fave reads of 2011 ~ the characters

[please forgive (or righteously shake your fist at) bloggers wonky formatting. argh.]

1. best female POV
i can't really choose here (what was i thinking, inventing this category !!?!). anyways, i am going with one girl who was just so authentic to the teen voice, utterly flawed but still heart-breakingly lovable and completely got under my skin:

Sydney from EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD. i found her utterly engaging and all her little sentiments about the world just gorgeous and quietly sigh-worthy.

(although i love my hilarious narrators too)

2. best male POV

this was hard (understatement). but i completely LOVE Mason from C K Kelly Martin's book. every thing about him is just gorgeous ~ i also found him refreshing, just so effortlessly likeable, and quite distinct in his personality and vibe. my (very very close) runners-up were Jace from SPLIT (in 2nd place) and Adam from WHERE SHE WENT.

3. Best couple <3 

• for soul mates and history (regardless of their ending ~ no spoilers): Adam and Mia in WHERE SHE WENT
• for loving watching these two together: Clara and Tucker in UNEARTHLY
• for antagonistic slow-burning attraction & chemistry ;) Jake and Harper in SAVING JUNE

(these aren't necessarily my fave couples, just undeniably done well couples ;)

4. who i so want to be best friends with

Chelsea from PAST PERFECT love her like mad. 

(three shout-outs):  

• Leigh from PSYCH MAJOR SYNDROME (although she is perhaps a little too similar to me, LOL). 
• I would definitely LOVE to hang out with Kyra from THE CHOSEN ONE. she needs a friend 
• and Georgia from ANGUS THONGS, (etc) I heart you xx Nomes

5. who i fell completely in love with (new literary crush)
okay ~ so there's been plenty of fine boys between the pages this year. so sticking to my absolute absolute faves and i have it down to my top two (oh, i know, impressive!)

Nathan from PSYCH MAJOR SYNDROME and Jake from SAVING JUNE

one good boy and one (maybe not so) bad boy. both particularly swoon-worthy
(weirdly, they both sing, play guitar and run around shirtless... i'm sensing a theme here ... *cough* nic *cough*)

i was going to list my runners-up but things were getting COMPLETELY (sheepishly, foolishly) out of hand. so i'll just leave it there for now ;)

6. worst (best) villian

Brand from BURN BRIGHT (eeeevil and smart)

the elders from THE CHOSEN ONE ~ completely foreboding and genuinely fear-inducing. also, layered. 

AND the villains (?) in NEVER LET ME GO. it's hard to work out who they are the whole way through. and even harder to see them all black and white. so many shades of grey ~ which is perfect for villains. in the end, they are a blend of the villainous and also, weirdly, saviour-like beings (from the other perspective) expertly done, IMO.

7. best character twist (who you loved then hated or vice versa)

Christian in SPLIT (Jace's older bro). i mean, i never hated him, but he swung ambiguously on that pendulum of like/dislike, get over yourself/man-up/you're breaking my heart/aww, man ... etc (not so much a character twist ~ more just flawed and ambiguous and realistic)

8. best kick-arse female

Elsha from WINTER OF FIRE and Gabi from WATERFALL ~ they are both feisty and determined and courageous.

9 best kick-arse male

i'll be honest ~ i don't have a STRONG obvious pick for this BUT i really do like Carrie Ryan's flawed boys ~ and they certainly have their knight in shining armour moments.

so i pick both Eli and Catcher from THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES.

10. broke your heart the most

Jace from SPLIT. aww :'(

 11. best/worst character names
(this is the part where i hope i don't offend anyone who has these names in real life. or, awkwardly, someone who chooses these names as 'best' haha

worst: those kids in FORBIDDEN. lochan, maya, willa, kit and tiffin. argh. it's just too "daytime drama". not for me (especially lochan, it's like the awkward version of lochlan)

also, not overly fond of Mclean (WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE). it just gets me thinking of my Macleans toothpaste, you know, haha

and Milo from FALL FOR ANYTHING. i did get past it, but there's no denying that Milo really is a dog kind of name ;)

best: i am not fazed about best names, i guess i get more attached to the character and then the name becomes synonymous with the awesome. when i was thinking about my fave character names, they all just ended up (sheepishly) being the names that belong to my fave characters.

I like Leigh (who has a secret real first name that you find out later in the book, which made me like her even more. her real first name is kind of awesome) from PSYCH MAJOR SYNDROME. 

and Sydney from EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD ~ i already liked Sydney from ALIAS though ;)

OH! and Harper from SAVING JUNE <3 (v v cool)

and it should be mentioned that the name Patrick (FIXING DELILAH) has never let me down ;)

and randomly, i really ended up liking the name No (from the gorgeous, sublime French YA: NO AND ME) even though at first it seemed like an odd name, No? LOL


* I wish I had also had a few categories for best siblings, best parents, best friends ~ i didn't think of it until later (and to be honest i was getting carried away with categories anyways. i think i could endlessly think up awards, LOL. i'll add in these when i do it again at the end of the year ;)

BONUS: 5 fave covers (from books i have read)

SLICE: so summery and blue and smiley and vibrant. with lovely title font

EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD: i unabashedly LOVE this cover. it's full of life, and just screams out at me to be picked up. i also LOVE the cover model for Sydney <3

PAST PERFECT: so this cover has NOTHING to do with the actual book (!?) but it's still undeniably awesome <3

THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES: LOVE our Aussie edition. it's dark and textured and kind of haunting. matches the tone and atmosphere of the whole series

ALASKA: much more gorgeous in person, it's bronzey and shimmery and has a wrap-around dust jacket picture.

BURN BRIGHT: it's only after reading the book that i love the cover so. it's dynamic and vibrant and dark and a little bit unusual = perfect.

here's a linky to link-up (and WOW thanks to everyone who has joined in so far O.o ~ it's been unreal reading all your nominations.) am a bit flat out today but will pop over in the next couple of days to check out any posts i haven't seen yet :D)

I'm posting part three on Thursday, the last day of June (click on sidebar icon for categories for #3)

fave reads of 2011 ~ the books

1. Favourite book read so far in 2011

regarding my faves ~ they aren't necessarily *the best* books i read. they are the ones i just love so much (despite their flaws) that i want to hug them, that make me smile whenever i think of them, that make me feel proud whenever i see them beaming at me from my bookshelves ...

i have TWO picks. one adult fiction and one YA:

WHAT ALICE FORGOT is adult and it's liane moriarty, and i love her so. it's whimsical and beautiful and sexy and quirky. <3 and, as i said, it's liane moriarty, so of course it's an absolute fave :)

PSYCH MAJOR SYNDROME is my YA pick. what can i say? i don't imagine it will be anyone elses fave ~ but somehow that makes me feel like it' even more special. i fiercely love it. fiercely.

(and my two runners-up ~ i have to shout-out their awesomeness):

  

these two were compulsively readable ~ PAST PERFECT so funny, cool and different. SAVING JUNE so sexy, ache-y and addictive <3

2. Most powerful book

SPLIT ahh, how i love you <3

3. The most brilliantly funny

all these three had many moments of hilarity and good good times <3

4. Best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read

oh, THE CHOSEN ONE made me ache, you guys :'( and for some reason i was crying heaps in WINTER OF FIRE although i think i was hormonal or something LOL (but i always always get snagged on books with the theme of redemption running through them) 

shout out to: WHERE SHE WENT. so, unlike the ones above, i didn;t actually cry but i felt that emo-pain, haha. very well done O.o

5. Most beautiful story

you guys (!)

6. Fave rainy day comfort read

okay, i had HEAPS for this one (ie a lot of angst in choosing, but moving on ...) EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD is just gorgeous. and THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON was sweet and smiley and yummy.
7. Best tense, adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award

STILL MISSING was intense. INTENSE O.o (actually, i did have to put it down around page 50 just. to. breathe. for. a. moment). (the second half went a little bit wacky b-grade movie drama ~ however i still thought it was fun-crazy-intense times)

8. The beautiful prose award

SONG OF THE SPARROW <3 delicious book
and i also SO enjoyed FIXING DELILAH's writing. beautifully written

shout outs to: ALASKA by Sue Saliba & THE MIDNIGHT ZOO by Sonya Hartnett,

9. most atmospheric and vivid setting

BURN BRIGHT oh my gosh ~ it's like being in one of those crazy-intense dreams where everythign is hypercolour. fantastically done.

and shout out to DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS because, eww, my skin was literally CRAWLING at times (!) completely authentic (and very convincing book that made me want to OCD-style scrub my house)

Oh (!) and my fave aspect of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was the setting <3

10. i-so-want-to-go-there award

so completely fun, you guys ~ and i don't think we have anything like it in Australia (?). plus ~ ice cream (!)

11. most original and imaginative

i cannot, in good faith, even consider another book for this, haha. <3

12. best under-appreciated, hidden gem book

loved these two books. a lot :) both 4.5 star reads for me

looking through my list of books read this year, i seem to have A LOT of hidden gem books that i so genuinely recommend (i don't often read the hyped/popular stuff) here's a few runners-up which may or may not be on your radar: 

• NOTHING LIKE YOU lauren strasnick
• NO AND ME delphine de vigan

are both books i love a lot (4 star reads)

13. i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award

sleeper hit of the year! well, i had read no reviews and seen no buzz and then WHAM couldn't put it down. in my top three YA reads this year. (and SWOON). reading this reminded me of reading pre-blogging days and finding a random book and just falling in love with it ~ like crazy (i fan-girled a lot over this one over at goodreads. had a bit of a hyper-in-love moment ;)

14. most haunting story

O.o

O.o

15. outside of my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it

i know (!) me + an angel book (!) who knew? i really loved reading this and can't wait for the sequel (all of a sudden i have a series to follow ~ most books i read are stand-alones ...)

16. series that i'm loving

WATERFALL is just so refreshing and good times. And, well, i am a fan of Carrie Ryan. LOVED the final book in her trilogy ~ a really strong ending.

17.  most memorable voice award

first three i thought of: NOTHING LIKE YOU so sparse and achey. WHERE SHE WENT oh my gosh ~ the angst and heart break so truly compelling and authentically male. and ROOM, haha ~ it's wild and different and certainly memorable.

Shout out to: VIOLENCE 101 (Hamish is a sociopath), NO AND ME, and Georgia from ANGUS, THONGS

18. completely awesome premise award

it's like time-travel into the future/amnesia all rolled into one. BRILLIANT, liane, BRILLIANT

19.  would make the best movie

this just looked like a movie in my head the whole time i read it. and, wahey! it is going to be a movie ;)

20.  want to re-read already

oh ~ well the three books above i have read more than once this year (not going to say how many times i have read, ahh, certain parts, haha)

as for what i plan to re-read before the year is out (from books i have read this year):

Phew. Gosh ~ i had so much fun going through and reminiscing about all the good literary times i have had this year :) and there are still a bundle of books that didn't fall into any category yet (!)


* i didn't choose any books that i read as re-reads from previous years (seeing as they are already my faves and would qualify for lots of good things). i also didn't choose any books i read this year that i didn't particularly like ;)


ALSO: blogger is formatting weirdly ~ putting in funky spaces and squishing some bits up. ARGH (!) Sorry


i'll be back on Monday with my choices for 'the characters' and also 5 covers i love (from books i have read) (see this post for the categories)


and ~ for those of you who are joining in ~ here's the linky. you can link up today or any time during the last week of June :) hope you have fun nominating books for the categories :)

fave reads of 2011 (so far) ...

it's already (nearly) half-way through the year (!)

and i am SUCH a huge fan of lists so i have created a kind of book blogger sharing-the-awesome book awards to celebrate all the cool stuff i've read so far this year. (which is just a fun-funky style book awards/survey thingy). i will be running it over three posts* staggered throughout the last week of june. (day one beginning this friday)


* it was going to one mega post ~ but i completely got carried away in my categories, haha, so i have broken it up over three posts


i would SERIOUSLY love it if any of you guys want to join in and post your own awards on your blogs ~ you don't have to do all three days or even have a nomination for each category (you can make it suit you). you can also chop it around and squish it all into one post if you like. if anyone does join in make sure to link so i don't miss your posts. 


there's no hard-core rules about it BUT answers can only come from books you've read this year (doesn't matter when they were published). 


you can nominate more than one book/character for each answer and re-feature the same book in different categories. (or make your own rules about it. whatever works.) i have chosen a few of my answers already and i am very loose about it (ie: two/three books for some answers, some with runner-ups and bonus shout-outs, others with only one pick ~ trying not to angst too much about it and just have fun :D

here's my categories (and the program) in the upcoming awards:

DAY ONE: the books

1. favourite book read so far in 2011
2. most powerful book
3. brilliantly funny
4. best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read
5. most beautiful story
6. delicious rainy day comfort read
7. adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award
8. the beautiful prose award
9. most atmospheric and vivid setting
10. i-so-want-to-go-there award
11. most original and imaginative
12. best under-appreciated, hidden gem book
13. i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award
14. most haunting story
15. outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it
16. series that i’m loving
17.  most memorable voice award
18. completely awesome premise award
19.  would make the best movie
20.  want to re-read already

DAY TWO: the characters (& the covers)

1. best female POV
2. best male POV
3. Best couple <3
4. who i so want to be best friends with
5. who i fell completely in love with (new literary crush)
6. worst (best) villian
7. best character twist (who you loved then hated or vice versa)
8. best kick-arse female
9 best kick-arse male

10. broke your heart the most
11. best/worst character names

BONUS: 5 fave covers (from books i have read)

DAY THREE: the scenes & the random

the scenes
1. best first chapter
2. best climax
3. best ending
4. best plot twist/revelation (no spoilers!)
5. scariest/most disturbing scene
6. steamiest scene (or sweetest/sexiest kiss award)
7. best swoon-worthy moment
8. biggest nail-biting moment
9. most hilarious scene
10. most heart-breaking/tear-jerker moment

the random
1. fave first sentence
2. fave book title
3. fave reading experience (ie: created a great reading memory)
4. book with the best food in it (made me so crazy-envious-hungry)
5. book with the most sensual weather (made you shiver/sweat)
6. most embarrassing book cover (feeling sheepish in public)
7. can’t believe you waited this long to read the book (!)

aaaaaand, that's it!