Top Ten Most Anticipated Debuts of 2015

It's the first Top Ten Tuesday of 2015, woohoo! I had this post scheduled to go up so much earlier today, so I am not sure what went wrong there. Luckily, the post was still sitting with the others when I got home from work, so I shall just post it now instead! As always, I am linking up over at The Broke and the Bookish, and this week we are talking all about debut releases of 2015. There are SO many books to look forward to this year, and it looks like a lot of them are going to be debuts for many authors (some possibly their YA debut, if they only wrote adult books before). I am super excited to share with you some of the books I am most anticipating!

1. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

Release Date: February 10

This book sounds incredible from what I have read so far. I like the idea of the Reds versus the Silvers, and I think that it is going to make for a very thrilling read.

 2. We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

Release Date: March 31

I think that the premise for this one sounds amazing. I am a HUGE fan of contemporary books, but this one has a nice twist on it as well. Something about how the synopsis is written reminds me of The Breakfast Club, too, so I think I will definitely be a fan of this one.

3. My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Release Date: February 10

Here is another contemporary that sounds completely amazing (as well as devastatingly sad...I am sure that I will probably cry like a baby). Death/suicide seems to be a pretty big theme in 2015 releases, or at least it seems that way. Anyway, I also love the title and the cover of this one.

4. Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Release Date: March 3

A road trip book! Another contemporary as well, there seems to be a common thread here. This one sounds like it could be a lot of fun, but also very emotional, which is exactly what I look forward to in a contemp novel. It sounds like it has some twists that we don't typically see in road trip books, so I'm interested.

5. Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

Release Date: May 19

It is always such a fun change to have an unreliable narrator, it can make things much more interesting. I love how the synopsis is written for this one, it has me wanting to know more about the main character, and to actually see her in action. An added bonus? This cover is beautiful!

 6. The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman

Release Date: May 12

This one is being compared to We Were Liars, which is really reason enough for me to want to pick it up, I think. It's being called a "thought-provoking and brilliantly written debut that is part love story, part mystery, part high-stakes drama." Yes please!

7. Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

Release Date: May 26

I will read just about anything that has to do with ballet/ballerinas because of my past in dance and my love for it still. Also, look at that cover!

8. Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Release Date: January 27

I have actually already preordered this one, and cannot wait for it to come! I am very interested in this one because it sounds quite a bit like Thirteen Reasons Why, which I absolutely loved!

9. The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi

Release Date: June 16

This one says "for fans of Sarah Dessen," which is definitely me since Dessen is one of my only auto-buy authors at this point.

10. The Distance Between Lost and Found by Kathryn Holmes

Release Date: February 17

I came across this one on Goodreads as I was looking through 2015 releases and was instantly drawn into the synopsis. It sounds like a wonderful contemporary, and I already want to know what happened to make the main character silent. Luckily I only have to wait until next month to find out!

What debut books are you looking forward to?

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2015! (Full of a lot of great books, of course!)

<3 Tiffany

Book Buying in 2015

Before I talk about my bookish and blogging resolutions later this week, I thought I would discuss how I intend to handle book buying in 2015. As you are fellow book bloggers/readers, I am sure you understand the problem of buying too many books because they're inexpensive or because you have heard such good things about them. As I started my book blog just this year, and began reading many more books in a year then I used to, I did purchase A LOT of books this year. Probably way more than I needed to, but sometimes it's so hard to say "no". However, that is something that I am going to focus on this year, and because of that I am going to set a few rules for myself for my book buying in 2015. I do fully intend to stick to these rules, and I hope that I am successful with it!

Rule 1: I am going to set aside part of my spending budget each month to pre-order the new books I know that I am going to want that month. I am going to order them at the end of the previous month from Amazon to ensure that I can get them, but that I also don't fork over the extra money at Barnes and Noble because I happen to be in the store and see it there. Amazon prices are much better, and they will be shipped to me on the release day, so I know that I will not have to wait too long for them. I plan to pre-order no more than 4 for any given month (I just pre-ordered three for January, and I am very happy with my selections).

Rule 2: Aside from my pre-order books, I will only allow myself to buy a new book after reading five or more books that I already have on my shelves. That means for every five books I read that I already have, I will allow myself to pick up one book from a store such as Target or Half Price Books. This will cut down on a lot of the impulse buying that I tend to do when I see a new-ish book on sale at Target, and then come home and put it on the shelf and don't actually read it.

Rule 3: I am only going to buy a book if I really, really want to read it, and not just because it's on sale or has a pretty cover. I want to make sure if I am buying books this year that I am actually going to read them, and they won't just sit on the shelves collecting dust.

Rule 4: I am going to try not to buy anymore first books in a series until I finish some of the other series that I already own. This means I will allow myself to buy books to continue a series, but not any that start a brand new one unless I really, really want to read it.

Rule 5: I am going to start checking the reviews and ratings on Goodreads before I make a book purchase. Sure, it might not end up being the same for me since I have liked books that a lot of people hated, and hated books that a lot of people love. Still, I do think that it's a good starting point, so I am going to at least check it out before buying a book.

There we have it, the book buying rules I am going to try to stick to next year. Of course, I am sure I will have some months that are less successful than others (like when Book Outlet has huge sales and sends me coupons), but overall I am going to try to stick to this as much as possible. Is anyone else limiting their book buying in 2015? What are some rules you plan to stick to?

2015 Reading Challenges

As the year comes to an end, I am sure I am not the only one who has been thinking and considering which reading challenges to take part in for 2015. This year I started the blog in February, so that means I did come in late to all of the reading challenges. Because of this, it was not something that I spent a lot of time thinking or worrying about, and I certainly was not successful. Therefore, since I will get to start right away with the new year this time, I have been spending a lot of time deciding on which challenges I would be the most interested in; some are ones that I have found through other blogs, and some might be ones I just want to challenge myself to. Whatever the situation, I am going to share with you today the reading challenges I intend to take part in during 2015.

1. Goodreads Reading Challenge - Goal: 100 Books

I am sure that this is one that the majority of us will take part in. I like to push myself by using this challenge, but it's also handy to have a nice little list that keeps track of just what you have read during that current year. Like I talked about in my post here, I was successful with my first goal this year, but then after I made it higher it just didn't go as well for me. Because of this, I think that I am going to go back to setting my goal at 100 books for 2015, and then leave it there even once I surpass it. That way I have met my goal, and can just focus on how many more I can read from that point (trying to put a positive spin on things, since I'm not happy about the fact that I will be unsuccessful this year :/).

2. Finish that Series Challenge by Beth @ bethjune327 
Goal: Gold Badge (7-11 Series)

I have been a fan of Beth's booktube channel for awhile now. Since I started watching videos and found her channel, I pretty much watch everything she posts. (not pretty much, I do. I am loving the whole Vlogmas thing since it means she posts a daily video...I'm not a stalker, I swear). She did a video (watch it here) announcing the Finish that Series Challenge for 2015. It's pretty self-explanatory, and it's something that I really need to focus on. And if it's not a series I need to finish, then it's one I certainly need to start. I will share a list in my pages above soon, so keep an eye out for a "2015 Challenges" page to be added by the end of the week.

3. The Debut Author Challenge @ That Artsy Reader Girl
Goal : 12 Books

I always think that a Debut Author challenge is a great thing to try to complete for a year. I found this year during my start of blogging that it was wonderful to read books by so many authors I had not before, or perhaps did not even know of before. I am sure that there are a lot of challenges out there like this one, but this is the one that I came across and liked the organization of, so I am going to go for it.

4. 2015 Monthly Key Word Challenge @ Bookmark to Blog
Goal: 12 Books

I saw this challenge around last year, but once again as I was late to the game I decided that I would just hold off until the following year. Since it's one book a month and there are six different key words to choose from for each month, I think that I should find this one to be pretty easy. It seems like it will be a lot of fun too, so that definitely makes me look forward to it even more.

5. 2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge @ Bookish
Goal: Sweet Summer Fling (31-40 books)

This is another one that I attempted this year, but did not focus on it nearly as much as I should have. I currently have 251 books on my shelves (physical books only) and quite a few of them still need to be read. This is the year that I really plan on buying less and reading more, and hopefully I can stick to that.

6. A-Z Challenge @ Beneath the Jacket Reviews (Me :) 
Goal: 26 Books

This is one that I have just decided to do on my own, for fun, and to help get through that TBR Pile even more. I'm not going to do a link up or have any sort of rules, I'm just going to create a list of books, their titles A-Z, and attempt to read all 26 of those books throughout the year. Want to join in? Awesome, just comment telling me that you plan to so that we can motivate one another! Once again, the list of books I intend to read will show up on my "2015 Challenges" page.

There you have it, the challenges I intend to take part in during 2015. Six might seem like a lot, but a lot of them will go together and share the same books. I am really excited about participating and sticking to them. Let me know if you're doing any of the same ones!

Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To In 2015

It's Top Ten Tuesday time! I'm linking up over at The Broke and The Bookish. I have been a little bit better about doing these prompts lately, yay! I cannot believe that it is already December and we need to start thinking about the 2015 releases, but I supposed that we have reached that point! I am aware of many books coming out next year, though I did do some browsing as well to decide which ones I am really, really excited about. So, here are my Top Ten Books that I'm Looking Forward to in 2015.

1. Ensnared by A.G. Howard - Splintered #3

I have the first book in this series, so I really need to pick up book two. However, I have heard nothing but great things about these books. I do believe that this is the final book, so I plan to pick it up and then marathon the whole series together.

2. The Prey by Tom Isbell

Honestly, this cover has me completely excited about this book. I have seen it on a couple of blogs and booktube channels, and it just sounds like it's going to be a really good book. Honestly...I really just want that cover on my shelf. Look at it!

3. Love, Lucy by April Lindner

I actually did a cover reveal for this book a few months ago, and I have wanted to read this book ever since. I think that the cover is amazing, but the synopsis sounds just as great. Traveling abroad before going off to college? That sounds like the perfect read to me!

4. Fairest by Marissa Meyer - The Lunar Chronicles #3.5

Come on, you all knew that this one was going to show up, right? I already talked about it a couple weeks ago as well when discussing the series I can't wait to continue once the books release. We can go ahead and throw Winter in here too, since it does not yet have a cover.

5. Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

I have just recently started hearing about this book. I guess the ARCs have just released and people have started to receive them. I fell in love with the cover right away, but then was even more intrigued when I heard what it was about. It seems like it might be similar to Jay Asher's 13 Reasons Why, which I loved, so I am definitely looking forward to this one.

6. The Boy Next Door by Katie Van Ark

I mostly want to read this because it is being released by Swoon Reads. One of my first/only ARCs came from Swoon Reads (A Little Something Different), and I absolutely loved it. From that point, I vowed to read everything Swoon Reads put out because it seemed like their books were all going to be my style. This book is no different, and I'm excited about it.

7. The Glass Arrow by Kristen Simmons

Another Kristen Simmons book! I enjoy her writing, and the cover of this book is gorgeous, so I am definitely looking forward to this release.

8. Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

This book just sounds really, really good. I am not the biggest fan of Game of Thrones, but a mix of that with The Hunger Games is enough to intrigue me.

9. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

Another serious by S.J. Maas, is there anything more to say about this? I mean...look at that cover, though.

10. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

I have seen SO much about this book over the last couple of months, and I cannot wait to get my hands on a finished copy of it. I'm definitely looking forward to this trilogy.

Well, nine of these books are January or February releases, so I did not make it very far into the year. That means there are a TON of great books coming out next year that I will have to get my hands on. Which 2015 releases are you most looking forward to?