In My Mailbox #3

I actually purchased BOOKS this week! Not e-books like I usually do. I had just read The Demon King right before school started because I have a lovely signed copy from Cinda Williams Chima. I just wanted to add to my series in paper format. I had two 20% off coupons so for the other one I decided to just bite the bullet and finally buy it: The Woman in Black, I really want to see movie and its been on my TBR pile for about 6 or 7 years! Here they are:

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima

Jane Austen Owns My Soul Pt. I

In Which Jane Austen Owns My Soul

I cannot write my WIP. I cannot blog. I cannot read contemporary young adult novels. I cannot watch documentaries on Netflix. Why, you ask? Because Jane Austen has taken over my life. I must eat, breath, and think all things 19th century. I must concern myself with manners and calling on society for merriment. I fancy to wear muslin and go for walks about the countryside.

How did I get myself into such a bind? Well, I am in my final semester at college. Before all English majors are to graduate we must take what is called a "Senior Seminar". Each semester the seminar is rotated among professors. This time around, the professor decided to do all Jane Austen. Every single novel published. In 16 weeks. Mmmhmm. This is not a complaint, of sorts, rather a testament. I honestly did not think the course work would be so rigorous.

But there it is. My head is filled with dreams of marrying for equal parts love and money. To charm all with my wit and discourse. So, I will be reviewing each book I read of Austen's in the next weeks. Here we go!

Top Ten Tuesdays #4

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

Top 10 9 Books I'd Hand to Someone Who Says They Don't Like To Read

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (duh! this appears on ALL my lists haha) But seriously it's so full of adventure it's sure to pull in the reluctant reader.
2. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert I know I know it isn't 2008 anymore, but it seems everyone who reads the books loves it. Plus, I cannot get enough of travel memoirs. It's like a whole new level of escapist reading because someone went out and actually did these incredible things.
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett Another one of those books that seem to span across the board and yes I am aware of the controversy but it still seems to evoke good strong feelings out of people.
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Intriguing, interesting, and so full of depth. There is something for every level or taste of reader.
5. The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling If there are people still left on earth who haven't read them, then yes I will give them these books to read.
6. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen Now *this* is a book. Wonderfully written and is so unique with a beautiful story underneath.
7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon I have not met a person who has read this and didn't like. Good enough for me.
8. The Outsiders by SE Hinton When I think of classics and YA, this book is front and center, like a cornerstone of great lit. It is a cryin' shame if kids don't get to experience this book.
9. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen This book is pure love. It's whimsical and full of joy. I don't always read uplifting book but when I do, it's this one.

 

Top Ten Tuesday #3

This week was a freebie!

I went with Top Ten YA feminist friendly novels.

Disclaimer: These are only ones I have read and make my inner feminist squeal with delight, where as a lot of books makes my inner feminist squirm or yell obscenities. I have plenty more that are recommended to me by feminist friends and bloggers, but alas I have not read them therefore I cannot attest to their strength to be on this list.

My criteria was pretty simple. The female characters are the focus of the story. The MC is proactive in her life and decision making. She is full of action and established personality not in relation to male characters. Gender norms are broken or challenged. They are not Mary Sues.   

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
3. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
5. Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block
6. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
7. The Book Theif by Makus Zusak
8. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
9. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan 
10. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

"When your only female character exists to be bartered and abused, that is lazy writing. When you raise the stakes by threatening a woman with rape, that is lazy writing. When you demonstrate the “seriousness” of a situation by describing a brutal rape, that is lazy writing. When you inject emotion into a flagging scene by making the man throw the woman against the wall, that is lazy writing. Not only is it lazy writing, but when rape is used lightly and cheaply as a convenient narrative device, it hurts people.
Try harder." - Monica Byrne

Book Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon

From Goodreads.com: Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest. But there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things.
Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

 My Review: I got this on my nook when it went on sale and I am so glad I did. Let's start with the cover shall we? It is a  vibrant, eye catching, INCREDIBLE cover! I'm actually kind of over the trend of zomg!poofy dresses on the covers of many books. This is one is flawless though. It really fits with the tone of the book which begins on page. The tone is mysterious and lush. Everything shimmers and sparkles with magic and silver imagery. The book is based off the Grimm's fairy tale of the 12 Dancing Princesses. Actually the original story is very glum and misogynistic. I am glad this book swayed away from that and took many liberties from the original tale. I also really enjoyed the love interest of the MC. He was adorable, I wish there was more of him within the book. The villain is creepy and well flushed out. Dancing, and skirts swishing, knights, and enchanted ballrooms oh my! I love retellings and recommend you check this book out of you do too.

My Reaction in GIF form:

Top Ten Tuesday #2

Top Ten Books I'd Recommend To Someone Who Doesn't Read Young Adult

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Duh. This is a no-brainer. I believe this has made a believer out of many.
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It truly is a cross-over book.
   
3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore. This breaks free of stereotypical associatations with teen books.
4. I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier. Aaaahhh. This book is so good and timeless.
5. Unwind by Neal Shusterman. Original and suspense and amazing.
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Emotional and real no matter what age.
7. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. This book was a game changer for the genre. 
8. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. The writing. The characters. The setting. Perfect.
9. A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb. No words. I can't.
10. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Dark, disturbing, and daring.

A great young adult book makes the teenage reader feel like an adult, and the adult reader feel like a teenager again.

In My Mailbox #2

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

I only have one this week:

 Pirates! by Celia Rees

Call me crazy but if you want to but in order to know where young adult books are going, you have to know where they've been. I don't always feel the compulsion to read exactly what's been released this week. I know there are a whole heck of a lot of amazing books published before 2009. I'm going to save this read for the summer.

Book Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

From Goodreads.com: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

My Review: I ate this book up! It made me stay up all night and read. The writing is simple but it's suspenseful and has great tension from beginning to end. It's an E-book for only .99! It's literally the best thing I read all year (ha, it's the first book I finished completely). Let me just say I cannot wait for the second one to be released. I also love supporting independent authors and the digital book community. 


My Reaction in GIF form:

Top Ten Tuesday #1

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

 Top Ten Five Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

1.  Stephen Chbosky - He wrote The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It shook my 14 year old self to the core. It was life changing. I can't even put into words how this book makes me feel, it makes me feel EVERYTHING. I would read anything, any other book he wrote.
2. Emily Bronte - Only wrote the epic genius that is Wuthering Heights. I have no doubt that if she hadn't died so young any other book would have shown incredible depths of characters and human nature.
3. Suzanne Collins- Come on woman! I KNOW you have it in you! Dazzle and amaze us one more time!
4. Laura Whitcomb - I read both her books. One was so beautiful and amazing, and the other I didn't care for at all. But that's alright. I love A Certain Slant of Light so infinitely that I would read another by her in a heart beat.
5. J. K. Rowling - I would be there release day for whatever she chose to write next with bells on!

I could only think if five!

In My Mailbox #1

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren.

This week I received two hardcovers from my friend Melissa: 

 

Ahh. I'm going to need help because I read the first in these series SO long ago! Hopefully I'll be able to adjust easily. 

The Best Books I Read in 2011

I won't focus on the negative books I read this year. Lord knows, they were aplenty. It was actually a pretty rough year for reading. More and more books just left me feeling "meh", than anything. I will provide the top 5 books I read this year (in no particular order). These are the ones that the plot stunned me. After I turned the last page, after my mouth refused to close from the sheer amazingness the exuded from the pages, after I cried, that's how I know a book is truly amazing.  These books inspire my 50 book reading challenge every year, and most importantly inspire my to tell a damn good and original story.

Let's being.

Feed by M.T. Anderson

This book. THIS book. I actually listened to it in audiobook format.  I would play it on my iPod while on my campus elliptical. I laughed audibly. People stared. Yeah....but anyway, it was hilarious. I loved the dialogue and the characters jumped right off the pages. Despite it's hilarity, there were very dark undertones. The whole story punched me in the gut. By the end, I cried. It was complete and joyous and sorrowful world that these characters lived in. I think about this book all the time. It's vision of the future still haunts me. It has been added to one of my all time most favorite books.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I'm always leery of best sellers, you know the books that everyone and their mother has read. When I found this little gem on my local Goodwill shelved for 50¢ (and I get a student discount!) I couldn't pass up the deal. Wow, am I glad I read it. I read it over the summer and the India heat and sun baring down while he was on the boat was amazing. I loved the writing, it was literary and beautiful. Pi's story is one of the most incredible things I have read. I savored this book for everything it would give me. I cannot recommend this book enough, I truly fell in love with book. I look and the cover and my heart dances.

 

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

I was one of the fortunate who never had to read this book in high school. "Fortunate?" you ask. "Yes", I say. "But this is on your mind blowing list" you say. I have strong opinions on what kids are forced to read in high school. I will dedicate a post to all the books high school has ruined for me, but that's for another time. I understand, and have an appreciation for the human condition and can reflect on my time as a child and teen now that I am well out of my teens...and that is precisely why I love this book. It is dark and disturbing and psychological. Oh sure, in high school I claimed to have loved that stuff (and to some extent I did). But now I truly know what those attributes mean. This book cut me to the quick. It was perfect in every way but I needed age and experience to appreciate it. 

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

One of those forgotten YA titles. While The Giver gets due recognition, this one lives in its shadow unfortunately. There is no action, but tension and mystery around every corner. I adore this book. It was another find at Goodwill and after reading The Giver, and that being added to one of the best books I have ever read, I decided to give this one a chance. I am so glad I did. I think I read it one sitting. I love these characters, I love Lowry's style. The atmosphere was tangible and I got completely lost within the book. Incredible.

 

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse (anthology)

 

I really really love dystopian fiction. But you know what? I think this year I may have realized I like the apocalypse much better. Then just mash the two together, and I think you have the perfect genre! Anyway, this anthology is all apocalypse, all the time. Let me tell you though, some of these stories were bone shaking. The only two stories I really didn't care for was Stephen King's and Orson Scott Card's. Weird, huh? The absolute best were (and if you run out to the library or b&n find a big comfy chair and if else nothing read these three stories): Artie's Angels (I bawled), Speech Sounds (wooooow), and Waiting for the Zephyr. The first the third would make incredible young adult books and I wanted to read soooo many of the stories as books. This collection is excellent and inspiring. The absolutely sucked me with masterful story telling. The best of the best.

Inspiration...where are you?

I blame the holidays.

I have had absolutely no inspiration to write. It was perhaps the drone of Christmas carols piped through my work speakers or the crazed look on people's faces as they demanded some product I have never heard of, but I just could not write a thing.

I *have* been reading though. Dystopian December is going great. I just started Across the Universe by Beth Revis.I hesitate to call this a dystopia. It's labeled dystopia, especially all over at Goodreads, but I would personally say this is sci-fi with elements of dystopia. But isn't lots of sci-fi have elements of secrets of the ship and leader lies and secrets? Isn't there always some element of mystery? So, then I ask this: are we improperly labeling books because of the trend or is it a result of cross genres? (Btw, I hate labels!! Ha)

This morning when I was laying under my new faux fur blanket I received for Christmas, one of my characters started chattering away to me. I slowed down my thoughts and really listened to him so I can record it all down later. He would not shut up. Usually this characters doesn't do much talking. It was a sign. I must write on!

What I'm listening to:

Amy Lee is the best. I can surely find inspiration in this song.

Writing on Writing

I've been thinking a while about making a blog dedicated to the craft. Well, here I am! Today Melissa and I went on a road trip to Hudson, Ohio. We stopped in a tiny independent bookshop called "The Learned Owl". It was so cute. We each bought respective Cinda Williams Chima signed novel. I bought The Demon King, having read the Warrior Heir before. And Melissa bought The Warrior Heir having read TDK. Ha.

Also, I have declared this month "Dystopian December"!! Epic. I know. HAHA. I will only be reading dystopias for this month. With my first semester of being a college senior behind me I didn't get much reading done. I sort of fell behind on the YA scene. So, this month I will catching up. First up is : Matched by Ally Condie.


Because I was shopping all day I didn't write anything in my WIP. My next thing I have to get, hopefully within the week, is a MAJOR event. I guess I'm kind of putting it off because it will be rather traumatic for my MC. So, I will need to be in the zone emotionally...fully committed to the scene. It will probably take a lot out of me. But it has to be done.

This is what I am listening to:





For all of the bad asses I'm writing about.