Waiting on Wednesday: Enders

Waiting by Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine!
This post highlights a book that I am dying to be released!!

THIS WEEK I'M WAITING ON:
ENDERS 
By LISSA PRICE






THE PREMISE
With the Prime Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save Callie's life - but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too ...and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body? This is the thrilling sequel to "Starters".

RELEASE DATE:
January 7th, 2014

Ahhhh! This book looks FANTASIC!! I LOVED Starters and the covers are just AMAZING!
Definitely can't wait for this one!!

Top Ten Tuesday: New to me authors read in 2013

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC IS:

Top Ten New to me authors read in 2013

So I actually read A LOT of books by authors I've never read before! This is just a small list. But here they are!

Basically these are just a few of the amazing books I've read this year all by authors I've never read before!

What are some books new to you authors?

Finding the Time

So the wonderful Emz @ Icy Cold Reads has recently started an interactive discussion on her blog. And the question she asked was how do you find the time to blog?

My answer is just sometimes I don't. I'm pretty sure if you even look at my blog you'll see that often I do have some pretty sporadic posting and half the time it's entirely my fault. There is so much I have to do each day. Normally I wake up at 6:30 and get ready for school. I go to school until about two and get home at 2:30. Lots of time left right? WRONG!

Normally I participate in a sport throughout the school year (not this year because our school so kindly decided to cut our indoor track team. Thanks a lot school) but during the fall (Cross country) and hopefully the spring (track which I normally don't run, but plan to this year!) that's practice until about 5. Then I have to get home and eat and shower so there goes another hour. It's now SIX! Then add on those hours of homework. Figure a couple of chapters of English or an essay, some math, a history essay/reading, chem labs, chem homework, french homework, studying for a quiz/test, ect... There we go! It's now 9! My bed time is 10 and trust me when I say if I don't get enough sleep, I get a bit overemotional ABOUT EVERYTHING! So that leaves an hour of free time.
Then on the weekends I have anything from volunteering, to these really terrible leadership training things that last the whole freaking day, plus just the general other stuff I have to do and there goes that free time.

In short, I have normally have no time. (Right now though because of no track I have a couple extra hours) Could I use some of that extra time to blog? SURE! Do I want to use that time to blog? NOPE!

Here come the pivotal question: Where does reading fall in the importance scale?

For me it comes second only to school work. And blogging takes a distant fourth (third is family stuff).

I read to escape the world. To have an adventure in another character's shoes. To alleviate stress. To have fun. To relax. There are so many reasons why I read and all of those reasons directly relate to my general well-being. If I don't read before bed, I just can't sleep. If I don't read, I get a bit stir crazy. Reading is part of who I am.

And so is blogging. In no way do I mean that blogging has any less importance to me. It's just that other things will always come first for me.

Moving on though, when I do manage to find the time, I use a couple of tricks to use the time productively.
Because I am a big time waster I normally put my phone in a place that's not readily accessible. Like the other room, so I'm not tempted to look at it just to look.

I also use a website that blocks specific websites (i.e. Twitter) and keeps me a task.

Also recently because of the leadership training thing I mentioned above, I've been starting to make a to-do list every night before bed so that I can keep track of things that need to be done. (I guess that leadership thing has it's uses after all....)

I guess what I really need is just MORE TIME? But then again who doesn't?


So.... Any advice to finding the time to blog?
Or any thoughts on how to increase productivity? 

Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Title: Scarlet
Author: A.C. Gaughen
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Action, Adventure, Romance
Series: Scarlet #1 (No idea when the next book is coming out)
Rating: Owl
Other books you might enjoy: Robin: Lady of Legend, The Agency Series, Cross my Heart, Venom

Let me start out with this. Robin Hood is my absolute favorite myth/legend/fable/whatever else it may be called. I’ve read one other Robin Hood book (Robin: Lady of Legend) which was really good. So going into this book I was worried the author might butcher the story. Well the good news is that she didn’t. There were things that I didn’t like so much, but there was so much that I ADORED!! So here’s my breakdown:
THE PREMISE
Scarlet is one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. (In the original tale she is known as Will Scarlet) The thing is she is neither a man nor is she merry. She has a very mysterious background and is pretty awesome with knives. She and the others are working to undermine the Sheriff. (Obviously) She is also a thief and a good one at that. When the Thief Taker, Guy of Gisbourne, comes to town in search of Robin Hood, she must face her past.
THE PROS
1. Ummmm, it’s a retelling of Robin Hood. Need I say more?
2. Scarlet=awesomeness. I loved her because any character that can fend for herself, steal, and throw knives is A-okay in my book! On top of that I love that she was so complex. She had a good reason for all of her actions.
3. The twist!! Okay I saw it coming, but my mom didn’t. But, I still loved it. I thought it was fantastic and the author built up a great suspense for it and then BAM. Really, Really, Really good.
4. The language. At first I was worried I was going to be distracted by the way the author chose to write the book, but in the end I LOVED IT. The only other book I think the writing compares to is Blood Red Road. (Which I really want to read)
5. Robin Hood. I loved Robin. He really is just fantastic. He cares about all of the townspeople and his men, too.
6. Little John. He was great and I just really liked him. The portrayal of him really fit who I always thought he would be.
7. I absolutely loved Much and how the author wrote him. I just thought he was great!!
THE CONS
1. Scarlet kind of played both John and Robin. I get that she didn’t really know her own feelings, but I still felt bad for John, although he was kind of a player.
2. Robin annoyed me at points, when he got all mad a Scarlet, I just couldn’t figure out why he didn’t let her at least explain herself.
3. The end. Not the end, end, but the close to the end part. It made me a bit angry, though it makes sense why the author chose to write it that way so she could continue the series.
4. I never understood what was mysterious about Scarlet’s eyes. Were they a funny color, shape, or like what? I just don’t get it.
OVERALL
Scarlet was really good. The kind of good that makes you want to smile all day. The kind of good that makes you not be able to fall asleep until you have read and soaked in. (A problem which seems hereditary in my family because both my mom and I stayed up until two or three in the morning to finish it.) Well, you probably get my point, about how good this book is. Let’s face it, Robin Hood is a really good story and deserves to be read about. This book lived up to my hopes (and dreams) and was simply INCREDIBLE!!
WOULD I READ THIS BOOK: YES!!!
WOULD I BUY THIS BOOK:YEP!!!
WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK: NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
WILL I READ THE NEXT BOOK: YES!!!(No, idea when it will come out though.) WILL I READ MORE BY THIS AUTHOR: YES

OWL=FIVE STARS

Waiting on Wednesday: Going Rouge

Waiting by Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine!
This post highlights a book that I am dying to be released!!

THIS WEEK I'M WAITING ON:

Going Rouge
By Robin Benway




THE PREMISEBeing permanently based in a local New York City high school as an undercover operative has its moments, good and bad, for 16-year-old safecracker Maggie Silver. Pros: More quality time with her former mark-turned-boyfriend Jesse Oliver and insanely cool best friend, Roux. Getting to spend quality time with her semi-retired and international spy honorary uncle, Angelo. Cons: High school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations. But when Maggie's parents are falsely accused of stealing priceless gold coins, Maggie uses her safecracking skills to try and clear their names. Too bad it only serves to put her and everyone she loves in danger. Maggie and her "new team" flee to Paris where they must come up with a plan to defeat their former allies.

RELEASE DATE:
January 14th, 2014


THIS BOOK!!! The first book was such a fun spy book so I am DEFINITELY looking forward to seeing the continuation of Maggie's adventures! For some reason I didn't think there was going to be a sequel, BUT NOW I AM SO EXCITED!!!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on my Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC IS:

Top Ten Books on my Winter TBR 



1.) Silent Spring by Rachel Carson-- Okay... So this is actually a book I'm reading for school, but it's also a book I've been really wanting to read! So I definitely am aiming to read this one soon!

2.) These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner- It's coming out soon and I'M DYING TO READ IT! Looks so GOOD!

3.) Firelight by Sophie Jordan- I got this on my kindle a while a go and have heard SO much about it! I really need to read it now!

4.) Time Between Us by Tamara Ireland Stone-Another book that I've had for a while and just never picked up! This one sounds fantastic! Plus I've heard so much about it!


5.) The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent-- This one is about  fabricated creatures and sound very steampunkish and awesome! NEED to read it!

6.) Dark Star by Bethany Frenette- I have this sitting on my shelf next to my bed and I just need to read it! 

7.) Across a Star Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund- Love the author and the first companion book was fantastic! And personally I think this one sounds even better!

8.) Hover by Melissa West- During the winter I love reading about aliens... No idea why, but it's true. I enjoyed the first book so I'll be picking this one up soon!

9.) Pizza Love and Other Stuff that made me Famous by Kathryn Williams-- Going through my TBR list, this one looks adorable and I totally forgot I added it, so definitely planning to finally pick it up.


10.) A Soldier's Secret: The Incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds, Civil War Hero by Marissa Moss-- Just ordered this one off Amazon! AND YAY! I love historical fiction and also people in disguise! So excited for this one!


So what's on your TBR? Anything good??