Top Ten Favorite Books of 2015

I can't believe 2015 is almost over! I bought SO MANY books this year, but because I had a stressful, super-busy first half of the year, I didn't read as many as I would have liked. Luckily, the books that I did have a chance to read were awesome! I have a thing for Top Ten lists, obviously, so I thought it would be fun to list my favorite reads of 2015. It was hard, but somehow I managed to narrow it down to ten. (Not all of my reads were released in 2015, but many were.)

Some of the books I bought this year.

So! In no particular order, here are my Top Ten Favorite Books that I read in 2015:

1.) UNDER A PAINTED SKY by Stacey Lee.

If you've read any of my past blog posts, you know how much I love UNDER A PAINTED SKY, so it should come as no surprise that it's on my list of favorite 2015 reads. It's a YA historical fiction with an awesome main character. Even if you're not a western fan, you'll really enjoy this book.

2.) SIMON VS. THE HOMOSAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli

SIMON is a YA contemporary with the best voice. It's sweet and funny and unputdownable, and you should TOTALLY read it.

3.) BLACK IRIS by Leah Raeder

I don't read much NA, but I decided to pick this up after Dahlia Adler tweeted about it. Leah's prose will totally knock you out. If you like Gillian Flynn's gritty, twisted characters, I think you'll love this.

4.) VENGEANCE ROAD by Erin Bowman

After reading UNDER A PAINTED SKY, I was in the mood for another western. VENGEANCE ROAD is very different from UAPS, but the main character is just as great! Kate is morally gray, which I really enjoyed.

5.) THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson

Last year, I loved LOVED LOVED! I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson, so I was super excited when my writer bestie Julie Dao gave me THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE. Jandy Nelson is one of my new instabuy authors. Her prose is mind-blowingly awesome and her characters are SO so real. Reading one of her books is just like when Ron Weasley says to Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban, "You're gonna suffer...but you're gonna be happy about it."

6.) THE D'EVIL DIARIES by Tatum Flynn

I was SUPER excited when I found THE D'EVIL DIARIES in a bookstore in Edinburgh, Scotland this summer because I couldn't find it in the US. If you like funny middle grade, you'll really get a kick out of THE D'EVIL DIARIES.

7.) DUPLICITY by N.K. Traver

I love sci-fi and think teen hackers are fun, so I was really excited to read DUPLICITY. It's a little like THE MATRIX, but with tons of great voice. I think reluctant readers will enjoy this.

8.) LIES WE TELL OURSELVES by Robin Talley

LIES, a YA historical fiction, was really hard to read at times, but so worth it. It alternates POV chapters between the two main characters, which can sometimes be confusing in other books, but in LIES their voices are very distinct so you never wonder whose chapter you're reading.

9.) LIKE NO OTHER by Una LaMarche

LIKE NO OTHER is another dual POV with two distinct voices. I loved the romance between the characters and thought learning about Devorah's religion was super-interesting.

10.) UNDER THE LIGHTS by Dahlia Adler

UNDER THE LIGHTS in another dual POV. But unlike the other two, there isn't a romance between the two POV characters. UNDER THE LIGHTS was cute and sweet and funny.


Those were some of my favorite reads this year. What were yours?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Melody xo

Top Ten Influential Albums

For me, music and writing are interconnected. I listen to music while I write, I get writing inspiration from songs, and some songs remind me of my manuscripts or characters. THE TREASURE HUNT and my current WIP are extremely influenced by music—they wouldn't exist without it.

Music is also influential to everyday life. Certain songs or albums can take you back to a specific time and place (good or bad). Music shapes our lives. I don't have a musical bone in my body (I think my parents cursed me by naming me Melody), but music is very important for my writing and visual art.

In no particular order, here are my Top Ten Influential Albums for my life and writing:

1.) They're Only Chasing Safety - Underoath

This album will always take me back to grad school and when I first started dating my husband. For our first official date, we saw Underoath in Boston when they toured for this album.

2.) The Jurassic Park soundtrack

I was so obsessed with Jurassic Park when I was in middle school. (As an adult too, to be honest.) When I wasn't watching the movie or rereading the book, I would listen to it on cassette over and over, picturing scenes from the movie.

3.) All's Well That Ends Well - Chiodos

This is another album that reminds me of grad school. Also, it reminds me of my first job after college, working in special education at the local middle school...and the days of Myspace (where I heard them for the first time).

4.) Metallica (the black album) - Metallica

Metallica's self-titled album was a HUGE influence for THE TREASURE HUNT. I actually changed the time period (in an earlier version of the manuscript) to include this album because it was so important to my characters, especially the song, "Nothing Else Matters."

5.) A Fever You Can't Sweat Out - Panic! At The Disco

I LOVED Panic! when I was in grad school, and I saw them in concert at least twice. It's funny, I hadn't listened to this album in years and when I listened to it again recently, I still knew all the lyrics. I think this is one of the funnest albums to listen to.

6.) Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd is my all-time favorite band. And if I had to pick a go-to album by them, it would be Wish You Were Here. When I draw or paint, I almost always listen to Pink Floyd. For me, they're so inspiring.

7.) The Game of Thrones season 1 soundtrack

I drafted STRANGE ATTRACTORS while listening to nothing but this soundtrack. It's great writing music, especially when you're writing something epic like fantasy or sci-fi.

8.) Selfish Machines - Pierce the Veil

Pierce the Veil gives me ALL THE writing feels. Their songs could seriously be the soundtrack for all my contemporary manuscripts. And I just love them. ;)

9.) Sixteen Stone - Bush

Besides the Jurassic Park soundtrack, I didn't really listen to music in middle school. I'd just listen to whatever my parents were listening to...until I was introduced to Sixteen Stone. Instead of boybands, my friends and I had Bush.

10.) The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring soundtrack

When I was in college, I listened to this over and over when I was in my room doing homework or drawing. Now it's great writing music. "Concerning Hobbits" makes me happy—I dare you to listen to it and not smile.


What are some of your favorite or inspirational albums?

Top Ten Favorites

These are my current Top Ten Favorites:

1. The TV show SILICON VALLEY on HBO. It is seriously one of the funniest shows, ever. It's rare that my husband and I find a sitcom we both enjoy. (And thanks to my friend Erin who introduced me to it last year!)

2. The writing community—especially people like Brenda Drake who generously spend so much of their own time running contests and helping out new writers. (Yay for Team Coffeehouse!)

3. White chocolate raspberry iced lattes—my new favorite drink from Starbucks. (Half white chocolate mocha syrup and half raspberry syrup.)

4. Maxi dresses are the best invention next to yoga pants. They are as comfy as yoga pants, but you look dressed up! (I only wish they had pockets because I need a place for my lip gloss and phone.)

5. UNDER A PAINTED SKY by Stacey Lee. I finished this a couple weeks ago, but I can't stop thinking about it. I loved, loved the characters. So great.

6. TONIGHT ALIVE. I can't stop listening to them! Jenna McDougall, the lead singer, seems super cool. I totally want to use her an inspiration for a novel. This is one of my fave songs, "The Ocean."

7. Lay's Limón chips. Not gonna lie, I could seriously eat an entire bag by myself.

8.  MAD MAX : FURY ROAD was even better than people said. It's one giant car chase that doesn't let up. Usually, I don't like car chases in action movies, but this was just awesome. You have to see it. And if you've already seen it, you should see it again.

9. Recognizing awesome people! I went to the EDIES last night (NH Excellence in Education Awards) in support of my case manager who won special education teacher of the year. She goes above and beyond for her students, staff, and our school—every single day. She's seriously super woman, and I can't think of someone more deserving of the award.

10. There is only one more week until ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK is back! Should I pace myself or binge-watch the entire season???


What are some of your favorite things?

Top Ten Favorites

My latest Top Ten Favorites:

1.) Revising an old manuscript. When I got inspired to revise one of my early manuscripts, I was super-excited. I don't have a lot of free time right now to write (because of my work schedule), and it's harder for me to get in drafting mode than revising mode. So this is the perfect thing for me to do right now. Plus, I finally figured out what was wrong with it after letting it sit for 3+ years!

2.) This chocolate from my CP Julie Dao:

Chocolate covered potato chips! Do I need to say anything else? Nope. Go buy some!

3.) GAME OF THRONES is back on TV. My husband isn't as excited because there are tons of "This didn't happen in the books!" from me... whoops :)

4.) April vacation! This means yoga pants and hoodies and writing every day! Woohoo!

5.) Date nights at the bookstore (Barnes and Noble)!

From the cafe: I got a tall caramel flan (iced) latte and my husband got a chocolate cupcake. From the bookstore: I got THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger and my husband got HEART-SHAPED BOX by Joe Hill.

6.) The caramel flan latte from Starbucks. So good!

7.) Writer friends. I'm super-lucky to have super-awesome, supportive writer friends. And it's really great to come home from a long day at work and find a package in the mail from a CP or Pitch Wars mentor! <333

From the lovely Julie Dao

From the awesome Stephanie Garber

8.) Being able to buy books by people I "know" (on Twitter, through other friends, etc). It's just so cool!

9.) "Rebel Love Song" by Black Veil Brides. The song makes me think of my manuscript THE TREASURE HUNT. (My characters should totally be in the video instead of that couple!) ;P

10.) Plants vs. Zombies 2. I randomly started playing it again and I can't get enough. It's so fun!


What are your favorite things?

Top Ten Favorites

I thought I'd post about my top ten favorite things at the moment.

1.) The new rocky road syrup at Dunkin Donuts. I don't like rocky road ice cream, but I loooove this coffee flavor! OMG. It's so good.

2.) The song "Kick Me" by Sleeping with Sirens. I can't stop listening to it. LOVE it! And I really like the video. I saw them this month and they opened the show with this song. (Explicit lyrics)

3.) Even though I read it during Christmas break, I can't stop thinking about I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN by Jandy Nelson. Love love love this book! I went shopping for a friend's birthday the other day, and I was going to buy her the book, until I realized I already bought it for her at Christmas. Ha ha! If you haven't read it, you NEED to. Seriously.

4.) BREAKING BAD's spin-off series BETTER CALL SAUL. It's so good. And dark. And funny. And every time a character from BREAKING BAD makes an appearance, I squee! I hate waiting week-to-week to watch a new episode.

5.) Writing contests. I love them! The contest aspect is awesome, but I love them because they're a great way to make writer friends. I just entered Pitch Madness for the first time. The wait to find out if I've been picked is killer, but that's part of the fun. Fingers crossed!

6.) New socks. I bought a six pack of Puma neon ankle socks and they're awesome. They're super cushy!

7.) Writer friends getting literary agents. Two of my CPs got agents (within a week of each other!) this month. Yay!!!

8.) Vacation. I'm on vacation this week. Woohoo! No explanation necessary, right?

9.) SPOTIFY. I don't know how I lived without it.

10.) Spending my Sunday nights watching THE WALKING DEAD with my husband and dogs. Soon, it'll be replaced with GAME OF THRONES and my husband will have to listen to me complain about the differences between show and books. (Because that's totally his favorite part!)


What are some of your favorite things at the moment?