TTT: Best Books of 2017 So Far

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme put on by The Broke and the Bookish

As my parents always say: Better late than never! A few days shy of Top Ten Tuesday, this was too fun of a list to miss out on. I didn't even realize how many great books I had read this year until I started sifting through my Goodreads! My goodness, how did I keep track of this treasure trove before Goodreads?

Nothing Left to Lose by Dan Wells
While this list is in no particular order, Nothing Left to Lose still comes out on top. The sixth and final (at least, so far) book in Wells' John Cleaver series, while not the best book in the series, still gets 5 stars from me and it wraps up the story in a fantastic and unexpected way. I love it.

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White
This was an unexpected read; I only found it while browsing Barnes & Noble with a friend a few months back. But White's vivid retelling of Pride & Prejudice as a fantasy novel deserves enough fanfare and praise to get its own display at aforementioned bookstore. Among other fantastic qualities, Darcy is a dragon rider. I repeat: DRAGON RIDER. White has recently been contracted to write two more books in the series, so there's plenty to look forward to.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
It took me years to get to this book, but I really loved it. Maas has created a cruel fantasy world with great characters and some interesting uses of magic. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
My review
This book is amazing. While it consists of actual letters between American Helene Hanff and the employees of the British bookstore she insists on doing business with, it reads very much like a love letter to books that any reader can appreciate. The dry humor and witty banter between the writers is an added bonus, and written from post-WWII 1940s to the 1960s, it offers an interesting frontline view to the period.

The Blacklist: The Gambler by Nicole Phillips
My review
As a Blacklist fangirl AND a fairly picky reader, this one tickled me pink. Between great stories and spot on characterizations of their on-screen personas, this tie-in graphic novel did everything right.

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones
Yes, you may gasp in shock and dismay when you realize I had never read Howl's Moving Castle before. Heaven knows all my librarian friends did. And now that I've read it, I have to say they were in the right. This book is pretty spectacular. It's funny and clever and full of magic; it reminds me both of Lloyd Alexander's work and the delightful children's fantasies I loved growing up, like Half Magic by Edward Eager and Five Children and It by E. Nesbit.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
This is the second V.E. Schwab I've read and I've got to admit:
I'm kind of a fan. She has a way of working with magic that makes it interesting and a little on the dark side, but it's her characters that really take the cake.

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
My review
A fantastic mesh of historical fiction, folk lore, and fantasy that brings old Russia to life. I love the clash here between the magic of the old country and the religion of the more 'modern' age, but you can read more about that in my review. Arden also has two more books in the works!

The W.H.O. Files: Potions in the Pizza by Mikey Brooks
My review
A fun and fantastic kids book with larger than life characters, delicious pizza, and witch hunters. What else does a book need?

Tricked by Jen Calonita
My review
While this series is for younger readers, I absolutely love it. It's a fun romp, with some really interesting tweaks to the lives of traditional fairy tale characters after their tales are done. I especially like that Calonita has pulled out a handful of the villains to create a reform school for misbehaving children.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars by various
I'm currently only halfway through this graphic novel series, and already it's a favorite. The prequel trilogy of Star Wars never dug into the specifics of the Clone Wars and more's the pity for it, because it really changes the way I view a lot of the characters and the events. It's also interesting to compare the differences between these graphic novels and the television show of the same name, because these do not tell the same stories at all.

And those are my best book of 2017 so far! What amazing titles have you read this year?

And how did you keep track of your books before Goodreads?

I remember using those handy reading logs during summer reading, but other than that, I really think I just relied on my memory. Oh to be young again...

TTT: Series I've Been Meaning To Start But Haven't

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme put on by The Broke and the Bookish

Yikes! This one was a lot harder than I'd thought it would be. Apparently I love to read the first book in a series and then stop. Sure, I tell myself I'll go back and read the rest -eventually- but so far I don't seem to have a very good track record. Now, if I were to do a list of Series You Want to Finish That You've Read the First Book Of, I' d probably win a gold medal there.

New Jedi Order by various authors
By far, the most important one on the list. I've been wanting to read this series forever and -barring natural and reading disasters- this is the year I'm going to start.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
Book 1 is on my Summer Reading List, if you're so inclined to check it out.

Castle Glower by Jessica Day George
I've loved every book of George's that I've read, but this series comes with the bonus of being recommended by my niece. Awwwww...

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

The Lotus War by Jay Kristoff

Once Upon a Time by various authors
Especially the ones by Cameron Dokey; I've got a friend who adores them.

Oracles of Fire by Bryan Davis
This is a branch off series of Dragons In Our Midst, which I loved as a teenager. I always meant to read through these, but still haven't gotten around to it. I wonder if I'd still enjoy them. I ought re-read the original series and see!

The Hollow Kingdom by Claire Dunkel
I have two friends who are as obsessed with this series as they are with Labyrinth and Jareth. Go figure. I started this once a while back and -to their utter horror and disbelief- didn't finish it. Then again, I never really did get into Labyrinth.

The Shoe Books by Noel Streatfield
You've Got Mail is one of my mom's favorite movies so it's not a real surprise that she went searching for these books after it first released. (Lucky for us, Skating Shoes is back in print!) She's is completely in love with them.  After trying and failing to get my sister and I to read them, she's been sending copies to grandkids, in they hope she can finally convert somebody to Shoe Book fans. A few years back, I found the movie of Ballet Shoes and gave it to her for her birthday and I totally loved it. I've been meaning to give the series another try ever since.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia

Anna by Kendare Blake

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
I finally read Throne of Glass this year and loved it. I want to read all of Maas' stuff, but a friend has ordered I not start ACOTAR until after I finish the Throne of Glass series.

King Raven by Stephen R. Lawhead
A retelling of Robin Hood steeped in Celtic mythology. I tried to read these back when I was a teenager, but I was far too impatient to read them. I recall this being a thick book, with lots of Briton history (back in the days of the Angels and Saxons) -a portion of history I'm currently very intrigued by.

HOLY NEVER ENDING TBR, BATMAN!!!

There are a LOT more of these than I realized and now I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I didn't even get half way through my to-read shelf on Goodreads! GAH!!!

There is a lot of reading in my future, that's all I've got to say.

Have you read any of these?

What are some series you've been meaning to read?

TTT: Books on My Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme put on by The Broke and the Bookish

Aside from the books on my Take Control of Your TBR Challenge, this is what I'm looking forward to reading!

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
I've wanted to read this for ages, but the page count has been putting me off. After rereading Airman for my book club last month, however, I'm not going to let it intimidate me!

Traitor to the Throne by Alywn Hamilton
SEQUEL!!!

Hearts and Other Body Parts by Ira Bloom
I won a Goodreads givaway for this and, instead of tossing it onto my bookshelf like all the other books I win and promise to someday read, and I'm going to start on it as soon as it arrives.

Heartstone by Elle Katherine White
This is described as a fantasy retelling of Pride & Prejdice.
With dragons.
Hello.

Star Wars: Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
About 8 episodes from finishing Star Wars: Clone Wars, all I want to know is what happens to Ahsoka?! What's next for her? Where does she go from here? What happens when she finds out about Darth Vader?!?

Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn is my favorite writer of Star Wars fiction and I'm so excited that he's writing a new book! And a Thrawn book, no less!

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
ANOTHER SEQUEL!!!
(I'm trying to actually stay on top of the series I start. :P)

The Blacklist: The Dead Ring (No. 166) by Jon McGoran
I've got this one on pre-order (March 28th!!!). The first one was so good I can't wait to get my hands on this. I'm just hoping it loves up to expectations.

The Blacklist: The Arsonist by Nicole Dawn Phillips
I know. I know. Why haven't I read this yet if the first one was so amazing?
I'M PACING MYSELF. I'm so used to binge-watching The Blacklist on Netflix that I completely forgot they have midseason finales and now I'm going through withdrawals. Between rewatching season 3, The Dead Ring coming out next month, and this comic, hopefully I've got enough to tide me over until April 20.

Rebels by David Liss
This is basically THE SEQUEL OF ALL SEQUELS. I don't know how I missed its publication date, but this is the sequel to fantastic geek fest known as Randoms, and you can watch my geek fest review of it down below, which you totally should. It's one of the funnest ones I've ever done. XD

What's on your Spring TBR?

TTT: Ten Comics on My TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme put on by The Broke and the Bookish

All about the visuals: Top Ten Favorite Graphic Novels/Comics or Ten Comics on My TBR or Top Ten Favorite Picture Books
Of the three choices I have to go with Ten Comics on My TBR. I still haven't read enough to have a top ten of favorites, but I there are tons on my TBR!

Without further ado...


Civil War
This is like the comic of all comics. I meant to read it before Captain America: Civil War released, but I didn't make it. I did read the events leading up to it, however -Secret War, Avengers Disassembled, and House of M (just cut my heart out of my chest with a dull spoon, will ya?!?!) I predict I'll branch off into some of the tie-ins, but most definitely Spider-Man's.

Spider-Man: 1602
I read Marvel 1602 a while back and loved it. The Spider-Man sequel is the one I'm most interested in following up on.

From the Beginning
There are also several Marvel comics I want to read from the beginning. The first comic I ever read was the Essential Spider-Man volume one, so I jumped right in with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. So, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and The Fantastic Four are some of the classics I want to read from their conception. It's going to take me awhile to get through, but I really want to revisit the good ol' days of comics.

Star Wars
Princess Leia
Darth Vader
Still haven't caught up on the new Star Wars canon in many formats. :P

Figment
Enchanted Tiki Room
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
I absolutely love what Disney and Marvel did with Seekers of the Weird so I'm very exited to read their other collaborations like .

A:TLA North & South
The Avatar comics have been consistently decent. They all have good and bad, all have stuff I love and stuff that makes me want to tear my head out. (It's like Cursed Child all over again, except I've been an Avatard ten years longer than I've been a Harry Potter fan, so tenfold.)

The Blacklist
I only learned recently that The Blacklist has tie-in media. I'm currently reading the first novel and I'm actually pretty impressed with it. Next up is the first comic series, The Gambler (No. 148), and I have optimistically high hopes for it.

Star Wars: Clone Wars
This is another series I've been meaning to read for awhile. It's no longer canon, I know (*sniffle*) but I've heard it's amazing so I can't pass it up. I'm watching the TV series right now, so I'll be interested to see the similarities and differences here.


Gah, my TBRs are always so long! So full of optimism! Will I ever achieve my reading goals?!
What comics are on your TBR?

TTT: Hidden Gems/Underrated Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme put on by The Broke and the Bookish

Newly Discovered Hidden Gems

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells
I'd never heard anything about this book before I stumbled on it at the library and it's been out for at least six years. This is a fantastic, if morbid, tale with fantastic first-person narration and top notch character development.
(I know, I know; I've been talking about this one a lot! Don't worry; it totally deserves the praise.)

Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Though I know this book has been talked a lot about on blogs and booktube (that's where I first heard of it), for a long time it was only available in hardcover at $30+ so I'm assuming it wasn't all that popular at the beginning. With the success of Schwab's more recent books, Vicious is more readily available so if you haven't read it, you'll want to check it out. (FYI, I'd rate this one R for swearing. The book was good enough I read in spite of this, but there's quite a lot of it.

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen
This book is huge in Utah, but I'm honestly not sure how popular this book is elsewhere. If it isn't, IT SHOULD BE. This is a fantastic proper romance (aka, clean; my favorite) that's also a steampunk that's also a retelling of Beauty and the Beast that's also inhabited by ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and who knows what else at this point! I really hope Allen makes this a series, I don't really care if it has sequels or companion novels, I just want more of this awesome world.
(Note: While this is written by an LDS author, it's not an LDS book.)

Underrated Favorites

Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer
I feel like a lot of Colfer's stand alone novels are underrated but my favorite among them by far is Half Moon. I've lost count of how many times I've read it and the audio version is great too.
This is funny mystery for middle graders, with a kid detective who thinks he's a hard-boiled private eye, which is absolutely hilarious in the first person narration.
Check out my review here!




Always Neverland by Zoe Barton

This is an after-Peter-Pan Peter Pan adventure. We know that Peter continued finding new mothers for the Lost Boys after Wendy went home and this is what happens when Peter decides to take Ashley to Neverland -but Ashley is more interested in adventures and fighting pirates than playing mother. I know this kind of story has been done a lot, but Always Neverland is the best I've read; Barton does a fantastic job of keeping Neverland and it's inhabitants true to the original while updating it for a modern audience at the same time.
Check out my review here!

The Ever Afters by Shelby Bach
Of course it's on this list! This series is phenomenal and it deserves the love of every school, librarian, and fairy-tale-loving child. No joke.
Check out my reviews for the whole series here!
I also hosted an awesome blog party when the final book came out.





What are some of your favorite underrated books? Newly discovered hidden gems? I'm all ears!

TTT: Halloween Freebie

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

(This is technically next week's Top Ten Tuesday, but I had to choose my favorite between the two options for this post. This won out.)

I never really did Halloween growing up. For me, October was all about the annual Dark and Stormy Night murder mystery program my library would host. It included guest mystery authors and a mystery writing contest, so most of my suggestions are more 'creepy' than straight-up 'Halloween'.

Suggested Halloween Reads:

Dracula by Bram Stoker
I'm in the middle of this right now and it's way more than I expected. Granted, having never seen any of the movies or anything, I'm not really sure what I did expect. But this is more than a story of a guy who drinks blood and it's kind of freaking me out. I love it.

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells
Dudes. Dudes. I recently read this book. I haven't posted my review yet, but it's coming and this. Is. Amazing. I'm not into really scary books or gore or slashers or anything and I LOVE THIS BOOK. (I've already finished the series to date, which kind of tells you how much I loved it.) I could not put this down. It's disturbing and amusing and even more disturbing because you're amused by it. It's also deep, with incredible character depth and development, and a fantastic plot for these great characters. This is probably my Most Blown Away Read of the year.

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Yes, his name is really Odd. But it fits, because he can see ghosts. Odd Thomas does his best to help them move on to the afterlife, and a lot of times that means solving murders and possibly tangling with demonic forces. I love this series.

Desolate Angel by Chaz McGee
Okay, I'm only 40 pages into this book right now, but I love it. It's the first of the Dead Detective series about the ghost of a homicide detective who failed at everything in life and, in death, finds the chance to fix some of his mistakes and do some good.

Tales from the Haunted Mansion, vol 1: The Fearsome Foursome by Amicus Arcane
I haven't technically started this but it's got to be good, right? IT'S A HAUNTED MANSION BOOK.


Suggested Halloween Movies:


Charade
This is a murder mystery, not a Halloween film. Starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, it's a thriller with lots of laughs -Cary Grant is always good for a laugh- when Hepburn's character discovers her late husband was murdered for something that now belongs to her.

The Thin Man
Just a straight-up, good ol' fashioned murder mystery with lots of laughs and lots of gin. William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora; based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett. (The sequel, After the Thin Man, also stars Jimmy Stewart. Bonus!)

Arsenic and Old Lace
Number one. Numero uno. If you only watch one movie this month, make it this Cary Grant thriller/comedy about a newlywed who finds a body in the window seat. What makes it Halloween appropriate (other than Murder Most Foul)? It all happens on one day. October 31st.

Coraline
Nothing is as creepy as the Other Mother.

Heart and Souls
Halloween? Okay, maybe not. But there are ghosts! Four ghosts are linked to a baby born at the moment of their deaths. When that baby grows up to be a workaholic Robert Downey Jr., the ghosts discover they're meant to use him as a method for completing their unfinished business -whether he likes it or not!

My To-Watch List:
The Mummy, Nosferatu, Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, & The Wolfman

What does your Halloween reading/watching forecast look like?

TTT: My Fall TBR REVISITED

Okay. Two weeks ago I did the Fall TBR post and I've realized none of the books I'm actually working on reading EVEN MADE THE LIST. And since I'm trying to maintain my sanity and actually use TBRs as good organizing tools instead of impossible challenges, I'm amending my Fall TBR to something realistic for me.
First things first: The Fall TBR will be read between October and November 25th.

There. Now I have a deadline.   

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

1. Iron Man: The Gauntlet by Eoin Colfer
No way in heck is this changing!
Yeah. No brainer. I haven't shut up about this book since it was announced and it releases on October 25th. LET THE COUNTDOWN COMMENCE! And I've already pre-ordered it. (You can too! We're talking a $9.65 hardcover pre-order from Barnes and Noble, people; don't think, just do it.)

2. The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
Sitting on my up-next shelf as we speak!
I'd never heard of this, but I picked it up at a thrift store. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I've got a list of those I want to read before March. (Gee, wonder why...)
Double bonus! I've been hearing recently about Lackey's Elemental Masters series, which sounds phenomenal. Turns out this is the beginning of that. Score.

3. Who Killed Albus Dumbledore? edited by John Granger
This has been sitting on my shelf for two weeks already. Why didn't I add it in the first place?!
This is way too much fun to pass up. Six essay/fan theories on what happened in Half-Blood Prince and what it means for Deathly Hallows, published before book seven came out. I've flipped through and it looks *fantastic!* Definitely stuff here I totally missed out on since I was a latecomer to the series. Like, there's a theory Slughorn took on Dumbledore's identity? So Dumbledore's really still alive?
It escapes no one's notice the editor's name is 'Granger', either.

4-6 Dead Girls Detective Agency by Suzy Cox, Desolate Angel by Chaz McGee and Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet
These stay, because OCTOBER IS MURDER MYSTERY MONTH!
October is always 'murder mystery' month for me, born of the annual theme at the library where I grew up and the fact that my family didn't celebrate Halloween, so every year about this time I try to read some nice good murders and these three are already on the list. We'll see if I can make it through any of them. Murder mysteries are notoriously sticky for me to explore; I tend to like stuff a little grittier than cozies, but that usually means they're nowhere near clean, either.

7. Dracula by Bram Stoker
Again, I knew it would be read. Why didn't I add it?!
Book club pick for the month!

8. The Faerie Reel edited by Ellen Datlow 
Anthology of short stories. I didn't add it initially, because I figured it would be sort of 'on the side' reading. But I never really do 'on the side' reading. It's all in or nothing!

9. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
If you've lost count on how many times this has popped up on one of these season TBRs, you're not alone. I have too. But the next time this title pops up on my blog, it will be in sidebar 'What I'm Reading' section and then in a review because, come on, this is getting ridiculous.

10. Pwned by Shannen Crane Camp
Another title that's been on my TBR for a while, which turns a few cliches on their heads. Beautiful, popular, cheerleader co-captain Reagan West has a dark secret: she's a die-hard gamer, which is basically Loser Central.

Bonus 11: Marvel's Original Sin and Civil War
I'm way behind on my comic reading, so I'm going to start setting aside at least one night a week to devote to comics. No exceptions!
Before Captain America: Civil War hit theaters, I planned to read the comic, but the comic was actually the last in a grand story arc so I had to read the rest of them. I got through the rest of them, but never actually made it to Civil War. Huzzah.
Original Sin made the list because I went to read the next issue of the Loki: Agent of Asgard and had no bloody clue what was going on.

So what remains are the, er, remains of my original Fall TBR, so we're calling this my backup. IF I get through the others, IF I have time, this will be next. Ahhh, I feel so much better... ^_^


Aftermath and Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig
These are from my shelf and I'm rather ashamed I haven't gotten around to them yet. But seeing as the final book is due out in February, I ought to get them into my system. Also, I'm hoping it gives a good transition from Empire to First Order. *fingers crossed*

Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
The sequel just hit the new book display at my library and it looks and sounds like a library lover's dream.

What are you reading this fall?
And are you any better at finishing TBR lists than I am?

TTT: Books on My Fall TBR

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

Some (well, one) of these are new releases and some (er, most) are age-old TBRs from my shelf or Goodreads. All of them WILL BE READ this fall. (I know I've said that before, but this time I'm serious!)

Iron Man: The Gauntlet by Eoin Colfer
Yeah. No brainer. I haven't shut up about this book since it was announced and it releases on October 25th. LET THE COUNTDOWN COMMENCE! And I've already pre-ordered it. (You can too! We're talking a $9.65 hardcover pre-order from Barnes and Noble, people; don't think, just do it.)

The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
I'd never heard of this, but I picked it up at a thrift store. It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I've got a list of those I want to read before March. (Gee, wonder why...)
Double bonus! I've been hearing recently about Lackey's Elemental Masters series, which sounds phenomenal. Turns out this is the beginning of that. Score.

Aftermath and Aftermath: Life Debt by Chuck Wendig
These are from my shelf and I'm rather ashamed I haven't gotten around to them yet. But seeing as the final book is due out in February, I ought to get them into my system. Also, I'm hoping it gives a good transition from Empire to First Order. *fingers crossed*

Vicious by V.E. Schwab
If you've lost count on how many times this has popped up on one of these season TBRs, you're not alone. I have too. But the next time this title pops up on my blog, it will be in sidebar 'What I'm Reading' section and then in a review because, come on, this is getting ridiculous.

Marvel's Original Sin and Civil War
Before Captain America: Civil War hit theaters, I planned to read the comic, but the comic was actually the last in a grand story arc so I had to read the rest of them. I got through the rest of them, but never actually made it to Civil War. Huzzah.
Original Sin made the list because I went to read the next issue of the Loki: Agent of Asgard and had no bloody clue what was going on.

Pwned by Shannen Crane Camp
Another title that's been on my TBR for a while, which turns a few cliches on their heads. Beautiful, popular, cheerleader co-captain Reagan West has a dark secret: she's a die-hard gamer, which is basically Loser Central.

Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
The sequel just hit the new book display at my library and it looks and sounds like a library lover's dream.

Dead Girls Detective Agency by Suzy Cox, Desolate Angel by Chaz McGee and Wicked Autumn by G.M. Malliet
October is always 'murder mystery' month for me, born of the annual theme at the library where I grew up and the fact that my family didn't celebrate Halloween, so every year about this time I try to read some nice good murders and these three are already on the list. We'll see if I can make it through any of them. Murder mysteries are notoriously sticky for me to explore; I tend to like stuff a little grittier than cozies, but that usually means they're nowhere near clean, either.

Crap. I think I put too many books on the TBR again. :P

What are you reading this fall?
And are you any better at finishing TBR lists than I am?

TTT: Ten Books I Wish Were TV Shows

Top Ten Tuesday is a blog meme hosted by the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish

This week's TTT is TV themed in honor of the fall season start up (woohoo!). There were so many possible lists to choose from. So I wound up doing two. My second -Favorite Cancelled Shows- can be found here.

I knew I had to do a list of Books I Wish Were TV Shows but when I sat down to write it up, the weirdest thing happened. I drew a complete blank.

It was bad. And I knew I could write a really, really good list for it too. I'm almost as obsessive in my TV watching as with my reading. (Okay. YES. Occasionally more so. Occasionally.) I figured I just needed some brainstorming help, so I posed the question to my aunt and my sister to kick-start my brain. It totally worked, too.

Then I basically wound up with three lists, instead of one. Buckle up.

Amanda's Top Picks:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

-Surprising no one, my top series of all time would make a fantastic television series. It's got it all: action, humor, magic, secret civilizations, and 12-year-old criminal masterminds.

The Ever Afters by Shelby Bach

-Again, surprising no one.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

-Seriously, skip the movie talk and go straight to a TV series! Really, anything by Brandon Sanderson could be used.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

-Whether a reboot of the Harry Potter series as a TV show or a completely new story BASICALLY ANY TV SHOW THAT TAKES PLACE IN THE WIZARDING WORLD WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. But especially the Marauders. Right?

Vesper Holly Adventures by Lloyd Alexander

-One of my favorite series and it would work so well as a TV show

Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander

-Okay. So I still haven't read the entire series. But even I know this would be amazing.

The Hunchback Assignments by Arthur Slade

-I understand there's a film currently in the works, but a TV show would be equally fantastic. More opportunity for character development and more time to spend in the setting and universe.

Robot by Isaac Asimov

-Simple. Just carry on from the I, Robot movie, throw in more details true to this trilogy, and voila! I mean, you already have an audience set up in the fans of FOX's prematurely cancelled Almost Human starring Karl Urban and Michael Ealy (albeit that's a while back now).

Bonus points if Chi McBride is recast as the precinct's lieutenant. Because Chi McBride.

And Mr. McBride totally ties into my other TTT list for the day. Because you can only get so far Googling Chi McBride before the Pushing Daisies images taking over.

 Austenland by Shannon Hale

-I adore the book and the movie was great. But wouldn't it be hilarious to do a 'Fantasy Island' or 'Loveboat' type show based in Austenland, with new characters and stories every week from an ever-changing celebrity cast? Seriously, why isn't this a thing yet?

Pendragon by D.J. MacHale

-I didn't love the ending of this series (I've been wondering if I'd feel differently about it now), but I always remember thinking it would make an amazing TV show, with each book treated as a season.

The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

-Nuff said.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher

-Come on! It's like the perfect holiday special wrapped up with a bow!

The Aunt

Jo-D's Top Picks:

Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (and Brandon Sanderson)

Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Dragon Riders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 

-but a prequel dealing with the first rebellion, back when there were 13 districts, when Mag and Snow were children.

Little Women & Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum

The Sister

Stephanie's Top Picks:

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

-Fabulous idea!

Dead City by James Ponti

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

-See what I mean? Literally any Brandon Sanderson series.

The Last Apprentice by Joseph DeLaney

-She can't even talk about the movie. It's too painful. She feels a TV series would give it the proper treatment it deserves.

Ella Enchanted/Princess series by Gail Carson Levine

Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede

-Could not agree with this more!

Lockwood & Company by Jonathan Stroud

Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

-Don't let us down, Netflix!

Edge Chronicles by Chris Riddle and Paul Stewart

Nightmare Academy by Dean Lorey

The aunt and sister put together such good lists I might have to rope them into all my Top Ten Tuesday posts!

What are you dying to see on the small screen?

TTT: Favorite Cancelled Shows

Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, is a weekly book meme. Today's theme is TV shows and I couldn't make up my mind whether to list Favorite Cancelled Shows or Books I Wish Were TV Shows. So I did both.

Top Ten Tuesday is a blog meme hosted by the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish

 
Gone too soon applies to everything on this list. EVERYTHING.

Battle Creek (CBS)

This show really deserved a second chance. (Ironic, considering #2 on this list). My Worth Watching review basically sums up what an amazing show it was -writing, execution, cast, crew- but it's a crying shame this show didn't survive its first season. It racked up good review ratings and die-hard fanbase, but the viewership odds were not in its favor.

Second Chance (Fox)

I fell in love with this show and I fell hard, as my Worth Watching review/spotlight can attest. Much as I love it, at least I can see why it was cancelled.

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (Fox)

A rare and beautiful gem among television shows, it ran one season in 1993-94. Starring Bruce Campbell as a Harvard-educated-lawayer-turned-bounty-hunter, Brisco County Jr. made the western/science fiction show a thing long before Firefly. (Sorry, Joss Whedon.)

And I'm laughing now because I just found out this was on Fox.

The Middleman (ABC Family)

This one's hard to describe, so I'll let the internet do that: Struggling female artist Wendy Watson, recruited by a secret agency, struggles to wrap her head around her bizarre new job -- fighting dangers humanity isn't prepared to face -- under the guidance of a handsome and relentlessly wholesome hero who calls himself "The Middleman" in this tongue-in-cheek adventure series.

The funny thing is, the series was literally one episode away from a satisfactory ending. It ran 12 episodes when the 13th would have connected everything together, answered questions we didn't even know we were asking, and finished off the series nicely. While we never did get this elusive missing episode -we did get the next best thing. After the fact, almost the entire cast sat on a Middleman panel at SDCC for a live reading of the episode 13 script, with show creator Javier Grillo-Marxuach acting as moderator and narrator. It was beautiful. It's also on YouTube.

Also, this guy:

And speaking of Mark Sheppard...

Firefly (Fox)

You knew it had to be coming. And no, Universe; we will never get over this.

Life (NBC)

Life was his sentence.

Life was what he got back.

Life is what they cancelled.

If you want to see the bottom lip wobble on any of my family members, just intone that little gem. We all loved this show.

Homicide detective Charlie Crews served 12 years for a crime he didn't commit, but now he's back on the job with a few new quirks -prison habits, a Zen philosophy, and an insatiable craving for fresh fruit. The show is equal parts zany and poignant.

Fun fact? Created by Rand Ravich, who also created my #2 heartbreak, Second Chance.

Forever (ABC)

My dad and I fell in love with this show about an immortal medical examiner. It was fun and I always thought it was pretty clever; what's a crime show without a good quirk now a days? 

Young Justice (CN)

Another show that just shouldn't have been cancelled. But hey -those Netflix season 3 rumors just started up again, so here's hoping.

Agent Carter (ABC)

Admittedly, I haven't finished season 2 yet, but I was disappointed when this wasn't renewed. It had everything -the time period, the snark, so much Marvel origins potential, and Peggy Carter.

Pushing Daisies (ABC)

If you haven't heard of Pushing Daisies, you're hanging out with the wrong crowds. Lee Pace, Chi McBride, Kristin Chenoweth, AND NARRATED BY JIM DALE. (Yes, narrator-of-the-Harry-Potter-audiobooks, THAT JIM DALE.)

With a single touch, Ned can bring the dead back to life. But one more touch will kill them again. Permanently. It's a zany mystery series and love story with fantasy elements, beautiful cinematography, wonderful wordplay, and the occasional musical number. (Because yes, THAT Kristen Chenoweth, too!)

Scarecrow and Mrs. King (CBS)

And if you thought the early 90s were as far back as I'd go -you were wrong! It had four season running from 83-87. I've just been introduced to this show and I LOVE it. While it had four great seasons, and they did give us as satisfactory an ending as they could swing with the cancellation, I would have loved to see more of this show.

Don't miss my Ten Books I Wish Were TV Shows!
I understand the pain. Share some of your favorite cancelled shows.