Readathon Check-In

Oct 13

Dewey's ReadathonFriends, the October Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon is somewhere near its halfway point. I’ve finished only one book, but I’m a slow reader. And I took pauses to eat, clean myself, nap, and have my morning coffee. I’m enjoying myself though! And my first book, TEXAS GOTHIC by Rosemary Clement Moore, was pretty legit.

Next up, I’m digging into THE HALLOWED ONES by Laura Bickle. I’m hoping for some creepiness and Amish flyness. In the meantime, half-time questions!

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?

Well, I might be a touch sleepy by now if I hadn’t actually napped for about an hour and a half earlier this afternoon. So no, right now I’m good.

2) What have you finished reading?

Only TEXAS GOTHIC. Readathon slacker! (Although not for a want of trying!)

3) What is your favorite read so far?

Hmm…maybe I should have waited a little longer to answer these questions. Although TEXAS GOTHIC was really great. I’m annoyed with myself for taking so long to read it. Seriously. Ghosts, witches, COWBOYS, Texas…I really don’t know why I was sitting on this one.

4) What about your favorite snacks?

I’m about to go make myself a cup of coffee and have some homemade apple crisp. Warm, obviously. Warm, I can devour apple desserts. Cold, EEW I can’t even.

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!

Alas, not yet, but that will change soon! My girl April is killing it, though. And Allison, too. They’re old pros at this readathon business.

So, that’s where I am guys. One book down! Back to the reading!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Blog Tour: Character Interview with Cat Crawford

Sep 19

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

Amazon | Goodreads | Barnes & Noble

Visit Rachel: Website | Twitter | Facebook

Check the other stops on the tour!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tour, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Feb 14

From Nerd Valentine. Seriously. It exists.

You guys are THE BEST. WAY better than brains, for sure!! ♥

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Help A Girl Out: Which Series?

Jan 20

So, I’m having a dilemma, friends. Maybe you’ve heard me mention my Pile of Shame before on the blog, which is basically a list of all the incredible books I still haven’t read yet that I fully intend to conquer this year. This is *kind* of about that, except I need your help filling in some of my worst series gaps. I’ve narrowed it down, but now I can’t decide which one to start first!! To be clear, there’s quite a few series that have only one book out and I’ve left those out because I figure I’m not so behind on those. No, these few series are a couple of books in or even entirely OVER. *Sigh*

Thanks for your help, guys!!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Excuse Me While I Fangirl: Merlin Potter

Jan 14

If the characters from Merlin ever met the Sorting Hat. INTER-TEXTUALITY BOMB!!!!

Also, if this is not THE TOTAL TRUTH, I don’t know what is. Seriously.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Peace Out, 2011! It’s Been Real: 2011 Book Survey

Dec 30

So, this survey might as well be a skipping record, I’m realizing. I feel like I kept repeating the same books! But you know what? I think that speaks to a couple of things: One, when I read a book I LOVED this year, I loved it HARD and for INFINITY TIMES FOREVER AND EVER. Two, not as many books blew my socks off this year as in years past, maybe. Or…it could just be that the books I loved the most blew me away SO MUCH that they put all other books to shame and make those books pale in comparison to their loveliness and beauty and awesomeness and OHMYGOD WHY ARE THERE NOT ENOUGH ADJECTIVES?!

Ahem. So. Basically, you’re going to see lots of the same books over and over again here because there were a few that just touched my heart and I can’t ever get them out. Also, there are a number of books on here that didn’t come out in 2011, but I read them this year.

Let’s jump right in!

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Merry Happy!

Dec 25

HAPPY HOLIDAYS, MY LOVELIES! It’s our first Christmas together and I’m EXCITED for us to enjoy ourselves and be happy and jolly (this is my favorite Christmas word)! I feel like our first Christmas is going to be quiet, though, and cozy and snuggly and wonderful. Maybe next Christmas we’ll have EVERYONE over and it will be huge and crowded and crazy and we’ll drink too much and GET LOUD. But this year, it’s just us and a cup of cocoa and a nice fire and lots of good books to read. I like that kind of Christmas, too, and I’m BEYOND happy and thankful that you are sharing it with me, in whatever small way you can manage.

This blog is kind of like my Christmas gift to myself, because I love what I’m blogging about and I love talking to you all about books and I’m having such a great time with you all! Probably NEXT Christmas my gift to myself will be two weeks OFF from my blog because it’s driving me BONKERS, but let’s not be cynical on Christmas, hmm?

So ENJOY YOURSELVES and be safe and happy this holiday. And read lots of good stuff so we can talk about it soon! Love youuuuuu!

PS. Some quick business: No IMM this week; any goodies I got this week will be in NEXT week’s IMM. I’m going to try and get lots of reviews up this week, though, so keep your eyeballs open for ’em! Mwah!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Excuse Me While I Fangirl

Dec 12

So. Game of Thrones. Let me just get this out of the way: I am a NERD about it. I follow all the websites, although I’m too chicken to post anything; I throw my books around in sadness/anger/fear/complete and utter emotional devastation and denial; I theorize on who Jon Snow’s mother is and complain that it’s been FIVE BOOKS and we still haven’t met Howland Reed. Whew. Reign it in, Amy! What I want to say is, it’s SO SATISFYING to see a book series as awesome as A Song of Ice and Fire made into such a geek-tastic TV show. And it’s a fantasy! Huzzah! It’s literally one of the best shows on TV, but AS ALWAYS, the books are even better. Since I’m all caught up with the books, though, I have nothing to do now but troll message boards, check websites, and monitor the filming of the show’s second season, which is coming in APRIL 2012. AHHH!! I wish April was tomorrow!

Thankfully, HBO has decided to give us fans an early Christmas present: the first season 2 trailer that actually contains real footage. You guys, I MADE LOTS OF NOISE when I saw that this was released. Plus, it was the only bit of goodness that I could find last night in the immediate aftermath of Once Upon A Time. It literally turned my frown upside-down. And because I don’t have anyone else to share this with, I wanted to post it here so that I can announce my fandom proudly–on the internet, at least–in the hopes that some of you guys will do a little happy dance too. Perfect pick me up for a Monday, no? Winter is Coming? NOT ANYMORE because Cold Winds Are Rising instead. BANANAS!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , , ,

Thankfulness

Nov 24

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” -Thornton Wilder

I love Thanksgiving. Not only because it’s a chance for all of my family to be together, laughing, eating, cozy and happy in our love and gratitude. Well, maybe for those things, too. But I love Thanksgiving because it reminds me that I have things to be grateful for EVERY DAY, and that this one day of the year, while fabulous, is only a magnifying glass, showing me larger, clearer pictures of the things that truly matter.

This year, my family is healthy, happy, and together, and I couldn’t be more grateful for anything else. But I am thankful for other things, too, although not nearly as important: I am thankful for the opportunities for change that have shown themselves to me in the oddest, most unlikely ways. I am thankful for the small things that make me smile in spite of myself. I am thankful for tiny generosities of strangers, and for the chance to repay those things in kind. And, this year, I am so filled with gratitude that I have this space here to talk with you all about the thing that I love to talk about: books, and why they are amazing. I know that I’m new around these parts, and every time one of you stops by and says hi or even nothing at all, I’m grateful for that, and for your time and attention. It’s so nice to have a place to “meet” with people who are passionate about the same things I am, and who would understand me if I said, “I can’t WAIT to read Julie Kagawa’s new book” or “I’m so glad that Penguin is putting their ebooks back on Over Drive.” So, THANK YOU, for coming around and visiting the new girl and being so welcoming and sweet and open.

I am conscious of my treasures, this year and always, and I’m grateful that this year, those things include this blog and you. But mostly I am thankful that I have my family near me, and we are sitting around the table, laughing, talking, and making more memories together. That’s my greatest treasure.

I hope that you all have your greatest treasures with you this holiday and that you all have the very best Thanksgiving. See you on the other side of my food coma! (And hopefully yours!)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

YA saves

Nov 2


So, I know that this hashtag was incredibly popular among the bookish set over the summer, but the passing of time certainly doesn’t diminish the issue of what YA literature means to teenager culture in the United States and elsewhere. Nor does it make the discussion of why exactly “YA saves” untimely, no matter when it comes up. It’s so important that young people have sources for information that will help cushion whatever falls they will have as they grow. Teens and kids today have to deal with so much negative, difficult stuff from their parents, their teachers, their friends (hello, Mean Girls! That movie might have been fiction, but the idea is real), culture at large, and–in the biggest way–themselves. I can’t fathom why (well, unfortunately, I can fathom why, but I don’t agree) anyone would want to discourage young people from finding communities in the books they read, so that they don’t feel so out of the ordinary in their troubles. How many times as an adult do I hear and say, when something has disappointed me or gone wrong, “You aren’t the only one who has dealt with this and made it through”? This is the lesson and the wisdom that young adult literature teaches, and I would have died to have had it when I was younger. Growing up, I had very little YA to guide me, entertain me, explain things I was too embarrassed to discuss, give me things to dream about and consider. To expose me to things that I didn’t understand about the world but that I needed to know. Now that I’m reading YA so often, I find myself relearning and solidifying those things that I picked up elsewhere, and I’m envious.

Back when this issue was really at the fore, I wrote up a little something about what YA means to me, an adult, and what I hoped young people knew about the literature that is out there for them, but I had nowhere to put it! I really want to share it now because I think demeaning the importance of YA and censoring teens from books that are about less than happy things is so sad and dreadful, and promoting young adult books is never irrelevant.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »