6 Books I Was Forced to Read

I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday for a while so I'm really excited for today's topic: Books You Were Forced to Read.

I have been urged to read many books by my friends, teachers, and family and while there were a few books I really did not like, for the most part I ended up finding real gems of books. Listed below are six books I was forced to read that I ended up really liking. A huge shout out to the people who forced me to read these books! Without you, I would have missed out on some great stories!

1. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

I was 'forced' to read this by my grandmother who is as big as a book lover as I am. I received this book from her when I was nine and I loved it from the very first word. I can't even begin to express my love for Anne and the rest of the cast! I think if I were to have an absolute FAVOURITE book, this would be it. 

2. Banner in the Sky by James Ramsey Ullman

This was my 'book discussion' book in Grade Five. My teacher had just gotten an entire shipment of old books and he assigned books to our class. I was assigned Banner in the Sky and needless to say, I was pretty happy with it! At first, it didn't seem like a very interesting book but by the end, I was biting my nails, rooting for Rudi! My friend and I always like to joke about the hidden excellence of this book. 

3. Brave New World by Margaret Atwood

I was given this book to read at school last year and while the story wasn't the most enjoyable, I loved the approach Aldous Huxley took in regards to our future. It was exaggerated but at the same time, there was truth in it. I'm not quite sure how to eloquently explain it but anyway, Brave New World made me think a lot and I appreciate that in books!

4. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

My mother made me read an abridged version of this book when I was eight and when I was eleven, I read an unabridged version. I can't say I really understood everything in the unabridged version (though it did help I read the abridged first) but I loved the characters, especially Pip and the story was absolutely wonderful in every way.

5. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

I'm thankful to have really great friends who love reading too! This one was thrust upon me by my friend Maya whose recommendations I have always come to trust. When she says I'll like a book, I know 100% that I will. The History of Love has been one of my favourite books for a very long time and if you haven't read this yet, read it now! You'll enjoy it as much as I did!

6. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I read this around the time the movie came out and it was another book that Maya had recommended. I loved this book so much! The alternating points-of-view were wonderful and each of the characters were so vivid. I think I might reread it soon actually!

Have you read any of the books on this list? What books have you been forced to read that you have LOVED? Any books you want to force ME to read because I definitely force YOU to read these if you haven't! Tell me in the comments!

The Liebster Award x2

Between deadlines for school and my big move from Random Reads, I've been so busy and thus, forgot about making a post for the Liebster Award! A while back, Jasmine at Flip That Page nominated me for one and I've been meaning to answer her questions and graciously accept this award because it's my first! Which is a huge milestone, if you ask me, so I really wanted to dedicate a post to it.

Then today, I received news that I was nominated for another Liebster Award by Emily at Forever Literary. And that's when I was like 'oh crap' because I totally forgot to make a post for the Liebster Award like I was planning to! So here's my long overdue post where I answer both Emily and Jasmine's questions (how could I pick?) and nominate bloggers myself! 

Jasmine's Questions

1. What are you currently reading?

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Paper Towns by John Green and The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

2. What are you favourite books of all time?

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, the Harry Potter series, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.

3. How did you come up with your blog name?

It was all very random - I flipped to a random page in the dictionary and runaway was listed. I thought I might do an alliteration again and The Runaway Reader was born! I kind of like the ring to it but I'm not sure if it makes sense...

4. Who are your top three book boyfriends?

I'm so glad I can have three picks! Ha, I haven't actually felt passionately about a boy from a book ever so this is actually really tough. Um. I guess my first pick would be Dexter from This Lullaby because he's funny and clumsy (so am I!) and is just such a great guy. How could you not love him? My second pick would be Cricket from Lola's Boy Next Door because he's a huge sweetheart and he has a good sense of style. And last but not least, Roger from Amy and Roger's Epic Detour. He has such great taste in music and he's so funny and nice and HOW CAN I NOT CHOOSE HIM? Okay, I'm done.

5. Do you have a favourite book quote?

No, actually! I don't really pay attention to quotes in books and the only ones I can think of right now are the John Green quotes because they literally pop up every day on my Tumblr dash. But I don't personally find them very great so there's that. Sorry Green fans!

6. Do you have any personal memes on your blog?

Memes or features? I feel like there's a difference so I'll skip this question...

7. If you could meet any author, past or present, who would it be?

WHY MUST YOU GIVE ME SUCH HARD QUESTIONS? Honestly, I have no clue! I might choose Lucy Maud Montgomery because I loved the Anne series and maybe she could give me some writing advice!

8. Have you any bookish pet peeves?

Not really! As it happens, I have terrible bookish habits so I tend to be rather lenient toward other people and the way they deal with their books. But I must admit that I hate when people dog-ear pages and don't unfold it. It's so annoying!

9. What are your favourite genres?

I love Young Adult incredibly so and all its sub-genres. In general though? I read mostly everything excluding erotica and religion. 

10. If you could be a character from any book, travel to any world, who would you be? Where would you go? And (again from any book) who would you bring with you?

I would be Hermione and I would want to travel to Hogwarts (duh!). I would probably bring Anne Shirley with me because we're so totally kindred spirits and I think we'd have a blast!

Emily's Questions

1. What was your most recent read that taught you a lesson or made you think deeply about something?

Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy was the last book that really made me think deeply. I loved the way McVoy explored the blurred line between good and bad. Really interesting to think about!

2. What was you number one goal going into blogging? Have you reached it yet?

TOUGH QUESTIONS ARE EVERYWHERE! WHY? Because I did not set ANY goals when I started blogging. I kind of did it for fun and I wasn't planning for it to have gotten so huge!

3. What do you look for in other blogs? Is there anything in particular that makes you want or not want to read a blog?

The first thing I notice is a great design so if a blog has a lovely design, I am more inclined to add it to my reader! Ultimately though, I look for a unique voice and a good balance between memes, discussions and reviews. I want the best of ALL worlds!

4. How has blogging affected your reading habits?

I've started reading more critically now and taking notes while I read as well. I've also noticed that I read at a slower pace now that I blog as compared to when I didn't blog. Funny, eh?

And now for my nominees! I'm not sure if some of you have no-award policies but if you do, just forget about answering the questions and passing it on, I guess! I think it's still nice to know that you've received an award so hopefully, even if you do have no-award policies, you'll recognize your brilliance! 

In case you're unclear about the rules

• Link back to the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer the questions he or she posted.
• Nominate ten other bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers and inform them of their nomination.
• Create a set of questions for those nominees to answer.

My Nominees

1. P.E. & Mari at The Sirenic Codex
2. Kezia at Chapteriosity
3. Nara & Chantelle at Looking For the Panacea
4. Arial at In Italics
5. Cee at The Novel Hermit
6. Everyone at Fangirls of Fiction
7. Hazel at Stay Bookish
8. Paola & Alix at A Novel Idea
9. Lesley Marie at Books and Beautiful World
10. Rachel & Megan at Read Write Ramble

And finally, the questions to answer if you choose! 

1. How do you organize your bookshelf? By color? By genre? By title?
2. How has blogging helped you?
3. Where do you get inspiration for blogging?
4. If you could switch places with any character from a book, who would it be and why?
5. It's the end of the world! Aaaaaah! Pick three books to save.

If you do choose to answer these questions, please message me! I would love to see your answers! :)

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Little Blue Envelopes #1

Published September 2006 by Harper Collins (first published 2005)

Paperback, 317 pages

Borrowed from my dear friend, Maggie -- thanks!

13 Little Blue Envelopes follows the story of Ginny as she completes the tasks from the 13 mysterious letters her dead aunt left behind. They send her all over Europe in a quest that ultimately helps Ginny get in touch with herself and her aunt.

I really liked this book the first time I read it. You know, I love reading about travelling in books and 13 Little Blue Envelopes had a TON of travelling and I appreciated that. I still do, but now I'm not satisfied with just a lot of travelling. I want strong writing and characters and good plot as well and unfortunately, this book did not bring it in those categories.

For starters, the third-person narrator does the book no favours. In general, I'm not a huge fan of third-person narrators. I think they tend to make stories very dull because I can't relate or put myself in the shoes of the character. Sometimes they do enhance the novel but sadly, this book was not the case. I just felt the writing was so stiff and monotone. I swear, I was asleep for most of this book than I was awake. And it certainly did not help that Ginny had absolutely no personality whatsoever. I wasn't sure if she was just a robot going through the actions of opening the envelopes and completing the tasks or if she was actually thinking it through. 

Something else I really had trouble with were the transitions! In this book, Ginny does do quite a bit of jumping around and it's understandable that the fluidity of the book may not always be as smooth as I would like it to be. Being a student and an occasional writer, I know how hard it is to be able to link segments in a relevant way without making it obvious you're transitioning. It's tough and it's something that takes a lot of practice. But I found in this book, there were no transitions between some of the envelopes. One scene that comes to mind is when Ginny learns her aunt is sending her to Rome. It's just the envelope and then the next chapter, appropriately titled 'The Road to Rome', which opens with Ginny on a train to Rome. After reading that, I just felt like I needed to say, hold up because one second she's in Scotland arguing with Keith and the next, she's in Rome? It kind of goes like this for the rest of the book and it's so confusing for me because my brain just wants everything to be taken step by step - no jumps or leaps. I understand that there is a lot of ground to cover in this book and if Johnson were to explain everything, 13 Little Blue Envelopes would be like 254 pages longer but still, I can't help but be distracted by the velocity at which material is covered in this book, if that makes sense.

The vast number of secondary characters in this book also left me scratching my head. This was actually one of the issues I had with this book the first time I read it. There were so many characters that I honestly could not keep track of who was who. I don't mind large casts but I prefer smaller casts in books. 

However, I did love the settings in this book. Even though we weren't in each country for very long, Johnson did a wonderful job bringing life and personality to each city. That's the exact thing I look for in stories with travel and she executed it perfectly.

Before I wrap up (because I know I'm talking a lot), I would like to talk about something that others had an issue with in this book and that is the fact that Ginny's parents are never once mentioned in this book. Since she's going on such a huge trip, shouldn't we hear at least some of what her parents had to say? In all honesty, I didn't find this to be a big problem for me. One of the reasons I read books is for escapism and even in a contemporary novel, I don't mind if there's a level of disbelief. In fact, I welcome it! It was absolutely necessary in this book to not mention the parents if Ginny were to go on this big adventure by herself and I totally understand and accept that.

13 Little Blue Envelopes has a great premise and lots of potential to be great but unfortunately, the poor execution prevented that. I had qualms about the writing as well as the main character, Ginny who seemed very one-dimensional to me. With the lacklustre writing and characters, the only thing 13 Little Blue Envelopes had going for itself was the plot which admittedly, got tired after a while. However, the letters and the travelling were still really interesting! And while I don't approve of Keith's bad boy-ness (that was rather random, actually), the chemistry between Ginny and Keith was great and I can't wait to see where it will go in the next book (even though I already know)!

people who are looking for a light contemporary read and love travelling and scavenger hunts. If you enjoyed the Suite Scarlett books, you might like this series.