spotlight on: HALLOWEEN

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spotlight on is a monthly feature hosted here at Stardust and Words, with a different theme each time, whether it be a series, genre, list of suggestions or author. You can see the previous entries in the spotlight series here! This month, what else can I do but talk about books that remind me of my favorite night of the year (besides christmas eve)? HALLOWEEN BOOKS!!! Not necessarily horror-themed or halloween-themed, but books that capture the ~essence~ of Halloween to me. 

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top ten tuesday: authors with the most

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted over at the Broke and the Bookish, and this week's theme is: "August 11: Top Ten Authors I've Read The Most Books From." I always love a chance to talk about some of my favorite authors, so I am totally in love with this week! I can't wait to see what you all put as well :)

1. Rick Riordan = 15 books

After following Percy Jackson and all of the Heroes of Olympus books through their publications, I read the Kane Chronicles and the two additional novels in the Percy Jackson world that Riordan wrote. Aside from the tiny series with millions of books that I read when I was really little, Riordan is the author that I have read the most books from, by far, and will remain forever one of my favorites.

2. Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler = 14 books

With 13 books in the Series of Unfortunate Events, it was easy for Lemony Snicket to secure a spot on this list. I love this author, for his strangeness as much as for his writing. I also read Why We Broke Up last year and loved it, proving that Daniel Handler can impress just as much as his alter ego, Snicket, can. 

3. Sarah Dessen = 10 books

I went through a stage where all I wanted to read was Sarah Dessen books, and I literally read every single thing she had written within the span of a couple weeks. Since then, I've kept up with her new releases, and though they aren't some of my absolute favorite books, I do find myself going back to them from time to time and always end up enjoying myself when I'm reading one of hers. 

4. Cassandra Clare = 10 books

Clare's Shadowhunter world is one of my favorite literary places to visit, and I know that this number will grow in the years to come. Between the six Mortal Instruments, three Infernal Devices and the Bane Chronicles, I have almost an entire shelf dedicated to Clare's novels. I can't wait for the release of Lady Midnight in 2016. 

 5. Ally Carter = 9 books

For me, as a thirteen year old girl in a boring southeastern town, the idea of girls being extraordinary was something really enticing, and Carter's Gallagher Girls series fed my need for excitement. I also enjoyed the three Heist Society novels, and though I haven't gotten to it yet, I feel sure I will like All Fall Down just as much as her other novels.  

6. J.K. Rowling = 11 books 

I think this is pretty self-explanatory. 7 Harry Potters, Fantastic Beasts, Quidditch Through the Ages, The Tales of Beetle the Bard, and a desperate read of the Casual Vacancy. I will love this woman forever.

7. Jennifer L. Armentrout = 7 books  

This woman has written an incredible amount of books, and I really would like to get more into her New Adult series, as I have heard great things about them! For now, I have read the Covenant series and the first book in the Lux series, and I loved every single second of these novels. I know the number by this woman's name will grow, because she is super talented.

8. John Green = 6 books

(I had to be shameless and use my own picture with this incredible person lol) I've read everything that John Green has written and I will continue to do so until he chooses to write no more words. He is one an inspiration to me, from his novels to his youtube to his social media platform and what he does with it. 

9. Richelle Mead = 7 books 

I read the Vampire Academy series last year, then read Bloodlines in 2015. I haven't continued on with that series yet, but I plan to, once I acquire the rest of the books! I also can't wait for her new release later this year, entitled Soundless. 



 

10. Sarah J Maas = 5 Books

Sarah J Maas is my queen, I bow to her, I will read her grocery lists if she would ever allow me to. Throne of Glass is, in my opinion one of the best series to grace the YA shelves, and I also adored her Beauty and the Beast retelling that came out this year. 




What are your picks for this list??

xx
Sunny

top ten tuesday: authorpalooza

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature over at The Broke and The Bookish where we highlight a different theme every week. This week's theme is "April 21: Top Ten ALL TIME Favorite Authors (yeah, I'm mean like that! You could narrow it down to a genre if you it REALLY kills you...or just make your list a top 20 :P )" And, as many bibliophiles will know, this is a daunting subject. I narrowed my list down to twelve, but there were nearly thirty amazing authors in the mix at one point or another. There are just so many amazing writers out there, it is hard to pick and choose favorites.

1. Rainbow Rowell – When someone asks me who my favorite author is, I often think of Rainbow Rowell first thing. I absolutely adore every single thing that she has written, and I would highly recommend her to a wide variety of readers. Her stories are real and funny, and I honestly just can't get enough.

2. John Green – Another one of my knee-jerk reactions to the question of favorite authors. I have dutifully read every single novel that John Green has ever written or contributed to, and though I have liked some more than others, there is nothing that John Green has written that I haven't thoroughly enjoyed. 

3. Jane Austen– My first Austen novel was Sense and Sensibility, and I read it when I was eleven years old. Ever since then, I have been, maybe predictably, in love with Austen and her entire world. When I visited Bath, in the UK, where Austen spent a lot of time, I nearly lost my mind. Though my favorite novel of hers is Mansfield Park, I truly do adore each one of her novels. 

4. Sarah J Maas– I just read my first novel by Sarah J Maas last fall, and she immediately became one of my favorites. Her Throne of Glass series is one of the most epic, completely compelling and readable series that I have ever read, and I cannot wait to get my hands on A Court of Thorns and Roses soon. Maas is newer to me but definitely up here in the list of my favorites. 

5. Morgan Matson– I must admit, I was interested in Matson for a while, but never got around to reading any of her novels. Then, when I finally read Since You've Been Gone, I fell in love and read her other two novels in quick succession, loving every single second of the experience. It has been a while since I was so completely swept up by a contemporary author, and I can't wait to see what else Matson has to offer. 

6. Daniel Handler/Lemony Snicket – One of my primary childhood influences (is this a scary statement? probably) I tore through A Series of Unfortunate Events several times in my formative years. He is so funny and clever, though, I soon expanded my reading experience to those books beyond just the series, and I have yet to be disappointed. 

7. Stephanie Perkins– It has been a good amount of years since I first read Anna and the French Kiss, and after about eight rereads (and several reads and rereads of her subsequent two novels) I can firmly say that I will never get tired of Stephanie Perkins' writing. She has such a talent for characters, and I cannot help but fall in love with her writing, every single time. 

8. Rick Riordan – My love for Rick Riordan's stories goes back to when I first read Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief when I was 11 years old. I had never read anything like it, and I kept up with his new releases every single year until the Heroes of Olympus series finished last fall. I can't wait for his new series to begin this October, though I am sad to be leaving some of my absolute favorite characters behind.

9. J.R.R Tolkien– Tolkien is another one of those authors that captured my imagination when I was in middle school, and the first time I read the Fellowship of the Ring was such a magical experience for me, I cannot imagine a favorite authors list without Tolkien on it. 

10. Shannon Hale– It seems that I have loved so many of these authors since I was a child, because Shannon Hale is another author who shaped my young adolescence. I read The Goose Girl and Princess Academy over and over, and I still have yet to read a book of Hale's that I haven't loved. 

11. J.K Rowling– Guys. Come on guys. J.K. Rowling has to be on your list! Where would we all be without Harry Potter? 

12. Gail Carson Levine – Ella Enchanted was just one of the many amazing novels that Gail Carson Levine wrote that I loved. There are many other fairy tales, short stories, and fantastical worlds to visit, and I love every single one of them. 

There are so many other amazing authors! It was so hard to pick just these. What are some of your choices for this list? 

xx

Sunny

the taylor swift book tag

It's that time again! And by that I mean "Caroline is bored and doesn't want to do homework so she's doing another book tag!" I've been really obsessed with Taylor Swift's new album, 1989, recently, so when I was searching for a tag to do, this one jumped out at me immediately. 

I first saw this tag on Christine's channel (link to that video here), and the original video is here. 

Let's get this party started!