Review: Gertie's Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley

Gertie's Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley

Amazon  -  Barnes & Noble  -  Booksamillion

Gertie Reece Foy is 100% Not-From-Concentrate awesome. She has a daddy who works on an oil rig, a great-aunt who always finds the lowest prices at the Piggly Wiggly, and two loyal best friends. So when her absent mother decides to move away from their small town, Gertie sets out on her greatest mission yet: becoming the best fifth grader in the universe to show her mother exactly what she'll be leaving behind. There's just one problem: Seat-stealing new girl Mary Sue Spivey wants to be the best fifth grader, too. And there is simply not enough room at the top for the two of them.

Rating: 4 Stars

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was happy to find this book at the time I did because it was a fast, fun middle grade read that got me through a downswing in reading time after some heavier books. This book has a heroine that you just can't help rooting for. She has you from the first chapter, when she's doing her best to become the best darn fifth grader there is. There are obvious ups and downs, or this wouldn't be a good story, but she's got a lot of the stubbornness that I seem to remember kids having when I was that age, so I'd say the author did a good job portraying the characters accurately.

Gertie was an awesome kid. She was the kind of kid that, if I were a classmate of hers, I would have admired and possibly been a little bit afraid of. She has all these grand ideas and she is not the least bit afraid to try and pull them off.

Mary Sue was a perfect villain for this piece. She wasn't evil, exactly, but she had a lot of the personality traits that I find very annoying and would definitely put her at the top of my list of most hated people. She thinks she's so special because of who her father is (a Hollywood big wig), she's so smart because she learned her state capitals last year. It's the smarmy-ness in her voice, her arrogance, that gets to you and makes you just root for her downfall. Giving a character these little traits that add up to one big annoyance is a great way to make a villain without actually making someone evil.

The atmosphere of the piece felt a bit older than perhaps modern day, but that didn't really effect the story in anyway. If anything, it got me as the reader to focus more on the characters. I think Gertie is someone that middle graders, and even older readers, ought to give a chance to and pick up her Leap to Greatness. It's a good fun read that goes by fast and leaves you with a satisfied feeling at the end, a comfort food book of middle grade literature.







All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.

Top 10 Tuesday: Books On My Fall TBR List

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme that is brought to us by The Broke & the Bookish. Check out the topic list here.

These TBR topics are both really fun and really anxiety inducing because my overall TBR is enormous and it only keeps growing as each week goes by with more and more books being published.

These books are the ones that, while not necessarily the newest of the new, are the ones that I want to read as soon as possible. They're the ones I want to focus on this fall either because it's about time, I'm going to meet the author soon, or a sequel's coming out and I need to actually finish the first/previous book(s).

10. The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

9. Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

8. Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

7. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 

6. Jerkbait by Mia Siegert

5. Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan

4. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

3. The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis

2. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

1. Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.

Tokyo Cover Girls Cover Stop

Thank you to Nichole of YAReads Blog Tours for having me on this blog tour for The Tokyo Cover Girls. Here you'll get a chance to check out the cover, get to know a little bit about the story and the author, plus at the end there's the complete tour guide with reviews, guest posts, spotlights, and more.

Just when you thought fashion was all glamour, Jackie Amsden brings us a book that reveals much more in...

The Tokyo Cover Girls by Jackie Amsden

Contemporary YA

Amazon  - Kobo Books - iTunes

Barnes & Noble - Goodreads

New York has Jacobs, Paris has Chanel, Milan has Versace and Tokyo has . . . Hello Kitty toilet plungers? With its cute-obsessed catalogue and magazine market, anyone who is anyone knows that modeling in Japan means being at the bottom of the fashion industry. Blake, Jess, and Hailey are doing their best to survive yet another casting where pigtails and toddler-impressions are a must when they stumble upon the opportunity of a lifetime. The prestigious Satsujin company has selected them to compete for a campaign that will transform the winner from commercial nobody to haute couture superstar faster than you can say Vogue Italia.

   

About the Author

 

 Jackie Amsden worked as a fashion model in China, Japan, and Taiwan before retiring at the age of eighteen after one too many agent threats, nude photo shoot requests, and self-loathing-induced Pocky binges. If you’d like to learn more about her decent into the darker side of Asia’s candy-coated modeling industry sign up for free installments of her upcoming memoir, Toy Girl, at www.jackieamsden.com.

   Follow the rest of the tour! 

  September 15^th 

The Cozy Little Book Nook – Review 

  RoloPoloBookBlog – Spotlight Post 

  September 16^th 

  Book Lover Promo – Spotlight Post 

  Roxy’s Book Reviews – Spotlight Post 

  September 17^th 

  The Phantom Paragrapher – Review 

  September 18^th 

  VampyreLady’s Cover Reveals, Blog Tours, New Releases & All Things Bookish – Spotlight Post Live to Read – Promo Post 

  September 19^th 

  Alice’s Book Vault – Promo Post 

  September 20^th 

  The Procrastinator’s Corner – Review 

  September 21^st 

  Down the Bookhole – Spotlight Post 

  September 22^nd 

  Bookrantings – Review 

  September 23^rd 

  YA Book Divas – Review 

  September 24^th 

  Little Miss Trainwreck – Author Interview 

  Book Lovers Life – Spotlight Post 

  September 25^th 

  YaReads – Author Interview 

  September 26^th 

  Lekeisha the Booknerd – Review 

  September 27^th 

  The Book Beacon – Guest Post 

  Pandora’s Books – Promo Post 

  September 28^th 

  Just One More Chapter – Spotlight Post 

  Noshelfcontrol – Author Interview

All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.

Review: Misty Copeland by Gregg Delman

Misty Copeland by Gregg Delman

Amazon  -  Barnes & Noble  -  Booksamillion

This stunning volume of photographs captures the sculpturally exquisite and iconic ballerina. Misty Copeland has single-handedly infused diversity and personality into the insular world of ballet, creating an unexpected resurgence of appreciation within contemporary popular culture.

Her story is famously what movies are made of, and in 2015 she became an icon and household name when she became the first African-American female principal dancer in the long and prestigious history the American Ballet Theatre. Copeland’s physique is what sculptures are modeled on, heralding the new physical ideal of strength and athleticism, beauty and grace.

Misty Copeland is a collection of gorgeous, artful photographs by celebrated photographer Gregg Delman, taken in many studio visits from 2011 through 2014. Delman’s talent for capturing movement is reflected in these images, which range from formal ballet positions to more athletic poses and candid moments, all together building an intimate portrait of Copeland as an athlete, an artist, and a woman.With striking and vibrant color photographs, this incredibly intimate volume is a visual tribute to the brilliant mystique of Misty Copeland, showcasing both her grace and strength.

With short texts by Copeland and Delman, this book will be beloved by a diverse audience who share a common appreciation of fine photography and the human form.

Rating: 4 Stars

 Misty Copeland is a beautiful dancer, there's no denying that. I don't know much about her, though I have seen articles about her on occasion in the newspaper or online. I wish there were more opportunities for me to attend one of her shows because from the look of things in this photography collection, she is a stunning dancer whose range of motion is something that shouldn't be missed.

Gregg Delman, the photographer that worked with Misty for this collection, had a rather good eye for composition. He managed to capture some positions that I didn't think possible. I'm still not sure how they managed to get some of these shots at just the right moment. It takes a keen eye, or at least a fast shutter speed, to manage that.

Misty was an amazing subject. She's a beautiful woman to begin with and from what I gathered in her forward, she worked with Mr. Delman almost entirely on her on. She did her own makeup, wore her own costumes, etc. She doesn't seem to have had a diva attitude at all and I think her good nature came across in her facial expression in many of the portraits.

As lovely as many of these pictures were, the reason the book gets knocked down a star for me is that the order of the photos and the construction of the book itself leave something to be desired. There are several pictures that get cutoff in the middle because they're spread out across two pages, essentially cutting Misty's pose in two and taking away from the experience.

This was the first book I'd picked up regarding Misty Copeland and I'm curious to see what other books would have to say about her, especially if there was one that combined the artistic nature I saw here and a literary approach to the role she was embodying at the time.







All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.

Top 5 Wednesday: Characters You WOULDN'T Want to Trade Places With

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Thoughts on Tomes, created by Gingerreadslainey. Check out the Goodreads group here.

There's often speculation as to what character we'd change places with in our favorite books, but what if we take a moment this week to think about the characters we wouldn't want to change places with/ That's the prompt for this week's Top 5 Wednesday and I think I've got some picks you'll agree with wholeheartedly.

Paul Sheldon, Misery

I would love to be a writer. I wouldn't mind being a writer like Paul Sheldon. The man had a super successful romance series that sold millions of copies and made him exceedingly rich. However, I sure as hell wouldn't want to trade place with him in this book because look who he ends up stuck with for the majority of it? Annie freaking Wilkes, that's who. Obsessed fan who kidnaps and maims her favorite author after the death of a beloved character? No thank you, I'll stay poor and a non-writer for now if it keeps me safe from her.

Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel

I could barely get through high school as a normal kid, but as a super powered kid (she's an Inhuman, right?) it would be damned near impossible. Kamala's got to somehow keep up her normal life while protecting Jersey City from a whole host of problems and then she becomes an Avenger too? Geez Louise, as much as I'd love me some super powers, I would not want the responsibilities that Kamala get along with them.

The Little Boy, The Strange Library

The main character in this book isn't named, if I remember correctly, but that doesn't make his terror any less real. Going to the library, a supposed safe place filled with stories and wonder, only to be kidnapped and held captive with others underground for who knows how long? Um, no thank. Plus, it would ruin my love of reading.

Gigi, Bette, or June, Tiny Pretty Things

I wouldn't want to switch places with any of these girls for a variety of reasons. There's an insane amount of pressure that each faces from different sources, whether it be from a parent, society, or themselves. There is no good for any of them in this book. There's backstabbing, constant self doubt, an insane amount of paranoia. How any of them will make it out of this school alive is beyond me, but I'll have to read the sequel to find out, if I can bear it.

The Small Boy, The Ocean at the End of the Lane

This is another book where the main character is not named, at least not that I can remember. I think that this is a plot device that makes their role even creepier because it makes it that much easier to imagine yourself in their shoes. Now, why would I NOT want to be in the small boy's shoes?

Well, for one thing, his new babysitter is like Dolores Umbridge as a young woman. Oh, and did I mention she nearly incites the boy's father to the murder of his son? And the worm the boy has to pull from a seemingly endless hole in his foot? There are too many psychological horrors in this book and at that age I wouldn't have been sane for long. Heck, I don't think I'd be able to stand his circumstances much at this point in my life either.

The point is, the babysitter character who is some sort of otherworldly creature inflicts all sorts of torture upon a fragile mind and I can say, quite without a doubt, that I would never want to be in that position.

All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.

Top 10 Tuesday: Audio Books You Should Listen To

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly meme that is brought to us by The Broke & the Bookish. Check out the topic list here.

Audio books are an awesome invention. Ever since I got a subscription to Audible, I've been listening to more of them. I listen to them on my commute to one job, while working at the other, and sometimes when I have trouble sleeping I listen to an old favorite to help.

This week, I'm sharing with you ten of my favorite audio books, all of which are available through Audible for your listening pleasure.

10. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Narrated by Stephen Fry

This was a fun listen because I love Stephen Fry and he did a great job not only on this book but also as the voice of the Guide in the movie version of the book. While I didn't actually like the ending of the book all that much, that's a personal preference that doesn't have a bearing on Fry's performance of the work. He embodied the humor and the wit of Adams with ease; I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a quick listen that's still really good.

9. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to hearing Lin-Manuel Miranda perform anything since he left Hamilton, but that's just fine. He had a heck of a job bringing two very different characters two life. Aristotle had a lot of anger and confusion to work through and Dante was apologetically himself and all that that entailed. To be able to switch back and forth between these two characters so seamlessly was an amazing thing to listen to.

8. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Narrated by Jim Dale

This isn't my favorite Jim Dale work to make this list, as you'll see later, but it is still very good. Not only is this a fantastically magical tale about a circus that appears and disappears in the night, has tents that makes the impossible come true, and performers that defy imagination, it is narrated by a man who has a great deal of experience weaving these magicial words into an invisible net that traps you in the story world. You won't want to leave until the very last word.

7. The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher, Narrated by James Marsden

Jim Butcher sure knows his way around supernatural fiction, so not only do you get a good dose of a smartass, whipsmart wizard who knows his stuff, you get the perfect guy to embody this guy. You might know James Marsters as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He's also appeared in Warehouse 13, Supernatural, and a whole host of other shows and each time his acting has shown that he can take on any persona. You see the evidence of that in his vocal work for this series.

There were a couple books in the series that he didn't narrate, if I remember correctly, but the ones he does are gems.

6. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, Narrated by the Author

One of the things that I love about Neil Gaiman books are that when they get turned into audio books, the odds are good that he will narrate them. The books often have a creepy element to them and he has the perfect voice to narrate such a story. This and Coraline are two of Gaiman's stories that take the most advantage of his vocal talents.

5. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Narrated by Jay Snyder, Brandon Rubin, Fred Berman, Lauren Fortgang, Roger Clark, Elizabeth Evans, and Tristan Morris

This audio book has one of the largest casts I've ever heard. I started it last week and listened to it quickly because it was so good. Each person brought the personality of the character to life in a bang up way. My favorite was probably Kaz, that insane genius. :)

4. The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer, Narrated by the Author

Not only is Amanda Palmer an all around badass of a person and an author, but she narrated her book wonderfully. The music mentioned in the book is actually in the audio book version which added a whole other level of enjoyment for those of us that don't have the cds.

3. The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye, Narrated By Steve West

This book was magical already, but when Steve West positively nails the Russian accents of all the characters, I fell in love with him as a narrator. I especially loved his portrayal of Ludmila, the baker from Cinderella Bakery.

2. The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling, Narrated by Jim Dale

Jim Dale is one of the best narrators I've ever come across. He can slip into any role with ease and boy are there a lot of them, especially in this series.

1. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Narrated by Kate Burton

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was already one of my favorite books, but hearing Kate Burton bring these characters to life with her narration really put it over the top. I have easily listened to this audio book five times. I finish it and I start it again, she is that good.

Review: Shadowboxing with Bukowski by Darrell Kastin

Shadowboxing with Bukowski by Darrell Kastin

Amazon  -  Barnes & Noble  -  Booksamillion

Shadowboxing with Bukowski (a memoir disguised as fiction, or a fictionalized memoir) is the tragicomic, cautionary tale of a young bookseller who struggles to keep his bookstore afloat in the harbor town of San Pedro, CA, where the infamous Charles Bukowski resides. Pushed to the edge by events beyond his control: his flailing marriage, the curmudgeonly ghost of the former owner, and the community that sees him as an outsider, the intrepid book lover fights the noble battle against mediocrity and apathy while in a moment of desperation his wife enlists Bukowski’s aid.

The full title which was later shorted was: Shadowboxing With Bukowski, or Memoir of a Severed Head. 

Rating: 1 Star

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love to read books about books. Books about libraries, bookstores, bookworks, I'm game. It's fun to see a novel centered around something I'm passionate about (the written word). Generally speaking, reading those books puts me into those settings when otherwise I can't be. If I'm stuck at home at least I can imagine myself surrounded by books, talking about those stories with other people in person, which can sometimes be overwhelming but can also be a lot of fun.

Shadowboxing with Bukowski started out as one of those types of books. The narrator felt like he could be a fellow book loving soul who I as a reader would be able to join on his journey of trying to save his dying bookshop. However, as the book progressed, I found myself disliking him more and more because his voice became more pretentious the further you read. He might have said things to the contrary, but every sentence was loaded with self importance and I couldn't stand it for stretches at a time.

The plot moves slowly enough, which I normally don't mind because that's generally what this sort of book is like. I could have forgiven it once more, but not with a narrator that sounds like he would rather be doing anything else than trying to save his store. I couldn't even finish the book, to be honest, his voice was that grating.

If you think you might like to check out book about book collectors or people who work in bookshops, I'd recommend Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone or Shelf Life: Romance, Mystery, Drama, and Other Page-Turning Adventures From a Year in a Bookstore by Suzanne Strempek Shea.







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TAG: Would You Rather?

For my tag today I decided to tackle the Would You Rather tag. Amber over at Only True Magic did her own version and tagged anyone that hadn't yet done it, so here I am. Be sure to stop by and check her version of it out here.

You would think that question with only two options would be easy to answer, wouldn't you? No! They aren't! Every time I thought I had this down, my mind found another way to skew the question and then it went off on that tangent until I was finally about to figure out a coherent way to tell you all what my answer was. Let's see what I managed to figure out, eh?

1. Rather read only a series or stand-alone books?

If I could be guaranteed that the standalone would have all loose ends tied up by the end, then I would choose standalones. The longer that a series goes on, the more chances to has to have dud books, especially book two in a trilogy. I'd rather avoid that and have, say, a 900 page monstrosity in one go.

2. Rather read a book whose main character is male or female?

I'd choose to read female main characters because at least that voice would be more similar to the one in my head.

3. Rather shop only at Barnes & Noble (or other actual bookstore) or Amazon?

For the pure thrill of being able to pick up books and look through them, feel them, check out what they look like under their dust jackets, I would have to choose physical bookstore, especially used bookstores because they tend to be really cool treasure troves. 

For the sake of my wallet and the fact that they give me the ability to buy more books, I'd have to go with Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Saving $6 off a new hardcover really adds up.

4. Rather all books become movies or tv shows?

Television series. Given the right channel or online network, a book could be transformed into a true epic and on tv (or Netflix, Hulu, etc.) they'd have the time to get into all the side stories, character arcs, etc., that we love in a book rather than glossing over them or ignoring them completely. 

5. Rather read 5 pages per day or read 5 books per week?

5 books a week sounds great in theory, but I think that would be too many stories to cram into my poor little head week after week. I'd start forgetting the details about them and that would be sad. 5 pages a day would give me more time to think about what I read and it would build up anticipation for the next day.

6. Rather be a professional book reviewer or an author?

I wanted to be an author when I was younger. In high school I would sit in class and start story after story when I was supposed to be taking notes. However, after college and even after majoring in Creative Writing, I don't think that I have what it takes anymore. Maybe someday that will change, but for now I think I would be much happier writing about the book I enjoyed, and even the ones I didn't, if it meant I could help people on their way to finding books that they, in turn, could enjoy.

7. Rather only read the same 20 books over and over or get to read a new book every 6 months?

I tend to re-read a lot and am perfectly content with that. Even with stacks upon stacks of new books to read I tend to go back to the old favorites, so I'd pick that option: the same 20 books over and over. Harry Potter, of course, is going to take up most of that list, but what would the other 13 be I wonder?

8. Rather be a librarian or own a book store?

Definitely a librarian. I've never been one, so I'm sure there are plenty of inner problems that I have no idea about (budget meetings, etc.), but after having worked in a bookstore and having had the pressure of trying to sell membership cards and magazine subscriptions, I think that a library atmosphere would be more up my alley.

9. Rather only read your favorite genre or your favorite author?

I think I would rather stick with my favorite author. It would be hard to choose one, but I think I know who it is and she's got a fairly decent sized library of work so I would be set for awhile, not to mention that the genres she writes are diverse enough that I wouldn't be stuck reading the same thing over and over again.

10. Rather only read physical books or eBooks?

Physical books just feel better, plus I do feel some eye strain when reading eBooks that I don't get when I read physical books. There's just something about holding the book and seeing how much you've got left to read, holding the heft of a huge book in hand, and knowing you've got a backpack full of potential reads that could take out a mugger in needed that makes physical books the obvious choice. :)

These were fun to answer, really, in the end. If you haven't done this tag yet I strongly encourage you to. Leave your link in the comments so I can see what your choices were.

TAG: Pokemon GO! Book Tag

This tag was created by Aentee from Read at Midnight, though I found this tag via Jess from Princessica of Books. Both bloggers are fun to read, especially this tag post. Please have a look.

I'm an old school Pokemon fan. I grew up with the anime, watched every episode of the original series, etc. I wanted to have the games when they first came out, but at the time I didn't have a GameBoy. Now, though, I'm old enough to enjoy the fandom at will and I have been having a lot of fun searching out Pokemon in the real world with Pokemon Go.

When I saw that Jess had done this tag, I had to read her post and then I decided that I just had to do this tag myself! The questions are cute and a good sidekick to the game (which, if you haven't tried yet, please do!). 

Starters: The Book That Started Your Love of Reading

I don't have that great of a memory, especially if we are talking about ten to twenty years, but I think that it had to have either been Anne of Green Gables or A Wrinkle in Time. I remember reading both when I was young and loving them a lot. We were supposed to read A Wrinkle in Time in class that year, but I couldn't wait and read ahead while the others read their chapters aloud. It was that good!

Pikachu: An Iconic Classic You'll Always Love

There are so many to choose from. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn has been a favorite of mine for some time now. I re-read it several times a year, even. Harry Potter, of course, but is it a classic yet? Yeah, just answered my own question there. *lol* Harry Potter will never get old. There's something new, some new way to think, every time I go back to read it. I don't think that'll ever stop being amazing to me.

Zubat:  A Book You Lost Interest In Because It's Literally Everywhere

I hate to say it, but the Divergent series has become more of a chore to think about reading than something I really want to finish. It was overhyped when it first came out, but I thought I would give it a try anyway. The first book, or at least the first half of it, is pretty good, but then I got spoiled for the ending of Allegiant because everyone was talking about it. After that, I got kind of bored with it. There didn't seem to be a lot of reason to push through the slow bits when I knew where it was all going.

Ditto: A Book That Reminds You of Other Books (Tropes) But You Still Love Anyway

Red Queen was a book that a lot of people told me was incredibly similar to other YA books, but I wanted to give it a chance anyway. I'm happy that I did. It does, admittedly, have all the things I was warned about, but it still had enough of it's own energy to make me like it.

Snorlax: A Book/Series You Have Not Started Because of Sheer Size

I can't think of a series that I haven't read any of, but there are a few I have picked up a volume in the series, read a couple chapters, then realized how enormous the undertaking is and backed off for awhile in favor of something else, the Discworld series chief among them.

Gengar: A Book That Kept You Up At Night

Creed by Trisha Leaver was a spooky one. It was like the novelization of a horror movie. I don't recall liking it very much in the end, but the reading of it up to a point was nerve wracking, especially when I started reading it around midnight.

Nidoking/Nidoqueen: Your Bookish OTP

I don't think I have as strong feelings as some towards certain couples. There are a few I like that may or may not be canon: Hermione/Viktor for one; Ronan/Adam; Celaena/Dorian. 

Rapidash: A Fire Hot, Fast Paced Read

Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris was a real hot read and I think it was for two reasons. The first is because I went into it knowing that there were bad things afoot instead of thinking things were okay at first and finding to the contrary 50 pages in. The second is that I picked this book up while I was working and I had to shelve it, but having peeked at the first page while doing so I was hooked! Once I finally sat down to read it I was done in a matter of a day or two.

Eevee: Series You'll Never Get Tired of Seeing Spin-offs For 

My first answer feels like it should automatically be Harry Potter, but I was badly burned by Cursed Child, so I think anymore books in the HP series will have me very hesitant. 

Besides that, I don't think I could ever be tired of Percy Jackson books. I've only read two of them so far, but Rick Riordan has a writing style that doesn't seem to be waning any time soon.

Magikarp: A Book/Series That Was Surprisingly Awesome

Genshiken is a manga series that bored me at first, but I decided to give the rest of the series a chance. I reread the first book and continued onward, finding it to be much better the second time around. The series got a lot better. The first read might have just occurred at a bad time for me. I'm glad I went on with it because there's a lot of fandom culture regarding cosplay, anime, and video games discussed in later volumes.

Legendary: An Overhyped Series You're Still Excited to Read

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater is an overhyped series that I really need to get around to reading. I keep meaning to, but I misplaced my copy of The Raven Boys so that binge is on hold for a bit.

Mew & Mewtwo: A Collector's Edition You Wish You Owned

I went to Books of Wonder for the first time earlier this year and saw a signed first edition of Prisoner of Azkaban. That is my favorite Harry Potter book and I would love to have that. I think it was something like $400, though. :(

Poke-Egg: A Debut Novel You're Very Excited For

You Don't Me But I Know You by Rebecca Barrow sounds particularly interesting. It sounds like it could be really sad, but there's a lot of potential for hope, so maybe it will work out in the end? I'll have to wait until next year to find out, sadly, but I'll be sure to keep a sharp eye out for an ARC. :)

Lure Module: An Auto-Buy Author

Neil Gaiman. It doesn't matter what genre it is. Childrens, adult, non fiction: whatever it is, I will buy it. 

Server's Down: A Book Release You've Been Waiting on Forever

I have to wait until 2019 for the illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which I am especially looking forward to for two reasons: 1) it's my second favorite book in the series, and 2) it is the biggest book in the series and I can't wait to see how big this thing is going to be!

All pictures, quotes, and videos belong to their respective owners. I use them here solely for the purpose of review and commentary.