Bout of Books 9.0 Read-a-Thon - Wednesday, January 8th

Pages read today: 160 + 72 = 232

Pages read so far: 264 + 232 = 496

Books read today:

160/160 pages (100%) of A Ironia e Sabedoria de Tyrion Lannister (The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister) by George R.R. Martin
72/288 pages (25%) of The Shadowhunter's Codex by Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis

Books read so far:

Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion by Kate Egan
A Ironia e Sabedoria de Tyrion Lannister (The Wit & Wisdom of Tyrion Lannister) by George R.R. Martin
The Shadowhunter's Codex by Cassandra Clare and Joshua Lewis 

Challenge: Introduce Someone to Your Favorite Genre hosted by Katie @ Doing Dewey

Bout of Books is a great way to interact with new bloggers so I thought it would be a fun chance for us each to introduce other bloggers to a genre we love. For this challenge, pick a book or a few books that you think would make a great introduction to your genre of choice.

I'm going to pick YA, because it's such a underrated genre... really, just because of a few bad apples, there's no need to judge the entire genre as crappy. There are so many good books, too, and for all tastes.

• For the historical fan, there's Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys - it's a fictional account of a teenage girl in Russian labor camps in Siberia, Ruta is a good writer and the story is so touching; or A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee, if you're a fan of mysteries and a little romance as well;
• For the SF fan, there's the Across the Universe trilogy by Beth Revis - it's the story of a ship bound to explore another world, and the shenanigans that happen when that mission goes wrong... reading the books if felt as if Beth is a huge SF fan, and I think she used some tropes and main concerns of the genre when writing the story;
• For the contemporary fan, I'm going to pick The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, or anything by her, really - she has a great sense of humor, she writes believable characters, and she captures the awkwardness of teen years in such a cute and funny way;
• For the Steampunk or alternate history fan who doesn't mind picking up a book that reads slightly younger than YA, I'd recommend Scott Westerfeld and the Leviathan trilogy - great books, his imagination is astounding, and it was so much fun reading Deryn and Alek's story;
• For the paranomal/urban fantasy fan, the Soul Screamers books by Rachel Vincent - she's such a good writer, she comes up with the most awesome concepts, she does family and emotional scenes so well, and Kaylee is one of the most brave, loyal heroines you'll ever meet; oh, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - because her writing is so beautiful and her stories so tragic; and Forsaken by Jana Oliver, btw, because Riley is such a good, badass heroine, and really, Demon Hunters in a slightly dystopian/post-apocalyptic future, need I say more?;
• For the fantasy fan who doesn't mind a different setting, I'd go with The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, which has an interesting setting and a different type of heroine, who manages to overcome her weaknesses to save her country; or The Assassin's Curse, with a grumpy heroine and such a fun, quirky world.

And that's it for suggestions. I could be writing here all day.