taking from other 'top reads of 2015' i've seen posted throughout the blogosphere, i decided why not do a top reads of 2016? very original i know ;)

this will be somewhat of a 2016 TBR of books i really want to get around to reading. this past year i've found myself scrolling through Goodreads multiple times, trying to find those books i've had more of an inclination to read. it gets rather difficult when you have a very long list and can't immediately find what you're looking for.

it's interesting to see how your reading tastes (and all other non-reading related likes) change over the years. looking back at my Goodreads reading challenge's are a good indicator of how i've evolved.

even though i only began to use the Goodreads platform in 2014, it's crazy how two years 1.) fly by and 2.) you change as a reader- and/or person as a whole.

1. Half of a Yellow Sun

2. Asking For It

3. Between the World and Me

4. Uprooted

5. Selected Poems by E.E. Cummings

6. Oryx and Crake

7. Gotham Academy Volume I

8. When You Reach Me

9. Northanger Abbey

10. Sweet Tooth Volume I

11. Gilead

12. You

13. Runaways Volume I

14. The Storied Life of A.J. Fickry

15. Kafka on the Shore

16. Middlesex

i'm a little late on this one, but it's still Monday and that's all that matters.

i've been thinking lately about who we surround ourselves with. positive energy radiates from not only within, but from those around you. over the years i've narrowed down my close group of friends, sticking with those that have not only seen me at my best, but at my worst.

i can be very pessimistic and cynical at times, overdramatic as well, but that's when my friends come in and snap me out of it. they uplift me and try to see where i'm coming from. i've realized that you shouldn't want people who instantly agree with you. you should have friends who question your train of thought and motives. they should make you see both sides of the situation- not just yours.

as we become older, everyone seems to be on this daily routine of work, come home, eat, sleep, repeat. the weekend is the time to sleep in, exercise, run errands, see family, and occasionally hang out with friends.

gradually though, that last point has become more prominent in my life. i think it's so important to hang out with friends, especially while we're young. we should be making travel plans and scheduling our next trips. we should check out that new coffee shop we heard about or grab some dinner after work.

make sure you have those people around you who are open to new things, who push you, and themselves, to not only experience what's directly in front of them but what's around them. like that famous saying goes, "if not now, then when?"

when you have friends like this, those that inspire and radiate positivity, you tend to feed off of that as well; in turn, you garner some of this same energy; and who doesn't want more happiness in their life?

with the new year right around the corner, i want to fully take advantage of these opportunities with my close group of friends. they are not the best at coordinating but i might just have to give them a little push. it's always nice to catch up in person, not just through text messages or group chats.

i want to go back in time when people still called each other instead of text. i want written letters and mailed postcards.

if you change your lifestyle to solely focus on those who love and cherish you, friends who are more worried about living their lives than seeing others through social media, i think we can construct our own perfectly, un-perfect utopia.

i saw this post over on Alphabeth and thought i would follow suit. i know i posted monday thoughts earlier this week, but this post seemed perfect for a collective reflection on what's been going on recently. life is so tumultuous and you never know what's around the corner, so let's freeze a fragment of time through these quick notes:

here is my weekly post for top ten tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. this week's topic is "top 10 books I read in 2015."

the above books are in no particular order, they were just my overall batch of top 10 for the year. i really enjoyed all of these, even if some of them didn't receive full 5 star ratings for me on Goodreads. these are books i can see myself re-reading in the future and still enjoying; each one was in a distinct genre, had engaging plots and great character development!

below, i listed the books in case any of them were caught off due to resizing:

• Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
• Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
• Jem and the Holograms Volume I: Showtime by Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell 
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 
• Telling Secrets by Frederick Buechner 
• Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
• Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

there's just something about Mondays, isn't there? a supposed fresh new start that signals the start of the week. the day that screams, "READY OR NOT HERE I COME." a day that many dread and few embrace.

i think 'monday thoughts' will be a new weekly post on this blog; a way to write out all my weekend happenings, because this is the time where you find yourself finally able to go out late, sleep in if you want and just find a moment for yourself. life continuously churns and sometimes the weekends can feel as though time lazily stops for a few minutes or aggressively powers through quick, hazy afternoons.

today i'm stuck contemplating the feeling of growing up. it's a funny thing because at 18 you're considered an adult, or at least here in the United States. this is usually around the time that you find yourself graduating from high school and going away to college.

you move from a structured, educational system, teachers still coddling students, offering extra credit assignments and distinctly telling you what to do to a more liberal environment; one where you're not explicitly told what to do, but where you're the one expected to make your own choices and decisions.

looking back while i was at university i lived in a bubble; a warped version of reality where schoolwork entirely consumed you, but wasn't necessarily a true representation of the outside world. you still didn't get the opportunity to firmly stand your ground in the "real world" and know what was coming upon graduating.

it's not until you do your 4 years, obtain your degree, apply for jobs, and start working that you realize it's all been a bit of pretend. i graduated in May and it's been about 8 months so far of working full-time and moving back home.

i feel as though it's taken this long for me to realize how the "real world" truly functions. adulting is hard. when you're young all you want to do is grow up and become an adult, a magical age where you automatically reach maturity and are able to properly sustain yourself.

but life isn't that easy. you have to work, work extremely hard, to reach your goals- even the small ones. i'm still young, i'm only 23, going on 24 pretty soon, and sometimes i look around and think is this it? it would be easy to think that way.

yet, there is still so much to do and experience. as time continues to pass, the more i find myself becoming my own person, leaving major life events behind, like graduating high school or college, and developing more of my own values and outlook on life.

i don't want to confine myself to certain time regulations, i.e. "by age 30 i need to have this or be here in my life." but i do want to come into a more defined version of myself, someone sure in what she wants and want she likes. someone who can support herself and help her family. a young woman with a solid group of friends and a long list of things she has yet to do.

this challenge comes at such a great time. over the past several months, a small pile of books has been collectively growing underneath my TV stand (where i usually just stash my recent purchases). maybe it's because the titles are obscured and all you can see is a pile of nondescript books lying on a shelf, but it's definitely growing.

i mentioned before that i don't usually buy books, which is true, but many of these books have just been lying there since May. some of them are graduation gifts, others a splurge on BookOutlet (hey, they have some great deals on there!) and others are just impulse purchases at Barnes & Noble (guilty).

either way, they are there, sitting and mocking me for being a hypocrite. my library checkouts get read more than the actual books i own. i feel awful. luckily, Sarah K over at The YA Book Traveler has created the #rockmytbr 2016 Reading Challenge!

oh yeaaah. made for me. this challenge is open to all readers, so whether you're a book blogger, booktuber or bookstagrammer, anyone is welcome to join! the only requirement is that you have to read a minimum of 1 book per month that you already own. i'm sure this also includes all those books you've accumulated over 2015, or previous years, but make sure to stay updated over on Sarah's blog.

so far these are the books and graphic novels i'm hoping to get through with the help of #rockmytbr:

• 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
• The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith 
• Chew Volumes I and II by John Layman 
• Ms Marvel Volume II by G. Willow Wilson 
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (this is a re-read bc i bought a beautiful edition)
• The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
• 100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith
• A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 
• The Caller by Juliet Marillier
• Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (i need to read The Shining first though!) 

let me know if you have any of these books listed in your own tbr or if you're interested in jumping in on any of these! at the end of each month i'll update my progress with this challenge either through here or through Twitter!

- alex

i'm going to be a bit late in the day for posting this, but technically it will still count. must get better at posting!

i am horrible. i just went through my e-mails since i was away last week and realized i missed not one, but two, events for the Blogger Positivity Campaign hosted by Jillian from Jillian's Books. i need to set myself a schedule and become more consistent. endless apologies. but here is a cheeky 2 in 1 post, making up the past 2 blog posts i missed for the campaign (as well, as the other post i published today).

two weeks ago I finished reading Illuminae by Amie Kaufamn and Jay Kristoff. at the time i didn't have a chance to go back and write a review about it. kind of a bummer. i thought that's ok. then this morning i went on Twitter only to discover some pretty surprising news: Illuminae is getting picked up by Warner Bros. and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment group. 

so yes, casually putting it out there, Illuminae, published back in October of this year, will be adapted by none other than Brad Pitt. to be honest, i thought this was a little random. personally, i had no idea that Brad Pitt even had an "entertainment group" or that he was interested in young adult storylines. not that Illuminae, isn't a spectacular book or anything, but that was pretty quick...and once again, Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt. (how many times have I written Brad Pitt so far you ask? 5, not including the one in this question).

if you haven't heard the buzz surrounding Illuminae...WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! just kidding. don't fret, i'm not one to inherently keep up with trends. yes, i do know which books are being hyped up and getting on the New York Times Best Selling list, but that doesn't mean i jump on board with them. i'm one of those people who waits until the buzz fades away so i can then make up my own opinions, without being swayed too much by the masses.

this has worked out great for me. why?

1. i usually don't buy books- i like to rent books out from my local libraries. 
2. i can stick to reading what i'm in the mood for without feeling pressured to pick up everything else is reading

reading that last sentence over i feel like such a snob, but it's nice to go against the flow every once in a while. staying as objective and truthful as you can is big in my book. do what you feel is right, always. stay weird and different, always.

to give a quick synopsis of Illuminae: it follows 2 main protagonists, Kady and Ezra, who are casually attending class at their high school in the beginning of the book, when the planet they live on is attacked. the novel takes place in 2575 where 2 corporations are trying to gain dominance in the galactic world. Kady and Ezra are not only classmates but romantically involved (at the tender age of 17- because this is a Young Adult novel), something that is on rocky waters when all hell decides to break loose on their planet. the become separated, stationed in two different ships, but manage to keep in contact through e-mails and text messages.

these various messages and memos are what make Illuminae so distinct. the writing format isn't compromised of your typical block paragraph, chapter by chapter synopsis. it is literally e-mails and computer hacking that Kady and Ezra engage in, trying not only to get in contact with one another, but figure out what is truly going on and why their home planet was attacked.

Illuminae is one of those science-fiction stories that will grip you right into the world and pull you in headfirst. the way it's designed and formatted is unique but the writing is all there, adding even more to the characters and world building. it's beautiful, especially a certain section in the middle where it's poetic and choppy on purpose. it's action-packed. you will be following along reading the messages that are exchanged anxiously waiting to see what happens. there is an AI you need to be aware of and romance that manages to surpass an interplanetary war.

basically, go pick it up. please. if you couldn't already guess, I gave Illuminae 5 stars on Goodreads.

when i got home from work today the only thing i wanted to do was lie down and mindlessly scroll through my phone. my mom was going on about watching the news and seeing what was happening in Paris but i didn't pay her any attention.

the entire afternoon passed. we went out, ran some errands, went to the mall, and finally as i was in the backseat of the car i decided to ask, "what's going on in Paris?" it's moments like these where i reflect back on what i was thinking at the time, what i was doing, who i was with, what my train of thought was...

my mindset the entire day was "i can't wait to run home and lie down." once i had fulfilled that i then began thinking about the materialistic things i wanted to look at and buy- superficial enjoyment. when i pulled up the ny times and began reading, my heart dropped. this is what i kept putting off, what i nonchalantly shrugged off.

more than 100 people have been reported dead at this hour. more than 4 locations were used as prime vantage points of attack. paris, i am praying for you. social media has advanced so rapidly over the years that we now have the advantage of connecting with people all over the world to send an S.O.S. in these crises, to provide comfort and show that we too care. you are not alone.

i feel useless and redundant asking the question people always seem to come back to during these horrific acts: "why did this happen?" there is no one answer. i'm not sure even those behind the crime would be able to sufficiently explain their reasoning. just as we can not answer, when will this end? when will the hate be gone? we can only try to put love, understanding and compassion first.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - Martin Luther King Jr. 

technology is not only at our disposal for entertainment but for awareness. tonight you are in my prayers Paris. i pray for the victims, the affected families, the bystanders, the unaware tourists, the children, humanity.

- alex 

- alex

-Alex

Tuesday's are the new Monday's for me, does anyone else feel that way? I had a 3-day weekend this past week and it was great! It's just a bit of a downer coming back to schoolwork and responsibilities :( I had the chance to do a bit of traveling though, which I was very grateful and excited for. I went to Savannah, Georgia which is about 4 hours from where I go to school. I had been wanting to go to Savannah for a while now because I've heard it has great places to eat, drink, dine and just walk around in general. Plus, the city is historically rich and full of stories so I couldn't wait to see the past/present mixed together. When my friend's birthday came around and she asked me if I wanted to come I could not resist!

My friend's dog joined us for the ride, so I had to take a funny selfie with him :P

I'm trying to be more consistent on here (aka not disappear), and also expand my horizon on my posts. That is why I wanted to talk about being a college student. I know there are probably a lot of people out there who have been in my situation (perhaps recently), or that are currently still in school. I'm a senior graduating in May, so this will be my last semester. And this has been a long time coming, trust me!

-Alex

First week of school is over (even though it started on a Wednesday), nevertheless my first last day of my undergrad semester has gone and passed. Now to just kick butt for the rest of the year, which is easier said than done. I have been getting some reading done but nothing that has led me to writing a review about it. And not because the books I've picked up are bad, on the contrary they're really good, but because they're part of a big series. With that being said, let me just say that I may have found a new favorite author- Patricia Briggs. Man, her books are awesome!

I don't know whats been going on the last couple of days but I have completely gotten out of the reading slump I was in and jumped right back into reading. *cue reunited and it feels so good*
There's nothing better than feeling fully refreshed and energized to pick something new up. And that's exactly what I've been up to. A couple of nights ago (or days? guilty of staying up until 4AM) I finished Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins. Now I wish I could day I don't judge books based on their covers, but who am I kidding? I completely do that. Nice covers entice me, they pull my eyes their way screaming *LOOK AT ME* So, when I glanced at Rebel Belle, the cover did nothing for me. But I had heard such good things about it that I thought why not? I needed a fluffy read to get back into things, and that's exactly what it did.

Created by Jamie at The Perpetual Page Turner

2014 Reading Stats

Number of Books You've Read: 90
Number of Re-Reads: Honestly I could not say because I don't keep track of my re-reads and don't really re-read entire books just skip to all my favorite passages/scenes but if I had to estimate it would be 3-5
Genre You Read The Most From: YA

I take full responsibility for completely disappearing since the end of November. As soon as I came back from Thanksgiving break it was GO TIME with tests, finals and last minute projects. Then December came and went! I got a chance to go to New York for my very first time and it was amazing. I'm so incredibly lucky to have an amazing friend who was generous enough to allow me to spend a week with her and roam the city. I will post some pictures down below of some of the things I did and saw!