9 Celebrity Memoirs That Are Great Audiobooks!

I have a not-so-secret fondness for celebrity memoirs on audiobook. There's just something so fun about listening to someone's memoir when it's read by the celebrity whose story it is!

1. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe. This is probably my favorite of all of these. Lowe is a superb narrator, and his willingness to name drop makes for some excellent anecdotes! This book made me laugh out loud so many times. Plus, let's face it. Rob Lowe is very attractive! Who wouldn't want to have him talking in their ear for 10 hours?
2. Wildflower by Drew Barrymore.
   This is where a great performance is huge. The actual book wasn't very interesting to me; I found Barrymore's stories a little dull. But - her presentation was FANTASTIC, and made for a fun listen.
3. Yes, Please by Amy Poehler.
   Again, this is one that was all about the performance for me. The book was decent, but the audiobook is great. I, of course, particularly loved the chapter where she talks about Parks & Recreation.
4. Not My Father's Son by Alan Cumming.
   This gives Rob Lowe a run for his money. It's a gripping book (Cumming's father was abusive, and he has some hard memories to work through), and his Scottish accent is so charming. You might even want to watch Cumming's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? before listening (like I did), so you can picture more of the people he describes.
5. Along the Way by Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. I adored half of this book, and was slightly irritated by the other half. It's told in alternating chapters by Martin (whom I love), and Emilio (who is awfully full of himself). But put together it makes for a great listen, and I've added The Way to my list of must-see movies as a result of reading this.
6. Bossypants by Tina Fey.
   I didn't listen to this one, and I wish I had. Everyone I know who listened to the book raves about it, and I was a little underwhelmed by the print edition. If I ever find the time, I'm going to listen to it and see if it's better the second time around!
7. I Must Say by Martin Short.
   Parts of this book were over my head (Short's SNL run was ahead of my time, so I didn't have a frame of reference for some of the characters he described). But oh goodness was his relationship with his wife Nancy so incredibly sweet. The book is basically an homage to the wife he misses, and parts of it made me cry - something I didn't expect from someone as funny as Short!
8. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling.
   First of all, what girl can't relate to that title? I thought this book was original and funny, and is MUCH better than Kaling's second book.
9. As You Wish by Cary Elwes.
   This one is SUPER SUPER fun on audio, because many of the original stars - including Robin Wright and Rob Reiner - voice their own reminiscences. Some of my favorite parts were when Elwes was sharing his memories of Andre the Giant. If only Andre had still been alive to participate in the project!

I'm always looking for more good celebrity memoirs to listen to! Have a recommendation for me? Share in the comments below!

And if you'd like to purchase my two favorites, click through the images below to buy them (or anything else you want!) on Amazon. It won't cost you anything extra, but I'll earn a few cents on the transaction. Better me than the big, faceless company, right? Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

Book Review: America's Test Kitchen: Cook It in Cast Iron

I don't actually have a cast iron pan, but it's creeping up my wish list, especially after Shelf Awareness sent me this cookbook for review!

I was seriously drooling as I turned the pages. I planned to ask for a pizza stone for Mother's Day... but I might have to change my mind.

America's Test Kitchen is known for its delectable, well-tested recipes, whether one finds them via cookbook, magazine, television or podcast. In their latest cookbook, Cook It in Cast Iron: Kitchen-Tested Recipes for the One Pan That Does It All, the editors have tested dozens of recipes in the Test Kitchen, to perfect the best possible versions of dishes made in perennially versatile cast-iron skillets.

Cast iron has enjoyed a recent resurgence, as people have realized that non-stick skillets are not always the best choice, health-wise, due to the toxicity of some non-stick surfaces. Full of beautiful food, detailed recipes, precise explanations of why each recipe works, simple techniques for novices, and a helpful introduction that offers tips on seasoning (and ranks 10 different skillets currently on the market), Cook It in Cast Iron is a welcome addition to any home cookbook library.

Recipes include cast iron classics like seared steak, scrambled eggs and cornbread, as well as surprising choices like loaded nachos, apple pie and baked ziti. Each recipe is easy to follow, and many include helpful sidebars, such as how to shave parmesan, prepare bell peppers and turn a cast iron skillet into a panini press (by stacking a Dutch oven atop sandwiches in the pan).

I can't wait to try some of these recipes!!

Do YOU cook with cast iron? 

13 Female Authors You Should Read

I'm getting this post up a bit late in the day, because I frankly wouldn't have thought of it, except that my friend Meghan asked me to write a list on the List App of my favorite female authors. And since today is International Women's Day, I figured in honor of #IWD2016, I'd make it a blog post too.

Jane Austen 

I'm not just saying this because I love Colin Firth. I've read all of Austen's books (and with the exception of Mansfield Park), I find them incredibly witty and insightful. The eye that Austen had for human foibles... Makes me glad I didn't live near her!

Maggie Stiefvater 

This woman is kickass and multi-talented. She writes fantastic ya novels (go read The Raven Boys! Now!), draws gorgeous artwork to accompany them, writes a song for each book, which she performs on harp and bagpipes (!!), and she's really into speedy cars. She raced John Green last year, and his car caught on fire, ha!

J.K. Rowling 

This is a gimme, but I couldn't *not* include her. I've read all the Harry Potter books multiple times, and I've really been enjoying the Cormoran Strike series too. I'm repeatedly awed by Rowling's way with words.

Georgette Heyer 

Hands-down my favorite author of all time. If you've never read any of her sixty-odd books (the woman published from the 19-teens till the 1970s!), start with Frederica or False Colours. She's a lot like Jane Austen, but funnier.

Deborah Crombie

Her Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James series are great police procedurals set in England. Her books are interesting and real, and the characters are infinitely believable. It makes me kind of sad that I can't be friends with Gemma in real life.

Geraldine Brooks 

Some of her books have almost literally haunted me. It's been years since I read March, or People of the Book, and I still think about them often!

Liane Moriarty 

She *nails* so many aspects of modern life. Like a friend of mine says, "It's like she's writing from inside my head!" If you have a kid in school, don't tell me that Big Little Lies doesn't ring very true! I also love how she handles difficult topics (murder, domestic abuse, miscarriage, divorce), with humor and grace.

Marissa Meyer

I only discovered her about 2 years ago, but I've loved the Lunar Chronicles. They're clever, and funny, and so much more interesting than a lot of ya. I'm excited to see where she goes next, or if she'll keep writing within the world she's created.

Jacqueline Winspear 

Her Maisie Dobbs books are thoughtful, introspective mysteries. I've learned to watch other people's body language more after reading them! I've heard Winspear speak twice, and she's charming and brilliant.

L.M. Montgomery

Naturally I love the Anne books, but also The Blue Castle, the Emily books, and more! I'm not really a nature-y sort of person, but Montgomery's evocative prose makes even me want to go explore outside. And she's created so many unforgettable heroines!

Robin Hobb

Her fantasy novels are epic, and the prejudices against people with Wit magic remind me (sadly) of a lot of stuff going on in our culture now. Hobb's writing is superb, and her characters are unforgettable.

Donna Leon 

With every Leon book I read, Venice climbs higher up my bucket list. She has an incomparable knack for similes; useful when describing a city that's been written about for centuries.

Kate Morton

Her books are the perfect amalgamation of historical fiction and mystery. They're a bit formulaic, but she does her formula *so* perfectly! And that moment that every one of her books has, where a tiny choice completely changes the future for everyone, is gripping.

Who are YOUR favorite female authors?

Edit: Comments made me realize I left out Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rainbow Rowell! Gasp! Updated my original list to include them.

Book Review: The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson

I'd only read one other Joshilyn Jackson novel - Someone Else's Love Story - and I really enjoyed it. So when I got sent The Opposite of Everyone, and realized it's the story of Paula, a side character in Someone Else's Love Story, I was SO excited. [But if you haven't read SELS, that's fine, you can start with TOoE, it's not a sequel, just loosely connected.]

In The Opposite of Everyone, Paula Vauss receives a cryptic message from her estranged and itinerant mother. Kai has always marched to her own tune, mixing Southern folklore and Indian mysticism. But now she is dying, and Paula, a fiercely independent divorce lawyer in Atlanta, must come to terms with the shocking surprise Kai has revealed in her final letter.

Exploring the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters and the sad reality of so many abandoned girls in the foster care system, The Opposite of Everyone is completely gripping. Paula's rigid beliefs about justice and loyalty (which don't always conform to society's rules), and her brusque and profane manner of standing up for herself, make her an extremely enjoyable character. As Paula struggles to untangle her mother's legends from the facts and is forced to confront many memories from her childhood in a new light, readers will eagerly root for her to solve the mystery Kai has left behind.

Jackson's writing is elaborate, pointed and poetic, and it's easy to imagine the dialogue being drawled over a glass of sweet tea. Her ability to weave such disparate themes as Indian gods, ugly divorces, small-time pot growers and racial injustice in the South into a comprehensive and beautiful narrative is truly impressive. The Opposite of Everyone is a book to be devoured quickly, and then reread and savored.

Even though it was one of the first books I finished this year, I can guarantee The Opposite of Everyone will make my best of 2016 list! And I need to make time to read some more of Joshilyn Jackson's books!

Are YOU a Joshilyn Jackson fan?

I originally wrote most of this review for Shelf Awareness.

7 Books Worth Crying Over

After I posted about The Things We Keep a few days ago, it got me musing about books that make you cry. Because sometimes a good cry is just what you* need, right?

Anyway, here are 7 books worth crying over!

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

I know a lot of people who said they ugly-cried all through the end of the book. I didn't think it was quite that sad, but I shed more than a few tears while reading it! I found Lou a little frustrating as a character sometimes, but by and large I enjoyed her story.

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

A touching story about a couple with early-onset Alzheimer's falling in love. Read my full review here. 

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I'm imagining that most of you have read this already, but if not, get on it! The movie is great too, but the book was better.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 

This is a classic tearjerker, which I really ought to get around to re-reading soon. Henry and Claire's love story is just so beautiful.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Sob sob sob. This one was absolutely an ugly-crier for me. It's set in World War Two, telling the story of two young, female British spies, and GAH. I don't want to spoil anything, but go read it! It was so good.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

Morton's most haunting novel to date, about a love gone awry. I've dreamed about this one so many times since I read it.

Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson 

Getting to hear Katherine Paterson speak at the TFOB last year was so amazing. This book made me cry as a kid, and made me cry when I reread it a few years ago.

Got any sad recommendations for me?

*I'm guessing that most Quirky Bookworm readers are female, since Lloyd is one of my few male commenters... Photo originally found here. Links are affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

The Best Books of The Year (So Far)

2015 is more than halfway over! I read 80 books in the first half of the year. (Well, I finished 79. I'm also counting The Martian because I started it in June, and I wanted an even number.)

Funniest

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. Oh Rainbow. I love your books. SO MUCH. I sum them all up here. I particulary liked the friendship between Jennifer and Beth that's featured in Attachments. Runner up: Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan.

Best Mystery

Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty. Set during the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland. I really enjoyed the noir-ishness, and the darkly funny Irish setting. Lines from it keep popping into my head, even though I read it back in January. Runner up: Fallout by Paul Thomas.

Best Nonfiction

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Oh man is this one intense. I cautiously recommend it - it's a great read, but there's a LOT of violence. What he endured is unbelievable. Runner Up: Bunker Hill by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Most Romantic

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. Such fun, especially if you're a royal watcher. Read more of my ravings about The Royal We here. Runner up: The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley.

Best Science Fiction

The Martian by Andy Weir. This one completely blew me away. Who knew that a book with so much math could be so spectacularly good? Absolutely worth every bit of hype. Runner up: Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

Favorite Audiobook

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. I was literally pacing my house listening to this one, because the suspense was so intense. Caroline Lee is an excellent narrator (I love Australian accents!), and this title was pitch perfect on audio. Runners Up: Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb, narrated by James Langton, The Martian by Andy Weird, narrated by R.C. Bray.

Best Historical(ish) Fiction

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. I've read a ton of Susanna Kearsley this year (read my full round-up here), but I really, really enjoyed both the historical and modern day story lines in this one, and the Scottish setting is great. Runner Up: The Siege Winter by Ariana Franklin.

Favorite YA Book

I think I'm going to go with Red Rising by Pierce Brown here. I really enjoyed These Broken Stars and The Winner's Curse too, but there was something so gripping about Darrow's story. (It's kinda Hunger Games meets The Knife of Never Letting Go, with an Irish flavor.) Can't wait for the rest of the trilogy. Runners Up: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski.

Best Reread

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster. This is such a great little book. Sweet and charming, and full of pithy advice. So glad I picked it for the #YABMC. Runner-up: Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer.

And for an overall favorite, I think I might have to go with The Martian! It's hard to know, since I just finished it, and it's fresh in my head, but I think it may end up being my favorite for all of 2015. It's amazing.

What are YOUR favorite books of the year?

A Bookworm's Plea: Please Don't Ask Me What My Favorite Book Is!

Scene at a party recently.

Hostess: "So-and-so is in my book club! Jessica is a blogger."
So: "Oh really?"
Me: "Yes, I blog a lot about what I read."
So: "What's your favorite book?"
Me: "I don't know! I really can't narrow that down."
So: "Let's say you have to. What's your favorite?"
Me: "Ummmm... I really can't. I read about 120 books a year! That's too many to pick just one."
So: "120?! Do you have kids?"
Me: "Um, yep. 5 year old and 1 year old."
So: Making judgy face.
Noel: (Reluctantly trapped listening to this conversation.) "Thank goodness for audiobooks, huh?"
Me: "Yeah, I listen to a lot of audiobooks. And I'm still nursing, so I read a lot then." (Trying to make it less awkward) "Maybe I'll just let her nurse till she's five, hahaha!"
So: Staring at me, not laughing.
Me: (smiling nervously) "Anyway, nice to meet you... "

Phew. That question just always stresses me out so much! How about you?

Do YOU have a favorite book?

[Ironically, the photo above wasn't actually taken at a party... but at church. We had a silly photo booth after service on Family Sunday a few months ago. But it was the most "Howard family at a party" type picture I could find.]

Addicting Books: 8 Authors You Won't Be Able to Put Down

When I blogged about my "10 Signs I'm Addicted to a Book", it got me thinking about why I find some books more addicting than others.

I find that the most addicting books fall into one of two categories. Either they're part of a series, and I'm eager to see where things are going, or they're told in a non-linear format. So here are four of each variety, which I hope you will find as addicting as I did!

Exciting Series

• Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle is irresistible to me. I loved rereading The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves, and then I blew through Blue Lily, Lily Blue and The Raven King each in less than a day when they were first published.
• Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles are similarly addicting. I devoured all 5 (six! if you count short stories) of these in rapid fashion.
• I basically speed-read the new entries in C.S. Harris's Sebastian St. Cyr series too (there are twelve in the series so far, so you have a lot of great books to look forward to if you haven't read any!). It's not so much about the mysteries as it is about the relationships between the main characters. 
• Which is also true of Deborah Crombie's Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series. It's only been a couple months since the last one came out, and I'm already itching for a new one. (Just FYI: the first four are good, but slightly cozy-ish. Starting in book five the series gets AMAZING.)

Nonlinear Plot Lines

• I found Kate Atkinson's Life After Life mesmerizing, largely because of the cyclical plot. I kept thinking I'd just read one more life, and then Ursula's current life would end badly, and I would keep reading to see what happened in the next life.
• Kate Morton's books are always unputdownable, because I get all absorbed in the modern part, and then it flashes back to the past, and I'm like, oh I'll just read a little, and then I finish the past section, and then it's the modern part again, and I'm like, well, maybe I'll just read a chapter or two to see what the modern day characters are up to, and then... this is why I read all four of her books lickety-split, and I'm excited about the new one this fall.
• I do the same thing with Susanna Kearsley's books too. The flash-back-and-forward thing gets me every time!
• And the nonlinear format is why Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies was so fantastic. It starts out by telling you someone is dead, but not who is dead, or who killed them, or why. And then it goes back SIX MONTHS, and slowly goes through all the events that led up to the night of the death. You're literally 90% done with the book before you even find out who died. I thought *I* was going to die of suspense before I was done reading it. And Truly, Madly, Guilty was similarly suspenseful too!

What books do you find addicting?

(Originally published in 2015, but updated a bit in 2017. I have to say - if I was writing this post now, Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series and Jodi Thompson's Chronicles of St. Mary's would totally make the addicting list too! I need to find a new nonlinear author though... any recommendations?)

Author Profile: Rainbow Rowell

I've recently been obsessed with Rainbow Rowell's books. I have really, genuinely loved all of them. While thinking about their differences/similarities, I realized that I often review a specific title here, but I've never really featured an author's oeuvre, except kinda doing Elswyth Thane and her Williamsburg novels.

Rowell's books have several things in common: a Nesbraskan/midwestern setting, impossibly witty dialogue, frustrated love, pop culture. But some are set in the present day, some set in the recent past, some are YA, some adult.

So if you're new to Rowell, here's your guide to her books.

Eleanor & Park - the first Rowell title I read. And yes, I picked it up just because it had Eleanor in the title. Set in the 80s, featuring the star-crossed love of the teenagers Park and Eleanor. Eleanor's family is royally screwed up (some trigger warnings here...), and Park is half-Asian, making him unusual in Omaha. Lots of references to 80s movies and comic books. Tragic, profane, bittersweet, and the July selection for the YABMC. E&P has gotten a lot of hype, and it mostly deserves it. (I do have a slight beef with part of the ending, but I don't want to spoil it, so I won't be specific.)

Landline - I won a copy of this audiobook on a blog. (I don't even remember which one!) and Rebecca Lowman does an excellent job narrating. Georgie McCool is a writer for a popular tv comedy, but her marriage is unraveling. Her husband Neal has taken their girls back to Nebraska for Christmas while Georgie stayed in Los Angeles to work. She tries to call Neal from the landline in her mom's house, and somehow magically calls the Neal of 15 years ago. She spends countless hours talking to young-Neal, trying to figure out where she and now-Neal went wrong. Oddly enthralling - made me imagine talking to the Noel of 10 years ago (since I didn't actually know him 15 years ago...). 

Fangirl - I also listened to this one, and loved it so much that as soon as it was over I started it again. Which I have never, ever done before. Somehow the story of Cath, awkward college freshman and fan fiction writer, just resonated with me. Their mother left when they were 8, so Cath and her twin sister Wren survived by writing Simon Snow fanfiction. (Simon Snow is very Harry Potter-esque). Cath's relationships with Wren, her roommate, and her roommate's cute boyfriend, are very evocative of those complicated early years of freedom. [Sidenote: Rowell's new book, which comes out fall 2015 is called "Carry On". Which is AWESOME because in Fangirl, the fan-book that Cath is writing about Simon Snow is called Carry On. Yep, Rowell wrote her own fanfiction!]

Attachments - I waited and waited for the e-book of this one from the library, and finally got it on Thursday! And I was done by Friday. (Because I'm not very good at savoring yet.) Lincoln, the socially awkward internet security guy whose job it is to monitor company emails, finds himself obsessing over the exchanges of two friends - Beth and Jennifer. Then Lincoln realizes he's actually in love with one of them... but how can he tell her since he's been secretly reading her emails for months? I don't think this one would work well on audio, since it's about 80% emails, and it could be confusing when read aloud. It was really sweet though - and the 1999 setting was so fun. One of the girls is a film critic, so she's always referencing then-popular movies, and Lincoln and his boss were all stressed out about Y2K. Cracks me up.

There you have it! My guide to Rainbow Rowell. I think if I had to rank them from favorite to least favorite I'd say Fangirl, Attachments, Eleanor & Park, and Landline. But I still gave Landline 4 out of 5 stars... so it's not like it's bad!

What's your favorite Rowell title?

The images are my affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

31 Days of Book Pics: Day Seventeen - Favorite Books

I'm up at my parent's house for the day, and I totally forgot to take a picture of some of my favorite books at home before we left. So I raided my mom's collection to see what I could come up with. The photo is thus a sorta random selection of books that were among my favorites as a kid. It's funny that I just now realized that they all have strong female protagonists... perhaps that's why they were my favorites!

"Favorite" books is such a tricky expression anyway. I don't know about you, but it makes me CRAZY when people ask me what my favorite book is, because it's so very hard to narrow down. And I'm always discovering new authors to love - Deborah Crombie is definitely one of my favorites now, and three years ago I hadn't even read any of her books.

But I'm super curious to hear about YOUR favorites. Do you stick with tried and true authors? Or are you always branching out too? Sound off in the comments, or link-up your own posts below.

And don't forget - if you link up a post, you're automatically entered to win a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble giftcard at the end of the month.

An InLinkz Link-up

Unfamiliar with 31 Days? Here's my post explaining all the details of my 31 Days of Book Pics Project. Find all of my #31bookpics here. And don't forget to share your own Favorite Books pics online with the hashtag #31bookpics!

31 Days of Book Pics: Day 13 - Mysterious Books

This one is pretty impossible for me to narrow down, since mystery is my favorite genre! I'd say I easily own 300 mystery books... and I thought about piling all of them up for a really impressive picture, but I didn't want to have to put them back.

So I selected ten of my favorites. Here they are (from top to bottom):

1. Now May You Weep by Deborah Crombie (modern police procedural set in London)
2. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon (modern police procedural set in Venice)
3. Upon a Dark Night by Peter Lovesey (modern police procedural set in Bath)
4. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (precocious 11 year old detective in 1950s England)
5. Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason (modern police procedural set in Reykjavik)
6. Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (modern police procedural set in Shetland)
7. What Darkness Brings by C.S. Harris (viscount-as-detective, set in England during the Napoleonic wars)
8. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin (female physician detective, set in medieval England)
9. The Holy Thief by William Ryan (police procedural set in 1930s Moscow)
10. The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell (standalone, set partly in modern Sweden, partly in modern China, partly in 1850s America.)

 

Who are some of YOUR favorite mystery authors?

Unfamiliar with 31 Days? Here's my post explaining all the details of my 31 Days of Book Pics Project. Find all of my #31bookpics here. Find me on Instagram here. And don't forget to share your own Mysterious Books pics online with the hashtag #31bookpics!




P.S.I was going to put links in case you wanted to check out the books further, but Amazon was being glitchy. So there are only two affiliate links in the list above!

Giving Books a Second Chance

When I was in 8th grade I first watched the Emma Thompson version of Sense and Sensibility. (Which I watched again on Saturday for like the 40th time. Still so good - as many of you agreed on Facebook.) 

After watching it, I went through a Jane Austen kick, and read most of her books in the next few months. I remember strongly disliking Persuasion, so I never re-read it until this year. But I absolutely loved it this time around. I might even give Anne Elliot a slight edge over Elizabeth Bennet for best Austen heroine! I think the difference was that my 14 year old self was appalled how "old" Anne was before finding love. (She's 28). My current self is like, "28? Oh to be in my 20s again."

That got me wondering - what other books should I try again? Sophomore year I took a strong dislike to Dickens. Maybe he's better with age? Or, I hated The Old Man and The Sea. Should I try a different Hemingway title?

When do YOU give books a second chance?

Abandoned v. Unputdownable

I was thinking a Venn diagram would be a fun way to represent how you guys answered my "Name a book you gave up on this year" and "Name a book that you couldn't put down" questions on the survey.

But, as you can see, only one book makes both lists. So, instead, I'm going to just list out the responses. A bunch of people left both blank, and more people answered the positive question than the negative one. But it's still a fun set of lists to look at!

Books You Gave Up On

Boy, Snow, Bird, Cinder, Dangerous by Shannon Hale, Demonology by some Korean guy that my friend insistingly gave to me *blink*, Discovery of Witches, Fever Pitch, Gone Girl, Green Rider, I blanked them out (x2), I've finished them all, Light Between the Oceans, Maus II, Midnight in Mexico by Alfredo Corchado, Moby Dick, Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety by Daniel Smith, None (x5), Nora Robert's Land, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (x2), Oryx and Crake, Outlander, Perfect by Rachel Joyce, Pride and Prejudice (x2!) (gasp!), Project Based Homeschooling, Sense and Sensibility, Sly Fox, Stranded by Dani Pettrey, The Art of Fielding, The Casual Vacancy, The Circle, The Fat Lady Sang by Robert Evans, The Girls of Atomic City, The Labyrinth, The One and Only, The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell (x2), The Paris Wife, The Shock of the Fall, The Weird Sisters, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Thirteen Moons, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Under the Influence, While Beauty Slept, Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Winter's Tale.

I have to say, Cinder and the Austens are what surprise me, since I love them. I quit One Thousand Gifts and The Paris Wife too. And, I've been avoiding The Casual Vacancy and The Winter's Tale because I've heard that they weren't very readable.

Books You Couldn't Put Down

A Girl is a Half Formed Thing, All the Light We Cannot See, Altered by Jennifer Rush, Anything by Dirk Hayhurst, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Battle Royale, Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson, Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table, Courting Greta, Cress, Dark Places and Hopeless, Deadline, Dogs of Babel, Eat Pray Love, entire Harry Potter series (first time read-through!), Gone Girl (x3), Henrietta's War, I Shall Be Near to You, If I Stay, Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker, Life after Life, Little Mercies by Heather Gudenkauf, Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok, Mercy by Jodi Piccoult, Modesty Blaise, Night Film, Ocean at the End of the Lane, Outrage!, Seabiscuit, Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley, Something Other Than God, Station Eleven!!!!, Surprised By Hope, TFIOS, The End of the Affair, The Fortune Hunter, The Goblin Emperor, The Goldfinch (x2), the Grisha trilogy, The Kite Runner, The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Last Letter from Your Lover: A Novel by JoJo Moyes, The Last Policeman Series, The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, The Lost Husband, The Maze Runner, The Mysterious Benedict Society series, The Making of a Chef, The Nesting Place, The Rosie Project (x3), The Signature of All Things, The Silkworm, Tina Fey's Bossypants, Unbroken, Undetected by Dee Henderson, Unlimited, Warden And The Wolf King, While Beauty Slept, Wonder

I also loved The Rosie Project, Life after Life, Cress, and Harry Potter! And, If I Stay and The Silkworm were both really good. I'm so excited that someone else was obsessed with the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo, and I'm currently reading Countdown City, book two in The Last Policeman series.

How about you? 

Any surprises on these lists?

P.S. Only 2 days till the #bookwormproblems link-up! Get your posts ready!