I know I could do a Waiting on Wednesday, but Mari usually does that and I have a list of books I want to read that are not very YA-like. I know a lot of you guys are well read, so I was just curious to see your thoughts on some of these.

1.

I have an extreme fascinating with special intelligence units. I had a phase that was just as prevalent as my "vampire" phase where I stocked the shelves and my library's catalogue searching for any book about spies. I adore the secrecy and the terrible importance of it all. So, I want to read this book very badly.

2. 

Rob Ford became a bit of a joke in politics last semester, and he is Toronto's mayor. I remember reading a ridiculously long Globe and Mail article about his family and being completely fascinated with it all. I've never read a book like this, and I totally want to. 

3. 

I first heard about this one in a review. It got me curious, then when I browsed in store, I realized how awesome it looked. I've never read a story from a mother's point of view, and this one seems like a great place to start. I'm very excited to try this one!

4. 

He's a celebrity in Canada, and his book has some phenomenal reviews. I've always been interested in space, so I think this book from the point of view of someone with a rare career would be something I'm interested in. I really do crave a "big" book, if you know what I mean. 

5. 

You Are Not So Smart was one of the most awesome books I've read in my life, just because I learned so much. Now this book from the same author is something I've been planning to read since forever. I love reading about logical fallacies and discovering psychological tricks that the mind plays on itself. 

6. 

Ever since this book came out, I've adored the cover. I then stumbled upon one of the gushiest, yet literate reviews I've ever read and I was completely sold. This book seems to have smart mystery and drama, and it looks so exciting too. If I ever see it, I will read it as soon as possible. 

7. 

We all know I'm not much of a zombie fan. But, this book seems incredible. It's actually about recounting one of my worst nightmares, a zombie war, and it seems like it does a pretty great job too based on the average rating it has on Goodreads. Be forewarned though: I didn't watch the film, nor do I plan to. I can't stand zombies. Maybe this isn't a good book to read for me... I may never sleep again. 

8. 

I'm curious about people, and uh, how to deal with them. This book seems plenty useful. Plus, it's one of the most popular books ever, and I guess I want to know what all the hype is about. 

9. 

I very rarely fangirl about anybody as extensively as I do about Tessa & Scott. It started with watching their really really awesome reality TV show, and then I fell in love with them and their dynamic. This book is a must read, and my review of it will be the BEST and LONGEST review ever because of all the incredible gifs. I adore them. 

I was supposed to get to 10, but I think I'll save my tenth for another list (Note: I haven't thought of #10 yet, and would love to hear your recommendations in the comments!)

-P.E.

I feel like a broken record always citing my love of history as a reason behind my interest in historical fiction. But there is so much more to historical fiction than just history. Sure there are the nobles: kings, knights, queens. But it's the infamous that attract me, and what is better than a gladiator?

I'm currently reading Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn, an adult historical fiction that revolves around a Jewish slave girl and a Britannic gladiator. What an interesting match up, it's heartbreaking no less.

Rome was an important stepping stone in humanity's past and their ingenious inventions are things to be admired. But like most early humans, they were a savage and tough people. I don't know how else to describe a population who spent their Sundays watching men and women being skinned by vicious animals and cheering for their downfall.

However, that was the way of life in ancient Rome and a well documented one as well. Many know of the Romans and their accomplishments. We know of crazy Nero who played his lyre while Rome burned or of Caligula who despised the Senate so much he named his favourite horse a senator. No doubt they were ridiculous leaders but how about the people below them? The gladiators forced to put down their lives for their entertainment?

Honestly, it was probably a horrible fate and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but like other not too noble occupations like: assassins (Assassin Creed) and thieves (Robin Hood), gladiators are romanticized and incredibly interesting to read about.

• They know any fight can be their last.
• They are tough men and women from across the world.
• They wish for a rudius, an Emperor's grant of freedom.
• They are the object of many's fancy.
• But, they are slaves (not all).
• Barbarians

It's a mystery how they managed to live and how the men and women that loved them coped after their death.

I've just started to make a dent in Mistress of Rome but gladiators seem to be the super stars of the Romans. They were slaves whose lives were forfeit in the Colosseum but outside they were peppered with noble women, fans and graffiti.

It's kind of sad that I have to travel outside the YA genre to find a book that interested me and captured Rome in a realistic and detailed fashion. There are definitely a fantastic bunch of YA historical fiction authors who do this phenomenally but none to my knowledge who wrote about gladiators. Wouldn't it be a great new craze? Vamps, werewolves, angels, zombies to gladiators!

What do you think of gladiators? 

-Mari

Covers and cover art. As humans we are really into beauty, the definition of which is blurry. But it is beautiful. We like beauty in everything; our homes, our clothes, our partners and ourselves. Then why not our books. They are filled with beautiful characters and places so why can’t they have beautiful covers?

YA readers and bloggers are very lucky in the sense that YA literature tends to have beautiful covers. They are bright, decorative, artsy, fashionable and plain stunning at times. They call to you. 

"Mari! Pick me, pick me” 

This is great. Books should be beautiful, it’s called marketing. And literature doesn’t need to be plain, especially when the words inside are so colourful.

Covers like these make me facepalm. That poor author worked so hard and he is probably very proud to be published. But somewhere in the peripheral of his mind he's probably wondering why the cover artist chose that cover.

Why Me!?

Of course this isn’t always the case. I mean if simplicity was a cover instead of a word, Stephen Chbosky’s Perks of Being a Wallflower would've taken the medal. Yet, due to the fact that the insides are beautiful, and that Chbosky has created a wonderful story, with dynamic characters. As well as some luck and a dedicated fan following, the book is an all time favourite for many and not to a mention Hollywood movie with Emma Watson!!!

Speaking of Emma Watson, would Harry Potter be what it is today if the cover artists didn’t feel like adding the lighting bolt to the end of the P in Potter? That lightning bolt might have been the reason that little 11 years old boy/girl picked up the book and that lightning bolt might've been the catalyst that started the revolution that is Harry Potter!

The YA section in my library houses one shelf, albeit a large shelf but it's still one shelf. So how is the library so full? What are all the other books? I don’t know.

When I walk down the adult fantasy isle, my favourite genre being fantasy. I can’t find much that I want to pick up, despite the fact that fantasy tends to have more of the interesting covers, may it be YA or adult. Walk down the non fiction aisle and I just might fall asleep, unless there is a book on volcanos; then I might blink a few times.

Point of the story being, JUDGE THE BOOKS BY THEIR COVERS! Do it. I know you do it anyway.

One has every right to judge a book because the book is interesting looking therefore it might be good. I think this gives publishers more of a push in making their books more pleasing to the eyes. If you're going to do it, then do it right. Do justice to those books because that author has worked hard and deserves a book cover that he or she can readily boast about. 

-MARI

Have you ever seen a book that seems to have a gazillion pages and does not want to end? And god forbid, someone you like recommends it to you. Horrified, you shamefully turn away, trying to ignore the fact that you can't begin to imagine reading the goliath of a book that is larger than your head!

No! I'm not cracking.

However, every once in a blue moon you find that one book that sounds so compelling, so extraordinary that you don't care what the cover looks like, let alone the 10 billion pages that it is composed of. In fact, you crave more and don't understand how that 10 billion could be insufficient. 

I've had a few of these in my reading life span and they are golden. Recently, I stumbled on another, The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons. I had seen it around before but didn't know what it was about until I wrote a post talking about how I wished to read books set in other places, preferably Russia. Low and behold, an amazing commentator recommended this one and I was done for. Thank you!

I like to think of myself as a moderate paced reader, but a dedicated reader. I'm not too fast, I tend to slow down when I'm really into a book, and that helps me absorb all the details. This also decreases the chances of me forgetting the story. I will forget my favourite biology unit the day after the test but my favourite book, I remember everything. Well maybe not everything, but you know what I mean!

I finished this one in a week. Screw homework, who needs sleep and food? What's that? The characters are starving; do you have no humanity?! I don't know if I'll ever be able to review The Bronze Horseman, even though I've officially plowed through the second book, which took me 2 days and I'm now slowly making my way through the final book, The Summer Gardens as I don't want it to end.

The Bronze Horseman, is not a young adult novel, but it in no way alienates young adults from reading it. The protagonist, Tatiana Metanova is 17 when the book starts but she grows as the series continues and so does the reader. Her pains, sufferings, love and friendship will make you laugh, cry and cheer for joy.

This book has aged me, it has made me dauntless. I no longer fear the size of a book. I remember being like this before, when I first jacked up the courage to read Harry Potter in the 6th grade; I never noticed the length. Same goes to the Gemma Doyle Trilogy back in the 9th grade. Now I'm in grade 12, on the verge of a new stage in my life and I'm happy to say that I have reached another milestone in my reading adventures.

Thank you, Paullina Simons and thank you books of gargantuan capacity for excellence. You are awesome.

-Mari