My Top 15 Stand-Alone Books [Jan. 2015]

Hey, y'all! So back in July, I did a post where I discussed my 15 favorite stand-alone books (which you can check out HERE, and said that I would probably make it a bi-annual series. SOMEHOW, it's already January, and time for an updated top 15 list!

As I've said in the past, this list is not limited just to Stand-Alone novels. It really just includes any book that is not part of a series. I find that series tend to sometimes muddle my lists up, because you can only put Harry Potter on your favorites list a few times before it becomes repetitive. Very repetitive. Also, for the recurring books, I'm going to leave the same description, only tweaking when necessary. 

#15: 172 Hours on the Moon

by Johan Harstad

This was one of the books that I read for my October Horror Marathon (Full discussion here). It was a really interesting novel. I did think that the pacing was a bit off-- the beginning was very slow, and then once it hit the action, it seemed like everything happened way too quickly. However, I really enjoyed it other than that. It really kept me guessing as to what was going on, and that suspense kept me intrigued and I got through it really quickly because of that.

#14: Carrie

by Stephen King

I discussed this book in my book discussions post #1 (Click here to check that out).The story and characters were interesting, but the way it was written was the star of the show. The main plot of the book is intertwined with articles, book excerpts, interviews, etc. about the "incident." I absolutely loved that. It made the book significantly more interesting and added anticipation for the scene at prom. This book was a very pleasant surprise. And I still haven't seen either of the movies based on this book. I haven't heard many good things about the new one, but I do really want to see the old one.

#13: Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

This one is very interesting. Although I definitely enjoyed this book, I think that my feelings lean more toward appreciation than enjoyment. I thought that this book was really well-crafted and interesting. The book kept me guessing all the way up until Gillian Flynn actually told us what was going on. I probably won't be re-reading this book, because for me most of the enjoyment came from wondering what was about to happen, but I do think that it's a really well-done book.

#12: The Princess Bride

by William Goldman

Generally, I'm of the mindset that the book is always better than the movie, but in this case, I have to say that I like the movie better. I grew up with the movie, and didn't pick up the book until high school. That being said, I do still really enjoy the book. This is one of my books that I really feel like I need to re-read. Maybe I'll like it even more when I re-read it!

#11: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Given my love for young adult books, you might be surprised that it's not higher on my list. Although I really liked this book, I feel like I didn't love it as much as everyone else seemed to. Its strengths are the characters. All of the characters are really interesting, unique, and multi-faceted. It's also written really well and I really like the letter format. I guess that the reason it's not a little higher is because while I liked the plot, it wasn't amazing. That being said, it's obviously in my top 10 stand-alone books, so I do really enjoy the book. For this one, it's just the difference between like and love that keeps it in the lower half of my top 10.

#10: 1984

by George Orwell

I also discussed this book in my stand-alone book discussions post #1 (Click here to check that out). I absolutely love the concept behind the world in this book. This one and the book at #9 tend to go back and forth as to which one I prefer because they're both classic dystopians, so they're pretty interchangeable.While the entire world isn't quite as fleshed out as the book at #9 (because 1984 is a little more character-based and we only really see the world surrounding that one character), I think that the concept behind the world is amazing and terrifying. A world where you can't even think freely, let alone speak or write freely is just terrifying, and I can see how it terrified people who read it before 1984. And the ending is so great but so terrible at the same time.

#9: Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

This book is a combination of several things that I really love. I love almost anything that came out of the first half of the 20th century- books, music, art, etc. I love it all. I'm also a big fan of dystopian novels. What I love about dystopians is learning about the world that the book is set in. That's my favorite part about Brave New World. The plot is kinda meh for me. But the world is incredible. And I love that a lot of the focus is upon the world, and the commentary that Huxley is making using this dystopian world. The plot and characters really take a backseat, and I really appreciate that. Like I said, Brave New World and 1984 are mostly tied, but I had to put one above the other, so I gave the higher spot to Brave New World this time since 1984 got it last time.

#8: The Fault In Our Stars

by John Green

We have officially gotten to the books that I love, love, love. From this point onward, all of these books are super special to me. Also, as you might notice, this is a signed copy. I came across it in Target and thought it was a joke. NOPE. I hate that I can't get the red cloud off (it's not a sticker- it's part of the jacket) but my desire for a signed copy won out. We all know all about this beautiful book. You're probably just surprised it's not #1 or #2. While I do really love this book, there are books that I love even more. You'll also notice that I don't have any other John Green books on this list. I've only read 2, and I did NOT like the other one. Anyway, this book is great and I sobbed all the way through it. Also, I read both this and The Perks of Being a Wallflower for the first time in the same day. Bad decision. All the feels.

#7: This Is Your Brain on Music

by Daniel Levitin

If I were to name the one book that has had the most impact on my actual life/future, I'd have to say this one. I read it my freshman year of college for a class called "The Psychology of Music." The class is still my favorite class that I've ever taken. Ever. (It helps that my advisor/music theory prof./favorite prof. ever was teaching it). I need to go back and re-read this because I procrastinated and had to read this book in a very short time period. Regardless, I absolutely loved it. Levitin likes to focus on the mind/thoughts and music rather than the neuroscience aspects, and I really agree. This entire book was just a wonderful look at psychology and music and I absolutely love it. 

#6: Fangirl

by Rainbow Rowell

I typically don't read a lot of contemporary novels, but this one really caught my attention because I knew that the main character was a quiet girl in her first year of college who writes fan-fiction. It just reminded me a lot of myself and so I was really excited to read it. And it definitely didn't disappoint. It was super cute, and I absolutely giggled my way through this book. And I really don't giggle very much while reading books. It was just too adorable. If you want, you can check out my full discussion on this book here.

#5: All-American Girl

by Meg Cabot

I'm honestly not sure how well-known this book is. For the longest time during my childhood, this was my favorite book. You can probably tell how many times I've read it just because of how beat up the book is. It was brand new when I got it. I haven't always been so nice to my books. Anyway, I remember getting this at a book fair. My memory says that it was in 4th grade, but it doesn't seem to fit timeline-wise, because I feel like I read it before that. Maybe I got it in 2nd or 3rd grade? I dunno. It took me a while before I actually read it, but once I did, I fell in love. I recognize now that it's not actually an amazing book, but I've read it so many times and loved it for so long that I just can't help but continue to love it. This book is a heavier dose of nostalgia than even Harry Potter, because I read it before I read Harry Potter. And yes, this book technically has a sequel, but it's terrible and I pretend it doesn't exist.

#4: Unsaid Things... Our Story

by McFly

This may be obvious since it's at my #4 spot, but I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. I've mentioned this several times on here, but McFly is my favorite band. And I don't mean it in a way where I'm just a casual fan and I just like their music. I love all four of these guys and I absolutely love reading the story of the band from their POV. I'll be the first one to say that this book isn't for everyone. This isn't one of those deep autobiographies that can be enjoyed even if you don't know much about the person. It's not an incredibly written piece of literature. It's for the fans. It gives fans an inside look into the entire history of the band. For me, it's the emotional connection I have to the band that causes me to love this book so much. I laughed, I cried, and I laughed some more. It's great. 

So, we're now getting down to the nitty-gritty. These top 3 are super special.

#3: Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

I was just absolutely blown away by this book. I loved everything about it. I absolutely love dystopian novels, 80s culture, video games, and virtual reality. I loved how all of those elements combined, added with the adventure of the tasks and gates. Overall, I just cannot say enough good things about this book. After I read it, I was so obsessed with it that I wanted to read something else that was really similar to it, and since this is such a unique book, there wasn't really anything that was like this, so I went into a little bit of a reading slump. This book is just really wonderful and I've wanted to re-read it since the second that I finished it.

#2: Thirteen Reason Why

by Jay Asher

I remember seeing this book in Barnes & Noble right after it was released in 2009 and thinking that it was a really cool concept. But I hadn't ever heard of it, and didn't want to pay full-price for a brand-new hardcover. Fast-forward about a year, when I found it for $7 at Half-Price Books. I recognized it and remembered how awesome the concept had sounded, so I decided to get it. One of the best decisions I've ever made. Like I said, I thought this concept was really interesting, and I think it was really well executed (unlike Jay Asher's other book, The Future of Us). This book is just so emotional, and I love the back and forth between Hannah's story and Clay's story. Overall, it's just an amazing, tear-jerking book. I love it. So much.

#1: And Then There Were None

by Agatha Christie

I don't even know what all to say about this book. It's just... so perfect. There's a reason that this is the best-selling mystery book ever. This is the most intricately and brilliantly concocted mystery... ever. When I got to the final reveal, I was awe-struck and amazed. I've read this book countless times, and even though I know what happens I still love it every time. I don't know what else to say... it's incredibly written, an incredibly clever mystery, and just an amazing book. I love it so much.

Books That Will Hopefully Make My Next List!

Just like last time, I decided to give y'all a little glimpse at the stand-alones I hope to read before my next post. The following books are the stand-alones that I have up highest on my TBR. My last list didn't turn out so well (Read 2 and only 1 ended up on the list-- Ready Player One) so hopefully I do better this time. And even though I've dubbed this year the year of the series, there are definitely still stand-alones that I want to read.

The Book Thief

by Marcus Zusak

This was on my list last time as well, and I didn't get to it. I'm not totally sure that I'm going to get to it this time, but I definitely still plan to read it.

Vicious

by V.E. Schwab

This was on my list last time and even though I started it, I only got a few pages in. I plan to hopefully actually read it this time. Crossing my fingers!

The Hobbit

by J.R.R. Tolkien

I just really need to read this. It's time.

The Body Electric

by Beth Revis

I really loved her Across The Universe trilogy, and this has a really interesting premise, so I hope to get to it really soon.

Afterworlds

by Scott Westerfeld

This book is really intriguing to me. I love the book within a book idea, especially since one book is about an author trying to get her book published, and the other is the book that she wrote. I think it sounds really awesome, especially since her book is a fantasy. So excite.

So, there you go, those were my top 15 stand-alones, and the stand-alones that I hope make the list next time around! Have you read these books? How do you feel about them? What books are your favorite stand-alones?

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October Horror Marathon Book Discussions!

Hey, y'all! As y'all may (or may not) know, back in June, I started a series of posts where I do short discussions about all of the stand-alone books that I read. The second post of that series is in the works (just one more book 'til victory!), but since I did a horror (or just generally creepy/suspenseful books) reading marathon in October, I decided it would be cool to do discussions on those books separately. These discussions will be entirely spoiler-free and fairly short. They're also in order of when I read them, in case anyone was curious.

Horrorstor 
by Grady Hendrix

I really love horror, whether it's in movie or book form, but it was the formatting that drew me in. For those of you that don't know, Horrorstor is a new novel (released Sept. 23!) that is formatted like a furniture catalog. The premise of the story is that our main character, Amy, works at a furniture store that's an Ikea knockoff (which everyone in the book actually acknowledges). Some odd things have been happening overnight, so her manager asks her and another employee to stay with him overnight and try to figure out what has been going on. And as you might guess, it's a lot worse than anyone might have guessed. I absolutely flew through this book. I was just too curious to know what happened. I started it before going to bed one night and then finished it the next day. It was really intriguing and fast-paced. I'd heard that it was a pretty typical horror novel, so I wasn't expecting a ton, but I was actually pretty impressed. Yes, there were certain aspects where I thought it fell on typical horror tropes, but in general, I thought it was pretty unique. It definitely wasn't perfect though. I thought that Hendrix could use a few pointers in how to write suspense. In the first half of the book, there were several times something was supposed to be suspenseful, and because of the way it was written, the suspense didn't translate. Overall, it wasn't amazing, but I did enjoy it.

Also, one of the coolest aspects of the book is the way the chapters are presented. I don't want to spoil anything, but if you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about!

I'll give it 7.5 stars out of 10. 

172 Hours on the Moon
 by Johan Harstad

Let me start out with the fact that I enjoyed this book. There were definitely some things that I had problems with, but overall, I enjoyed it. The first thing that kinda bothered me about the book was how long it took before really getting interesting. It wasn't until around page 100 that we started to see creepy things going on, and even then, it wasn't incredibly exciting. Things got interesting when they got to the moon, but that was halfway through. Too much build-up for me. My second problem was the romance. I wouldn't exactly call it insta-love, but it didn't seem to serve a real purpose and felt just kinda thrown in.

This last problem I had is slightly harder to explain without spoiling, so I'll try my hardest. At a point near the end, there is a twist. To keep the reader in the dark about the twist, Harstad has a certain character do things that make literally no sense given what that character knows. Yes, it keeps the reader from discovering the twist until he reveals it, but once the reader finds out about the twist, they're like "oh, then why did that thing even happen?" Sorry to be so vague, but I don't want to spoil. If you want to know which moment I'm specifically talking about, feel free to ask!

However, excluding those problems, the book was enjoyable. It was very suspenseful, and until we discovered what was actually going on, I had no guesses as to what was really happening. Once the characters got to the moon, it became really fast-paced and I really didn't want to put it down. If you're wanting to read this, I'd tell you to power through the first 100 pages. It took me a few days to read the first half of the book, and a few hours to read the second half. It really picks up. I've complained about a lot of things in this book, but overall, I did like it.

In the end, I gave it 8 stars out of 10.

The Diviners 
by Libba Bray

When I started this book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. All I knew was that it was set in New York City in the 1920s and that it was creepy and paranormal. It took me a little while to get into it. Adjusting to the slang of the time and remembering what was and wasn't acceptable in that time took a little while. But once I got into it, I was hooked. The fact that it was nice and long was really great for me, because it allowed me to actually get invested in the characters and the storyline. I really loved the pacing. The mixture of suspenseful, creepy scenes with the slower sleuthing scenes was really great. One aspect that I really appreciated was that for most of the book, a love triangle was alluded to, but it wasn't until close to the end that anything happened. However, I was really annoyed by which guy she went for. But supposedly, there are 3 more books coming, so that gives Evie three more books to fix her mistake. I actually didn't know until I got near the end of the book that it was going to be a series. I'd been reading it under the assumption that it was going to be just a stand-alone. I'm really excited to pick up the second book when it comes out, because I really, really enjoyed this one. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I thought it was great. 

Overall, I had to give it 9.8 stars out of 10. 

Gone Girl

by Gillian Flynn

The first thing that I have to say about this is that it was very well-written. Gone Girl was very clever and kept me guessing for a very long time. The unfolding events that are crafted by the characters are very intricate and well done. It took me a very long time to figure out what the truth was and who to believe, and I really like that. I also really appreciated that we're not really supposed to completely like either Nick or Amy. We see even from the beginning that they both have their issues and that they're both flawed people, and I really like that.

One bit that I wasn't such a huge fan of was the ending. And by ending, I don't mean "Part 3" when everything begins to wrap itself up. I mean like the last 10 pages. I thought everything up to that point was really great. But those last 10 pages... nope. However, I do think it was appropriate for the book. For my own contentment, I wanted to change those pages. But they worked. In that sense, the ending reminded me of 1984.

I don't see this book becoming a long-standing favorite of mine that I re-read thousands of times. I think that my praise for the book is due to about 60% appreciation for the complexity of the book and how well-crafted it was, and 40% personal love. Yes, I did really like it, but my feelings toward it lean more toward admiration of a well-written novel than something that I feel extremely personally attached to.

I have to give it 9.5 stars out of 10. It's just incredibly well-crafted.

So there you go, those were my discussions for my October horror reads! I hope you enjoyed this post! I've got a lot of things planned for the near future, so just be ready for that!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

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Would You Rather (Book Blog Edition)

Hey, y'all! So this book tag has been floating around Booktube for a few months, and I decided it would be fun to do this because some of these questions are very, very difficult. So let's jump right into it!

1. Read only trilogies or stand alones?

I really wish that one of these was swapped for series, because I love series more than either trilogies or stand-alones. And this is probably one of the harder questions. I have several stand-alones that are very close to my heart, and so many trilogies are really weak. However, I would get so tired of stand-alones, and having three books allows me to get more invested in the world and the characters.

I guess I'm going to have to go with TRILOGIES. Because I'll almost always choose the one that allows me to get more invested with characters and worlds.


2. Read only female or male authors?

This one seemed rather easy to me at first glance, but upon second glance, I realized that it might not be. Harry Potter, The Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, and the Across The Universe trilogy are very near and dear to my heart, and they were all written by women, as are a large chunk of YA books. However, out of my top 15 stand-alones, a whopping TWELVE are by men, as is the Pendragon series, AKA one of my all-time favorite series ever.

In the end, though, I think I'm still going to have to give it to FEMALE AUTHORS. Because if I couldn't read JK Rowling and Cassandra Clare's books ever again, I would be very sad. Plus, it gives me more options when choosing new books to read. 


3. Shop at Barnes & Noble or Amazon?

This one is one of the least difficult for me. I absolutely love going to a bookstore and picking out books and physically taking them home with me. However, Barnes and Noble is usually a lot more expensive than Amazon. And even if the website says the book is in-store, with my luck, it probably isn't there. I have Amazon Prime, so I can buy books for less expensive and get them in two days. 

I have to go with AMAZON. Although my ideal shopping experience is used bookstores. And Amazon has some shady business practices. But it's inexpensive, which is helpful for me.

4. All books become movies or t.v. shows?

When I first read these questions, I made a hasty decision, but I've since changed my mind. I absolutely have to go with a TV SHOW. Or, depending on the book, a TV mini-series. So if it's a stand-alone, just a mini-series, and then be done with it. Or in the case of Harry Potter, a seven-season long show, with each season being the exact replica of each of the books. So seasons 1-3 would be fairly short, but seasons 4-7 would be massive and epic.

5. Read 5 pages per day or 5 books per week?

I would have to go with FIVE BOOKS PER WEEK. I could always read 4 smaller books if there was one large book I wanted to read, although reading a 1000 page book within one week terrifies me. But yeah, 5 books a week. Although I don't know where I would find the time for that.

6. Be a professional reviewer or author?

This was probably the easiest question on this list. AUTHOR. AUTHOR. AUTHOR. It's been my dream job since I was an infant. Unfortunately, I have to be realistic and work on my novels on the side while balancing school and work and blog, but it's still a dream of mine. And I honestly don't think I'm a great reviewer, which is why I call my reviews "discussions" because I don't feel like I'm objective enough to be a good reviewer. 

7. Only read your top 20 favorite books over and over or always read new ones that you haven't read before?

As a notorious re-reader, this is actually really tough for me. I've seen so many people say "oh, I don't like re-reading that much, so this is so easy!" but that's definitely not me. I love re-reading books. I've read some of my favorite books like... 20 times. When I really love characters and a world, I love re-experiencing things and noticing new things that I'd missed before. However, 20 books is not that many. That's like... Harry Potter, The Infernal Devices, The Mortal Instruments, and probably my 3 favorite stand-alones. Not only is that neglecting all of my other favorite books, but also any new books I could ever enjoy. So I have to choose to ALWAYS READ NEW BOOKS THAT I HAVEN'T READ BEFORE.

8. Be a librarian or book seller?

If you've been following my blog for very long, you might know that when I finish with my undergrad, I plan to continue to grad school and get a dual degree in library science and musicology because I want to be a music librarian. However, I think it would be really cool to be a book seller too. I would never want to work in Barnes and Noble or in a public library at the front desk. Not my thing. However, I think it would be really cool to own an independent bookstore. And obviously, I would love to work in an academic library as a music librarian. I would also enjoy working as a cataloging librarian as well. Even though the independent bookstore option sounds really great, I'd still have to choose LIBRARIAN. I mean, that's what I'm going to school for. DUH.

9. Only read your favorite genre, or every genre except your favorite?

Well... I have two favorite genres (Fantasy and Dystopian!) so I'm just going to work off the assumption that both count as my favorite genre. Honestly, even if I had to choose between the two, I think I would still choose to ONLY READ MY FAVORITE GENRE. Most people have been choosing to read every genre except their favorite because it's less limiting, but I have to choose the opposite. If I had to choose a single genre, I'd probably pick fantasy. There are like 20 billion fantasy novels. And often, fantasy is mixed with other genres, so that gives me even more options. Plus, if I couldn't read fantasy, I couldn't read any of my favorite series. That just wouldn't work. 
 
10. Only read physical books or eBooks?

eBooks are really convenient for travel, but I will always, always choose PHYSICAL BOOKS. I love going to used bookstores and dream of having a home with shelves and shelves full of books. I will never give up on physical books. They're great.

That's all for Would You Rather Book Blog Edition. These questions were really tricky, but this was lots of fun!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

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Series vs. Trilogies vs. Stand-Alone Novels

Hey, y'all! So, lately I've been thinking about the differences, pros, and cons of the different ways stories can be published in book form. Currently, trilogies seem to be running rampant in young adult fiction, but is it really the best way for a story to be told? Or perhaps the stand-alone- a single book for a single story? Or are stories best told in the form of full-fledged series- one story spanning several books and several smaller stories? Is there one real answer?

I recently re-watched Ariel Bissett's video called "I Hate Trilogies" and that's what got me thinking about this. Click here if you'd like to check that out. I'd recommend it, given the fact that I'll be referencing that video without going into full detail about her arguments. And while you're there, you should definitely check out some of her other videos because she has some really interesting and thought-provoking discussions on books. A couple of my favorites are "Appreciation vs. Liking" and "Our Favorite Authors" because they both got me thinking about my own opinions and the way I view certain things.




I agree with a lot of the things that Ariel mentioned in her video. A lot, but not quite all. I definitely agree with her opinion on trilogies. In general, I think that most trilogies don't need to be trilogies. The second or third book (or both) often suffers because the plot is being dragged out to fill out three books. Or even worse, a new conflict comes out of nowhere to create the need for another book.

As I look at my bookshelf and all of the trilogies on it, I can say with complete honesty that (of the ones I've finished) I only truly, completely love two of those trilogies: The Infernal Devices and the Across the Universe trilogy. And in the case of the Across The Universe trilogy, I actually wish that I could smoosh the 3 books together into one huge, epic novel. Not because there's anything wrong with the books as-is, but because I think that a mystery dystopian set in space deserves a single, massive novel reminiscent of a Lord of the Rings bind-up.

Now, that's not to say that every other trilogy is complete crap and I hate it, but in all of the other trilogies, there's at least one book that I really dislike or think isn't as strong as the other two. Let's take Divergent for example.

EXAMPLE.

I loved Divergent. It was one of the best books I read this year, and I was completely enthralled. But I got less and less impressed with the novels as I went along. Insurgent was good, but nowhere near as good as Divergent, and I don't even know what to say about Allegiant. It just took this turn that was unexpected, unwanted, and unwarranted.

The Shatter Me trilogy also suffers from shouldn't-be-a-trilogy syndrome, except in this case it's the first book that suffers. This entire trilogy could be condensed into a single book, and would probably be a lot better. I'm not sure that would fix my fundamental problems with that series, but that's a complaint for another post.

This is where mine and Ariel's opinions branch off from each other. Stand-alones vs. series. Ariel's argument is that most books should be stand-alones with exceptions for the gems like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, etc. and that most ideas don't warrant multiple books. I both agree and disagree with that. Yes, there are several ideas that are stretched too much and don't need the X number of books in their series, but I feel like the vast majority of these are the trilogies. Once we get into 4, 5, 6, etc. book series, I feel like these ideas are the ones that merit multiple books. Obviously there are exceptions, but there are exceptions to every rule.

Series are my favorite way to consume stories in book form, and often stand-alones fall flat for me. Typically, my biggest complaint about stand-alones is that they're too short and I didn't connect with the characters because I only had about 300-400 pages to do so. The characters and stories that I fall in love with are almost exclusively within series. And why wouldn't they be? When I spend thousands of pages with a character, plus the time anxiously waiting between books (and probably re-reading the previous ones) those will be the characters and stories that stick with me. Those are the ones I care about. When I go to do a Tumblr challenge or a tag about books and it asks anything about characters, almost all of the characters I choose are from series. Only occasionally do characters from stand-alones make it to the list.

When it comes to stand-alones, I feel like I don't have enough time to get to know the characters and to care about what happens to them. I'm a pretty fast reader, so if I grabbed a 300 page book and just sat and read it, it would take me less than 5 hours. Sure, I usually actually take 2-3 days to actually read that 300 page book, but 2-3 days still isn't a large chunk of my life. Regardless of the actual time spent reading a book, I generally find stand-alones to be too short most of the time, and I feel like there aren't enough pages to give me all of the things I want in a book. If I were to pick my ideal book size, I'd go for a book that was somewhere between 500-600 pages. I like big books (and I cannot lie). Even those 200 more pages could make the difference.

For example: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad.

172 Hours on the Moon is the most recent book that I finished. While I liked it, it felt very rushed. The first half was fine, and maybe even a little slow, but once we got to part 2, I felt like everything happened all too fast and then was just suddenly done. And although I didn't dislike the characters, I didn't particularly care about them either. When something happened to one of them, my reaction was pretty much "Well that was unfortunate." and I moved on. I had only spent maybe 200 pages with these characters and I don't think that's enough to care. At least for me.

Now, I'm not saying that stand-alones have no merit and shouldn't be written. Obviously, there are plenty stand-alones that are wonderful and don't need to be any longer or shorter than they are. And have read and loved several stand-alones. However, I find that for me, (in general) they aren't the ideal way to experience a story. For me, the story and characters often aren't fleshed out enough. Maybe duologies are the answer. I'm pretty sure that I've never read a duology, but maybe that's the happy medium between a book that's too compact and a trilogy that's stretched past its limit. Or maybe we just need epic, huge stand-alones. Which I'm not opposed to in the slightest. Bring on the big books.


That's all I have for this discussion about series, trilogies, and stand-alones. What are your opinions on this topic? Do you love series as much as I do? Or do you prefer stand-alones? Or do you have opinions in defense of trilogies? Let me know down in the comments, because I'd love to see other people's opinions on the matter!

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My Top 15 Stand-Alone Books

Hey, y'all! So I was surprised to see that I haven't done any sort of list with my favorite books! I thought it might be cool to make this a bi-annual thing, and since it's about halfway through the year, I figured it might be cool to do it every year halfway through and at the end of the year. Also, at the end of this post, I'm going to discuss some stand-alones that I think/ hope will make the next list, because I plan on reading them in the near future.

This list is not limited just to Stand-Alone novels. It really just includes any book that is not part of a series. I find that series tend to sometimes muddle my lists up, because you can only put Harry Potter on your favorites list a few times before it becomes repetitive. Very repetitive. 

I also tried to actually rank them within this list rather than just doing it in alphabetical order or something like that. However, you'll see that these books are just as varied as my reading interests- Young Adult, Dystopian, Classics, Psychology, Autobiography, Mystery, Fantasy, etc.- and how does one really effectively compare a fantasy novel and an autobiography? So, as I said, I tried to rank them. But I'll be sure to discuss why a book fell higher or lower than another, whether it's because I thought it wasn't quite as good or whether I just had to put them somewhere and played eenie meenie miney mo.

That being said, the last few books on this list aren't quite as significant. I was going to do a 10 book list, but a couple things caused me to decide on 15 rather than 10. First of all, my top 10 books are fairly solid. They sometimes fluctuate, but many of the books in it have been among my favorites for several years. Adding 5 extra slots will show some of the other changes which will occur over the years. Also, I had a list of about 12 books and couldn't narrow it down. So I tacked on a few to make 15. Let's get into the list!

#15: You Are Not So Smart 

by David McRaney

Like I said, this one was mostly just an add-on to get the list to 15 books. I liked the book, and actually have a book discussion on it (click HERE to see that) but I wouldn't really consider it one of my "favorites." I thought it was really interesting to learn about all of these different ways we're "deluding" ourselves. McRaney's writing was really funny, clever, and sarcastic. He's not a psychologist, so he explains things in layman's terms rather than using stuffy psychology terms. I was a lot more articulate in my actual discussion, so if you're interested, you should definitely check that out. Overall, I enjoyed it and will definitely be picking up the sequel, You Are Now Less Dumb, at some point, but I wouldn't call it one of my "favorite" books.

#14: The House on Hackman's Hill 

by Joan Lowery Nixon

This one is really, really, random. It's still another add-on to get to 15, but it does have a special place in my heart. This is actually a children's chapter book, but it's one of the creepiest stories I've ever read. First off, look at that cover. Seriously, that alone is enough to give you the heebie-jeebies. These two kids are visiting their grandparents, and they find this creepy old mansion. After their grandparents' neighbor tells them a story about when he lived in the mansion as the child, the kids decide to find a way into the mansion to find the mummy that's supposedly inside. I'm surprised this didn't give me nightmares as a child. I'd definitely say that this is my favorite children's book... which is why I still have a copy. 

#13: The Future of Us 

by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

This is the last of the "add-ons." I'd read and loved Jay Asher's debut novel, and loved the concept behind this book. It's 1995, and best friends Emma and Josh get on the internet for the first time. But they somehow get connected to Facebook in 2011 and get a glimpse into their future. The concept and the 3 preview chapters had me insanely excited about this book, and I bought and read the entire thing the day it came out. But it slightly disappointed me. Some things were left unexplained, and some of their actions were incredibly frustrating and illogical. And I felt like they mostly wasted their glimpse into the future. However, despite all the shortcomings, I did enjoy the book. It's disappointing and I wouldn't call it my "favorite" but it was an enjoyable and quick read. 

#12: The Boys Next Door

by Jennifer Echols

I'm certainly not saying that this is an amazing, well-written piece of literature. It's obviously not. It is, however, a very light, entertaining, contemporary read. This is exactly the book you want to take to the beach with you. So many contemporary novels right now are ones like The Fault In Our Stars- riddled with pain, sadness, and tears. This book is the exact opposite. The plot is predictable and slightly laughable, but the characters are funny and entertaining. Like I said, it's not an amazing book, but if I want a fun and happy read, I pick this up. Also: yes, I'm aware that this has a sequel, but honestly, it was completely unnecessary and so I ignore it all-together.

#11: Carrie

by Stephen King

Like I said, I have a very varied taste in books. This one is a pretty distinct step up from the last one. I discussed this book in my stand-alone book discussions post #1 (Click HERE to check that out). This is the first Stephen King book I've gotten all the way through, and it made me want to read more. The story and characters were interesting, but the way it was written was the star of the show. The main plot of the book is intermingled with articles, book excerpts, interviews, etc. about the "incident." I absolutely loved that. It made the book significantly more interesting and added anticipation for the scene at prom. This book was a very pleasant surprise.

#10: The Princess Bride

by William Goldman

It took me forever to realize that this book isn't actually an edited version of a book by S. Morgenstern, but just a novel by William Goldman. I haven't re-read the book since learning about that, so I want to re-read it sometime so that I can get the real full effect of the book. Generally, I'm of the mindset that the book is always better than the movie, but in this case, I have to say that I like the movie better. I grew up with the movie, and didn't pick up the book until high school. That being said, I do still really enjoy the book. Maybe I'll like it even more upon a re-read!

#9: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

by Stephen Chbosky

Given my love for young adult books, you might be surprised that it's not higher on my list. Although I really liked this book, I feel like I didn't love it as much as everyone else seemed to. Its strengths are the characters. All of the characters are really interesting, unique, and multi-faceted. It's also written really well and I really like the letter format. I guess that the reason it's not a little higher is because while I liked the plot, it wasn't amazing. That being said, it's obviously in my top 10 stand-alone books, so I do really enjoy the book. For this one, it's just the difference between like and love that keeps it in the lower half of my top 10.

#8: Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

This book is a combination of several things that I really love. I love almost anything that came out of the first half of the 20th century- books, music, art, etc. I love it all. I'm also a big fan of dystopian novels. This one and the book in the #7 spot tend to go back and forth as to which one I prefer because they're both classic dystopians. What I love about dystopians is learning about the world that the book is set in. That's my favorite part about Brave New World. The plot is kinda meh for me. But the world is incredible. And I love that a lot of the focus is upon the world, and the commentary that Huxley is making using this dystopian world. The plot and characters really take a backseat, and I really appreciate that.

#7: 1984

by George Orwell

I also discussed this book in my stand-alone book discussions post #1 (Click HERE to check that out). I absolutely love the concept behind the world in this book. While the entire world isn't quite as fleshed out as Brave New World (because 1984 is a little more character-based and we only really see the world surrounding that one character) I think that the concept behind the world is amazing and terrifying. A world where you can't even think freely, let alone speak or write freely is just terrifying, and I can see how it terrified people who read it before 1984. And the ending is so great but so terrible at the same time. Like I said, Brave New World and 1984 are mostly tied, but I had to put one above the other, so I went with 1984.

#6: This Is Your Brain on Music

by Daniel Levitin

If I were to name the one book that has had the most impact on my actual life/future, I'd have to say this one. I read it my freshman year of college for a class called "The Psychology of Music." The class is still my favorite class that I've ever taken. Ever. (It helps that my advisor/music theory prof./favorite prof. ever was teaching it). I need to go back and re-read this because I procrastinated and had to read this book in a very short time period. Regardless, I absolutely loved it. Levitin likes to focus on the mind/thoughts and music rather than the neuroscience aspects, and I really agree. This entire book was just a wonderful look at psychology and music and I absolutely love it. 

#5: The Fault In Our Stars

by John Green

We have officially gotten to the books that I love, love, love. From this point onward, all of these books are super special to me. Also, as you might notice, this is a signed copy. I came across it in Target and thought it was a joke. NOPE. I hate that I can't get the red cloud off (it's not a sticker- it's part of the jacket) but my desire for a signed copy won out. We all know all about this beautiful book. You're probably just surprised it's not #1 or #2. While I do really love this book, there are 4 books that I love even more. You'll also notice that I don't have any other John Green books on this list. I've only read 2, and I did NOT like the other one. I won't tell you what it is (forgot to include it in my stand-alone book reviews. OOPS!) but it will be included in my next stand-alone book reviews post. Anyway, this book is great and I sobbed all the way through it. Also, I read both this and The Perks of Being a Wallflower for the first time in the same day last August. Bad decision. All the feels.

#4: All-American Girl

by Meg Cabot

I'm honestly not sure how well-known this book is. For the longest time during my childhood, this was my favorite book. You can probably tell how many times I've read it just because of how beat up the book is. It was brand new when I got it. I haven't always been so nice to my books. Anyway, I remember getting this at a book fair. My memory says that it was in 4th grade, but it doesn't seem to fit timeline-wise, because I feel like I read it before that. Maybe I got it in 2nd or 3rd grade? I dunno. It took me a while before I actually read it, but once I did, I fell in love. I recognize now that it's not actually an amazing book, but I've read it so many times and loved it for so long that I just can't help but continue to love it. This book is a heavier dose of nostalgia than even Harry Potter, because I read it before I read Harry Potter. And yes, this book technically has a sequel, but it's terrible and I pretend it doesn't exist.

#3: Unsaid Things... Our Story

by McFly

This may be obvious since it's at my #3 spot, but I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. I've mentioned this several times on here, but McFly is my favorite band. And I don't mean it in a way where I'm just a casual fan and I just like their music. I love all four of these guys and I absolutely love reading the story of the band from their POV. I'll be the first one to say that this book isn't for everyone. This isn't one of those deep autobiographies that can be enjoyed even if you don't know much about the person. It's not an incredibly written piece of literature. It's for the fans. It gives fans an inside look into the entire history of the band. For me, it's the emotional connection I have to the band that causes me to love this book so much. I laughed, I cried, and I laughed some more. It's great. 

So, we're now getting down to the nitty-gritty. Going into this list, I already knew which books would be in the top 2 spots, so that should be an indication of how much I absolutely, completely love these two books. 

#2: Thirteen Reason Why

by Jay Asher

I remember seeing this book in Barnes & Noble right after it was released in 2009 and thinking that it was a really cool concept. But I hadn't ever heard of it, and didn't want to pay full-price for a brand-new hardcover. Fast-forward about a year, when I found it for $7 at Half-Price Books. I recognized it and remembered how awesome the concept had sounded, so I decided to get it. One of the best decisions I've ever made. Like I said, I thought this concept was really interesting, and I think it was really well executed (unlike Jay Asher's other book on this list, The Future of Us). This book is just so emotional, and I love the back and forth between Hannah's story and Clay's story. Overall, it's just an amazing, tear-jerking book. I love it. So much.

#1: And Then There Were None

by Agatha Christie

I don't even know what all to say about this book. It's just... so perfect. There's a reason that this is the best-selling mystery book ever. This is the most intricately and brilliantly concocted mystery... ever. When I got to the final reveal, I was awe-struck and amazed. I've read this book countless times, and even though I know what happens I still love it every time. I don't know what else to say... it's incredibly written, an incredibly clever mystery, and just an amazing book. I love it so much.

Books That Will Hopefully Make My Next List!

So, as I said, I plan on updating my list every 6 months or so. The following books are the stand-alones that I definitely, positively, plan to read within the next 6 months. And since I really want to read these books, I also hope that I like them enough for them to make it onto my list!

Ready Player One

by Ernest Cline

Forget "within the next six months." I plan on reading this immediately upon finishing my reading challenge at the end of July. I've been wanting to read this for forever and finally ordered it off Amazon. Just having it sitting on my shelves has upped my desire to read it. I'm so excited. It sounds exactly like something I'll enjoy. I just hope I'm not over-hyping myself for it.

The Book Thief

by Marcus Zusak

I've heard so many amazing things about this book. This is TheLittleBookOwl's favorite book, and nearly every booktuber has read it and loved it. I feel like I'm pretty behind because I haven't read this book. I've had it sitting on my shelf since March-ish, so I feel like I need to get on this soon.

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan

I've wanted to read this book for quite a while, and have had it sitting on my shelf for about the same length of time as The Book Thief. It just sounds like the most perfect book for a book lover. I mean, it's about a bookstore! It doesn't get much more interesting than that!

Asylum

by Madeleine Roux

I have a very specific plan for this book. I want to have a Halloween/ horror theme for the books I'm reading in October, so I'm going to read this then, along with a few other creepy books. I got this one last month, and had been eyeing it for quite a while before getting it, so I'm really ready to get into it!

Vicious

by V.E. Schwab

The concept behind this book is just super interesting. Several booktubers that I watch absolutely love this book, and I trust their opinions. Therefore, I'm really hoping that I love this as much as they love it. Anti-heroes are just super cool.

So, there you go, those were my top 15 stand-alones, and the stand-alones that I hope make the list next time around! Have you read these books? How do you feel about them? What books are your favorite stand-alones?

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