Show Gratitude for Books!

YA author Beth Revis had a dream of a lifetime come true this year, the publication of her first novel, Across the Universe so with an attitude of gratitude she's sponsoring a YA book giveaway that will make your pulse race!  19 books to 1 lucky winner!  Give me a pinch and call me Zippy!  What?  Huh? Never mind.

A part of the entry is to post about a book you are most thankful for, and although it's unlikely I'll win, I still very much want to post this, because the book, and the author's blog are changing my life.

Recommended to me by Lori of Pure Imagination, I devoured Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor.  I couldn't put it down.  

But there's something else about this book.  It's magic.  Real.  Magic.  The kind that teleports you out of time and place and lands you in some other world.  Excitement bubbles up inside and your hands tremble because you can not  predict the ending, and it's a scary, thrilling experience, the not knowing, because you're jaded and not much puzzles you anymore.  Magic that makes your heart beat a foreign rhythm.  Magic that whispers to your soul "I know who you are," and suddenly you're sixteen again.  Everything falls away but the words and they're only for you.

Laini Taylor's books are my soul mates, but this one holds a special place in my heart and on my night stand.  Plus, her blog is fun and inspiring.

Enter to Win the Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost

Enter to win books 1-4 of Jeaniene Frost's best selling Night Huntress series (previously read by the Book Fiend).

This is a fun paranormal romance series with one of my favorite male characters: Bones.  He's reason enough to read them, and is often voted as one of the best male characters in the genre.  Vampires, ghouls, witches, ghosts-definitely a lot to keep you busy.

Cat is a great main character, tough and determined.

Good luck, and I hope you enjoy the series as much as I did.

 "Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother's life. Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership.

In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad. But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat."  (flap copy from goodreads)

I won't share anymore flap copy with you because they contain spoilers

Jeaniene Frost really lucked out with gorgeous cover art that opens to reveal a double spread.  I've forgotten the industry term for this, but inside Bones is featured ^^.


I haven't read books five and six yet.

Uncle Jack: A Great Five Minute Short

Please, just take 5 minutes and watch this great short film, Uncle Jack, by Jamin Winans.  It's been a favorite of mine on youtube for a while.

Jamin Winans also wrote and directed Ink, a supernatural sci-fi fantasy movie.  I watched it on Netflix, and was impressed by its strangeness.  Very cool stuff if you like to travel off the beaten.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

This book is a classic, a must read.  Classified as young adult, this book easily crosses over to adult fiction as the theme is universal.  The author's writing style is refreshing, uncluttered and powerful. Each sentence is high-octane as the story flows effortlessly and the words seem perfectly chosen to not just capture your interest but hit you over the head.  Smartly written, it will make you laugh out loud and I swear, it'll make you cry.

Meet Miles Halter, a sixteen year old boy heading off to boarding school in search of the "great perhaps".  He makes new friends, falls in love and learns the power of forgiveness.  Not bad for one school year.

I read only brief comments about this book on various shelfari forums, one liners like-GREAT BOOK, LOVED IT.  As fate would have it, it was sitting out at the library and without thinking twice I checked it out.  Fate's a funny thing, karma is real and I'm not the same person I was before reading this book.  And for those "grown-ups" that don't read YA, don't let the classification fool you.  This book has a heavy take home message.

Thoughts on the 2011 National Book Award Finalists

Check out the 2011 National Book Award finalists.

I've only read two of the nominees, one from adult literature and one from young adult: The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht (read my review here) and Chime by Fran Billingsley.

I loved Chime by Fran Billingsley, but I didn't write a review because I didn't think I could adequately describe the writing, or the mood or feel of it.  The voice is a bit odd, and I didn't love it right away, but after a few chapters I started feeling the rhythm and getting into the story.  A short time later, I totally fell.  All the characters are unique, and the surprising denouement is very satisfying.

Read it!  This odd is worth devouring.  And Eldric will make you swoon.  I'm totally pumping my fist for this book!

In case you haven't heard, Lauren Myracle withdrew her young adult novel Shine after a heart-wrenching clerical error-its confusion with Chime.  Read her story here.

On Harry, Stupor-Inducing Used Book Sales and My Deluded Brain

I've been MIA, but I think I have a decent excuse.  House renovations and tome reading.

Once the final Harry Potter movie was released in July, I suddenly became interested in the books, and began a mad reading frenzy to read them all before The Deathly Hallows part deux left theaters.  In August I started year five-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix-and it was like trying to race through mud.  It was one tough read.  At 870 pages, I'd classify it as a tome. I found it to be very dry, boring.

The thought of picking up year six depressed me.  I wanted to break up with Harry.

Now that I've had a few weeks to process the huge data dump of Phoenix, I can say Harry and I are still a thing even though I have a girl-crush on Hermione Granger.  She's total badassery.  Truly, if it wasn't for Hermione, Harry would've flunked out of Hogwarts in his first year.  Hermione's got brains and skill, and all Harry wants to do is play quidditch .  I made the mistake of expressing my opinion recently at a party, and I was immediately beat down with the argument that Hermione is book smart, whereas Harry is street smart, and who would I really want on my side while up against He Who Should Not Be Named?  Gandalf.  I'm no dummy.

Having said all that, Part Deux isn't playing in theaters anymore, but will be out on DVD November 11th.  Since I've missed the big screen experience Harry and I agreed to spend a little time apart.  

On a different note, in early October I read an article on Book Riot, Beyond Sparkly Vampires: YA for Lit Snobs and a tiny seed was planted in my subconscious.  I loved John Green's Looking for Alaska (yes, please read it) so Paper Towns blossomed in my brain unbeknownst to me (my brain often does this).  

Well, on October 29th, I went to the largest used book sale I've ever seen.  90,000 books.  One warehouse.  I had cash.  I had my phone for pictures, but something happened that I never imagined possible.  

I froze.

Book sensory overload.  I forgot my favorite authors.  I forgot to take pictures.  I walked around as if in a drugged stupor.  I ended up in Reference.  Reference?  Then classics.  Everyone needs the complete works of William Shakespeare, right?  Right? (asked nervously in a high-pitched voice)  I'm sure my deluded brain was trying to convince me I could read every play and sonnet before Anonymous is out of theaters. Next, interior decorating.  What?  And cookbooks, and I don't even cook!  I was seriously fumbling.  I wanted fiction! Escapism!

I never quite fully reclaimed my senses, but my instincts were good.  Sorting through my loot, I realized I found great cookbooks for a dear friend, decorating books since we're renovating our house, and some beloved books in hardback: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons.  But the find that I'm most excited about?  Paper Towns by John Green!  SCORE!  Plus, I got tons of books to use for collage art.  (In a psychology course,  a class assignment was to depict ourselves with collage art/mixed media and I was the only student that used mostly all words, few pictures.  The professor commented, "interesting..."  I never asked her what she meant, but I've always known I'm a word oriented person.  I love nice evocative words. And  I'm a typography nerd.)

So today I'm playing along with Should Be Reading,  Tuesday's meme because it's my blog and I want to:

Randomly open the book your reading and share a few teaser sentences.  Okay.  Here I go...

And now Ben says, "Bro, can we go now?  Because the last time I was this scared...screw it.  I'm freaked out.  There's nothing funny about his shit."

There's nothing funny about this shit is the closest Ben can come to the terror I feel, maybe.  And it is close enough for me."

Paper Towns by John Green

How've you been?  What are you reading?  With prices ranging from free to $1.50, how would you have handled a 90K used book sale?  There's another in December.  I'm making a list.

Oh, and I'm in Nanowrimo again this year.  My poor deluded brain.

Happy reading!  Wish me luck!

Giveaway Winner! Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

The winner of The Book Fiend's Spooktacular Giveaway is:

Jen from X-treme Readers Book Blog!

I'm very excited about this because I'm confident Dearly Departed by Lia Habel will reach some real teenagers.   Reviews on X-treme Readers are primarily written by students in the X-treme Reading class at Badger High School in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  An X-treme reading class is an awesome idea, and I can't wait to peruse the blog.  Teens have their own unique way of seeing the world.  And you can't fool them, or they'll totally call you out on it.  

As an adult reader of YA fiction my perceptions of books are filtered through different life experiences, and sometimes I can get impatient with narratives.  Not all books have cross over appeal even though going through those teen years is something everyone (eventually) shares.  I'm definitely following the blog for the keen teen insight on young adult literature-what flies, what doesn't- that I don't normally have.

Congratulations Jen, and the readers in X-treme Reading!