Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Haven't Read Yet

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovelies over at The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic is the top books in genre X that I haven't read but can't wait to read.

I read everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.

On my shelf I have books that range from picture books to YA to Christian life application so picking just ONE genre out of all the books I want to read seems difficult. I mean, so does picking just 10 books that I can't believe I haven't read yet....but whatever. I'm just going to pick 10 random books I can't believe I haven't read but I am going to make a point to read in the next couple of months.

Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar

One of the my friends Missy who used to be a book blogger had praised this book all over the internet. She said she hadn't ever read anything like it and was one of her all time favorites now. Unfortunately for me, this was an Australian release so I had no way to get my hands on it.

It is now finally available for Kindle, but I haven't bought it to read it yet, which I cannot believe. I coveted it for SOO long. Don't tattle on me to Missy though, please.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The first book killed me. That friggin cliffhanger still haunts me. So you'd think since I've had this book for a long while now (since the day it released...) that I would have remedied that....yeah, no. I haven't. Mostly because I'm nervous of another cliffhanger of doom like the first one...and I just haven't gotten to it.

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Loved Under the Never Sky and I was so looking forward to continuing the story, just haven't done that yet.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I am actually just petrified to finish the last two books. With how everyone freaked out about the end of Allegiant I just get all nervous when I think about reading this one. But I want to read it before the next movie comes out so I'm gonna have to suck it up.

Heart of a Lioness by Irene Gleeson

Africa has a very special place in my heart. It always has and I've always tried to help missions that work in Africa, but it became even more embedded in my life when I went to Kenya last year. The things I saw and the people that I met in my short time there was life changing.

One of my good friends from my church suggested this book to me last Fall because her, her husband, and myself all share a deep passion for work in Kenya. She thought I would be inspired by this woman's story, so I just don't know how I haven't snagged it and read it yet.

The Wild Truth by Carine McCandless

If you asked me what my favorite book is the first one that would come to mind would probably be Into the Wild by John Krakauer. I love Chris McCandless' story. He inspires me in a lot of ways for my own life. 

I have been coveting his sister's story for a long while now. I had to even hold off from buying it because it was on my Christmas list. It was in fact a Christmas gift and I was soo excited! I've had it for almost two months now though and I haven't cracked open the cover...I'm sucha slacker.

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss is one of my favorite YA books so this should've been a given to dive into as soon as I got it, which was the day it came out. Didn't happen.

If I Stay by Gayle Foreman

Meant to read this one before the movie came out...nope.

I'm hoping I can actually read it now since I've seen the movie.

Switched by Amanda Hocking

I really enjoy Amanda's stories. She was the first indie author I ever read and reviewed and talked to and she informed me of so many neat things when it came to indie publishing. My Blood Approves was such a different story for me but I really liked it so I thought I would have snagged her other series as soon as they happened. Well that was something that didn't happen.

The Boy Captives by Clinton L. Smith

This is about my family. I am actually related to The Boy Captives.

I'm a terrible descendant to have not read about my families history yet. 

What books are on your list this week? Any of the ones that I picked out?

Let me know in the comments!

2014 Releases That I Never Got To.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovelies over at The Broke and the Bookish

This week's topic was a freebie week so I chose to do the 10 2014 releases I meant to read...but the year kinda slipped by without me getting to.

Defy by Sara B. Larson

The Murder Complex by Lindsay Cummings

Of Scars and Stardust by Andrea Hannah

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

The Retribution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

(granted I haven't even gotten to the second book sooo....)

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

In a Handful of Dust by Mindy McGinnis

After the End by Amy Plum

Split Second by Kasie West

What books slid past you in 2014?

Waking the Dead by John Eldredge

"There is a glory to life that most people-including believers-never see. In this insightful new book, John Eldredge presents the heart as central to life. Not only is the heart essential; the heart God has ransomed is also good. Building on these foundational truths, Eldredge shows readers why real Christianity is a process of restoration, where the broken parts of our hearts are mended and the captive parts are set free.

"Waking the Dead" leads listeners to understand how to live from the heart, care for their heart like the treasures of the kingdom, and give from fullness instead of emptiness. This message also shows how living from the heart can energize people to love God and others in a way they've never experienced, revealing to them life's purpose: fighting for the hearts of others." 256 pages Published July 22nd 2003 by Thomas Nelson (first published February 29th 2000)- Goodreads

John Eldredge is a personal hero of mine. The way he looks at life and Christian living is incredible, the things that him and his wife have been through and where they are now is incredible, the way he makes movie references in his books is, well, pretty awesome.

Seriously, who else would think of comparing Neo's journey in the Matrix to our journey as Christians? 

John Eldredge would.

John and his wife Stacey live in Colorado Springs, Colorado, so he talks about being outside and being all adventurous and what not.

Now, what you need to understand is Colorado Springs in one of my FAVORITE places on earth. And I love being OUTSIDE in Colorado Springs. It's a adventurer's paradise.  So I LOVE the fact that he can talk about being outdoors, enjoying and appreciating nature, and loving God all in the same book.

Waking the Dead  focuses on waking your heart to the love of God and realizes that your heart, is in fact, not evil.

That is such a liberating fact.

It helps readers learn how to mend their hearts and be set free from things that we have been told all our lives and how to get on the right path to moving forward in our lives, to set our mind AND heart on kingdom things.

Waking the Dead was so enjoyable and I cannot wait to dig into another book by John Eldredge.

And why 2015 will be different.

2014 was a weird year for me.
The whole year was me focusing on things other than book blogging. Which I don't regret at all, I just always felt bad that I'd come back to my blog every now and again, make a basic post, then disappear again.

A lot has gone on in my life over the past 2 and a half years that has just made me not feel it. I read 14ish books last year...that's it! I've never read that few in a year...
But when you have such a huge life change like I did you have to take time to refigure things out. So that's what I was doing. And while I did pop in every now and then, blogging felt so forced. And sadly it ended with me not wanting to read and falling out of touch with a lot of bloggers that I used to be close with.
It was disappointing but I really feel like I have a better handle on myself and how I want to blog. 2 years ago when I was incredibly consistent it started feeling like a keeping up with the blogging Jones' and it became a chore. So that along with all the major changes going on I hit a downhill in my online life.
Now I'm back and I'm so happy. I considered shutting down my book blog and just combine it with my personal blog that I've been paying a little more attention too, but then I thought why would I do that? It would be the same amount of work, so Firefly Book Loft is up and running again.

I've made promises to myself though.

1)Don't force posts.
I'm not going to make myself feel like I have to post every day or participate in memes just to get people to pay attention to my blog. There are times when I may only be able to do a couple posts a week, but I have to be okay with that. I started this for me and I will now continue it with it being for me. But if you stop by and join in my bookish life, I will love you.

2)Read what I want.
The pressure to feel like I need to keep up with all the new releases was fine 4 years ago when I had less to do in life. But now I am a busy busy lady and may only have time for a post or two a week. So I'm not going to waste my precious reading time on books that I feel like I am making myself read just because everyone else is.

3)Don't join every challenge known to blogging man.
Hello, my name is Jessica Clark and I have a book blogging challenge problem. I join all of them. Except this year! Yay! Go me!
I think it was either 2012 or 2013 I tried joining about 10 or 11 challenges and it got to be so much and so stressful that I didn't finish a single one. NO MAS! This year I only have a couple personal challenges and my Goodreads challenge and that is it.

4)Have fun.
While books and writing are a huge part of my life and I love both soo much there are other things I love. Hiking, traveling, playing music, all these things have a huge part in my life. They are also all fun for me. None of them have become chores or forced, so why did books become that? I don't know. But not anymore. I will read for fun. I will write for fun. I will blog for fun. Just like I hike, travel, and make music for fun. BLOGGING AND BOOKS WILL BE FUN AGAIN.

Thank you for hanging around and waiting out the weird life time with me, and welcome new followers. I appreciate every single one of you!
And I cannot wait to see what 2015 brings!!




(also, 2015 really is a big year for me, with writing, traveling, ministry, music, and so much more. so if you'd possibly like to be nosey and see what's going on in my personal life, I do have a personal blog I am determined to keep up with this year as well, if you ever wanna take a looksy click HERE)

Chasers of the Light: Poems from the Typewriter Series by Tyler Knott Gregson

The epic made simple. The miracle in the mundane.

One day, while browsing an antique store in Helena, Montana, photographer Tyler Knott Gregson stumbled upon a vintage Remington typewriter for sale. Standing up and using a page from a broken book he was buying for $2, he typed a poem without thinking, without planning, and without the ability to revise anything.

He fell in love.

Three years and almost one thousand poems later, Tyler is now known as the creator of the Typewriter Series: a striking collection of poems typed onto found scraps of paper or created via blackout method. Chasers of the Light features some of his most insightful and beautifully worded pieces of work—poems that illuminate grand gestures and small glimpses, poems that celebrate the beauty of a life spent chasing the light. (144 pages Published September 2nd 2014 by Perigee Trade) - Goodreads

I was so pleased that Chasers of the Light ended up being my first book of 2015.

Though some of the poems seemed to be taken right from mass tweets, most of them were really beautiful and original.

Tyler really has a knack for taking simple observations and making them profound. He makes falling in love just sound and feel beautiful. 

He takes moments that not a lot of people feel are significant and really makes you rethink those moments of your life that you just let pass by without a second thought. But those always seem to be the moments that we look back on that have so much meaning anyway, and Tyler just highlights that in the pages of this book.

I've seen Tyler's poems float onto my Tumblr often but I didn't know that he was in the process of putting them into a book. So when I found out about this I was sure to request a buy at the library and sure enough, within a week I got an email saying that they approved my request and the copies were on their way.

Now I am severely regretting getting it at the library.

I should have just bought a copy because now I want it and I want it bad. 

It has a beautiful hardcover and would fantastic on my shelf. I cannot wait to own Chasers of the Light and reread it many times and I cannot wait for another book from Tyler!

Top New Series I Want To Start

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovelies over at The Broke and the Bookish

This week's Top Ten Topic is the top new series I want to start (new as in the past 2ish years).
This one was kind of hard, because there are A LOT of series that I want to start. Soo...there may be a couple more than just 10.

1.

Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson
This sounds a little bit like a twist on X-Men and Heroes, so I'm very intrigued.

2.

Belles by Jen Calonita
The Belles series sounds like Fresh Prince in the south and instead of a boy it's a girl.
I'm also from the south and a bit of a belle so I'm excited for a series that takes place in the south.

3.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
I've only seen great things about the Lunar Chronicles.

4.

The Archived by Victoria Schwab
I wasn't a huge fan of V's first novel The Near Witch. It was a good book, but I think it was just too slow for me and what I was in the mood for at the time. But I LOVED her writing style. It is beautiful so I'm really excited to give The Archived a try.

5.

Nantucket by Leila Howland
I love books that take me somewhere...and not just fantasylands. Nantucket just sounds like it could sweep me away to the Nantucket shores.

6.

PODs by Michelle Pickett
Post-apocalyptic. I love it already.

7.

Corpus by Jessica Khoury
I had the privilege of meeting Jessica Khoury and I got to hear her talk about her story and she just made it and her world building sound so incredible. And she was just such a sweet person it makes me even more excited to give this series a try.

8.

The Watersong Quartet by Amanda Hocking
I've adored Amanda Hocking since she first released the My Blood Approves series. I've seen her writing just develop over time and she just keeps getting better. The Watersong Quartet sounds like such an interesting series so I've been wanting to dive in (no pun intended...really) for a little while now.

9.

Legend by Marie Lu
I've only heard good things about the Legend series. And it's dystopian. I love dystopia.

10.

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy is one of my all time favorite series so I really want to get into Bloodlines soon.

11.

The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Roaring 20's. Superpowers. Murder. Libba Bray. Gimme!!

12.

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Well for one Tahereh is a doll. I adore her. She's always so sweet to everyone. But I've heard she can be brutal in her writing style so that makes me ever MORE excited to start this series.

What series have you been wanting to start recently?

Top Ten Places Books Have Made Me Crave

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovelies over at The Broke and the Bookish



I love this week's topic. Ten places that books have made me want to visit, real or not real.

1.


Hogwarts.
I really don't think this one needs an explanation.

2.


Neverland.
I have a bit of a Peter Pan complex, so I'd love to go visit Neverland...and the Mermaid's Cove.

3.


Narnia.
Who wouldn't want to be able to go through their wardrobe to a magical land that you end up ruling?

4.


The Shire.
There are many places in the world of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings that I'd love to see, but I mostly love the Shire. I'm an outdoorsy person, and I love the simple life. This looks like my kind of place. Sitting outside reading a book, gardening, living in a whole in the side of a hill.

5.


The Smoke.
Like I stated before, I'm an outdoors person. Being off the grid in The Smoke always sounded fun to me. And I really really really love the idea of having a hoverboard.

6.


Paris.
Paris seems like it would be a really grand adventure.

7.


Nevernever.
Fairies. I want to go visit the Fairies.

8.


Jedi Knight Academy.
Hook it up with a lightsaber!

9.


Spence Academy/The Realms.
Victorian boarding school and a magical world? Sounds like a good time.

10.


Forks, Washington.
Not even going to lie or try and hide it. I was one of the many that wanted to drop everything and go to Forks when Twilight was released. I'd read so much fantasy or historical fiction so this was really one of the first books that I read that I could actually go to the place that it was set and that was exciting. And honestly even now I wouldn't turn down a chance to drive there when I go to Washington.

Where what literary place would you love to travel to?