Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Ranking ALL the Books I Read in 2016

It's that time of year again-- the time when I rank every single book that I read in 2016. I'll try not to ramble too much at the top since this is already going to be a pretty long post, but here's what you need to know:

-- Every book that I read in 2016 is ranked separately. Series are split up into individual books rather than being ranked together in a single spot.
-- Pretty much anything that can be linked is linked. If I wrote more than a sentence or two about it on Goodreads, my written review is linked. If I talked about it in a video, the video is linked. If I did a full book/series review, it's definitely linked. All of the things are linked.
-- Finally, I also have a video where I ranked the top 12 books of 2016. In that video, series are ranked in a single slot, and stuff is shifted around accordingly. 

Now that that's out of the way, let's jump into the list.

58) The Selection
(The Selection #1)
by Kiera Cass

Rating: 4/10

I feel like there isn't very much left to say about this book that I haven't already said in text or in video form. I re-read my blog post on the book and it made me laugh all over again, so I'd definitely suggest to check out that post and the video as well. But very quickly, I thought that the writing and world build were very weak. The characters are annoying. The society is set in some very arbitrary gender norms and sexism that drove me crazy. That being said, it was really fun to read and make fun of, which saved it from being absolutely awful.


57) Ghosted, Volume 1: Haunted Heist
by Joshua Williamson

Rating: 5/10

I was just really underwhelmed by this. It's about a group of people trying to steal a ghost from a haunted house, which sounds like a really cool premise. But this was honestly just a bit... blah. Nothing stood out as very interesting or unique, and I didn't connect to anything in this story at all. Overall, this first volume didn't impress me and I won't be continuing on with this series.


56) Where Futures End
by Parker Peevyhouse

Rating: 5.5/10

I had high hopes for this book. It's a dystopian story told through five novellas that take place throughout time. It's meant to be a bit of a puzzle for the reader to put together-- a mystery for the reader to solve-- but it just wasn't impressive. I thought that it was rather straightforward, and the ultimate reveal left me very underwhelmed. 


55) In Real Life
by Cory Doctorow

Rating: 6/10

In Real Life suffered from being a quick read. It tried to deal with some deeper subject matter, but because of the fact that it was a quick read, everything ended up being very surface level and therefore felt very cliche. There was an attempt to make something very moving, but it was very underwhelming.


54) The Elite
(The Selection #2)
by Kiera Cass

Rating: 6/10

I already said quite a bit about The Selection, and nearly all of that criticism translates over to The Elite. The one thing that makes this one better than book one is that the inherent gender norms & sexism are much less prominent. Everything else about it was still pretty sloppy, but it became a more entertaining read to laugh at/make fun of without the sexism. 


53) Quiet
by Susan Cain

Rating: 6.5/10

This is one of the few non-fiction books that I read this year, and I guess it doesn't have much of a fair chance, because I had to read this for the research assistant position that I held. It was a perfectly fine read, and in terms of non-fiction, books, it certainly wasn't boring. However, it's a novel about the power of introverts in a talkative world, and I felt that (as an introvert) it didn't necessarily give me any insights that I wasn't already aware of. 


52) Reflections of the Mole
by The Mole, Season 2

Rating: 6.5/10

This one needs a brief explanation. The Mole is one of my favorite TV shows ever. EVER. Like... top 2 status. Possibly #1. Anyway, it's a reality show and the premise is that there is a group of contestants who compete in challenges to win money for the group pot, which one of them will eventually win. However, among this group of contestants, one is "The Mole," a person placed there by production who is there to sabotage the games. The contestants' goal is to discover who among them is The Mole. That's the quick synopsis, but it's an absolutely brilliant show and it's available on YouTube, so I highly recommend checking it out.

OK, so now on to the book. The book was written by the person who was The Mole in season 2. The book cover has the author's name and image on it. Since I'm such a big fan, I really don't want to spoil the identity of the mole for anyone, so I'm leaving out the cover. The book talks about the mole's experiences on the show. And I thought it was pretty good. For Mole fans, I think it's a must-read. It gives really awesome insight into some behind the scenes stuff. However, there are some sections dealing with "The Mole's" past that were just boring and unnecessary. On top of that, the book reeeeeally needed editing, as I literally began keeping track of how often the word "inasmuch" was used because it was waywayway overused. Because of that, I couldn't really give it a high rating.


51) Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 2: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Rating: 6.5/10

Overall, I thought the Scott Pilgrim series was pretty good, but this was my least favorite volume. There were sections that were pretty nonsensical (which is impressive, given how nonsensical this series is overall). The plot seemed a bit messy in this one, and there were sections that were a bit hard to follow. It was still enjoyable and fun, but definitely lower quality-wise than the rest of the volumes.


50) Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe
by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Rating: 6.5/10

This was another shakier volume in the series. It was alright, and it was easier to follow than volume 2, but this one felt a bit forgettable to me. I didn't enjoy it as much as other volumes. And, although the volume was about the same length as the other volumes, it seemed like not quite as much happened in this one. Overall, it was alright, but not as strong as other volumes. 


49) Monster, Vol. 5: After the Carnival
by Naoki Urasawa

Rating: 7/10

So far, this has been my least favorite volume in the Monster series. The series has hovered a bit above this rating, so it's not much below the others, but I felt like not a lot happened in this volume. I still enjoyed it, just not as much as the ones before it. 


48) The Body in the Library
(Miss Marple #3)
by Agatha Christie

Rating: 7/10

Agatha Christie's novels usually fall somewhere in this area, but this one is on the lower end. This was my first Miss Marple mystery, and I found her to be a less compelling sleuth than Hercule Poirot. In fact, I didn't think she was incredibly present in the story. As always with Christie's books, there were interesting twists and turns along the way, but it wasn't as compelling as other books I've read by her.


47) Monster, Vol. 4: Ayse's Friend
by Naoki Urasawa

Rating: 7/10

My one complaint about this volume is that it felt like a diversion from the main plot. The previous volume was my favorite in the series so far, and this one didn't live up to the setup provided by volume 3. 


46) Clockwork Angel (Manga)
(Infernal Devices #1)
by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 7/10

I love The Infernal Devices. I believe that I gave the original novel either 8/10 or 8.5/10, so clearly this one was not as good as the novel. I think that overall, this series is a good adaptation of the original novels, but it's obviously difficult to portray all of the intricacies of a novel in a manga form. And occasionally, the art made it a bit difficult to tell the characters apart.  

TL;DR: The manga adaptation is good, but if you're wanting to check out The Infernal Devices, read the original series because you'll get a lot more out of it.


45) Lumberjanes, Vol 2: Friendship to the Max
by Noelle Stevenson

Rating: 7/10

I've enjoyed the first couple volumes of this series. The first was still better, but the characters are enjoyable, and it's definitely a fun and light-hearted series. Definitely not my favorite series ever, but enjoyable. 


44) Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 4: Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together
by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Rating: 7/10

Not gonna lie, it's been a long time since I read this series, and I read volumes 3-6 in one fell swoop so they all run together a bit. All I can say is that it was enjoyable and that it was a solid installment in the series. Not amazing, but enjoyable. 


43) Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes
by Neil Gaiman

Rating: 7.5/10

I have more conflicted opinions about this book than I do about almost any other book ever. I think that this just really, really, really, wasn't my thing. There was nothing wrong with it, and I certainly didn't think that it was bad in any way. I just felt absolutely nothing toward this. Quality-wise, it was perfectly solid. Therefore, I gave it just under 4/5 because it was very clearly a good book, so I couldn't bash it or anything, but I just didn't personally like it or connect with it. 


42) Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice
by John Layman

Rating: 7.5/10

I enjoyed this first volume in the Chew series. It introduced a very intriguing world and enjoyable characters. I enjoyed it, but I haven't continued the series despite the fact that I read this volume almost a year ago. It was good, but it didn't completely grab me and compel me to want to pick up more. I'm still undecided on whether or not to continue this series.


41) Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy
by Noelle Stevenson

Rating: 7.5/10

I feel like I already said everything that I wanted to say about this series when talking about volume 2. It's a fun, lighthearted series with interesting characters. I think at this point that I'm not going to continue the series because it wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be, but I think other people will really enjoy it. 


40) The Iron Trial
(Magisterium #1)
by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Rating: 7.5/10

I found this to be an enjoyable read, but I found it very hard to disconnect this from Harry Potter comparisons. I found that there were many similarities to Harry Potter, and I found that hard to shake. That being said, I did like this book, and it did introduce a world that was rather different than the Harry Potter world, and that was probably the most interesting aspect of the book. That being said, it didn't totally grab me and I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I'm going to continue the series. 


39) The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
(Poirot #4)
by Agatha Christie

Rating: 7.5/10

I'd often heard that this was the best of Christie's Poirot novels, but I think this book really suffered from the fact that it's been 90 years since this book was published. I figured out what was going on rather quickly, for a few reasons: 1) I'm familiar with the way that Christie writes, so I noticed a deviation rather quickly. & 2) In the 90 years since this book was published, other books have borrowed from it. Because of this, despite the fact that this book inspired those other books, this felt less fresh because I'd already seen certain things done before. However, this was still a really great book and I really wish I hadn't figured out what was going on so quickly. 


38) The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson

Rating: 8/10

I kinda picked this up out of the blue. It was nearing Halloween and I was in the mood for some creepy books, and this was one that caught my eye. Overall, I thought it was really intriguing and it kept me interested and trying to figure it out throughout the entirety of the book. It also subverted my expectations quite a bit, because I went in expecting a haunted house story and got quite a bit more than that. 


37) Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 3: Scott Pilgrim & the Infinite Sadness
by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Rating: 8/10

Like I said, these middle volumes run together a bit, but I do remember enjoying this specific book quite a bit. It added a bit of interest and intrigue to the story that wasn't present in the previous volume, and some of the more interesting moments in the series come into play in this volume.


36) Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
by Bryan Lee O'Malley

Rating: 8/10

Overall, I thought this was a really cool finale to the series. A lot of epic stuff goes down in this volume and it was just a fun conclusion to a fun series. I really want to go back at some point and re-read the series in the hopes that I enjoy it and appreciate it more, because I feel like I did a disservice to the series by reading it so quickly. I think that re-reading with the understanding that I currently have of the series, I'd understand some of the stuff a bit more and therefore hopefully enjoy it more. 


35) Saga, Vol. 5
by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Rating: 8/10

So far, this has been my least favorite volume of Saga, but I did still definitely enjoy it. Overall, this series has been pretty solid, but no singular volume has really impressed me. I guess that "monotony" (not a good word for it, but the only one that really makes sense to me??) got a bit tiring with this one, and it made me enjoy it a bit less.


34) Saga, Vol. 4
by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Rating: 8/10

Pretty much the same reasoning that I gave for volume 5. This series is enjoyable, but it's just been solid rather than impressive. I want it to finally wow me, and it continually doesn't. I enjoyed this volume slightly more, so it ended up slightly higher. 


33) Peril at End House
(Poirot #8)
by Agatha Christie

Rating: 8/10

I really enjoyed this Poirot novel. Often, it's very hard to keep track of what is going on in Poirot's brain because he's just so intelligent, but there were actually some moments where I was able to follow along with what was going on, and I really enjoyed that. I loved that I figured out one corner of the puzzle, and got the rest of it pieced together for me by Poirot. And it was also a really interesting mystery to try to figure out. It kept me guessing and on my toes. Overall, a really solid Poirot novel. 


32) Clockwork Prince (Manga)
(Infernal Devices Manga #2)
by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 8/10

Once again, I liked this manga adaptation a bit less than the original novel, which I believe I gave either 8.5/10 or 9/10. And it's pretty much for the same reasons as with the first volume. The characters get slightly confused with some of the illustrations, and some of the intricacies are missed out on when changed into a manga format.


31) Off to Be the Wizard
(Magic 2.0 #1)
by Scott Meyer

Rating: 8/10

This was a really fun, light-hearted novel. I loved the narrator's voice. He was funny, witty, sarcastic, and really relatable. The thing that kept me from loving this book was that the plot wasn't quite as compelling for me. There was always interesting stuff going on, but the plot was a bit choppy, which made it a bit less enjoyable. It was a fun read, and I did really enjoy it, but it hasn't gripped me so much that I feel the need to pick up book 2 ASAP.


30) Saga, Vol. 6
by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

Rating: 8/10

I'll mention the same exact criticism about the series not wowing me, but I did feel like this volume was a bit more intriguing and I'm hoping that the series is ramping up for something exciting.


29) Monster: Perfect Edition, Vol. 1
(Bindup of original vol. 1 & 2)
by Naoki Urasawa

Rating: 8/10

As mentioned above, this is a bindup of the first 2 volumes of this series. The first time I read this, I actually gave it 7.5/10 (3/5) but when I got further in the series, I bumped it up to 4/5. I thought this gave some really interesting and solid background for the series. It really establishes the main character's background and is just really solid setup for the volumes to follow.


28) Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 4
(Bindup of original vol. 7 & 8)
by Tsugumi Ohba

Rating: 8/10

This is my least favorite volume in the Death Note series, but it's still a solid volume. The end of original volume 7 is fairly controversial for fans of the series, and is the majority of the reason that this volume is this low. I won't go into detail, but I wasn't a huge fan of it and it took me a while to come to terms with it and accept it. 


27) Death Note, Black Edition, Vol. 2
(Bindup of original vol. 3 & 4)
by Tsugumi Ohba

Rating: 8/10

I love this series, and have enjoyed every volume. That being said, I'm one of those people who's a bit averse to change. The first black edition sets up a really interesting series and this volume is when that setup begins to get twisted, changed, and shuffled around. It took a while for me to actually come to terms with that and appreciate it. I eventually did, but since this was the transition, this was lower on my list of favorites.


26) Wolf in White Van
by John Darnielle

Rating: 8.5/10

This book was rather outside of my comfort zone, but I ended up really enjoying it. It's very complex, jumping around and playing with the timeline in very interesting ways. It's one of those books that is a slow burn, getting you more and more interested as the book goes on. However, I felt like it burned and burned... just to fizzle out with an ending that was a bit unsatisfying. So that's where the points were docked.


25) Calamity
(Reckoners #3)
by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 8.5/10

This is a solid book, but it's actually my least favorite Brandon Sanderson book. A lot of interesting stuff happened in the finale to this trilogy. There was some really awesome fast-paced action, and even though it was the weakest book in the series, the series was pretty solid overall.


24) The Ocean at the End of the Lane
by Neil Gaiman

Rating: 8.5/10

This book is notoriously difficult to describe to people who haven't read it, but it's this very odd mix of a creepypasta/no sleep story and a children's story. That sounds weird, but that's because it is. I thought it was a very unique and endearing story.


23) Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1: Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life
by Brian Lee O'Malley

Rating: 8.5/10

I really loved this first volume in the Scott Pilgrim series. I immediately connected with Scott as a character and the general tone and humor of the series. This volume is seriously the reason that I want to go back and re-read the whole thing because I really appreciate this first volume and I want to appreciate the rest of it in the same way.


22) Monster, Vol. 3: 511 Kinderheim
by Naoki Urasawa

Rating: 8.5/10

So far, this is my favorite volume in the Monster series. It added some really interesting depth to both the plot and to the antagonist, and the plot was extremely interesting.


21) Dark Matter
by Blake Crouch

Rating: 8.5/10

The premise of this novel grabbed me really quickly, and the book didn't disappoint. It was a really intriguing thriller, and kept me constantly on the edge of my seat. It was really interesting to follow the main character as he tries to understand what exactly is going on and there are so many complexities that make it incredibly compelling. 


20) Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
(Bindup of original vol. 4 & 5)
by Ichigo Takano

Rating: 8.5/10

This was an incredibly heartwarming story, but I'll talk about that more when we get to volume 1. The reason this one is lower is mostly because some of the logistics underlying this series are finally explained in this volume... and it's an incredibly flimsy explanation. The story is still incredibly endearing and adorable and heartwarming, but it's a bit of a knock on what otherwise is a really great series. 


19) Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 5
(Bindup of original vol. 9 & 10)
by Tsugumi Ohba

Rating: 8.5/10

So much interesting stuff goes down in this volume. The series regains its footing a bit after the incident in black edition vol 4 and begins to prepare for the epic finale in B.E. vol 6. 


18) Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 3
(Bindup of original vol. 5 & 6)
by Tsugumi Ohba

Rating: 8.5/10

This volume is really where the series gains a lot of momentum. The back and forth between these extremely clever/genius characters is incredibly compelling and just really entertaining to watch. So much intriguing stuff in this volume. 


17) The Queen of the Tearling
(Tearling Trilogy #1)
by Erika Johansen

Rating: 8.5/10

2016 was the year that I finally got through The Queen of the Tearling. I'd tried reading it twice and set it down both times-- not because I didn't enjoy it, but because it's a slower read and took a while to get into it. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The main character, Kelsea, is really likable. The world is well-crafted and really interesting. The plot is a bit slow-paced, but introduces a lot of very compelling aspects. I haven't moved on to book 2, but this was definitely a really interesting introduction to the series. 


16) Clockwork Princess (Manga)
(Infernal Devices Manga #3)
by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 8.5/10

I don't want to be a broken record, but it's still not quite as good as the original. Gave me lots of feels, but the original was my favorite book of 2014 and a full 10/10 stars, but the manga series still has a few little problems. Still really enjoyed it, but the novels are definitely better. 


15) Obsidian
(Lux #1)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rating: 8.5/10

This was my last read of the year, and oh boy was it a doozy. It's like Jennifer L Armentrout took everything that you hate from Twilight and was like "I'm gonna make you love this." It was one of those books that you just can't put down, and I got so incredibly engrossed in it. It wasn't the best thing that I've ever read, but it was a super fun read. 


14) Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 1
(Bindup of original vol. 1 & 2)
by Tsugumi Ohba

Rating: 9/10

This was such a great introduction to the Death Note series. Watching our main character, Light, begin to understand the Death Note is really compelling, and getting introduced to L as a character is really interesting as well. The setup for this series is just incredibly compelling and it immediately sucked me into this world and made me want to read more. 


13) Don't Look Back
by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Rating: 9/10

This was my first Jennifer L. Armentrout book and it made me want to read every other book she publishes. This is one of the most addicting books I've ever read. I was immediately interested in what exactly was going on, and the suspense and intrigue surrounding the plot and the characters made the book impossible to put down. I was up until 5 AM reading this book, before finally forcing myself to put it down and go to sleep. It was so interesting and just so addicting. 


12) Steelheart
(Reckoners #1)
by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 9/10

This is a really good introduction to the Reckoners Trilogy. David, our main character, has a really great voice with his failed attempts at humor. The world is really interesting, and the plot is also very compelling. Brandon Sanderson does not disappoint.


11) Firefight
(Reckoners #2)
by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 9/10

And... here he is again. This is definitely my favorite book in the Reckoners Trilogy. I read the majority of it in one sitting because so much stuff was going down and I wanted to find out exactly what all of those things were. The plot is really compelling, the characters are really awesome, and some of the stuff that goes down in this book is just... whoa.


10) Coda
(Coda #1)
by Emma Trevayne

Rating: 9/10

The world of Coda is super cool, and I immediately fell in love with it. It's a dystopian novel centering around music, and if there's anything I love, it's dystopian novels and music. The society is incredibly interesting, and despite the overarching predictability of the novel, there were lots of things along the way that really surprised me, and I really loved it. 


9) Lair of Dreams
(The Diviners #2)
by Libba Bray

Rating: 9/10

This series is only two books in out of an eventual four, but it has completely made me fall in love with it. Both books have really impressed me. The 20s mood that is created in this series is outstanding. The way that Libba Bray weaves together different storylines between different characters is outstanding, and the characters are all so fleshed out and interesting. This one wasn't quite as good as book 1 but oooooh boy is it good. Eagerly waiting for book 3.


8) Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 6
(Bindup of original vol. 11 & 12)
by Tsugumi Ohba

Rating: 9.5/10

This was such an amazing conclusion to what proved to be one of my all-time favorite series. The sheer genius of the characters and of the schemes that they come up with is just so entertaining and so amazing to watch. And it all comes to this amazingly impressive head in volume six that was so complex that even I had trouble keeping up sometimes. It was so epic and so awesome. Seriously, read this series. And then watch the anime.


7) Orange: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
(Bindup of original vol. 1,2 & 3)
by Ichigo Takano

Rating: 9.5/10

Like I said with vol. 2, this series is adorable. It's just such an endearing story of friends and their love for each other throughout the years and the lengths that they will go to in order to help each other and bring each other happiness. It's just so heartwarming and so adorable and I fell completely in love with this story.


6) Carry On
by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: 9.5/10

I went into this rather skeptical and came out of it completely in love. At first, it seems to be a Harry Potter fanfic that somehow got published, but it quickly diverts from that into a really wonderful and unique story. It plays with typical tropes in really interesting ways, and at many moments it's just... so... cute. It did take me a little while to get into this, but once I did, I fell completely in love. 


5) The Way of Kings
(Stormlight Archive #1)
by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 9.5/10

This book is epic. Brandon Sanderson, as always, is incredibly impressive. This story is massive. This world is massive. There's so much stuff going on that I can't really even talk about one thing specifically. It did take me a little while to get engrossed in this, but it's a 1000 page book that's the first in a 10 book series. There's a lot of setup, but it's just so well crafted. 


4) The Forgetting
by Sharon Cameron

Rating: 10/10

Yet another book that I simply couldn't put down. The premise of this novel was so intriguing and the novel certainly didn't let me down. It did slightly rely on some familiar tropes, but personally that didn't take away from my reading experience in any way, shape, or form. The world-build was super interesting, I really loved the characters, the plot kept me intrigued, and there was a cute romance on top of that. This was the total package.


3) The Chimes
by Anna Smaill

Rating: 10/10

Speaking of the total package, allow me to introduce you to The Chimes. This. Book. Is. Beautiful. It's very heavy on the literary fiction, but it's also a dystopian novel with an incredibly interesting world. Smaill's prose, with all of the musical aspects woven into it, is stunning, and the story is really wonderful as well. The world-build is super solid, and despite the plot being a bit slower in the beginning, it's very intriguing as it continues on. This was longlisted for the ManBooker in 2015 and there's definitely a reason why. 


2) The Mime Order
(The Bone Season #2)
by Samantha Shannon

Rating: 10/10

The Mime Order solidified this series as my favorite ongoing series. It's not quite as great as The Bone Season, but I still really loved it. The world in this series is fantastic. I love our main character, Paige, as well as the other key characters in the mix. The plot in this story is also really intriguing and allows us to explore a different section of the world that we didn't get to see too much in the first book. Basically, I'm just really excited about book 3's release in March.


1) Warbreaker
by Brandon Sanderson

Rating: 10/10

BRANDON SANDERSON CAN DO NO WRONG.
This. Man. Sanderson. He's so good. I love this book so much. It was the ultimate package. The world? Fantastic. The magic system? Holy crap amazing. The characters? LOVED. THEM. The plot? Woven beautifully. Everything was outstanding. Everything. I have nothing bad to say about this book. It's so good. 


So, that's my ranking of the books that I read in 2016! Overall, I think it was a really great reading year and I'm very happy with the majority of the books that I read in 2016. Hopefully, my 2017 reading year will be just as great, if not better!

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Thursday, January 5, 2017

Favorites of 2016

So... it's been a little while. I've been doing twenty million different things and none of them ended up being this blog. But, I've always done rankings of my favorite things each year, and I wanted to keep that trend alive. That being said, after evaluating all the things that I ranked last year, I found myself at a bit of an impasse.

Last year, I ranked my overall favorite movies, musicians, albums, songs, TV shows, YouTubers, and BookTubers as well as my favorite albums and songs of 2015. When I looked back, I realized that my overall/all-time favorites haven't changed much if at all, so it seemed a bit ridiculous to re-rank everything. As for the favorites of the year, I realized that in my iTunes library, I only have 3 CDs from 2016 in my iTunes. And while I liked them, it didn't feel like enough to merit a whole ranking. And then I had to consider the new songs of 2016 and I couldn't even think of any off the top of my head. So, I'm just combining the two into one post and adding other favorites of the year into the mix.

Favorite New TV Show of 2016:
Stranger Things

This may be the most obvious answer ever because everyone loved Stranger Things, but I got SO obsessed. It was so good and I watched the entirety of the show in a day. After watching the first episode, I got hooked and watched the entirety of the show without doing anything else in between. I watch a ton of reality shows and very few scripted shows but this one completely stole my heart and I ended up watching it another two times over the following weeks and months. 

Despite the fact that there were new seasons of some of my favorite shows like Project Runway, Rupaul's Drag Race, and Big Brother, Stranger Things was the show that really grabbed me this year. 


Favorite New CD of 2016:
A Pentatonix Christmas by Pentatonix

Like I said earlier in the post, there wasn't really very much competition for the best CD of the year, but as always, Pentatonix was incredibly impressive. I actually didn't jump on this immediately upon its release, because I don't really listen to a bunch of Christmas music. However, once I started listening to it, I couldn't stop. It was so good! The standouts for me are their cover of Kanye's song, Coldest Winter, their cover of Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays by NSYNC, and their version of Up on the Housetop. However, the entire CD is really great. And those three songs are also probably my favorite songs of the year. 

The other two CDs that I have from this year were Panic! at the Disco's "Death of a Bachelor" CD and Parachute's "Wide Awake" CD. Both of them were good, but I definitely haven't had them on replay like with A Pentatonix Christmas.


Favorite New Song of 2016:
Bad 4 Us by Superfruit

I said above that the songs from A Pentatonix Christmas were probably my favorites of the year, which is mostly because I didn't listen to a ton of new music this year. But in terms of newly released songs, this is definitely my favorite. I played this constantly for a solid month after its release. I nearly forgot about it because it's Superfruit (Scott and Mitch from Pentatonix) on YouTube rather than one of my favorite bands or a song from a new CD this year. I love this song so much. 


Favorite Pre-2016 TV Show:
The Genius

For the pre-2016 choices, I'm going with things that I discovered in 2016 that didn't come out in 2016.
This one squeaked in there riiiiight at the end of the year but oh boy did it make an impact. The Genius is a reality game show made in South Korea. I discovered it through listening to Rob Has a Podcast, and I checked out the first episode back in the summer. It was great, but I didn't watch past episode 1 until the last week of the year. Although I loved episode 1 the first time through, it resonated a lot more the second time I watched it and I ended up binge-watching the entirety of the season. I didn't finish the season until after the beginning of 2017, but I watched a good chunk of the season in 2016. This show is absolutely amazing and so smart. I can't wait to see the other three seasons, because I've gotten obsessed.


Favorite Pre-2016 CD:
The Walking In Between by Ben Rector
 Technically, I didn't discover The Walking in Between in 2016. I listened to it quite a while back, but I just listened to it on Spotify and then forgot it existed. And then I re-discovered it in 2016 and actually downloaded and played it on repeat. This may not have been my most listened to CD of the year, but it was really high up there. And the songs on this CD all kinda count as my favorite pre-2016 songs. 

The CD I listened to the most this year was probably Astoria by Marianas Trench, which came out in 2015. I first listened to it when it came out, but I severely underestimated it. I fell in love with it in 2016, to the point that I really wanted to put it here, but I did discover it in 2015 so I unfortunately couldn't. It did appear on my favorite CDs of 2015 list, which you can check out here.


Favorite Podcast I Discovered in 2016:
The Black Tapes

2016 was definitely the year of the podcast for me. I'd dabbled in podcasts before 2016, but only minimally (notably, listening to Rob Has a Podcast's Big Brother coverage). However, at the end of 2015 was when I first started listening to fictional podcasts and by the beginning of 2016, I went full force into the world of podcasts. The Black Tapes was the new discovery that I fell in love with the most. (However, I will say that I fell head over heels for Limetown with like 2 days left in 2015)

The Black Tapes is an incredibly creepy but engrossing podcast that is super unique and really interesting. It's not my absolute favorite podcast ever (that honor still goes to Rob Has a Podcast) but it's definitely the best one that I discovered in 2016. 


So... that's all I have for my favorites of 2016. It's a bit of a hot mess of a list, but that describes my 2016 pretty well. This list has made me realize that I didn't listen to much new music this year, and I think that this is largely because of the vast amount of podcast listening that I've been doing on my commute to school/work. 

If you're looking for my favorite books of 2016 (given that I make BookTube videos), I promise, it's coming! As with the last couple years, I'm going to be ranking every 2016 read on my blog, and I'm going to be doing end of the year videos on my YouTube channel as well. Patience, young Padawan.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

My NaNoWriMo Prep & Planning: 2016

NaNoWriMo is finally upon us, and I am SO. EXCITED.

I've gone all out with my planning this year- planning specific writing times each day, making goals, planning rewards, making playlists, and creating writing triggers. And, since I've been doing so much planning, I figured I'd go ahead and share some of my plans with y'all. I don't know how useful this will be, given that I haven't even started NaNoWriMo yet, let alone won. But, here it is anyway.

I guess the best way to start is by talking a bit about my history with NaNoWriMo and my current project. So, my first year of doing NaNoWriMo was 2 years ago in 2014. That year, I worked on a novel that I've been working on for several years and I got 23,000 words before eventually giving up. I then attempted to do Camp NaNoWriMo in April 2015 and July 2016, working on that same novel, giving up both times after about a week and a half. So essentially, I have been a complete failure at NaNoWriMo every single time I've tried to do it. But this time, I want to be successful. Hence all of the planning. 

This time, I'm going to be working on a completely different story. It's not a new story, but it's one that I haven't touched in several years. I already had a pretty detailed outline written for this story, so I was fortunate enough that I didn't have to do much prep in that area. I do have a full video on the topic so I'll keep this description brief and leave it to video-Kristen to give you the more in-depth details if you're curious. Essentially, this story started out as a Jonas Brothers fanfiction back when I was obsessed with them. Over the years, I've replaced them with a fictional boy band, but the story still totally reads as a very cliche, dramatic Quizilla-esque fanfic. Despite recognizing that I can't really do anything with this story, I love this really ridiculous aspect to it and am really excited about it. Further explanations can be found in the video.


Goals & Rewards

So, I'm going to be basing my daily goals off of the typical NaNoWriMo goals. I'll be trying to write the full 50,000 words, so my daily goal is 1,667 words. I've set up both a planner and a tracker in my bullet journal to keep track of the times I plan to write and my daily/total word count goals. I have a schedule that varies from day-to-day, so I have certain hours specified for writing for each day of the week. For each day, I've scheduled 2 hours of writing time, divided into 1 hour blocks. As you can see in the below picture, there are some times I tried to keep constant, but there are some days when times need to be shifted. I've also added in the possibility of extra writing time, but as long as I focus and reach my hourly goals, I shouldn't need the extra time. In fact, I don't expect to need both full hours every day if I'm really focused. 
On the left are the times I intend to write each day, and on the right is my tracker, where I have daily & overall goals and where I will fill in my actual word count each day.

So now on to the rewards for meeting my goals. I've come up with many different goals to keep myself on track. I have goals/rewards for each hour writing, for reaching my daily goal, and for winning NaNoWriMo. I think these are super helpful to get you through even the days where you don't feel like writing. So I'll lay those out for you as well as why I chose those specific goals.

Overall Goal: Write 50K words & WIN NANOWRIMO!
Reward: PlayStation 4

This is something I've saved for for quite a while, but I'm only up to 2/3 of the price. If I win NaNoWriMo, I'm going to go ahead and splurge for it because I've wanted it for so long. Your reward certainly doesn't have to be so big, but it should be something that will really motivate you to succeed.


Now on to daily and hourly rewards. The big thing for these is that you don't want to choose something that would be overwhelming if you reach your goal every single day. For example, do you really want your daily reward to be Starbucks every day if you have to pay for Starbucks every day? To combat that, I'm using a point system for my hourly and daily goals. Essentially, there will be points attached to each goal that will add up in order for me to "buy" rewards. That way, I reward myself, but I don't have to spend a lot of money on the same things day after day. I don't necessarily know that this will work for everyone, but I think this will be a good method for me. 

Daily Goal: Write 1,667 words
Reward: 5 points

Hourly Goal (for each scheduled writing time): Write 850 words
Reward: 1 point

I made my goal per hour 850 words because that evenly divides my 1667 words between my 2 hour chunks. However, when I do sit down to write for a solid hour, I find that I write somewhere around 1200 words or more, so I have a feeling that it won't take me a full 2 hours each day to get my words, but it will probably give me a chance to get ahead for those days when I inevitably don't feel like writing. 

As far as the points, essentially it's possible for me to earn up to 49 points per week. Honestly, if I get 49 points in one week, I'll give myself a bonus 1 point reward because A- I'd be totally SLAYING NaNoWriMo, and B-50 is such a nice round number. I do have rewards set up at specific point values. For example, buying a new book of my choice is 35 points. So if I meet my daily goal every single day for a week (even excluding hourly goals!), I could purchase a new book if I so desired. But there are also slightly smaller rewards, such as ordering non-fast food takeout for 25 points. 



NaNoWriMo Playlist!



This is the first time I've ever put together a playlist specifically for a project that I'm working on. There have certainly been times when I found myself only listening to certain CDs or artists while writing a story, but I never planned in advance. So, it was incredibly fun to go through my music and compile a list of songs that I feel fit my novel. 

Since I first started this as Jonas Brothers fanfic in jr. high and since it takes place in high school, almost all of the music is stuff that I listened to during that time of my life. Some of it is stuff that specifically fits the tone/plot of my story, while other songs are just there for the mood that they invoke to me-- bringing to mind that specific period of time in my life that I associate with this story. 

Now, before you jump on my case and judge me for some of the music that you find on the playlist (*cough*HannahMontana*cough*), I want to briefly remind you that some of the music on this playlist is not music that I still enjoy and listen to on a daily basis. Very soon, it'll become a staple in my life again because of the mood it invokes, but it's not something I still enjoy. I didn't really want to add some of this music to the playlist but it was way too closely tied to that time in my life and to this specific story for me to not include it.

The playlist is embedded at the beginning of this section for your perusal and listening. I also have a second, smaller playlist. Every song on that playlist comes from this larger playlist, so there's nothing new on there. However, that playlist consists of the 10ish songs that I most closely associate with my story. I'm really excited about these playlists and want to explain exactly why everything was chosen but ya know, spoilers and stuff. And it would take forever to explain all of the 50ish songs on the playlist. But feel free to ask questions and I'll go ahead and link the second, smaller playlist down below this. 




Writing Triggers


Writing triggers are another new thing that I'm going to be trying out this year. I've known for a long time about how certain scents, environments, tastes, etc. can be used as associations for things. For example, if you study for an exam while smelling a certain scent, if you smell that scent again while taking the exam, it can help recall the memories of what you studied. Don't go using this as a way to barely study for an exam and think you're definitely going to do well, but it could be a useful study tool that you can try out and see if it helps with your memory. 

Anyway, my point here is that there are a lot of other things that this can be applied to. For example, if you write at the same place, at the same time every day and light the same candle and drink the same flavor of coffee, it helps to create an entire writing atmosphere and can get you in the mood to write. These type of things are writing triggers-- things that you purposely do while writing to help get you in the mood to write or perhaps even recreate the mood of your novel. Often, these are also things that you only do while writing, so that it forms a habit and association. (I'm not an expert in these psychological matters, but I was a psych minor in my undergrad so hopefully that gives you just the slightest bit of faith in me here). 

Like I said, this is something that's new for me. I typically write kind of wherever I feel like it. Typically, that ends up being my bed. However, for NaNoWriMo, I've decided to try out some writing triggers and see how they work for me. I've decided to do all of my writing at my desk in my room (pictured below). One bad habit that I have is that because I typically do basically everything on my couch or in bed, all of my actual surfaces (dining room table, desk, etc.) have just become places to pile my junk. So I did a total overhaul of my desk and now it's a completely clean area for me to work at. So far, I've sat down for a couple hour-long writing sessions and I've been able to completely focus and get stuff written.


This is also kind of where my playlist comes into play as well. I only listen to this playlist (as well as many of the individual songs) while writing, so that should also help to get me in the mood to write. Also, if I'm especially distracted, I will listen to ASMR videos to get work done, so those also help me to focus on doing work. If you're not familiar with ASMR videos, they are basically just people making sounds for relaxation. Some people think it's weird but I really enjoy them and they help me to focus. I've linked one of my favorites below in case you're curious.



There are a lot of other things that come into play here, like the writing schedule that I showed earlier in the post. Since I already discussed that, I won't get into it too much. I also don't have a specific drink or snack for while writing, simply because I don't like eating while writing, and because I'm using caffeine as more of a reward.. and pretty much all of my drinks are caffeinated. So I guess I'll be drinking some water. Energy drinks will be saved for after writing. 

The other writing trigger that I'm very purposely trying to work into my writing routine is a specific scent for writing. Because of that, I went ahead and got a few candles to try out. I've never been someone who used candles, but I thought it would be a really great time to try them out. I went to Yankee Candle for the first time ever (which was super overwhelming- there are like 150 scents. The sales lady said so). It was really difficult to figure out what I wanted, because I wanted to pick a candle that would fit my story. Since the story is a rather lighthearted story set in the fall, so I wanted to pick a scent that matched both of those things. Something cozy and warm, but sweet. I found 2 there and another at Target that I liked, so I went ahead and got the smallest size of each so that I can try them out and get a larger one once I feel like I can commit to one.
L to R: Autumn Gathering, Cashmere Woods, and Mountain Lodge

So... I think that's about it. I mean, it should be after this giant post. I just really wanted to make sure that I got everything in here, both for myself and for y'all. I'm really excited about NaNoWriMo this year, and I wanted to go all out in order to succeed. Let me know down in the comments what all you did to prepare for NaNoWriMo this year! Did you do lots of outlining and planning, or are you pantsing it this year? Do you have a reward system set up, and if so, what is it? Are there any writing triggers that work for you? Let me know down in the comments! Good luck, everyone! I hope you all have a great NaNoWriMo this year and I hope that you all win!

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Tuesday, September 6, 2016

The 15 Best & 10 Worst America's Next Top Model Makeovers


Hey, y'all! I'm a long-time America's Next Top Model fan, but in the past couple years, I've fallen off the bandwagon-- not finishing off the few seasons I haven't seen, and not really re-watching episodes either. But, over the past week or so, I've been re-watching some older episodes of ANTM, including several makeover episodes, as those are my favorites. And given my love of lists and rankings, I decided that I wanted to do a blog post listing my favorite and least favorite makeovers in the 22 cycle history of the show.

Before I jump into the lists, I wanted to explain my criteria for choosing which makeovers made each list. As should be obvious, these are very subjective lists. While I typically try to be as objective as possible, I have my likes and dislikes-- and some of those will become evident pretty quickly. It should also be noted that these aren't rankings. The makeovers are listed in cycle order with only a couple exceptions.

When it comes to the "best" makeovers, the end result is not the only important factor-- how big of a change it is also plays a role. What I mean by this is that someone who walks into makeovers looking amazing and walks out of makeovers looking almost exactly the same isn't going to end up on my list. (Prime example being Kim cycle 5-- loved her look but it barely changed)

An important thing to note when dealing with the worst makeovers, however, is that I'm not taking into account "botched" makeovers. Throughout the years, there have been several cases where a girl has gotten a makeover and Tyra had to fix it because it was a disaster. You won't find those on this list, because the look itself wasn't the problem, but rather the execution. There are a couple looks on this list that technically fall under that category, but they were still awful even when they got fixed.

OK, I've rambled long enough-- let's just jump into the lists.

Top 15 Best ANTM Makeovers


Cycle 18 Makeovers

OK, it might be a bit of a cop-out to rank a whole season on the list, but the makeovers this season were seriously on-point and would've taken up a huge chunk of this list. Tyra went out on a limb and went for funky colors and interesting cuts, and it was a bold choice that really paid off for a lot of the models. Below are some of my favorites among the bunch. 

Azmarie

This one technically breaks my rule of the makeovers needing to be a significant change but I really loved her look.

Catherine

Catherine has a very classic, very British look, and the bold hot pink/red hair made her look super edgy.

Laura

As you'll discover rather soon, I'm a sucker for ice blonde makeovers. The red and blue clip-ins were a little overboard with the "America" theme, but I love the overall look.

 Louise

Despite her freakout over cutting and coloring her hair, the shorter hair looked amazing with her bone structure.

Sophie

By taking her slightly more blonde and adding a subtle pink, Sophie got a really cute but high fashion look.

Alisha

Alisha's short hair looked fine, but adding the hair on one side and shaving the other gave her a really cool, edgy look.


The Ice Blondes

Tyra really likes to give girls hair so blonde that it's almost white, and it almost always looks fantastic. Once again, these would've just dominated the list, so I lumped them all together. Laura from cycle 18 was a great example, but there are several more below. 

 Anya- Cycle 10

Taking Anya from brunette to ice blonde with matching brows gave her a really interesting look that worked really well for her.

 Erin- Cycle 13

Erin might be my favorite of the ice blondes. Her pale skin combined with the nearly-white hair gave her a super edgy look.

 Rae- Cycle 13

Rae was the least drastic change but bleaching her eyebrows and going even more blonde made a huge difference.

Amanda- Cycle 3

Amanda's ice blonde looked especially great because it was combined with her light blue eyes.

Laura- Cycle 19

Laura's makeover is different from the others because she's actually fairly tan, which gives the ice blonde a very different look altogether. 


Shandi- Cycle 2

Now, we're moving into the single makeovers. Shandi was really the first stand-out makeover. She was really nerdy and a bit mousy, but dying her hair blonde really made her stand out from the pack and gave her a totally different look.


Naima- Cycle 4

Naima had an interesting look beginning the competition, but her honey-blonde mohawk really complemented her skintone. I went back and forth between this one and Keenyah from the same season, but the more I looked at her hair, the more I realized how much I love this look on her.


Jenah- Cycle 9

TBH, this picture doesn't do the makeover justice. This makeover really took Jenah over the top. She looked a bit pedestrian before, but the long blonde hair really made her look high fashion.


Fatima- Cycle 10

This is the single makeover in the history of ANTM that really stands out to me as the best makeover in the history of the show. Her hair was a total disaster at the beginning of the show, and her makeover looked amazing. It was such a drastic change and it completely changed her look.


Allison- Cycle 12

This is another real standout, memorable makeover. Allison is one of the favorite models through the show's history, and her makeover was the better version of Shandi's. Her hair at the beginning of the show was very basic, and the big blonde curls added to her quirky ethereal look.


Fo- Cycle 12

Fo had a lot of trouble adjusting to her short hair, but I think it's probably the best "chop all the hair off" makeover in the history of the show. It kept her cuteness but gave her a little edge and it worked really well for her face.


Lulu- Cycle 13

Lulu's look was such a drastic change and it made her look super high-fashion. I'm not usually a huge fan of bangs, but they really framed her face well.


Raina- Cycle 14

Raina's lighter hair looked fine, but the dark hair gave her a much edgier look. Combined with her thick eyebrows and her blue eyes, her dark hair helped to create what I believe to be the best picture in Top Model history:


Phil- Cycle 20

We all thought Tyra was crazy for giving Phil a weave, but the long hair really worked on him. That plus the beard really gave him a distinct look that was really current and interesting. 


Nina- Cycle 20

I'm always a fan of Tyra giving a girl red hair, and I think this was the best. The blue eyes, pale skin, bangs, and vivid hair combined to give Nina a really interesting look.


Shei- Cycle 21

This was another makeover where we all questioned Tyra a little bit, but I really like how it ended up turning out. It gave her a really edgy, interesting look.


Hadassah- Cycle 22

Maybe I'm just a sucker for edgy haircuts, but shaving one side of her head took Hadassah from being almost too pretty to being pretty but with an edge.


Lacey- Cycle 22

Like I said earlier, bangs aren't always my favorite, especially heavy bangs. But they framed Lacey's face really well and really highlighted her eyes. Before, she looked pretty pedestrian, but this hair made her really high-fashion.




Top 10 Worst ANTM Makeovers

Ann- Cycle 3

I just don't understand the point of this, let alone when or why this was considered high fashion. Because those two front blonde chunks just look messy. The length is good, but that blonde can't be overlooked.

Michelle- Cycle 4

This is actually this hair at its best. Most of the cycle, her roots were growing in really dark and it honestly just looked really odd on her. This is one of the rare cases where ice blonde definitely did NOT work as it was supposed to.


Saleisha- Cycle 9/ Brittani- Cycle 16

I lumped the two of them together because they were given very similar makeovers. I'll give Tyra credit-- it definitely made them more edgy and both of them won their cycle. But, that doesn't mean the makeover was good. The general consensus is that these makeovers didn't really suit their faces, and I definitely agree. The bangs are overpowering on both of them, and the cut is much too blunt. I definitely agree that they needed to be edged out, but these styles were definitely not the right ones.


Dominique- Cycle 10

This is one where even Tyra realized it was botched. However, even after fixing it, this didn't look good. The short hair really aged Dominique. She was 23, and it made her look (as noted by a photographer) like the mom of one of the girls. The color wasn't great, the way it was styled was aging, and the cut itself was aging. Not. Good.


Stacy Ann- Cycle 10

Like with Saleisha and Brittani, I agree that Stacy Ann needed to be edged out. But this haircut was not the way to do that. Given her strong bone structure, a short cut was probably the way to go, but not this short cut. Maybe a nearly buzzed cut or a buzzed cut combined with long pieces in the front (a la Simone Cycle 14). It just seems like it's either slightly too long or slightly too short, which makes it look odd. 


Brenda- Cycle 14

This makeover is one of the standout worsts for me. As with the past few, I definitely think she needed to be edged out. But this short hair aged her quite a bit. With the long hair, she was deemed "too sexy," but the short hair made her look so much older than she was. On top of that, the cut itself wasn't that great. Like with Stacy Ann, shorter was probably the way to go, but not this cut.


Destiny- Cycle 19

I feel like a broken record. Yes, an edgy cut would work well on her. But not the way they did it. But why is the hair on the left side of her head so long? Just shave the side and leave the bangs. The way they did it in makeovers just didn't look good. It didn't work with her hair texture, and it just didn't work. 

Brittany- Cycle 19

TBH, I kinda liked her original look. Maybe it's the styling but I just really hated this makeover. Like with the others, I think some tweaking would really help it out. The color was off, the cut was off, and the styling was horrid. 


Kari- Cycle 21

And this, my friends, is the worst ice blonde makeover the show has ever done. There were just too many aspects that were slightly off. The shade of blonde wasn't right for her skintone. It was too yellowy and not enough ice. And then combine the bleached brows with her hairline being so far back, it just didn't look good. A few tweaks could've fixed it, but it was a mess as-is.


Denzel- Cycle 21

This is probably the worst idea Tyra has ever come up with for makeovers. She decided that Denzel needed a beard, but he couldn't grow it himself so she gave him a lace-front beard. It looked about as fake as you would expect it to. And the worst part was that no one seemed to realize it looked awful. Denzel thought it looked good, Tyra thought it looked good, but it looked horrible and fake- like someone had glued fur to his face or something. It was really bad.


Ava- Cycle 22

If Denzel's fake beard wasn't the worst makeover idea ever on the show, Ava's is. Tyra literally called this the "fashion mullet" (or something very similar-- mullet was definitely in the name). The sad thing is that if they'd just gotten rid of the "mullet" part of this, it could've been good. But it looked like a mess. No one can ever make mullets look good. It's not possible. Tyra tried really hard with this, but it was horrible. No, no, no.