Have you ventured into the wonderful world of BookTubing yet?  If your answer is no then you really should.  I've been making videos with the BFFs for a few months now and I'm liking it a lot better than blogging.



Hang on.  I didn't mean it like that...ok yes I did, but I have my reasons.  

Watching videos feels more personal.  It's like someone is inviting you into their home for a cup of tea and to discuss books.  When they fangirl over a book you get to see their excitement instead of just interpreting what you're reading in their words.  It takes the obsession to a whole other level.

BookTubers tend to review all books, the old and the new.  It seems bloggers feel to be the best we have to review only new releases or ARCs.  And while I agree it is important I want to know why no one talks about books that came out last year or hell even five years ago.  I have read some awesome books like the Gone series by Michael Grant or Eve by Anna Carey because BookTubers were talking about them.  Books that would have sat on my shelf because I thought my new releases had to take priority over those.

Source

Some amazing books seem to slip between the cracks and no one ever mentions them.  While other books that are just okay are hyped up, made into movies, have merchandise sold for them, are on everyone's blogs, etc.  I'm not sure why this happens, but it makes me sad that some of these books are not talked about more.

What do you think?  Did I miss any good books that are under appreciated?  What about any hyped books I didn't mention?

Personally birds freak me out.  Their lack of hands, ability to float in the air, and sharp pointy beaks are just too creepy for my liking.  Plus, their beady eyes have this way of staring straight into your soul it seems.  And I know I'm not alone in my dislike of this species.  

So then why do so many YA books, especially in the Dystopian genre, continuously reference them?  Lately, I've noticed all my favorites have made reference to a bird as a theme of the novel.  And it made me wonder.  Is this such a universal and powerful theme that is necessary for a book about a world of destruction and societal disintegration?  Or is it just so commonly overdone because no one can think of anything original?  I'd like to think the former because the books I'm about to mention are written by some of my absolute favorite authors.  There are mild spoilers so if you haven't read any of these books just skip on to the next one.

Lets start with Divergent.

I used the UK cover image as evidence.  Those three birds represent the tattoo Tris got once she moved over to the Dauntless factor.  While Tris says she got those tattoos to represent each family member she had left behind when leaving her faction, I still wonder.  Why birds?  Veronica Roth could have used anything...flowers, hearts, even initials.

I think it's supposed to symbolize her freedom and independence.  She has flown the coop and is exploring new world.  It might also represent her fear.  Not only of leaving her family, but one of her actual fears.  When the birds attack her in her landscape she feels she has no control over the situation. Much like she feels in her new faction.  So again I ask.  Why birds?  Roth could have had a pack of feral dogs descend upon Tris.

"This time, I do not hit the bird as hard as I can. I crouch, listening to the thunder of wings behind me, and run my hand through the grass, just above the ground. What combats powerlessness? Power. And the first time I felt powerful in the Dauntless compound was when I was holding a gun.

A lump forms in my throat and I want the talons off. The bird squawks and my stomach clenches, but then I feel something hard and metal in the grass. My gun."

Shatter Me is a little more straight forward I think, but yet still holds some mystery to me.

Juliette is locked in a cell for the majority of her life.  Whether it's the physical one in the beginning of the book or the emotional cell society has placed her in by isolating her as a young child.  So it didn't come as a surprise to me when she kept dreaming about a bird and why Adam just so happened to have one tattooed on his chest.  At first I thought it symbolized her yearning for freedom.  But then why would Adam have it on his chest?  It makes me think there is more to this tattoo choice...unless he was drunk one Friday night and lost a bet against Kenji.  But I doubt that.

“There will be a bird today. It will be white with streaks of gold like a crown atop its head. It will fly."

Yep, you knew this one was coming.  The Hunger Games trilogy is all about the Mockingjay bird.  I had looked up what a Mockingjay was because like many of you out there I had no idea.  It sounds suspiciously like Mockingbird though.  

National Wildlife Federation explains that it is a made up species.  Apparently the Capitol created these birds to spy on the people of Panem.  But when the people figured it out they used the birds against the Capitol and the birds were cast off to live in the wild.

The NWF site says, "But, in an example of extraordinary wildlife almost never doing what we expect, male jabberjays bred with female mockingbirds, giving birth to the mockingjay, which could repeat both human melodies and birdsong and were thus better able to protect themselves - See more at: http://blog.nwf.org/2012/03/is-the-mockingjay-from-the-hunger-games-real/#sthash.DZxvtP6H.dpuf".

The line I highlighted really popped out at me.  Was suzanne Collins using this species that unexpectedly transformed into something different as a symbol for Katniss, who President Snow had no way of knowing would transform into the leader of a revolution?  Like the evolution of the birds, Katniss evolved from a plan to keep the people of Panem in line to something more. 

Also why Mockingjay?  and not Parrotjay?  Both would imply that the bird could mimick sounds.  I think Suzanne used Mockingjay because it's similar to a Mockingbird.  Which brings me to my next book.

The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of the rebellion." 

Now while To Kill A Mockingbird is not technically a Dystopian, I would never want to live in that world/time period because it had dystopian like qualities.

So while this author uses the death of the bird as a symbol of loss of innocence, The Hunger Game's rise of the Mockingjay could symbolize the same thing.  Katniss (and really all of Panem for that matter) is no longer a bystander.  She's fighting back.  Also, Harper Lee uses the death of a Mockingbird as a martyr almost.  The line,


suggests that killing this bird that is minding it's own business is evil.  Which is kind of like the Capitol and the Hunger Games killing innocent children.

And then there's Delirium.  While this one doesn't throw the bird reference in your face as often (it's not even on the cover!), it does mention it a few times.  Enough for me to notice.  

Lauren Oliver writes about these birds flying over the fence the government had put up to keep out the Deleria and keep in the people "free" of the disease.  So when Lena sees birds flying over the fence I think it's supposed to symbolize the freedom she wishes she had.  

I think it also helps her realize that while the government is keeping the people in this gated area, they aren't able to control everything like the birds.  And that thought gives Lena something dangerous...hope.

Hosted by Wholly Books
April 25: That awkward moment when you love the book, but hate the cover.
Before blogging I never knew what to read next.  I was desperate for suggestions like a mouse scrounging for crumbs.  So when my roommate took a book out from under her messy bed and said "here read this" I decided what the heck.

 The cover looked stupid and the title sounded ridiculous.  It looked to me like Laguna Beach which I never had any desire to watch.  But like I said, I was desperate so I tried it.  And let me tell you, that cover deceives.  The book has nothing to do with six girls being friends taking a picture on a beach.  In fact, there's only like three girls in the whole book...none of which are blonde.  I also hate that the title makes it sound like they're "dumb blondes".  But it was a fantastic summer read surprisingly.  It's one that I reread every summer just because I like it that much.

Covers are such important parts of determining if we are going to try a book.  It seems when one book becomes a best seller all other covers try to mimic them.  Some trends:
*Twilightish: solid color with one object
*Girl in a pretty dress
*Girl with no head
*New Adult: Girl and Guy half naked doing something scandalous

Sometimes I see these trends and they make me not want to pick up the book (unless...lets be honest...if the dress is really pretty like The Selection I'll read it anyway).  I just feel like since the cover is nothing unique the content won't be either.

Have you ever been surprised by a book with an ugly cover? What trends turn you off to a book?

  

Hosted by Wholly Books
April 4: That awkward moment you realize your online friends "get you" better than your real friends
At first when I saw this topic I was like "Oh that doesn't apply to me" because my real friends are awesome and love me for me.  But when I really thought about it I realized I don't ever talk about reading with them (except for a select few who I have converted to love YA).  And I never talk about blogging with them at all, ever.  And basically reading and blogging make up about 75% of my life right now while I'm still on the mend health-wise (I've had no social life the past four months). 
I started going to my online friends when I wanted to talk about books I was reading and or want to read.  But slowly over time I've started to talk to these bloggers more and more to the point where we talk about anything and everything.  Gaby from Queen Ella Bee Reads and I talk about The Carrie Diaries show like they're real people and now she's got me hooked on Veronica Mars.  Book Rock Betty helped me feel less nervous about trying a holistic dr.  I even went to a virtual birthday party for Nikki from Fiction Freak on twitter #HappyBirthdayNikki.  

As promised here is my list! 
Inspired by: Love at First Book and The Book Wheel 

1. Attend BEA at least once.
2. Meet up with bloggers that I talk to on twitter.
3. Go to a Sarah Dessen signing and thank her for helping me get back my love of reading.
4. Make business cards or book marks for my blog.
5. Tackle Rory Gilmore's reading list
6. Publish my WIP.
7. Read 20+ Classics.
8. Read every book on my goodreads to-read list (ya right haha)
9. Start a meme or event that other join.
10. Run a read-a-long.
11. Join and participate in group that swaps books through mail.
12. Attend as many signings as I can.
13. Help someone else discover their love for reading.
14. Visit a bookstore in every city I visit (I got Oliver Twist in London!)
15. Reread all the books on my shelf.
16. Get a job in a bookish field.
17. Host more giveaways/participate in a giveaway hop!
18. Interview one of my fav authors for my blog.
19. Move to Word Press or my own domain.
20. Learn how to make a graphic of Harley Bear or hire someone to do it.
21. Read more Non Fiction.
22. Finish all the series I started.
23. Have a library in my house with a window bench seat or nook.
24. Reread all the books I read in High School (To Kill a Mocking Bird, Catcher in the Rye, etc.)
25. Facilitate a twitter party.

Usually I am a huge advocate for book blogging and can ramble on to friends, or random strangers, about how much it enhances my reading experience.  But today, while reading a review someone wrote for a book I fangirl over that they thought was just okay, one sentence stood out to me.  They said that they thought the reason they didn't enjoy the book as much was because they had read some really awesome books before this one and they were stuck in a book hangover and nothing just seemed to compare.  It made me stop and question if reading so many books back to back can actually hinder the overall reading experience.  

Oh No I Didn't!