Who Are We?
Please note that we do not receive any form of compensation for our reviews. We pride ourselves on providing our honest, heart felt opinions on every book we choose to review.
Reading Lark is a US based blog, but we do have some international reviewers. We currently have reviewers in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia.
Reading Lark is a US based blog, but we do have some international reviewers. We currently have reviewers in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia.
You can contact the Larks at: reading.lark@gmail.com
Thanks for stopping by!
If you're stopping by with a request for an 18+ title, visit Tevya and the lovely After Dark Larks at Reading Lark After Dark.
If you're stopping by with a request for an 18+ title, visit Tevya and the lovely After Dark Larks at Reading Lark After Dark.
Blog Owner:
US Reviewer
Top 10 Reads:
Top 10 Authors:
Chloe Neill
Kelley Armstrong
Andrea Cremer
Tessa Gratton
Mindi Scott
Libba Bray
Sarah Addison Allen
Kimberly Derting
Sarah Jio
Wendy Delsol
Preferred Genres:
* Urban Fantasy (YA & Adult)
* Paranormal (YA & Adult)
* YA Contemporary
* Historical Fiction (YA & Adult)
* Southern Fiction (YA & Adult)
* Pacific Northwest Fiction (YA & Adult)
* New Adult
* Adult Chick Lit
Books That Make Me Cry:
Books That Kept Me Up All Night:
The Books That Most Changed My Life:
North and South by John Jakes - This story started a lifelong obsession with history and writing. My academic path and career have all been forged in a quest to share my love of history with others. This story has captivated me since I was three years old and saw the miniseries. I watched it so many times the tapes broke! I didn't read the book until I was a teenager and though some elements are different from the movie, my passion for the history and these characters has never wavered.
Twilight would be a close second since it opened up so many doors for me. It allowed me to make some of my best friends and to travel to the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula. Without this series I wouldn't be an aspiring writer and book blogger. I will always be grateful for the experiences I have had because of one small rainy town and a coven of sparkly vampires. Twilight also rekindled my love of reading after it had been dormant for many years.
What I Love Most About Reading:
I love the escape that reading provides from the stresses of every day life. I find that books provide me with good friends, exciting adventures, and journeys to exotic locales. There is nothing more entertaining and relaxing for me than curling up with good book. Reading also sparks my creative side; I have allowed myself to create stories of my own. I also love the community I found among other readers. Books have led me to meet some of my very best friends (including all the lovely Larks). I simply cannot imagine my life without books. Stories are as essential for me as air.
Blog Reviewers:
US Reviewer
Top 10 Reads:
Top 10 Authors:
Maggie Stiefvater
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Laini Taylor
Chris Crutcher
Lauren Oliver
Scott Westerfeld
Cassandra Clare
Gayle Forman
Julie Kagawa
Rick Riordan
Preferred Genres:
* YA Dystopian
* YA Fantasy
* YA Paranormal
* An occasional YA Contemporary
Books That Make Me Cry:
Books That Kept Me Up All Night:
Most of them. I generally read until my eyes won't stay open any longer. I have an especially hard time setting aside a Stiefvater read.
The Book That Most Changed My Life:
The Twilight Saga, hands down. It's the reason I met many friends, began reviewing books, and learned more technical skills than I ever thought I'd need- which have turned out to be a big asset at work.
What I Love Most About Reading:
It's the most cost-effective and efficient way I know to take a break from my routine.
UK Reviewer
Top 10 Reads:
Top 10 Authors:
Maggie Stiefvater
Maria V. Snyder
Karin Slaughter
Kimberly Derting
Lisa McMann
Julie Kagawa
Jeff Lindsay
Lauren Oliver
Stephenie Meyer
JK Rowling
Preferred Genres:
* Fantasy
* Paranormal
* Dystopian
* Contemporary
* New Adult
Books That Make Me Cry:
Books That Kept Me Up All Night:
The Book That Most Changed My Life:
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer - I met so many of my best friends through a shared love of this book. I picked up new hobbies, rediscovered a passion for reading, traveled the world, and started blogging all because I loved this book.
What I Love Most About Reading:
I can fall in love over and over again, kick ass, do magic, discover new things... I can escape life as me for a little while and fulfil some wishes. I also like how secret reading is... I might be reading a book, and you might even know that I'm enjoying it from the look on my face, but you don't know exactly why I'm smiling - maybe its something funny, maybe I'm relating to a character a lot, maybe they are making out and its hot... but whatever it is, its just between me and the book.
Canada Reviewer
Top 10 Reads:
Top 10 Authors:
Julie Kagawa
Cassandra Clare
Stephenie Meyer
Maggie Stiefvater
Veronica Roth
Lauren Oliver
Katie McGarry
C.L. Wilson
Michelle Hodkins
Sophie Jordan
Preferred Genres:
* YA Fantasy
* YA Dystopian
* YA Contemporary
* New Adult
* Adult Fantasy/Romance
Books That Make Me Cry:
Books That Kept Me Up All Night:
The Book That Most Changed My Life:
Definitely the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Until I picked up Twilight after falling in love with the first movie, I hadn't completed a book in nearly 20 years. I read the books three times without a break, which lead to my obsession, which lead to me seeking out other 'more mature' Twilight lovers, which lead to me finding TwilightMoms, which lead to me making several life-long and good friends, and rediscovering my love for reading by discovering genres that I love.
What I Love Most About Reading:
Like many who enjoy reading, I love to escape into another world, where I can pretend to be in the shoes of an admirable heroine and experience things that are definitely out of the realm of my own life. I find reading relaxing, even when the plot speeds up my pulse by wondering what's going to happen next. And perhaps one of my favourite side-pleasures of reading is chatting about my favourite books with my wonderful book friends!
US Reviewer
Top 10 Reads:
Top 10 Authors:
John Steinbeck
Cassandra Clare
Robert Cormier
Edgar Allan Poe
Diana Gabaldon
JD Robb
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Oscar Wilde
JK Rowling
William Shakespeare
Preferred Genres:
* Classic Literature
* Urban Fantasy
* Romance
* YA
Books That Make Me Cry:
Books That Kept Me Up All Night:
The Books That Most Changed My Life:
This is *such* a difficult question! It's truly not fair. If I have to chose one, I have to pick Bridge to Terabithia. I read it as part of my 5th grade language arts class and, though I'd always been a reader, it was the first book where I really "got" what books were. I remember sneaking it into the bathroom for my evening bath because I was SO close to the end; I HAD to finish it. And then I remember my mom knocking on the door to check on me because I was sitting in the tub, sobbing hysterically and she had no idea why.
If I get to chose more than one I'll add The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (aka my literary boyfriend) and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Gastby was assigned reading in my junior year English class and marked the first time I really understood all that good, English teacher stuff like symbolism and theme. That book opened my eyes to an entire world of literature I never knew existed. And Twilight changed my life in so many, many ways. I have friends that I adore as a result of picking that book up to preview before I gave it to my daughter. Though those friendships I was inspired, by Andrea, Paula, Jen and several other phenomenal teachers to quit my job, go back to school, and fulfill a calling to became a teacher because of that book. I, literally, owe my life as it is right now to Twilight.
What I Love Most About Reading:
See above. ;) The thing I love most about reading is that it transports you to another world. Reading gives me a private movie in my head, something hat I know no other person, ever, will see the exact same way I do. But it also has the ability to bring people together through discussion, shared experiences, and learning.
Australia Reviewer
Top 10 Reads:
Top 10 Authors:
Sara Douglass
Robert Jordan
Robin Hobb
Julie Kagawa
Jenny Colgan
Phil Rickman
Meg Cabot
Katie McGarry
Cassandra Clare
JK Rowling
Preferred Genres:
* Fantasy (YA & Adult)
* Dystopian (YA & Adult)
* Science Fiction (YA & Adult)
* YA
* Contemporary Women's Fiction (Chick Lit)
* Literary Fiction
Books That Make Me Cry:
* Books That Kept Me Up All Night:
The Book That Most Changed My Life:
This is such a hard question. Many books have had an impact on my life, but the books that made me such an avid reader, and inspired me to write as a child, were the Trixie Belden books. I devoured these from when I was 7 years old and loved the world that was created within them. I may have "borrowed" storylines for my own creative writing. Please don't tell my primary school teachers.
What I Love Most About Reading:
To live in someone else's world, to see the way they see and experience life through their eyes can be a really powerful experience.
US Reviewer
Top 10 Reads:
Top 10 Authors:
William Shakespeare
J. R. R. Tolkien
Orson Scott Card
Lois McMaster Bujold
Brandon Sanderson
Connie Willis
John Scalzi
Terry Pratchett
Suzanne Collins
Dava Sobel
Preferred Genres:
My preferred genres are the ones with words – I am a reading junkie and will try just about anything. I love when people encourage me to try a different author or an unusual book. ☺ In the absence of outside influences, I tend to go with:
• Science Fiction (Adult & YA)
• Fantasy (Adult & YA)
• Speculative Fiction (Adult & YA)
• Classics
• History/Biography
• Science/Technology
Books That Make Me Cry:
Books That Kept Me Up All Night:
The Books That Most Changed My Life:
I don’t know who gave me this book as a child, but I wish I could give them a giant hug and a big smoochy kiss! A Wrinkle in Time is the book that got me started on a lifetime of discussions about the meaning of human agency, fascination with time travel, and a bent for SF & Fantasy reading. It was also the first time I ever saw myself in a main character, and it started my habit of using books as a looking glass.
I strayed from adult SF & Fantasy for a number of years (it’s amazing the crimp that life can put in your recreational reading time), but Mistborn was the book that brought me back. Sanderson has a gift for dialogue and plot twists that makes me want to sing. Reading his books made me remember why I fell in love with reading in the first place.
Because of this book, I met a lot of smart, incredibly talented women who enjoy reading and talking about books as much as I do!
What I Love Most About Reading:
What I love most about reading can be summed up by Carl Sagan who said, “What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." Books not only break the shackles of time but also of space and personal imagination. Reading is a creative process in which the author and reader cooperate, and I love it most when reading creates that sense of connection and mutual purpose.
