy 

Plan B by Jonathan Tropper 

The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter--And How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper (not pictured)

Happy reading, friends!

Update #16: Not So Good

Hi everyone. So from the title of this post I guess you can tell I'm not doing so well. Yes, I meant to rhyme there, I thought it would make me feel better. It did not. I've been taking a lot of hits lately. But this isn't a life blog so I won't bore you with my life problems.

What really sucks is on top of all the shit I'm going through, I can't even find refuge in reading books. It started at the end of August when I requested the four books I wanted to read this month. I thought I had requested them with enough time that they'd come in time for the beginning of September and I would have one book to read a week. That was the goal. It's been three weeks and I've only checked out two of those four books and only read one of those two books. It's really disappointing because I was looking forward to reading those books this month. The one book I did read, How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper was excellent, but I had requested another one of his novels and it's still not in my possession. I started reading the next book I checked out, The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini. It wasn't what I expected and for a while I thought about not finishing it. But today, I decided to just keep reading it because I like Ned Vizzini, the chapters are short and quick and I'm not going waste this month by reading one book. Because half of my books took three weeks (and counting) to get to me, I requested four more books. Three of those books are a series by Meg Cabot and luckily enough for me, the last two books became available before the very first book of the series. So I can't even start that series when I finish The Other Normals.

This is the most disappointed I've been about books ever. I hate this feeling. All I want to do right now is escape in a good book. It seems like all the books I requested only have one copy and its checked out already. Just my luck, I suppose.

Sorry for the somber post, but I thought I'd keep you updated. I haven't been posting lately and now you know why. I hope you're doing better than me and really enjoying the book you're reading. I hope to get back on a regular schedule on the blog soon.

xx

Reading List!: September 2014

Today is International Literacy Day! (I did not know this was a day until today and apparently it was first celebrated on September 8, 1966!) Since today is a day to celebrate reading, I thought it would be perfect to post my reading list for this month. I was going to wait until I got all the books I plan on reading this month, but nah. No time like the present. I even started reading one of the books. 

In honor of the film adaption of This Is Where I Leave You being released this month, I've decided to read a couple more Jonathan Tropper novels. I thought about rereading This Is Where I Leave You in time for the film, but I loved the novel so much it's still fresh in my mind. I read it over a year ago! Check out my review here! I'm very excited for the film; I can't wait to see it! It comes out on September 19! Read the book and mark your calendars! 

(Here's the novel I just started reading.)

It was difficult to decide which Jonathan Tropper novel to read next. (I've read This Is Where I Leave You and One Last Thing Before I Go.) While reading the synopsis of his other novels, I was a bit put off. Not because they weren't compelling, but because I'm in a very emotional place right now. I'm months away from graduating and going out to look for a dream job in my chosen career and it is nerve wrecking. 

Most of his novels are way too real to life for me to be reading right now, in this fragile state. I feel like it's me reading into my future. It's amazing how This Is Where I Leave You and One Last Thing Before I Go are so different from the novels I picked (in terms of being more relatable to my life). But I'm sucking it up, remembering he's a great writer and reading Plan B and How to Talk to a Widower. I'm very excited to read Plan B.

Also thrown in to the mix are The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini and Hemlock Grove or The Wise Wolf by Brian McGreevy.

I haven't picked a number of how many books I want to read by the end of the year yet. If I mentioned it in a past post, I'll have to check. But I think reading about four books every month is a great monthly goal and whatever number I get by December will be fine with me. 

Update #15

Hey loyal readers! It's time for an update!

I had some time off during the end of August (twenty-one days to be exact) and I'm more than thankful for those blissful three weeks. During the last couple of weeks, I found myself reading in bed a lot. I was no longer taking the subway regularly and didn't want to waste precious time not reading. I got most of my reading done at 3am. I'd like to say I was up all hours of the night because I had a lot on my mind, but the truth is I took plenty of naps so my sleep schedule was wonky. I read until I felt a little sleepy and I managed to finish two books in less than five days. That's a feat for me as it takes me forever to read because I would only read on my way to school or work. I have to say I really missed reading in bed. It's quite a cozy feeling. I go out in any type of weather (except rain) so I cozy up to a good book in any type of weather-- not just in the winter like most people. 

Meanwhile, I'm not sure I want to read the Sookie Stackhouse series anymore. True Blood just ended and I kind of only want to have the HBO version in my memory forever. I know I was so excited to read it for months, but not so much anymore. I'm just not that into romance novels. I read a lot of Meg Cabot, she writes a lot of romance into her books and that's enough for me. Maybe I'll change my mind in a couple of months and read the series, but for now I'm not going to.

As for what I'm reading now? I'm currently waiting for a bunch of books I requested to be available for me to check out at my local library. I'll probably do a Reading List post as soon as I check out all the books. I'm so excited to read new books! Although, I probably won't be reading at 3am anymore. Unfortunately school started and I need all the rest I can get for the long, trying days ahead. 

What are you reading? Would you like to send me any suggestions? Email me at pullfromthebookshelf@gmail.com! 

The Leftovers

What if -- whoosh, right now, with no explanation -- a number of us simply vanished? Would we think it was the Rapture? Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down? 

That's what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out. Because nothing has been the same since it happened -- not marriages, not friendships, not even the relationships between parents and children.

Kevin Garvey, Mapleton's new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized community. Kevin's own family has fallen apart in the wake of the disaster: His wife, Laurie, has left to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members takes a vow of silence. His son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne. Only Kevin's teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she's definitely not the sweet A student she used to be. Kevin wants to help her, but he's distracted by his growing relationship with Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family on October 14th and is still reeling from the tragedy, even as she struggles to move beyond it and make a new start. 

With heart, intelligence and a rare ability to illuminate the struggles inherent in ordinary lives, Tom Perrotta has written a startling thought-provoking novel about love, connection and loss. 

You're So Vain-illa x The Fault in Our Stars

I paired these two nail polishes together because I started reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green around the same time I discovered You're So Vain-illa by OPI. I think they flow together quite nicely. I like how the cream color sort of goes with the yellow and the blue. I wore this nail polish the first time I saw the film as well. Both of these items are amazing. If you're into books and nail polish get them. 

I HIGHLY recommend The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. (I've talked about it in my last few posts.) It's been two years since the novel came out and I was slow on the uptake to read it, but if you haven't, there's no time like the present. (I won't give any spoilers.)

P.S.: I also wore my new favorite ring in the last photo. 

Nothing matters but The Spectacular Now

"So, my beautiful fat girlfriend, Cassidy, is threatening to kick me to the curb again, my best friend suddenly wants to put the brakes on our lives of fabulous fun and my dad, well, my dad is a big fat question mark that I'm not sure I want the answer to. 

Some people would let a senior year like this get them down. Not me. I'm Sutter Keely, master of the party. But don't mistake a midnight philosopher like me for nothing more than a shallow party boy. Just ask Aimee, the new girl in my life. She saw the depth in the Sutterman from the first moment when she found me passed out on the front lawn. Okay, so she's a social disaster, but isn't it my duty to show her a splendiferous time and then let her go forth and prosper? 

Yes, life is weird, but I embrace the weird. Let everyone else go marching off into their great shining futures if they want. Me, I've always been more than content to tip my whiskey bottle and take a ride into the heart of the Spectacular Now. "