Top Ten Tuesday (4) - Minor Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This Top Ten is perfect for me! Someone told me it's because I'm English, but I always route for the Underdog, which can sometimes be used to refer to the more minor characters. These aren't all exactly minor characters, but a lot of them are quite underrated and it was pretty hard to choose.

1. Edilio Escobar: Gone Series by Michael Grant

I've raved about Edilio before. He's one of my all-time favorite book characters, and I also have a huge crush on him. He's so brave and underrated, and is personally my hero of the entire series. He's not necessarily a minor character, but when you consider him agaisnt all the other characters in the series, he's not really one of the mains.

2. Newt: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Okay, I admit, this is another character that I've got a crush on. But he's a really kind and loyal character and a great friend to Thomas.

3. Luna Lovegood: Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling

Luna's a brilliant character, and is one of my favorites of the Harry Potter series. She's so clever and wacky, and a great friend to Harry. I also relate to her a lot, I just love her.

4. Foxface: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

(spoiler, if you haven't read the book) We never had a direct contact with Foxface (who's name is unknown) in the series. But as soon as she was mentioned, I thought she sounded interesting and I was proved right when we saw how cunning and agile she was in the games. She lasted really long, and I was really rooting for her. So I was pretty upset when she died a really nothing death that we didn't even get to see.

5. Thresh: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

(spoiler, if you haven't read the book) This is pretty much the same as with Foxface. I was really interested in Thresh, and thought he was going to amount to a lot. I was sad that we didn't even know how he died.

6. Chris: Tomorrow, when the War Began by John Marsden

I feel so sorry for Chris, he is easily the most tragic character by the fact that he isn't as close of friends with the main characters, nor has he been through as much with them. So he ends up feeling lonely and isolated and it doesn't end happily. I really related with Chris, and wish he was appreciated more.

7. Mary: Gone Series by Michael Grant

Mary is another very underrated character from the Gone Series. She takes it upon herself to look after all the younger children even with trouble with an Eating Disorder. She really just deserves more recognition.

8. Will: Divergent by Veronica Roth

(spoiler if you haven't read Divergent) I don't know why I liked Will so much. I really shipped him with Christina and thought he was a good friend to Tris. I was so upset and shocked when he died, not even in his own head. I still don't really feel like it was a proper death for him and I'm kinda hoping that we will find out that he didn't die in the next book, as it doesn't feel right that he died like that.

9. Takumi: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Again, I think it's just underdog syndrome, but I really liked Takumi. There's not really much else to say; 'I'm the motherfucking fox!' 

10. Lee: Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

I read the Chaos Walking Trilogy a long time ago so I don't really remember a huge amount about Lee. But I do know that he was a kind and brave character, and wasn't appreciated enough in my opinion.

Top Ten Tuesday (3)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

This weeks Top Ten is Top Ten Covers I'd redesign. 

I have to say that this Top Ten is the Top Ten for me! I am constantly guilty of judging a book by it's cover. 

1. The Gone Series (US covers)

Okay, I know that lots of people are really not going to agree with this as I just read an article where people were saying how much they liked them. But I think these covers do nothing for the brilliant story that it holds. I would never pick up a book with a cover like this if I was in a shop. I think it's mainly because I have a strong dislike in book covers with models on the front. I also think that the composition is terrible.

People seem to think that the UK covers are dull. But I LOVE them, they are some of my favorite covers around. I think they are simple but effective. They also have a sense of drama and mystery that totally represents the pure awesome of the book. I would be interested in it if I saw it in a shop.

But hey, that's just me. 

2. The Replacement 

Again, this is just me getting angry at the vocal point of the cover being the model. I feel like they've coped out on this one by just sticking a good looking guy on the front. And there's really nothing else that's very interesting about the cover either. I also love the US cover a lot, I think it's really interesting.

3. The Hunger Games 

This is just The Hunger Games first book UK version. I don't mind the other two books and I think the general design is quite exciting. But it's just the illustrations of Katniss and Peeta. As nice as they are,

 are they supposed to look 11 years old?

Also, when the Hunger Games first came out. The Peeta version seemed to be the only ones on the bookshelves in the shops, giving me the false impression that that was Katniss despite the blonde hair. 

I love the US versions of the Hunger Games covers though, I'm considering getting them.

4. Unwind

I remember thinking that this cover was quite cool and clever when I saw it on the internet. But in person I think it looks very tacky. I understand the concept that they are trying to get through here.....I just don't think it was pulled off very well.

You can't tell from this picture, but the font used in the bottom left corner and also on the back is a font that I swear used to be used in children's textbooks while I was at Primary School.

5. The Enemy

Okay, I admit; this cover does sort of suit the book. But I do think that it is a little over the top and does make the book look kind of cheap.

6. Inside Out (US version)

This is quite a nice cover, but I just don't think it suits the book whatsoever. I understand the concept they are trying to bring across again, but I just don't think it's been pulled off very well. 

I think one main reason I don't like this is because I LOVE the UK cover. It was the cover alone that made me pick it up in the shop and read it. 

7. Wake

Admittedly, I haven't read this yet. But this cover......really?

8. The Uglies (US covers)

Faces. Models. It's too much. I think the first one is kind of okay (apart from the fact that I think she looks more gorgeous than the girl in the Pretties cover which can't be right). I also particularly hate the composition of the Pretties cover. I'm not a huge fan of the UK covers either, but at least there are no models or faces.

9. Across the Universe

Okay, I do think that this cover is very pretty, and I love the space part. But I just feel like the two people's almost kissing faces give it such a romance-y feel that does not represent the book at all in my opinion. 

10. Numbers

I just think they did a bad job of trying to fit numbers into the word Numbers.

Top Ten Tuesday (2)

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! 

1. Twilight - I haven't read Twilight, purely because it doesn't interest me. I have absolutely nothing agaisnt it though. But I am so sick and tired of what it's done to YA books in bookshops. I have/see so many books that (as far as I know) have little to do with Twilight, with Stephanie Myer quotes and quotes like 'Twilight fans will love it!', 'The next Twilight!' all over them. I really am sick of seeing that on all of my books. In my local book shop, they have two bookshelves for YA books, and one of them is almost ENTIRELY for Twilight and Twilight-related books. I know it's how they market the books, but I just feel like Twilight has completely taken over the marketing of YA books.
2. Books with models on the cover - I don't know why, but I hate it! I just don't like it when they put people on the front cover that are meant to be representing the characters. They will never be like you imagine and I just think that it commercializes it a bit. I also think it takes away the mystery slightly.
3. Good concepts, bad executions - It's usually interesting concepts that draw me into a book the most. And I will most likely pick up a book and read it instantly if I like the concept. But I hate reading a book where the great concept is pushed to the back for the majority of the book when they could be doing so much more with it. 
4. Information overloaded chapters - There's not much to say here. I know you usually get one of these chapters in every book. I just get bored with it if the information isn't that interesting or the chapter is too long.
5. Young Adult Books represented as children's - I know that was bad phrasing, but I don't really know how to put it. It angers me when people consider YA books as children's. My mum has always called the books I read 'kiddies' books, and WOW does that irritate me! I also hate it when I see all the YA books mixed up with the children's books in the shops. I just feel odd when I see The Hunger Games sat on the shelf next to The Hungry Caterpillar! 
6. Books with really long chapters - I just feel more accomplished when the chapters are shorter. I also like it when a story is broken up into shorter chapters. It feels like there is more going on and it's nice to put down a book for the night once you've finished a chapter. But that's hard to do when they're too long!
7. Female lead's image - (bad phrasing again sorry) I feel as though this is something pretty risky to put. But I always find that female leads to a lot of books that I have read are always described as being naturally thin, or small for their age. I know this isn't really a big deal. But I like to think in this day and age with all the body image stuff flying around, that we could have a bit more variety. It's shallow I know, but it's just something I've noticed. 
8. Dismissed characters - When we get introduced to a small character who may stick around for a few chapters or maybe a whole book (if it's a series), and then get completely dismissed and forgotten about so that we never know what happened to them.
9. Too many movies! - I feel like as soon as a YA book becomes a little bit popular, they have to go and make a movie of it. I know that it's how the world works, but there have been some pretty bad ones recently, and I would like to see it handled more carefully. 
10. Normal girl finds out that she or someone she knows is a Vampire/Werewolf/Fairy/(insert other mystical being). - I know that some people really like this sort of story. Which I have no problem with. I would just like to see something more original on the shelves. 

Top Ten Tuesday!

This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! Today's Top Ten is:

Top Ten Books I just HAD to buy....but are still sitting on my shelf.

Now, before I start, I would just like to say that I don't have quite as many as ten in the fiction department as I like to read books I buy before getting any others to save money (this doesn't work so well though). I also have a few WW2 non-fiction related books as I am very interested in that area and went through a huge WW2 phase last summer. I have linked them all to their Shelfari pages if you are interested! 

1. World War Z by Max Brooks

I got this on my love of zombie books, and also part of a 3 for 2 offer, but just haven't gotten around to reading it.

2. Where the Hell have you been? by Tom Carver 

One of my many WW2 memoir related books that I got during last summer's WW2 fest and haven't read yet. 

3. The Shining by Stephen King

Surprisingly, I haven't actually read a Stephen King book yet, and thought that this would be a good start, as it's a classic. Still haven't read it yet though obviously. 

4. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

This is one I got relatively recently, but I predict that it will be sitting on my bookshelf for a while as I have plenty of other books I'm a little more in a hurry to read.

5. Eragon  by Christopher Paolini 

I got this in a cheap book shop with the second book for something like £2.99, so I thought I might as well. It looked like a good book to have, but I 'm still in no hurry to read this.

6. Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Part of the first two books of the Inheritance Cycle as I said above.

7. Lament by Maggie Stiefyater

Again, this is another recent buy, and I actually hope to get around to this soon. 

Drop a comment and a link to your Top Ten Tuesday, I would love to see what everyone has!