TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five books to use as themes

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

Sometimes people use films or TV shows as themes for parties, but it's not often that books are used (unless it's Harry Potter related!). These five books would make brilliant themes for parties, and I'm tempted to organise some of them myself...

5) 'The Selection' by Kiera Cass

I'm not suggesting you organise a party in which all of your friends compete for the same guy, but hosting a party with 'The Selection' as a theme is a great excuse for everyone to wear their fancy clothing. Everything is huge, poofy dresses and tuxedos, and everyone looks dapper as heck. 

4) 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth

You start the night with a quiz which gets you sorted into a faction, then you compete in games against each other to see which team wins. This also works with Harry Potter houses, The Hunger Games districts, and probably thousands more... 

3) 'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown

I don't want people to take this suggestion literally - don't start oppressing people at parties, that's rude! 

A 'Red Rising' theme could work if you were arranging a bigger party which had hired staff. Because the staff are the workers they can wear red, a bright and vibrant colour that makes it easy to seek them out if any problems arise. 

If this theme was used at a birthday party, the person being celebrated could be the only one wearing gold. 

The rest of the guests can choose which colour they feel they most relate to (I'd definitely be in purple, as I think of myself as a creative type!). 

2) 'Am I Normal Yet?' by Holly Bourne

Make your own Spinster Club! Get a group of people together to talk about feminism. Bring along your favourite sexist news article from the previous week so that you can mock the uneducated journalist who wrote it, and the ridiculousness of the publication that would feature such an idiotic piece. Just be awesome. 

1) 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' by Jenny Han

Has one of your friends recently had a bad break up? Know someone going through a divorce? Well, a 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before' themed party would be perfect for you!

Lara Jean writes letters to the boys she loves, but she never gives them over. It's a way of getting her feelings out on paper, and it makes it easier for her to deal with her emotions. Everyone at the party gets a piece of paper, a pen and an envelope, and once they've written and sealed their letters they all go into a fire. It's cathartic!

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! Do you think you're going to try to host any of the parties I've suggested?

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five favourite SFF covers

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

This topic is another crossover with the Booktube SFF Awards, and I think this one is supremely fun: I absolutely love cover artwork, so getting to talk solely about that is a dream week!

5) 'Wintersong' by S. Jae-Jones

I knew nothing about 'Wintersong', but the cover took my breath away and filled me with the need to read it. I still haven't (for a book blog, I read a surprisingly small amount of the books I talk about...) but it looks so beautiful on my book shelf.

4) 'Ice Like Fire' by Sara Raasch

I like all of the covers in Sara Raasch's trilogy, but I love this one in particular. I think it's the contrast of the dark background with the bright colours of the locations inside the circle... I can look at it for hours without getting bored, and I'm always spotting new details. 

3) 'Norse Mythology' by Neil Gaiman

Simple but effective, the cover to 'Norse Mythology' is even more beautiful in real life. I'm so lucky, because my boyfriend actually bought it for me for my birthday: it's the first Gaiman novel I've owned in hardback, and it's now my pride and joy! 

2) 'The Queen of the Tearling' by Erika Johansen

I thought I was going to like 'The Queen of the Tearling' a lot more than I did, because I was blown away by this cover design. The juxtaposition between the animal trap and the luxurious pillow - and the fact that at a quick glance you can genuinely mistake it for a crown - is utter genius. 

1) The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

Specifically, these UK redesigns. I always wanted to read George R.R. Martin's novels, but I'd only picked up the first one in a charity shop: I had no real desire to own them, so was planning on borrowing them from the library. 

But these redesigns are so beautiful that I fell head over heels in love with them and, luckily, I was given them for my birthday the year they were released!

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! What are your favourite SFF book covers?

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five authors I want to read more from

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

This topic last came up back in August, but luckily there are SO MANY authors that I want to read more from that I found it easy to choose another five.

5) Lily Paradis

I absolutely loved 'Volition' by Lily Paradis, but a lot of people accused her of having ripped off another author. She hasn't released anything since, and I miss her: come back, Lily!

4) Cat Clarke

I've read most of Cat Clarke's novels, but that doesn't stop me wanting more. She's a brilliant writer, and I've cried while reading all of the books of hers that I've read so far (which is the main reason I haven't read everything she's released!).

3) Holly Bourne

It's my own fault that I haven't read more of Holly's novels: she has published six novels so far, and I've only read one of them (despite the fact that I own the other five!). This is something I really need to work on, and I'm looking forward to reading more of her writing in the future.

2) Katherine Webber

Katherine's debut novel, 'Wing Jones', is a treat. I read it in one sitting, and I've been unable to stop thinking about Wing since. I don't just want more from Katherine, I NEED it. 

1) Sara Barnard

I've read an adored both of Sara's novels so far, and I just can't wait for her to release her third book. I love her writing style, but it makes it impossible to savour the novels: I've sped through both of them, and I'm already planning on rereading them. 

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! What authors do you want to read more from? 

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five favourite LGBT+ reads

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

I love reading fiction that features LGBT+ characters. I'm bisexual, so I find stories with characters that include different sexualities far more compelling than reading the same boy-meets-girl story over and over and over again (not that they can't be enjoyable, but they can get boring). 
These five books all feature LGBT+ characters and are absolutely brilliant: I highly recommend all of them!

5) 'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' by John Green and David Levithan

'Will Grayson, Will Grayson' is the first LGBT+ book I can ever remember reading, and I absolutely loved it. I read it way back in 2012 and I'm planning on rereading it soon - I still haven't read David Levithan's sequel/companion novel, 'Hold Me Closer', and I want to revisit the first book before I pick that one up. 

4) 'The Art of Being Normal' by Lisa Williamson

I'd never read a YA novel featuring a transgender character before, and this one ripped my heart out and stomped all over it. David wants to be a girl, but he's finding it impossible to tell his family. It's only when new boy Leo arrives on the scene that David finds the courage to be who he wants to be, rather than who he thinks he should be. 

3) 'Far From You' by Tess Sharpe

'Far From You' is a thrilling debut with a bisexual main character who's attempting to solve the mystery of the murder of the girl she was in love with. I cried so much during this story, but it quickly established itself as one of my favourite books of all time. 

2) 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda' by Becky Albertalli

When I read 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda', I was falling in love with a girl and was trying to work out how to tell the world (or if I even had to!) and Simon's coming out tale really helped me. It's currently being made into a movie, and while I'm a little dubious of the casting - Nick Robinson, AGAIN?! - I'm looking forward to seeing this story on the big screen. 

1) 'All of the Above' by Juno Dawson

There aren't many books I can read in one sitting, but I couldn't physically put 'All of the Above' down. Toria is bisexual, in a relationship with a boy but rapidly falling in love with her best friend. This was the first of Juno's novels that I picked up, and I haven't been able to bring myself to read any of her other books - I'm too scared that they're going to disappoint me, because this was absolutely flawless. 

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! Are there any LGBT+ books that you'd recommend I check out?

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five books that would be great as video games

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

5) 'The Maze Runner' by James Dashner

I haven't actually read 'The Maze Runner' (yet!) but I imagine it would be a much more tense version of Temple Run, which I LOVE. 

4) 'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell

'Fangirl' would make an adorable game. You play as Cath, navigating the minefield that is university while also playing mini games such as blocking trolls (all fanfic gets trolls, right?!). 

3) The Divergent series by Veronica Roth

I really loved the world that Veronica Roth created in the Divergent trilogy. A game where you had to be sorted into a faction and stay loyal to that group - even if you disagreed with their choices - would be fascinating: could you go against your own beliefs to stay in line, or would you risk being yourself and being exiled? 

2) 'The Novice' by Taran Matharu

I would love to be able to play 'The Novice', because it's like Pokemon but far more brutal. If that doesn't make you want to read this series, I don't know what will. 

1) 'Ready Player One' by Ernest Cline

The entire time I was reading 'Ready Player One' I was DESPERATE to play the games mentioned throughout, so of course this is going to be my top choice for this week. As soon as I saw the topic, this book flew straight into my mind!

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! If you could play any book as a video game, which one would you pick?

TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five sci-fi/fantasy books on my TBR

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

I don't read a lot of SFF, which means I have SO MANY that I still have to pick up. I could have written a top 100 list for this topic, and I still wouldn't have touched upon most of them!
These are the five SFF novels that I really hope I can read this year, because I'm so excited about them and don't know why I keep messing around.

5) 'Falling Kingdoms' by Morgan Rhodes

I haven't read 'Falling Kingdoms' because it's the first book in a six-book series, and we only have the first two in the library. That means if I love them both I'm going to need to buy books three through five (book six isn't being released until later in the year) and I don't have the money to do that.

4) The Graceling trilogy by Kirstin Cashore

I have no excuse for putting off the Graceling series. It sounds like something I'll really enjoy, and I am planning on reading it in the next couple of months... But I've also been saying that for what feels like years, so don't get your hopes up.

3) 'Strange the Dreamer' by Laini Taylor

I was supposed to read 'Strange the Dreamer' last month, but I didn't get time, so I am determined that I will get it done in April. I don't know why I keep putting this one off, but I can't bring myself to pick it up!

2) 'A Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin

The size of this one intimidates me, but because I'm already so familiar with most of the characters it should be a breeze. If I haven't read this before I go to university, it's going to be the only book I take with me: that way I'll be forced to finally give it a go.

1) 'Wintersong' by S. Jae-Jones

This is one of the most hyped releases of this year, and despite not knowing much about the story of the Goblin King I am excited to learn more about it through this retelling.

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! Out of these books, which one do you think I should read next?