How to be a Book Nerd #1

I thought that it might be a fun little series to blog about all the things that make me a (proud) book nerd! If you too, would like to become a book nerd, then all you have to do is follow the steps that I will outline in the coming weeks/months.

Book to Movie Adaptations

Read the book first, and then pick apart the movie...with an in depth and detailed discussion (with your fellow movie-goer) about all the ways in which the book was better.

We all know that the books are usually better than the film adaptation, yet I can't help myself and HAVE to read the book first. Last year I watched a few book to movie adaptations, and the only film that I thought was better than the book was The Help. I did enjoy the book, but I found the pacing in the first half a little slow (it picked up in the second half, but I had to read 150 pages or so before I really started enjoying the book).

Having said that, there are so many book to movie adaptations coming out in 2013, that I am looking forward to! Some I have yet to read the book (I usually like to wait until a couple weeks before I see the movie to read the book, that way it is still fresh in my mind), and others I have already read (but in some cases it was a couple of years ago, so I may re-read the book before seeing the movie).

2013 (and some 2014) Book to Movie Adaptations I'm looking forward to include:

Silver Linings Playbook, based on the novel by Matthew Quick 02/13

Safe Haven, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks 02/13

Beautiful Creatures, based on the novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 02/13

Admission, based on the novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz 03/13 (it stars Paul Rudd, what can I say!)

The Host, based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer 03/13
The Great Gatsby, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald 05/13

City of Bones, based on the novel by Cassandra Clare 08/13

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins 11/13

Rumoured

The Maze Runner, based on the novel by James Dashner 2013

Uglies, based on the novel by Scott Westerfeld 2013/2014?

Beautiful Disaster, based on the novel by Jamie McGuire

Divergent, based on the novel by Veronica Roth 2014

Delirium, based on the novel by Lauren Oliver 2014
The Night Circus, based on the novel by Erin Morgenstern (not sure how true this one is, but HERE is the link to the IMDB page)

And I just read in the paper today that The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is being made into a file, starring Geoffrey Rush. Really excited for that one!

This is not a comprehensive list, and more than likely does not include all the movies I would want to see,  but it is a list that I quickly put to together.

Top 12 Books Read in 2012

Honestly, I have no idea why I decided it would be a fun and easy task to narrow down my 12 favourite books from last year, let me tell you....it was neither!

I read a lot of books in 2012, initially I set myself the task of 12 books (thinking even an average of one a month was ambitious!), well I showed that silly part of my brain that wanted to play it safe!

I actually read two more books than are listed on Goodreads. One was a re-release of a book with extra content/scenes, and Goodreads doesn't think that counts as two books! And the second was an Australian release which wasn't added to the database until early 2013. 

Taking my yearly total to: 122

I read from a huge range of genres including: 

Young Adult
Romance
Chick-Lit

Fantasy

Dystopian

      New Adult    &

  Rural Romance

I also discovered a variety of new favourite authors, including some awesome Aussie authors who I was lucky enough to meet and get some of my books signed. 

My Top 12 Of 2012 

(in no particular order & includes books I read in 2012, and not exclusively books published in 2012)

All books are linked back to their Goodreads page, so I won't be doing a review of the listed books, you can read the synopsis over there.

Jilted & Man Drought by Rachael Johns - I'm not off to a good start my first book and I already cheated and added two books as one! But in all seriousness, I loved both of Rachael's books equally, and I can't pick a favourite between them.

Rachael is one of the awesome (West) Aussie authors I was able to stalk meet a couple of times in 2012, and already once in 2013!

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma - this is not a book that would appeal to everyone, it has a very *difficult* subject matter, but it was a book that I could.not.put.down! After reading it, I then forced suggested my sister and friend read it, and they both loved it too.

Slammed & Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover - these books are part of a series (the third is yet to be published), and were the first "New Adult' books that I read. I can without a doubt say, that it was these books that made me fall in love with the New Adult genre. I loved these books so much that, I not only have Kindle copies of them, but also bought the paper back versions when they became available in stores!

The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots by Loretta Hill - this was the first Rural Romance (RuRo) book that I read, and I fell in love. Since reading Steel-Capped, I have read a variety of RuRo books, and this one stands out as one-of-a-kind. It isn't set in, or around small farming communities, but instead focuses on the booming Fly-in, Fly-out workforce that dominates northern Western Australia.

Loretta was the first author that I meet in 2012 (and in my life, actually), and I'm looking forward to seeing her again, and hearing her talk about her latest book in a couple of weeks time.

Putting Alice Back Together by Carol Marinelli - it was more like watch Alice fall apart, but I loved this book, and I truly believe we all have a little "Alice" inside us!

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - another book like Forbidden, in the sense that it's not going to appeal to everyone, but I couldn't put it down! I just hope that I never meet anyone like either of the two main characters, if I did I would very quickly run in the other direction!

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young - I don't know what more I can say about this book that all the fangirls haven't already said on Goodreads! 

Want by Stephanie Lawton - I made this assumption before reading this book, that it was about your standard teenage girl on summer break before starting college. I.was.wrong! It was so much more. I don't normally cry while reading, but this book had me weeping like a baby!

Arranged by Catherine McKenzie - the synopsis sucked me in right from the word go! A successful professional woman who decides to have an arranged marriage...say what!?!

The Sea Breeze Series & Fallen Too Far by Abbi Glines - I love all these books equally, in my mind Abbi Glines is a genius! 

Divergent & Insurgent by Veronica Roth - these are books 1 & 2 of a trilogy, and I can't wait for the final book to be released later this year. Although, a title and cover would satisfy me for now!

The Family Farm by Fiona Palmer - a RuRo book about a girl sticking it to the boys and taking over the running of the family farm...yes please! I was also lucky enough to meet Fiona last year, and listen to her story about what made her want to start writing.

There's my (slightly more than) Top 12 of 2012.