Hey, Jillian! I'm so sorry I haven't stopped by your blog in awhile, because it's truly one of my favorites. Like you I've been really swamped with schoolwork (I feel you on staying up super late to finish schoolwork... by the time I'm done with assignments, projects, studying for tests, debate research, and all of the stress, all I want to do is sleep for a week xD) so I've barely been posting and haven't been commenting on people's blogs.I think especially with bloggers in high school and college, the school environment is growing more and more competitive in general, putting a lot of pressure on young people to succeed academically.
And for me personally, I know is is a problem that I need to fix, but I'm often disheartened when I see other blogs that have still maintained an awesome level of activity. I feel sort of guilty and embarrassed about my lack of time management and energy to keep up my own presence in the blogosphere, haha. I'm hoping to have enough free time around Christmas/New Year to revamp my blog design and kind of start fresh, though~
I think this blogger burnout actually drives more people to Twitter in a way, because it's a lot easier for us to take a 5/10 minute break from homework to scroll through our feed and reply in quick sentences than to read long, insightful blog posts.
Best of luck with school! :)
My recent post Top Ten Authors I'd Love to See Co-Write a Book

Ahh yay I love these picks <3 This week's topic was so fun! Especially because I see a lot of the same authors but not in the exact same pairs, which is really interesting.
Laini Taylor and Leigh Bardugo would be awesome! (but really, I'd be dying to read anything that Laini Taylor contributed to writing. The DoSaB trilogy was just super (super) great xD)
I've heard a lot of praise for Kasie West's books, but the only one I've read by her was The Distance Between Us, which I didn't enjoy too much (except for Cayman's awesome sarcasm ahah) -- which of her books do you recommend? (:
My recent post Top Ten Authors I'd Love to See Co-Write a Book

Glad you enjoyed this book, Jillian! I have to agree with you about the drama though -- it felt kind of forced to me, like the author didn't want it all to be happy-happy so she just threw in some random silly arguments (if you ask me, it all could've been resolved WAY faster if Anna and St Clair just talked to each other when they were mad/sad?)

I felt weird about the romance though, because it just felt really off to encourage St Clair to somewhat cheat on his current girlfriend? Also I was kind of irked by the way Anna hated Ellie (was that her name?) so much, like.. it's pretty unreasonable to dislike a perfectly nice person just because you happen to like their boyfriend xD

The Parisian setting was indeed awesome though ;) Great review!
My recent post Movie Review: Paper Towns

Right?? The cover design took me a few minutes to figure out when I first saw it.

If you enjoy darker/horror/thrill stories, the plot might intrigue you (it just wasn't my thing), but yeah, unfortunately the other elements of the book were really bleh :/ Though I don't read much horror, if you're looking for a good one in that genre my friends tell me books by Courtney Alameda are good :)
My recent post Let's Discuss: Translating Books

xD why thank you, rant-y book reviews are kind of fun to write, I must admit. It's easier to go on a rage about things I didn't like than try to find eloquent words to describe what I loved, you know? I'm really glad you liked it, it means a lot to me <3
LOL that is fantastic shelf name~
If you're looking for something empowering, there are /far/ better books out there, trust me. If you like fantasy with empowering female leads, I strongly recommend Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas, Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch, and all books by Marie Lu!
My recent post Let's Discuss: Translating Books

Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed it! The plot was definitely thrilling and had me wondering what would happen, but what actually happened just weirded me out xD

Yesss, glad I'm not the only one who didn't like TomxLaurel! It was rushed, unnecessary, random...

Thanks for stopping by :D
My recent post Let's Discuss: Translating Books

I totally feel you, Jillian! It's not that I don't enjoy reading other's blogs and discussing things in the comments, but it honestly can feel like I bit of a chore/assignment sometimes. I'll worry about how to word my comment, worry about if I remembered to comment back on their blog, worry that they'll be worried if I don't respond.. Blogging can be stressful! xD
It's okay though, nobody's expecting you to be some social media queen goddess that manages to do everything perfectly. We all have our own lives outside of blogging that can get in the way, and we also all have loads of funny YouTube videos waiting to be watched ;) blog and reply to things at your own pace! Great post :)
My recent post Let's Discuss: Translating Books

Nice list! We have a lot of the same books but not the same characters (I chose adult Neville from HP, Isaac from TFiOS, and Wren from Fangirl). It's been so long since I've read Inkheart that I didn't even think of the trilogy when I was writing my list, but wow, a Dustfinger spinoff would be GREAT. I don't recall many details on his character but I remember feeling sorry for him at some point.
Kim would be super interesting, too! Not only what she was feeling during the time of If I Stay, but just her in general before the events of the book. Like her helicopter journalism trip, if I'm remembering correctly...

Also, no worries about being late! I totally understand what you mean about being busy, and the fact that it's Wednesday doesn't take away from the awesomeness of your picks :D
My recent post Top Ten Characters I Wish Would Get Their Own Book

If I were putting together a list of the 13 best book blog posts, this would definitely be one of them <3
I love the beginnings you chose! All of them were captivating, but in different ways. Personally, I've always loved the opening lines to the Percy Jackson book's. They're quick, to the point, and really funny ("The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car." ~The Last Olympian. One of my favorites)
There's also nothing wrong with liking death to be introduced in an opener. That doesn't mean the reader loves death or that the book is overly full of death, it just pulls the reader in. Better to start with a nine-year-old girl killing a man or a high school student attempting suicide than someone waking up in the morning and eating breakfast.
Also, this is only partially on topic, but I hate physical descriptions of characters in the beginning of a book. I won't start caring what a character looks like until something actually happens and I want an image for my imagination xD
My recent post Top Ten Characters I Wish Would Get Their Own Book

Fantastic post, Jillian ^_^

Same with the trigonometry *cue tears* I especially hate what my teacher calls "real word applications" to justify that trig is useful in daily life, because they're so ridiculous. WHO cares how tall a random tree is, HOW on earth am I supposed to find the angle of elevation from me to the top of the tree, and WHY does it matter if a tree is 22.6783 or 22.6784 feet tall? Sigh. I understand that math is useful in a lot of careers, but teachers might as well just draw the stupid triangle instead of coming up with a crazy scenario regarding a tree to make us feel like we're doing something helpful.

OMG YES I GET SO DISTRACTED WHEN WRITING BLOG POSTS Nowadays it's more like homework and studying prohibiting me from blogging, but in August and September when things weren't as busy, I'd literally be midsentence in a book review, open a new tab, and start browsing YouTube or Facebook or something. I don't even know why. It's like as soon as my brain knows I SHOULD be doing something, it automatically wires itself to not want to do it.
But yeah, part of it is not knowing quite what to say for a review. If I love a book, I'd rather shove it in people's hands and scream JUST READ IT than try to explain exactly why I liked it, haha. Negative reviews are easier to write, but it still takes me awhile to figure out the balance between being thoughtful in a review and being rude to the author's work xD
My recent post In Which I Make Excuses