Top Ten Tuesday (3): More Settings I Want to See

This week's top ten five is based on an essential element of all writing: the setting. Some of the settings that I would like to see more of in books, or simply in books period:

1. Ancient Egypt: Ah, the wonders of the ancient world! My favorite ancient civilization to talk about, I would love to see more about the lives of the average person (farmer, merchant, craftsman, etc.) rather than always turning to Cleopatra or other princesses as a source of inspiration.

2. Non-European-based fantasy setting: Fantasy is really restricted to European influences in both setting, people, and culture, leaving plenty of perfectly good groups of people out. I would love to see more fantasy with African, Asian, Native American, and Aboriginal Australian inspiration. Nickelodeon did just that with Avatar: The Last Airbender and the result was fantastic!

3. Dystopian after a failed revolution: I'm getting really specific here, but I really want to see someone take a broken down society that's tried to change but failed. You can't win 'em all.

4. Adirondack Mountains:  A beautiful setting that is a marvel of beautiful waterfalls, amazing flora and fauna, and small, hidden towns all along the way. Most of Adirondack-set books that I've come across focus on old murder mysteries set in the region and it's a little tiresome from a place that has so much more to offer.

5. Antarctica: Why not? The world's largest desert, meteorites, scientific facilities, and you'd be mistaken to think that everything is just ice all the time:

Photo by Mike White , from Mental Floss website

Top Ten Tuesday (2)

This week's top ten, discussing the top ten new books that you're looking forward to in 2013!

1.  Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans: I've already read and reviewed it, and I'm happy to say that it satisfied! I've been following Lenore's saga over at her blog for a while now so I'm glad that everything has finally come together!

2. The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd: The description on Goodreads has me hooked. I love science, and I love reading about what can happen when science goes wrong, so I'm going to try and get myself a copy as soon as possible.

3. Game by Barry Lyga: The sequel to one of my favorite books of 2012, I Hunt Killers, I don't know how I'm going to make it until late April for this one. 

4. Transparent by Natalie Whipple: I'm all for superpowered teenagers, so I'm hoping that this book will be as good as it looks. I'm not certain if it will necessarily go the "superhero" route, but it sounds like it's worth looking into to check!

5. Reboot by Amy Tintera: What I'm hoping will be a strong addition to my sci-fi/ dystopian list of books this year, this was one of the first 2013 releases that I picked up on.

6. Control by Lydia Kang: Another dystopian/ sci-fi thriller, not to mention is being released on my birthday. I love books with commentary on modern scientific/ political issues, so I'm really hoping that that is what's going on here. Looking forward to it!

7. Altered by Jennifer Rush: It's already been released, but hopefully I'll be able to grab a copy on my next break from school. With more genetic manipulation, it's really looking like 2013 will be the year of science fiction for me.

8. Coda by Emma Trevayne: I'm still a bit uncertain about this one, but I'm willing to give it a shot in hopes of locking onto one really good dystopian novel this year. Who knows, I might be surprised!

9. Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum: Robot uprisings + a distinctive dystopian feel in the description = an instant addition to my to-read list.

10. Starglass by Phoebe North: I'm more than happy to be adding spaceships to my seemingly-never ending list of sci-fi to read in 2013. I've really been falling more and more in love with space recently so I'm more than happy to add this book, and others like it, to my list!

Bonus Titles: Nobody (Jennifer Lynn Barnes), In the Shadow of Blackbirds (Cat Winters), Shadowlands (Kate Brian), Linked (Imogen Howson)

The more I look at it, the more that 2013 looks to be an amazing year for book blogging! And I can't wait to stop by some other posts to get even more recommendations to fill up my Debut Author Challenge list, so get posting!

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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Tuesday (1): Books I Resolve to Read in 2013

Happy New Year everyone! One of my resolutions this year has been to cut back on my meme-going (I'm pretty sure they're a lot more fun to fill out than do, anyway) while sticking to just a few. One of those is Top Ten Tuesday, hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish, which I've always neglected because I can never think of ten books to fill the list!

Hopefully, then, doing this meme will drive me to read enough to fill out this list. Onward!

Ten Books I Resolve to Read in 2013

1. 1984 by George Orwell: The tippy-top of the dystopian literature pyramid that has somehow evaded me all this time. But now I have a copy sitting on my shelf, all reading and raring to go! What's a blog with a dystopian name without a review of 1984, after all?

2. Insurgent by Veronica Roth: It doesn't make sense that I was so blessed to get (and write a five-star review for) an ARC of Divergent, her first book, only to not read the second in the series! With the third and final book coming out soon I need to get on with it and read this baby!

3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: As much of a conversation starter "I have never read a Harry Potter book" is, it really is inexcusable at this point. All of my friends love the books, my mom finished all of the books, I even own a copy of the book, so this is the year to buckle down and read it!

4. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan: I loved reading the Percy Jackson series last year and I'm still making my way through The Red Pyramid, the first in his Kane Chronicles series, so it's only natural that I move onto his other books! I love Greek mythology so much, and Riordan's characters are always so fantastic and relatable, this is one that I can't wait to pick up.

5. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: Personally recommended to me and a wonderful dystopian novel that, for some reason, I've yet to sink my teeth into. I'm in the mood for something a little more somber and mature and this sounds like just the book to take me there.

6. After by Amy Efaw: I started this book two years ago during a break and never finished it. I like contemporary fiction that deals with tougher, grittier subjects (i.e. teen pregnancy and incarceration) and this book was so great I'm upset that I never picked it back up after it was due back at the library. Time to finish it!

7. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: I had another huge push from my friends to read this and still haven't gotten around to it. The worst part is that I was spoiled for the ending, as usual, but that's still not a good excuse not to read it. Not to mention, it constantly comes up on lists of the best books of 2012, so now I really have no excuse.

8. Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard: I'm not certain if this "counts," so to speak, because it isn't a young adult book, but I'm not going to turn it away simply because it doesn't "fit" in my blog. I've already read a bit of it and love the dark humor

9. Supergods by Grant Morrison: A non-fiction book by one of the most popular and prolific comic book writers, I've recently become really interested in how fiction reflects what's happening in the real world so this book sounds right up my alley.

10. Seven Soldiers of Victory, Book Two by Grant Morrison: I needed at least one comic book for my list :) I'm partially through the first book, a collection of the comic run, and figure that it's time to finish the series up. Hopefully this year will bring more comic book reviews so look forward to those!

What's your top ten for 2013?