Bites

Lady Gaga: Looking for Fame by Paul Lester + Giveaway!

2012-01-26T19:22:00.006-05:00

Published September 1, 2010.

Hers has been a triumph achieved with the help of wild image-making, infectious pop hits and a teasing strand of ambiguous sexuality that has turned her into a gay icon. At heart it's the story of a unique self-made phenomenon - a Madonna for today.

As an adoring fan of Freddie Mercury and David Bowie, Lady Gaga took the essence of 80s glam and reinvented it for the digital age. Commercially successful and critically accepted she shot from obscurity on Manhattan's Lower East Side club scene to worldwide fame in just a couple of years. This is the story of her high-speed rise in the fame game, told with a mix of admiration and sharp journalistic insight. (goodreads.com)

I'm a total Gaga convert. When I first heard 'Just Dance' I thought, 'Holy crap. Not another pop part. That's the last thing the world needs.' I never paid her any attention. Then I watched her performance at the VMA's, the one where she did 'Bad Romance' and hanged herself. Yeah. Hooked. That voice? Are you kidding me? That's not a tart voice. AND she's a classically trained pianist? Done. I've been a fan from that moment. And she's proved to not be your standard, run of the mill pop tart. She is an artist. All you have to do is watch her music videos to see that. Or look at what she wears. It's not about sex. It's about expression.

So when LOOKING FOR FAME came across my inbox I jumped at it. Just to know a little more about this woman who's younger than I am who become such an influence not just in music but in life. It is an unauthorized biography and it's formulated mostly through quotes Gaga made but most of it went along with information I'd gleaned since I started taking an interest in her.

I think because of her age her rise seems a little too good to be true but to say she didn't work for what she has would just be a downright lie. If LOOKING FOR FAME is to be believed, she went so low as to be a stripper, not necessarily for money but as a means of performance, and became heavy into cocaine so she could recreate the artistic expressions of her idols, like Warhol. She kicked both habits quickly and learned from them. I guess it's just shocking to see someone with such a mind to learn that quickly and move on from it. For most that can take years. But Gaga was so driven to make her life the way she envisioned it that she knew she couldn't let that stuff get in her way. And it didn't.

I'm not one to idolize celebrities. I just don't think they're worthy. They act, the sing, in many cases they do nothing but whore themselves out. They're not curing cancer or ending world hunger. But I can't help but admire Gaga's drive, her will power, her sheer force to make her world her own. She's empowering and I can't help but be lifted up when I hear some of the things she says. Lester does a great job of amplifying that in his book. It's all about Gaga's rise. He doesn't sugarcoat anything but you can feel the admiration in the reading.

LOOKING FOR FAME is a good peek into the life of Gaga before she was Gaga. You get to see her young, before her craziness took her over. You get to see what it took for her to get where she is. And, for the most part, she's really sedate. There's no mention of backstabbing or throat slashing. Gaga didn't step on faces to rise. She may have been unmoving in some of her requests but people didn't get crunched under her boots as she stepped up. That I find pretty cool. And I think you will too if you're even a nominal Gaga fan.

And then you'll want to go crank at least one of her songs.

Ban Factor: High - Just because it's Lady Gaga and so many people think she's corrupting the world's youth with her indecency.

Giveaway time!!!

Want my copy? Just fill out the form below for your chance to win!

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Giveaway ends February 9th at midnight, EST.

A Gun-Friendly Tidbit for Authors

2012-01-25T19:16:00.007-05:00

No, this is not a threat. No, this is not specific to any book that I've read recently but something I've been noticing in books where characters use guns that I've read within the last year. Really I'm more aware of this because I've been trained and have been actively using firearms for the past year.

Now that I've thoroughly scared people, I'll point you all to this diagram -

Let me draw your attention to the part labeled "trigger." More often than not, I've been seeing characters cock this part of the gun. That is wrong. Now draw your eyes up and slightly to the left, to the part labeled "hammer." This little part is often neglected in non-dominate fiction gunplay (read: where the story isn't gun-filled, you just have a character that happens to use a gun in a scene). This, folks, is what gets cocked. When one cocks the hammer, it makes the trigger a single action pull that requires far less weight to fire. The trigger isn't cockable. It's cockless.

I don't know if this is the author or the editor or just a socially acceptable fallacy but every time I read about a character cocking a trigger it's like scraping a fork against a plate. And this statement is handgun-neutral. It's said regardless of whether the gun is a revolver or semi-automatic, exposed hammer or shrouded. Apparently characters always find something to cock when it comes to a gun. It just sound so western, I guess. Total badass . . . ? Except when it doesn't fit the gun it goes kind of . . . limp . . .

So I beg of you, authors, when you insist on giving your characters guns, make them use them properly. If you have them cock triggers, you might as well have them pull a slide on a revolver too. It helps, too, when you get all fancy with your gun-telling, to not have them cock a gun when the hammer is shrouded on that particular model. You're just having them do extra work for nothing.

Let's keep the cocks away from the triggers, shall we? Triggers get pulled, hammers get cocked. Cock hammer, pull trigger, in that order. That is all.

Escaping Titanic by Marybeth Lorbiecki, illustrated by Kory S. Heinzen

2012-01-24T15:30:00.007-05:00

Pub date: February 1, 2012.

Author website.

Commemorate the Titanic's disastrous voyage with this harrowing tale of survival. Follow the true story of young Ruth Elizabeth Becker as her awe of the mighty Titanic turns to horror when she is separated from her mother and siblings. (netgalley.com)

I think I've reviewed all of two picture books in my three years of blogging so forgive me if this comes across as a little too short. I just don't know what to say about it!

Well, I loved the illustrations. At times they were both beautiful and goofy, capturing the majesty of the Titanic along with the people sailing on it. But I couldn't help but think that for a story that really is so serious, the expressions on some of the faces were a little too cartoony and goofy. One panel showed one of the stewards coming into the room and telling everyone to get their lifebelts on. But instead of a serious face, he looks a bit cross-eyed. Yeah it makes the scene lighter and I know it's a picture book but still . . . it almost seemed . . . inappropriate. I don't know if this is something typical of a picture book, to lighten up a more dramatic scene with untoward facial expressions so as not to frighten the children reading it but it felt a little off.

The story itself was succinct. It would be a bit morbid to think that the girl was doing anything but surviving the end of the story so you knew it was coming but that doesn't mean there wasn't a tense moment where she was left on a ship as she watched the rest of her family get lowered in a lifeboat. And then when the lifeboats are rescued you wonder if she's going to find her family. For about half a second. The story is really in the illustrations, the words acting merely as captions to supplement the visuals. It's not that they're bad; there's just more to be garnered from the drawings.

As a childless 28-year-old female reading a picture book, I've come across better. The story's a little dry and the illustrations are a bit bipolar but it was still enjoyable to this Titanic nut. From the POV of a child reading this, I can definitely see how they would really enjoy the pictures and how the small story itself would suck them right in, how they would hinge on every word and wonder if the girl was going to make it out okay. Damn jadedness. Personally I was more interested in the information about Ruth at the end of the story. How she never told anyone that she was a Titanic survivor until 1982 when the wreckage started getting poked at and she came forward about it. That's a long time to sit on something like that.

So really, there's something for everyone. A great story for the kids and a little bit of extra information for the adults reading it to them. Plus some great pictures for all.

Ban Factor: Low - Seriously. Unless they take issue with the mention of people's screaming death throes (although watered down a bit in the book), there's nothing wrong with this one.

Titanic: Disaster at Sea by Philip Wilkinson

2012-01-22T16:49:00.006-05:00

Pub Date: February 1, 2012.

Author website.

Experience all the drama and tragedy of Titanic inside the pages of this richly illustrated narrative. With a pull-out poster and double gatefold diagram, Titanic: Disaster at Sea is brimming with facts, stories, and fascinating people. From the technological creativity of Titanic’s construction to unselfish sacrifice in the face of disaster, this comprehensive book will satisfy readers with its exciting, up-close look at this amazing true story of triumph and tragedy. (netgalley.com)

Seeing as how this book is really just an illustrated run-down of events surrounding the Titanic, there isn't all that much to review but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.

The illustrations were, of course, the highlight of the book as they were the most pervasive. Richly colored and detailed it was hard not to stare at the visuals more than the words. I wouldn't recommend reading it in its digital form, though. I couldn't manage to zoom in on my Digital Editions and while I could in my eReader Library, I had to read the captions first and then zoom out to see the images it was set against. Kind of annoying but I lived with it. TITANIC is a book best viewed in hand. That much is clear. There's something to be said for being able to hold something in your head and stare at it and not have a glaring back-lit screen staring back. In my opinion anyway.

The only thing that kind of irked me about this title was that it presented the imprisonment of the third class passengers below decks during the sinking as fact. While it may have made for good drama by Stephen Spielberg, the likelihood of it actually having happened is pretty slim. As seen in Tim Maltin's 101 THINGS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT THE TITANIC . . . BUT DIDN'T! in the excerpted testimony from the crew no one was forcibly kept below decks during the sinking. Many opted not to come above and, of course, there was a language barrier with some. One must take into account, though, that the British did attempt to whitewash what happened and perjury isn't such a far-flung idea. But since there are accounts from others about helping the third class passengers into boats (although few, they still exist), it kind of debunks that myth. But again, it's still something that pulls at the heartstrings.

This would be an excellent picture book for any kid, from the cross section of the Titanic's floors to the drawings and photos littering the pages making the Titanic come alive again, it's a visual smorgasbord of Titanic awesomeness. Hell, you don't even need to be a kid to enjoy this one. Buy it for the illustrations alone. You don't even need to read most of the captions. The images tell their own story.

Ban Factor: Low - Seriously, there's nothing in here that would drive the banners insane. Unless they have some weird adverse reactions to ships.

Things I've Learned from Books + 135

2012-01-22T13:08:00.005-05:00

Rah rah ah ah ah, roma ro mama. Ga ga oh la la. One jump at romance.

Titanic 100th Anniversary Reading Challenge

2012-01-21T12:24:00.004-05:00

Yup. I'm doing it. When Nicola at Back to Books posted on one of my reviews about her challenge, I just couldn't pass it up. I have a few in the queue to review as it is and I already have two I can add to the list. I'll be working on the Take a Plunge level of reading/watching 6 Titanic-related books/movies. Most of mine will be books but I'm a sucker for the Leo/Kate movie. And really anything Titanic.

1. 101 THINGS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT THE TITANIC . . . BUT DIDN'T! by Tim Maltin

2. RETURN TO TITANIC: TIME VOYAGE, BOOK 1 by Steve Brezenoff

3. TITANIC: DISASTER AT SEA by Philip Wilkinson

4. ESCAPING TITANIC by Marybeth Lorbiecki, illustrated by Kory S. Heinzen

80s Awesomeness! ~ 144

2012-01-21T11:59:00.003-05:00

Face!!!

As in "you just got faced." Or, you just got dissed or any other synonymous equivalent. Or your more recent "oh snap." Thanks, 80s!

Freaky Friday :|: 144

2012-01-20T23:06:00.002-05:00

Title: Blindfold

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: October 1997

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 356

Summary:

Maggie doesn't know that there's a terrible secret buried in the basement--and a cold-blooded killer nearby who's determined to keep it that way. (amazon.com)

You know, sometimes it's just easier to move. And that's saying something. This one could go either way but I'd be willing to see it through.

Return to Titanic: Time Voyage, Book 1 by Steve Brezenoff

2012-01-19T20:01:00.005-05:00

Pub date: February 1, 2012.

Author Website.

On the first day of their spring break, best friends Tucker and Maya discover a "Special Collection" of Titanic artifacts at the local museum. But the artifacts have more power than they know. When they touch a magic ticket, Tucker and Maya find themselves transported 100 years in the past — to Titanic's maiden voyage. Now they must figure out how to save a new friend, and return to the present, before time runs out. (netgalley.com)

Holy crap. I have so much love for this book it's quite possibly bordering on unhealthy. The love is not just for the book's topic (MAJOR love) but for the writing. It's probably because I hardly read middle grade books but TIME VOYAGE is written so amazingly that I can't form thoughts beyond ill-conceived adjectives. There is no pandering to the reader whatsoever, no talking down, no kiddie feel. Yeah, it's written in a very precise way. Absolutely no fat (and as a result very little detail or depth) but Brezenoff wrote it in such a way that it told the story that needed to be told and you got out of it what you should. You get just enough emotion, just enough feeling, just enough depth to really connect with it. As someone that is WELL beyond middle grade reading, I didn't feel like an adult reading a kid's story (like when I read GOOSEBUMPS, for instance). I just felt like I was reading a succinct story about one of my favorite topics. The amazing pictures didn't hurt either. Okay, the kids may be a little whiny at first but that's short lived.

And the story! Just being able to touch a ticket and get zapped back in time? If you were a history nerd like me when you were younger (and maybe still are), if that fantastical thought never crossed your mind I will sit here and call you a big fat LIAR! That's epic fantasy right there and Brezenoff pulled it off without it being hokey at all. Touch the ticket, flash, back in time. No frilly waves or flashing lights. Just poof! Time warp.

Of course, TIME VOYAGE left me wanting MORE! How could it not? I read it in the span of roughly 20 minutes and it just hit all the right happy nerves on me. And let me tell you how giddy my inner Titanic nerd was. Insane. Thankfully there are three other books in this series and I so can't wait to read them. Between the phenomenal story and the absolutely amazing drawings to supplement it, RETURN TO TITANIC as a whole won't be a series to miss. So be sure to pick up TIME VOYAGE and start yourself, and any other Titanic aficionado you know, on the journey.

Ban Factor: Low - If they bitched about anything it'd be the time travel and even that's a stretch. This one's pretty wholesome.

Quick!

2012-01-18T17:53:00.003-05:00

It's the end of the world as we know it and you don't feel fine! You have your short term survival kit of food, water, a first aid kit and any weapons and extra clothes you may need. Just before you run out the door you remember your books . . . all those books! You can't just leave them! But you certainly can't cart a wheelbarrow full of books around in a post-apocalyptic world. You have room for just one. And you can't take your eReader since you'll be SOL once the battery dies. So which book do you grab to satiate your reading needs for however long you have left to live? Go!

This is Why I Like My Bubble

2012-01-17T21:42:00.005-05:00

I like my bubble. More than you probably know. Why? Because I don't get involved in shit unless I want to. I miss out on the Twitter fiascoes, the Goodreads shenanigans and your general social networking douchery. And I'm okay with that. I came across Stacia Kane's post about authors vs. bloggers a little while ago via Wicked Lil Pixie and I kinda went for serious? Again? Of course Stacia's post is thoroughly brilliant and should be read by all. It makes me all tingly in my cockles when authors use 'fuck' in a self-deprecating manner.

And then I came across this via Publisher's Weekly and it makes me want to punch a baby in the face. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE? Why are negative reviews such a huge problem? I'm not understanding it. I'm really not. Well, maybe I am . . .

Why I think people absolutely lose their shit over blogger-written negative reviews -

We're influential - first and foremost. Anyone that tells you we're not is swimming in a pool of liquid denial. As someone that has single-handedly amped up the sales of a book (right, Ilsa? :) ), as someone that's part of a community that has affected book cover changes when even the AUTHOR couldn't get it done, to say we're not influential is like saying Stephen Hawkins isn't all that smart.
We're an unruly mob with a lot of power - see above re: influential. Add in our inability to be controlled. We don't work for anyone but ourselves. We're not 1099 independent contractors. We're not on anyone's payroll. We don't have rules. We don't have guidelines. We're a free for all. Our power is unadulterated.
Fear - pish and paw and pfft all you want. There is a fear there that we, the unruly, heinously powerful mob, can bury a book before it even has a chance. With all the power we wield, we can make books, and we came break them. In theory. Back an animal into a corner, make it look like it has no way out, what does it do? It starts lashing out. Because it's afraid.
We can get our hands on the product no matter what and review it whether you want us to or not. Book stores. Gotta love them.

This, of course, is actually assuming WE CARE THAT MUCH. Chances are, we don't. I know I don't. It's an opinion, of which people are entitled. Trying to browbeat someone into writing a review one particular way to suit whatever isn't an effective means of getting what you want. It just ends up making one look like a douche. Someone doesn't like your book. Boo fucking hoo. That someone decided to call your MC TSTL and supplemented his or her words with succinctly placed animated gifs and You Tube videos. How about seeing it for the creative piece it actually is, being honored that someone actually put in that kind of effort on YOUR novel to get their point across and, I don't know, LAUGH AT YOURSELF??? Where did all the senses of humor go? Are we supposed to be considering everything that we read lit-ra-ture? Should our reviews in kind be lit-ra-ture in order to be taken seriously and not lambasted to within an inch of its life?

For serious. I'm not trying to demean any author's work. As a writer I'm well aware of what goes into a novel. Every letter is a piece of my soul put down on paper, or whatever. I'm also aware that an opinion isn't an axe through my chest either. And I'm not going to make it my life's mission to shit on every single person that criticized me. There are far better things to do with my time. Like taking all that negative into consideration because maybe, just maybe, all those negative reviews might have a point. And while it can't be fixed in the current book, well, there's always the future.

So what the FUCK are people's problems? Why are people going feral on reviews? Am I right? Is it the fear that some random schmuck, banded together with all the rest of the random schmucks, can actually affect the sales of a book? Is it because people are still living by the adage "unless you have something nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Or are they just getting caught up in the flurry and jumping in as their typing fingers allow? What is it? Someone please explain this to me. If we are so fucking terrible, uncouth, uneducated, smart-mouthed little shits, why do we keep getting books?

Or how about . . . publishing something that won't make us want to tear our eyes out reading it? Something of quality, perhaps? Instead of yet ANOTHER copycat of that angel story or this dystopian trilogy or vampires, FUCKING VAMPIRES? Because, in my experience, from what I've seen, that's what's driving us insane; more of the same. Quite frankly, it's insulting. And that's just the covers. Never mind the redundancy between the pages where you can swap out characters from book to book and still end up with the same damn story written by different authors. How about the problem is addressed at its source instead of screaming at people who are merely reacting to shut the fuck up and deal with it?

The truth of the matter is no one book is going to please everyone. Why this needs to be reiterated, I have no idea. There are going to be people that won't like something, to varying degrees. And thanks to the wonderful world of the internet, they are given the opportunity to express their opinion as lavishly as they deem fit. And that's okay. Yes, it's okay. Because there are going to be people that love your book and the reality is, even the people that are ripping you a new one are still exposing others to it. How do you think I got to reading TWILIGHT? I just HAD to see if it was as bad as everyone said (yes, yes it was). But I read all four (I'm still not sure why). So what's bad about that again? I picked up the books BECAUSE people were shitting on it. So . . . the problem is . . .

No. I will not shut up because I didn't like a book. In case you haven't noticed, that's not what I'm about. And neither should anyone else. People should be ASHAMED of themselves for scaring book bloggers out of posting negative reviews. Ashamed. In some circles, that would be called bullying. You know, intimidating others in order to get your way? It's okay to have an opinion to someone else's opinion. But threatening to blacklist bloggers when they start to query should they be writers? Really, how childish can you get? Or tag teaming a bad review because the reviewed is your friend? Seriously? Are we fourteen again? Are you gonna trip her in gym class too? Seriously, how fucking immature has this gotten? How about we all grow the fuck up, accept the fact that we're not Nazis with one brain and move on with our lives? Is it really worth the effort to chisel someone down to nothing because they expressed their honest opinion about a book? Did it make you feel better? Can you rest your head on the pillow easier? Does sleep come quicker? How about next time you think about who's on the other side, and how old that person might just be. How good would you feel tearing the shit out of someone that isn't even old enough to drive? Feel good? You still get that warm and squishy in your cockle area? You don't even need to do that. How about, just for a second, you remember how it feels to voice your opinion and then have someone rip you a new one because it wasn't the right opinion. Right . . .

Let's get this straight, in case my policy isn't clear enough: I WORK FOR THE READERS. I don't work for authors, publishers, publicists or anyone in between. I will give my honest opinion about what it is I read because that's what READERS DESERVE. They don't deserve to be lied to. They don't deserve to be intimidated into reading something. NO ONE deserves to be intimidated into writing a review they don't want to write because they fear the repercussions of what they might say. Don't we fight against censorship every September (and all year round for that matter?)? So what the hell is this shit? Censorship is bad, but only in this instance? It doesn't apply to YOU, you lowly subhuman? You do what I say or I crush you? Please.

I'm going to retreat back to my bubble now because shit like this makes my hair fall out. This is why I don't get involved in social media. This is why I'm up front about the way I work so if this shit ever happened to me I can just point and go "I fucking told you so." Just because I don't get paid for what I do doesn't mean I'm some kind of puppet. You can't shove your hand up my ass and make me talk. But please . . . continue self-sabotaging. The reviewers aren't the ones ruining your book. You are doing a dandy enough job of that all on your own with your inability to NOT lose your shit when something doesn't go your way. Congratulations.

Catch & Release by Blythe Woolston

2012-01-16T19:46:00.005-05:00

Pub date: January 28, 2012.

Author website.

Teenagers Polly and Odd are the only survivors of a MRSA (Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus--also known as flesh-eating bacteria) outbreak that killed several people in their town.

They did not survive unscathed, however. Polly lost an eye and her face is horribly scarred; Odd lost his foot and is tortured by phantom pain. The two had no connection to each other prior to the MRSA outbreak. Polly was going to marry Bridger, her longtime boyfriend, and continue down the road toward normal adulthood and domestic felicity (kids, house, etc.). Odd’s ticket out was football. Now those plans are gone, and Polly and Odd have nothing but each other--the residents in their small Montana hometown are decidedly uncomfortable around these two who survived-- and a shared affection for trout fishing. So when Odd shows up in his grandmother’s 1979 Cadillac D’Elegance, promising a day on the river, it’s pretty clear that a more remarkable journey is in store for the two of them. (goodreads.com)

Aside from the fact that I would be perfectly content living in a bubble as I now see little squiggly germy death on every door handle, I hate it when I'm at a loss for words on a book. Like stomp my feet, hold my breath until the words come hate. Considering that'd be counter-productive I won't do it. But it doesn't make me happy.

There is nothing bad about CATCH & RELEASE. Not a thing. Except it might make you a disciplined germaphobe to an extreme. But aside from that, there's nothing even remotely wrong about it. The voice is perfect. And I mean perfect. Woolston has captured Polly's voice so amazingly that that's all I can say about it. It's amazing. Reading Polly's words you get a sense of the person that she used to be before MRSA. There's a hint of it still lingering but it's all dripping in bitterness and disdain because of what she's lost. There were times where I was getting frustrated with how she was thinking and reacting to things but you catch yourself. Instead of spiraling the thought about her being an overreacting drama queen, the words hitch in your brain and you can't help but ask yourself, 'if you lost a third of your face, including one of your eyes, how would you feel?' It would be hard enough for an adult to cope with something like that but a teenager? At the beginning of the book Polly's consigned herself to her couch for the rest of her life. Her life is over. By the end she's been, well, released, and you watch her transform from someone who hides, who throws in the cards, who wants revenge, to someone that just releases all of that anger and hatred and bitterness and starts over. And you can feel how monumental that step was.

I was less than thrilled with Odd but his reactions to things become clearer at the end of the story so I won't ruin that one. But it's funny with Odd because the story is in Polly's voice so you see him as she sees him and at times he can be a dick. But then you get to see Polly through Odd's eyes and it's when you can get out of her head and see from another angle how she was acting and how it was perceived by others that maybe it was a little over the top. Considering this was viewed by another MRSA survivor that lost his leg, he could relate to her pain and as such is in a position to tell her to get over it, in his own unique way.

The dirt and grime and grit that they slough through on their trip is something palpable. Especially when Polly gets her period. I'll leave you to that. But you get a sense that as they travel along, they're picking up more and more crap but leaving just as much of it behind. They're both coming to terms with what's happened to them but they're doing it in the only way they each know how. As the road before them becomes less and less visible, they each take their own paths and any fear that's there manifests and then fizzles as one steps up to help the other. You can't help but watch the steps up they take, some of the tumbles that result, but the ultimate moving on that they're both doing.

Before this runs the risk of de-evolving into a nonsensical meandering of a review I'll end it here. I'll conclude with the offering of awesomeness to that which is CATCH & RELEASE. While I loved it, I wasn't in love it with, hence "just" a four rating. It is truly awesome but it didn't quite hit me in my cockle region to rank it higher. But it's more than just your average contemporary novel about teens coming to terms with themselves and finding their place in life. These teens had something monstrous happen to them and as a result were effectively pushed out of society to deal with it on their own. Which they did. And they're forcing their way back in. You can't help but feel moved as you read it. And just a little squicked out. I'll be honest. I micromanage my papercuts now.

Ban Factor: High - Swearing and the general ickiness of MRSA could have the banners screaming about this one. The MRSA alone would be far too much for such young eyes to handle.

Added to the Pile + 100

2012-01-15T20:01:00.003-05:00

My first Added to the Pile of 2012 and it's number 100! Woohoo! Only one lonely book this week from PaperBackSwap but that's okay. It's one I'm really looking forward to reading.

EVIL? by Timothy Carter

10 And, yea verily, Stuart did commit the Sin of Onan in the shower. And this was witnessed by his own brother who did cry out unto their mother. And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
11 And the townspeople rose up against him and all Onaners, calling upon one another to tear the youthful sinners limb from unclean limb. And there was much pants wetting.
12 And lo, Stuart did join forces with the demon, Fon Pyre, and together they did set forth to discover the cause of the town's trouble.
13 And, hark! A pair of fallen angels would plant seeds of hatred unto the townspeople. And on the seventh day, Stuart did vow to rip the fallen angels a new one and layeth upon them an epic smacketh-down. (goodreads.com)

Things I've Learned from Books + 134

2012-01-15T12:42:00.002-05:00

Sometimes walking around in a bubble isn't such a bad thing. Imagine all the dog poop you WOULDN'T get stuck in your shoe. But I guess smearing it all over your bubble isn't much better.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 143

2012-01-14T11:30:00.002-05:00

Oh yeah. If you're a chick you know you just faceplanted onto Memory Lane with this one. Rainbow Brite. You know you watched the show and you know you owned at least a small portion of the extensive merchandise. How is it NOT awesome to defeat the land's villains with rainbow power?

Freaky Friday :|: 143

2012-01-13T23:08:00.001-05:00

Title: The Train

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: 1992

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 176

Summary:

On a cross-country tour with her friends, Hannah learns that on the train with them is the coffin of Frog, a boy from their high school whom they ridiculed and taunted and who died a sudden and horrible death. (fantasticfiction.co.uk)

Well that's rather poignant considering what's been going on over the last year or two. Plus I totally have it in my TBR pile right now. This shouldn't surprise anyone. But talk about outdated. Who rides trains cross country nowadays?

1st Person POV in YA: Trend or Necessity?

2012-01-12T18:41:00.003-05:00

Three year ago I got into book blogging mainly as a tertiary effect of my writing. I write YA. I need to read YA widely. I was sharing my thoughts on YA books on my writing blog. Enter next step. So because of this I tend to be hyper-aware of certain writing trends, especially as they pertain to my own work.

As a writer, my default POV setting is third limited. It leaves a little bit of wiggle room for author input in the stream of consciousness outside of dialogue but it's the next best thing to being in the character's head. It doesn't help that as I was taking writing classes, the views of my professor kind of rubbed off on me when it came to first person: does that character ACTUALLY think like that? So every time I read a first person narrative and the character is talking about an elaborately colored something or a metaphorically outrageous something else I can't help but go, "Really? That's how you REALLY narrate the world inside your own head?" And that can take me out of it. Most of the time I'm okay but sometimes it's really bad and the character just starts coming off as really disingenuous to him or herself. I had this problem with Maggie Stiefvater's LAMENT and BALLAD. I think the writing just got away from the characters and I ended up seeing more author than characters.

So for me, third limited gives you the intimacy of first without such close contact. The downside is that there is a slight bit of distance between the reader and the character. With first, you're in the character's head. You can't get any more intimate than that. On the down side, you're inside the character's head and it may not be a good place to be for many reasons. TWILIGHT would be an example of this for me. The books I wanted to light on fire because being inside Bella's head was insufferable. Transfer them to the movies, you remove that intimacy (and insert constipated acting and way too much Maybelline) and I found the story a bit more enjoyable. I didn't get the repetition of Edward's awesomely hotness or Bella's/SMeyer's limited vocabulary. I was freed by a slightly distanced yet still limited point of view.

I've written in all points of view except second (because that's a killer and I think there's maybe a person and a half that can actually pull that off well) so I've written widely in that regard. My very first novel was third limited and I hated it into the trunk. My second novel was third limited and I'm still working it out because it's ENTIRELY in MC-speak which isn't working well for YA but may be better off in MG minus my heinous swearing. My third novel (which is really a reincarnation of my trunked first, with barely anything salvaged except the base idea) is third limited in a mix of MC and my speak - her sass with some of my vocabulary. I'm still working it out. But when I look at a lot of the novels I'm reading, they're mostly first person and then I start getting pulls to write mine in first but I don't know if it'll be the same. It may work but in my cockles, ultimately I don't think it'd be a fit. Plus I don't know if it's the story telling me to write in first or if I'm subconsciously trying to write to a trend to be more appealing to agents and publishers.

Which leaves me to ask, with all the first person POV floating around YA lately, is it more of a trend or a necessity? I asked this on Twitter when the question first popped into my head and I got more necessity than trend but not by much. The people that favored trend stated they're able to connect to a character regardless of the point of view as long as it's written well. The ones that went with necessity claimed that's how they connected to the MC, period. So does that make a wave or a need?

I still don't know. I'm reading an overwhelming amount of books in first person but that doesn't erase my original feelings about it. C'mon . . . do you think they REALLY think like that? Do you REALLY think like that? But ultimately I don't really think I notice the POV. Sure I know when I'm reading 'I''s over 'he''s but in terms of connection the point of view doesn't matter. I can just as easily not connect with a first person narrative as I can with a third.

What are your thoughts? Is first person a trend or a necessity? Is it a wave that publishers seem to be riding because it's working so why mess with it? What POV do you prefer?

Mesmerize by Artist Arthur

2012-01-11T21:19:00.005-05:00

Pub date: January 31, 2011.

You can’t move forward until you deal with the past…

Starting over is nothing new to diplomat’s daughter Lindsey Yi. She’s grown up changing schools the way other girls change clothes. Still, moving to Lincoln, Connecticut, is different. Although she’s still reeling from the loss of her parents in an accident, Lindsey is finally in a place that feels like home. Because here, Lindsey’s ability to read other people’s thoughts doesn’t make her weird. It makes her one of the Mystyx.

When Dylan Murphy—hot, popular and a senior—starts to notice her, things get serious, fast. But even as she’s figuring out how she really feels, the Mystyx realize that they’re not the only supernaturals in town. There are other gifted teens who have different motives. And they are hoping to get close enough to the Mystyx to convert them—and the world—to Darkness… (netgalley.com)

First off, the cover looks like a white girl with cat eye make-up, not a Korean chick that, as far as I could tell wasn't a mixed race Korean but full-blooded. And considering how often she referred to her heritage in the book, and how often racial slurs were thrown her way, I'm guessing she looked a lot more Asian than this. But maybe the copy I'm seeing is just off . . .

I have to say, I'm kinda glad this story arc is over because by this one, the circumstances were getting downright silly. And a running theme through all of them was how easily the darkness was defeated. MESMERIZE was no exception so I can't really fault it for that since at least the series has been consistent. But I guess just the silliness of how it manifested just got to me and I really couldn't take it seriously anymore. With the big clawed creatures stomping about, I kept picturing something out of an old He-Man cartoon as opposed to something more tangible than ink.

Lindsey's story had the potential to be really great. Here's a girl that's trying to get over the death of her parents and in the midst of that healing she needs to tangle with some dark stuff too. It could have been an epic parallel that would have ridden the plot nicely. But holy shit does Lindsey get fucking dumb when Dylan enters the picture. I've been saying lately that sometimes one needs to get whacked in the face with a branch in order to see the forest for the trees. In Lindsey's case, she needed to get gang raped by a forest of sequoias to get that far. I mean dumb to the point where I wanted to throw my reader. In this case it would have been my computer screen. At work. That would have been disastrous on may levels.

As far as anything concerned Dylan, he could do no wrong. Except he was set up to be something major right from the beginning. Not to mention he was really controlling, which she was okay with. And even when the big reveal was made, Lindsey still had a hard time swallowing the water being thrown on her face. Even in the middle of the THIS IS ME moment, she's still like "okay, maybe there's a possibility . . ." Yeah, and there a possibility that Dina Lohan is a bad parent.

Lindsey's level of stupidity and her blatant disregard for the obvious was so overwhelming that I really couldn't pay attention to much else. There was a great stand together moment at the end where the Mystyx joined forces to defeat Charon and his darkness brigade but since Lindsey was lobotomized up until the last possible second, it really didn't bare much weight for me. Especially when the rest of her friends were sitting there going HELLO?

The ending left it open for more books but at this point, I really couldn't figure out if I was still reading because I really wanted to or because I had some self-imposed obligation to keep reading the series. Considering how it ended, I'm going with the latter. If there are more books I'm probably going to pass on them. The series as a whole is two out of two for me. Krystal's and Jake's stories were by far the best, with Sasha having a less than stellar voice and Lindsey being a major moron. Add in the overall silliness of the villains and I'm going to call it a flush. It could really go either way at this point and while it's leading into Krystal's voice, which I like, the potential silliness is a turnoff. This'll probably end up being one of those series where if I have the time I may finish it but right now I think I'm good.

Ban Factor: High - Like with its predecessors, with Greek gods and low levels of Christianity, it's bound to rile up them Bible thumpers.

Anyone Wanna Book Swap?

2012-01-10T18:58:00.003-05:00

So I've got a bunch of ARCs that I'm not too sure what to do with. And I've got some books on my want list that I'd like to get my hands on. Anyone want to trade? In the form below I'll post my list of books that I'm looking for and the ones I'm willing to trade (all ARCs, the version on your end doesn't matter to me). Just select which one you have and which one you want and we'll have ourselves an even trade! If you have more than one of my want books that you want to trade, of course you can choose more than one of my books!

The deal is you send me your book copy first (since I'm working blind) and as soon as I receive that book, I'll drop yours in the mail (because I'm all nice and established and have a reputation to protect and all of that, I'm not about to flake out on my book-sending duties). I think that's a fair trade, don't you? I'll email you if you've snagged a trade and we'll get the particulars out of the way then.

Right now I'm only looking to trade and trade for what's on my list. Please don't fill out the form if you don't have a title to trade. I know I'll still have a great big pile of books left over but I felt this was a good way to start whittling it down and try to get some titles I'd like to read. So have at it! I'll leave this open for a week or so so just keep an eye on it.

The Liberation of Max McTrue + A Figment.com Writing Contest!

2012-01-09T21:08:00.005-05:00

Pub Date: February 1, 2012.

Author Website

Have you ever had an extraordinary day?

Max hadn’t. Until one winter day when he met a girl.

THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE takes place in a single day. The classic Boy Meets Girl story. Well, sort of: Boy meets homeschooled girl. Boy ditches school. Boy finds his future. And there's an ice cream truck. And archery. It's a bit like what would happen if Ferris Bueller's Day Off and The Alchemist had a kid, well...a kid who was a YA eBook novella. You get the idea.

Max took a day off and found his life.

Who changed your life today? (eBook blurb)

THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE isn't anything spectacular. It isn't a story about Max fighting demons or werewolves or anything otherworldly or otherwise undead. He hasn't set out to save anyone and, really, the only person that needs saving is himself. From the world created around him that, up until he meets Clara Jane, he's quite content in. Max is someone that doesn't have a plan. His plan is to follow others plans for him: where to meet, which schools to apply to, which sports to play, which jobs to chase. But then Clara Jane comes in and rattles his brain even more than his best friend Emerson ever could and for a flash of a second he hates her for it. Then he hates himself for not realizing it sooner.

People aren't the biggest fans of change. Add in fear of the unknown and zombies are born; those that in one place their entire lives, whether it's actually because of fear or they're simply content and lacking desire, they end up existing in the lives created for them by other people. Max was no exception and even when Clara Jane came into his life for just that short school day, he fought the change. He made excuses for why it had to be this way. He lashed out. He accused. He hurt. And then he was finally free.

Told in a voice that makes me want to wrap the words around me like a blankie, it pulls you into Max's life. It gives you an idea of where he's coming from. It shows you glimpses of the people that rule his life. And then it shows him changing. It's not an easy change but Max makes it. He doesn't make it until the last possible second, where, as the reader, you might be thinking that he won't do it. But Max doesn't disappoint. All it took was a girl.

This isn't a story about love at first site. It's about intrigue and the will to chase something different. To break from the norm, and from the norm that other people have thrust onto you, and do something completely different and see whether the shoe fits or not. It'll make you re-evaluate where you stand in your own little world. It'll make you open your eyes to the people around you, even those that may pass in and out of your life in a flash. Because they can still leave a lasting impression.

THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE has a butterfly effect not just for Max but for the reader. Sometimes you just need to get slapped in the face with a branch before you see the forest for the trees. And that's exactly what it does. Your life will be one step closer to complete after reading this.

Ban Factor: Medium - Other than the swears it's pretty innocuous. The banners would need to actually read this one to find something.

Kim Culbertson technically writes for teenagers, but some grown-ups like her work. Sourcebooks Fire published her award winning first YA novel Songs for a Teenage Nomad (2010, originally Hip Pocket Press, 2007) and her second YA novel Instructions for a Broken Heart (2011) which was named a Booklist Top Ten Romance Title for Youth: 2011. Kim’s short fiction has appeared in Cicada, Canary, and The Smoking Poet. When she’s not writing for teens, she’s teaching them. She’s a college advisor and teaches creative writing and English at Forest Charter School in Northern California. Kim wrote The Liberation of Max McTrue for her students who, over the years, have taught her much more than she has taught them.

I mentioned something about a writing contest, didn't I? Well, Kim and Figment.com have teamed up to put together an awesome writing contest where you can get the chance to win a copy of THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE and a manuscript critique from Kim herself! How tempting is that? Just don't be fooled by the idea of writing flash fiction. Just because it's shorter doesn't mean it's easier. Here are the details -

The Liberation of Max McTrue Contest

Brought to you by Figment.com and Kim Culbertson

Kim Culbertson is joining Figment for a whirlwind weekend of Flash Fiction to celebrate her new ebook, The Liberation of Max McTrue!

Enter the Max McTrue Flash Fiction Contest!
There will be a Total of three prizes: Each winner gets a free download of The Liberation of Max McTrue as well as a custom-made “beautiful things” journal. The first place winner will also receive a 30 minute manuscript review by Kim Culbertson.

All you have to do is write a super short story under 500 words that follows one of the four prompts below. Submit your entry between 11:00am on February 3rd, 2012 and 11:59pm on February 5th, 2012. The Figment editorial staff will choose the top ten entries as finalists, and Kim will choose the winners from those finalists.

The Prompts:
(1) Write a story set against the backdrop of a scavenger hunt.
(2) Write a story confined to the periods of a school day. The character can be in school or out of school.
(3) Write a story in which a character is deeply afraid of something.
(4) Come up with a totally ordinary character and then set him/her up to have an extraordinary day.

How to enter:

Go to www.figment.com and sign up.
Once you have received your confirmation email, go to your Figment profile page, click “My Writing,” and “Create Something New.”
Before you start writing, read the full rules on the Max McTrue contest page, which you’ll be able to find under the “Contest” tab on Figment on February 3rd, 2012.
Write an original story, under 500 words, that follows one of the four prompts above.
Go to the “Details” tab of your story, and put maxmctrue in the “Tags” section.
Wait the 2 hours it sometimes takes to see your story appear on the contest page.

Things I've Learned from Books + 133

2012-01-08T09:56:00.001-05:00

Kool Aid! Oh yeah!

Oh no! Kool Aid bad.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 142

2012-01-08T09:29:00.002-05:00

Nope, it's not about the actors; it's about the sunglasses. Oh yeah. Ray Bans. Everyone wanted them because they were oh so sexy and, I mean, just look at the people wearing them! Why would you NOT want to be like Madonna or Michael Jackson? I mean, seriously. And of course, this particular style is making it's way back into fashion. Because it was so seriously flattering . . . ?

Freaky Friday :|: 142

2012-01-06T19:41:00.003-05:00

Title: The Fever

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: August 1996

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 192

Summary:

Duffy has a mysterious fever that has robbed her of her strength and left her helpless in her hospital bed. Now she's beginning to suffer from delirious dreams . . . or did she really witness a murder? Only the murderer knows for sure . . . and that makes Duffy the next victim. (fantasticfiction.co.uk)

Points for creativity, that's for sure. I think being rendered physically helpless and unable to defend oneself would be pretty horrifying. And now you have to fear for your life? Yeah, I'd probably read this one.

Drought by Pam Bachorz

2012-01-05T18:49:00.006-05:00

Published January 25, 2011.

Author Website

Ruby Prosser dreams of escaping the Congregation and the early-nineteenth century lifestyle that’s been practiced since the community was first enslaved.

She plots to escape the vicious Darwin West, his cruel Overseers, and the daily struggle to gather the life-prolonging Water that keeps the Congregants alive and gives Darwin his wealth and power. But if Ruby leaves, the Congregation will die without the secret ingredient that makes the Water special: her blood.

So she stays.

But when Ruby meets Ford, the new Overseer who seems barely older than herself, her desire for freedom is too strong. He’s sympathetic, irresistible, forbidden—and her only access to the modern world. Escape with Ford would be so simple, but can Ruby risk the terrible price, dooming the only world she’s ever known? (goodreads.com)

Um, I'm not sure where to start. It's not what I thought it was going to be. I didn't think the story was going to be so incestuously cyclical, I was hoping Ford wouldn't be a douche and I was hoping Ruby would be smarter and stronger than what she turned out to be.

Initially it took me a chapter or two to get my bearings. Basically this is a cult worshipping a non-standard God named Otto with blood that heals and allows them to live indefinitely, aging at an incredibly slow rate so long as they continue to drink ~~Kool Aid~~ Water. Originally the Water was christened with Otto's blood and that ran out but ~~Joan Crawford~~ Sula, Ruby's mom, found out that Ruby had her daddy's blood so let's continue the cycle.

But what we really have here is some heinous child abuse for the sake of waiting for a god that never comes. Someone really needs to teach these people about Jesus. Why? Because them Christians have been waiting 2,000 years for his return and they're still waiting! 200 years? Pfft. Noobs.

Basically Ruby's indoctrinated into thinking that she needs to sacrifice everything of herself for the Congregants. But when Ruby starts punching holes in that logic, enter standard hypocritical religious nuts that stand on the soap box of "do as I say, not as I do." It's typical. Sula is the reincarnate of Jim Jones but instead of killing her people to meet their god, she keeps them living for an inhuman amount of time, waiting for their god to return. But it's not a nice waiting. They're enslaved. And when they actually get a chance to be free she enslaves them again but gets better terms. Hooray! . . . ?

When Ruby's made leader it's for no other reason than because of her blood. Not because she's exhibited extraordinary leadership qualities. Not because she's stood up to Darwin West. But because of her blood. Dear god, can we not vote like that please? Of course, shenanigans ensue, which is what ultimately happens when an incompetent teenager is elected into a leadership position.

Which leads me to ask why is Ruby over 200 years old with the brain of a teenager? Shouldn't she be like Claudia in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, child's body, adult's mind? That would make more sense to me. I get that she was born into this cult and all and never experienced love but it's not like it wasn't around her. Her thought process just didn't make sense to me, simply because she shouldn't have been thinking like a teenager.

And then there's Ford, who totally can't be with Ruby because she doesn't believe in Jesus but he loves her and she loves him but she won't go all the way and he gets cranky. Seriously. I thought we were over this. Ford is nothing more than a local loser that more than likely burned his way through the village girls and, having run out of options, fixated on the brainwashed cult girl that obviously didn't know her ass from her elbow. What a perfect ~~victim~~ life mate! Did I mention he was forceful and completely un-understanding about anyone else's religious views than his own? Oh yeah. Gimme some of that.

There was some redemption at the end but I think it was too little too late. I was considering giving the book up halfway through because the story kept cycling back on the same day like a really boring Groundhog Day. All talk, no action. And when there was some action, it was short-lived and then abandoned completely. And then shoved right back into the same cycle. Of course it took a heinous event to light a fire under Ruby's ass, and this then cycles back around to her supposed lack of brainpower. I don't care who you are. One doesn't live for more than 200 years in slavery without developing some decent survival skills and some kind ability to see the forest for the trees. Especially when you're standing in the middle of it.

The story I would have liked to have seen would be Ruby and the Visitor. Not romantically, but he seemed like a far more dynamic character than any of the rest. Darwin was your typical villain. Nothing special about him. But the Visitor was so much more, something infinitely creepier but at the same time exhibited levels of kindness not seen in Darwin. There was a complexity there that could have elevated the story well beyond the basic bust out of slavery, slave master gets his comeuppance story. Ruby could have escaped early on and the story could have been about her run from the Visitor.

Nope. This is what we got. Nearly 300 pages of not much followed by another 100 of something but not enough. It could have been so much more if Ruby would have just left the stock characters behind. I was hoping to get more of her reacting to the modern world but what I did get was just a tease clouded over by Ford. I am disappointed for the story that could have been.

The voice is okay although dull. I'm assuming it's supposed to show the time that they all come from but considering they've been associating with outside people for so long, I'm not understanding why they're still so in the dark, not only about language but about so many other things. The children especially should have been more susceptible to outside language but that didn't happen.

I'm just all around disappointed. It could have been so much more but it wasn't. I'm not sure who I'd recommend DROUGHT to. It's not dystopian or post-apocalyptic. It's not contemporary. It's not paranormal. It's about a girl overcoming odds but that's a bit of a stretch. Breaking the bonds of slavery to set out on her own. But Ruby isn't that smart of a character so I don't think it really works. I don't know. I'm at a loss on this one.

Ban Factor: High - A cult worshipping a false idol and PUSHING AWAY the one true God? Ayeeeeeeeee!

Book Released in Paperback . . . With a Different Title???

2012-01-04T20:37:00.004-05:00

The paperback version of Janet Ruth Young's awesome novel, THE BABYSITTER MURDERS, is going to be released this year. It'll have a brand shiny new cover (which isn't uncommon when titles jump from hardbound to paperback), an author's note and, well, a new title.

Am I the only one that thinks that's weird?

THE BABYSITTER MURDERS will be renamed THINGS I SHOULDN'T THINK when it comes out in paperback. I'm really not sure what to think about that. I don't understand why something like that would happen between the hardbound printing and the paperback. Anyone?

While the original title, THE BABYSITTER MURDERS, is a bit of a hyperbole, I still liked it. It's very attention-getting and brings with it a promise of something big. The new title, THINGS I SHOULDN'T THINK, is, well, to me, THE BABYSITTER MURDERS FOR DUMMIES. It reminds me of a checklist and simplifies what's inside the cover. Not to mention it's stating the obvious. Here's the blurb for THE BABYSITTER MURDERS in case you're not sure what it's about -

Everyone has disturbing thoughts sometimes. But for seventeen-year-old Dani Solomon, strange thoughts have taken over her life. She loves Alex, the little boy she babysits, more than anything. Then one day she envisions harming him. The images are so gruesome, she can’t get them out of her mind. In fact, Dani’s worried that she might actually kill Alex. So she confesses her thoughts to keep him safe—and consequently sets off a media frenzy that makes “Dani Death” the target of an extremist vigilante group. Through the help of a daring psychiatrist, Dani begins to heal her broken mind. But will it be too late? The people of her community want justice…and Dani’s learning that some thoughts are better left unsaid. (goodreads.com)

Maybe I'm just biased because I really loved this book but, to me, the new title waters down what's going on, plus it completely deflates the oomph of the original title. Not to mention the fan base grows around that original title. You have a bunch of us walking around touting the awesomeness that is THE BABYSITTER MURDERS but once the paperback hits, people are going to have a hard time finding it because the title's changed.

The original title hangs on to the horror that Dani felt could really happen, and subsequently how she's treated after her confession. The new title feels like a limp balloon that dumbs down the story. I think the change is detrimental to the book.

What do you think? Not just about this title change but title changes in general from hardbound to paperback? Do you think it's as weird as I do? Do you think it'll help or hurt the book? Spill!

December TBR Pile Update

2012-01-03T21:04:00.004-05:00

The year comes to an end and it's time to take a look at what my TBR pile looks like to start fresh. Now, I've weeded a lot of books out. I've come to realize that my reading tastes have a tendency of changing subtly over time so it'd help me out a bit if I weeded through my TBR pile every six months or so to see if I actually still want to read what's sitting there. Turns out I was able to hack away quite a bit. And while I was at it, I organized everything through Goodreads, that marvelous website. So now I have the whole of my TBR pile there. No more manual counting for me! Hooray! So let's have at it.

The original TBR pile as so noted this time last year -

And the NetGalley list -

1. CRAZY by Han Nolan
2. ALISON'S WONDERLAND by Alison Tyler
3. TYGER TYGER by Kersten Hamilton
4. THE SECRET OF KA by Christopher Pike
5. ANNEXED by Sharon Dogar
6. DEMON HUNTS by CE Murphy
7. EIGHT FOR ETERNITY by Mary Reed and Eric Mayer
8. LOVELY by Kris Starr
9. CAPTIVE SPIRIT by Liz Fichera
10. GHOST SHADOW by Heather Graham
11. THE WORLD ABOVE THE SKY by Kent Stetson
12. TRICKSTER'S GIRL by Hilari Bell
13. ROMAN GAMES by Bruce MacBain
14. F**K IT by John C. Parkin
15. VIEWS FROM THE LOFT by The Loft Literary Center
16. MY SOUL TO KEEP by Rachel Vincent
17. THE HYPNOTIST by MJ Rose
18. SPY GLASS by Maria V. Snyder
19. PAST MIDNIGHT by Mara Purnhagen
20. THE IRON KING by Julie Kagawa
21. CARRIE PILBY by Caren Lissner
22. LOSING ROMEO by AJ Byrd
23. THE FAIRY GODMOTHER by Mercedes Lackey
24. THE SEVENFOLD SPELL by Tia Nevitt
25. THE ABUSED WEREWOLF RESCUE GROUP by Catherine Jinks
26. THOSE THAT WAKE by Jesse Karp
27. THE LYING GAME by Sara Shepard
28. ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton
29. DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver
30. GRILLED CHEESE PLEASE! by Laura Werlin
31. SAVANNAH GREY by Cliff McNish
32. THE BETRAYAL OF MAGGIE BLAIR by Elizabeth Laird
33. AWAKEN by Katie Kacvinsky
34. MYSTIFY by Artist Arthur
35. LOST IN THE RIVER OF GRASS by Ginny Rorby
36. EVERYTHING I WAS by Corrine Demas
37. WHAT CAN'T WAIT by Ashley Hope Perez
38. ONE HUNDRED CANDLES by Mara Purnhagen
39. MY FAVORITE BAND DOES NOT EXIST by Robert T. Jeschonek

This will be the last time I use that image and this list as my starting point. For the next year, I move onto my current image and digital list which you can find below. But first, the final countdown. Not really. But you know what I mean. I finished up November with 262 books in my pile. For December? According to my awesome new counter on Goodreads? 197! Talk about weeding out! My local library is going to love me. And I feel a few pounds lighter.

Take a look at that. It's all trimmed down. No longer a slew of piles all spread out everywhere, with a huge gap in the middle. I love streamlining. ARCs to the far left, the miscellaneous in the middle and my love of cheese in the far right two piles.

And the digital copies (from NetGalley unless otherwise stated) -

DREAMING ANASTASIA by Joy Preble (free copy from BN)
THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison
DROWNING INSTINCT by Ilsa J. Bick
MESMERIZE by Artist Arthur
ESCAPING TITANIC by Marybeth Lorbiecki
TITANIC by Philip Wilkinson
TIME VOYAGE by Steve Brezenoff

THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE by Kim Culbertson (from the author)

Holy crap! That's less than 10 from NetGalley! And none of them are out yet! I'm ahead of the game! I'm ahead! Now if I could just say the same thing about my ARC pile . . .

This, That and the Other Thing

2012-01-02T20:57:00.006-05:00

There's a chance you haven't noticed but I've remodeled my sidebars a little bit. It's a subtle change. Basically I've trimmed down the left side, gotten rid of some widgets and images and links. Starting with my first review of 2012 I'm going to post the author's website within the review itself instead of just keeping a running list of them. That was starting to get cumbersome. And I rearranged some of the modules, moved my 'currently gnawing on' image to the left, along with the Twitter updater. That then moved my 'wanna bite' module up and I updated that one. Kinda helps to let people know I'm not taking on new titles at the moment right up front instead of promoting that I do and getting emails. Duh. Other than that, I think it's pretty streamlined as it is. I really don't have much going on here except for the images directly related to the theme itself. Pretty good, I think.

Now, I've been reading that Google will soon disconnect Google Friend Connect for non-Blogger users, replacing it with Google+. So this kind of shoots the shit right down the toilet with my follower requirement for my giveaways. Of course, in the vein of fairness, I now open up my giveaways to followers of different varieties. I'm on a small handful of social networking sites (simply because I can't be bothered with more) so henceforth, you can be a follower via the following options to be eligible for my giveaways -

Twitter. I'm not crazy active on it compared to a lot of people but I am on there. Usually when I'm super bored at work and I start conversations with random people as I read through my homepage. But I crosspost blog post links there so it's one good way to follow me.

Feed reader. This is the way I follow a lot of my fellow bloggers and it helps because it's one of the few avenues I have left that are still open to being read while at work.

The always wonderful Goodreads. I crosspost all of my reviews here, along with my reading updates and all of that. Just, for the love of god, if you add me don't spam the shit out of me with your event requests. It won't work. In fact, it'll get you unfriended. God, those things are annoying.

And, of course, Facebook. This isn't my personal Facebook page. Oh no. That one's nice and private. This is the fan page I set up for Bites. Like Twitter, I use it to crosspost my blog links and I have some extra pictures there and stuff. I put up my giveaways there as well so people know about them.

So now you have options. When I post the form for my giveaways in the future, you'll just need to write down the method that you use to follow me. Of course you can still follow via Google Friend Connect but in reality I'm not sure how much longer that's going to be relevant once it gets restricted. But we'll see.

I'll also be updating my sidebar with these lovely icons for easy access. Just watch for them where my Twitter update widget is now.

Beth Fantaskey News!

2012-01-02T16:19:00.003-05:00

Since I'm a fan of JESSICA'S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE, I'm here to help Beth out a bit by spreading some awesome JESSICA news!

First, the sequel to JESSICA'S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE, JESSICA RULES THE DARK SIDE, drops on January 10th but bookstores are already stocking the shelves and online retailers are releasing the books ahead of schedule. So be sure to order it!

Second, if you haven't read JESSICA'S GUIDE yet, you can download it for free from the HMH website! But you have to hurry. That piece of awesomeness will expire on the 6th.

Third, the extra pieces that bridge the two books, mainly Jessica and Lucius's wedding, have been revised and posted on Beth's website! Be sure to read it so you don't miss any of the story.

And last but not least, Beth is giving away a trifecta of her books, JESSICA'S GUIDE, JESSICA RULES and JEKEL LOVES HYDE to one lucky winner in honor of RULES's release! If you want them, be sure to get your entries in by the 10th.

Great news, right? I told you.

2011 Squee!!mers

2012-01-01T20:11:00.024-05:00

To carry on my raving tradition from last year, I now present you with the five-bite books from 2011 that made me go squee!!! The banner this year is a little different from last year, mainly because I went to go edit the image and I inadvertently smooshed all the layers together last year, thus rendering the image uneditable. Hooray for me. So, slightly new image and it looks like I was rather generous with my five bite rating in 2011. Or I just had a better grasp of what it was I liked to read and was better able to hone in on my favorite stuff. Either way, all of these books were awesome and were well worth raving about.

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

A utopic/dystopic retelling of Romeo and Juliet, DELIRIUM painted a picture of a severely structured society where love is a disease, easily cured by a lobotomy and a life chosen for you. But when Lena discovered she may have the disease, it turns her world upside down, completely destroying her ideals of what the world should be. DELIRIUM captured a teenager torn between what society tells her is right and what she feels in her gut is right and Oliver doesn't pull any punches when it comes to making sure her characters work for their freedom in a world richly developed.

A SEASON OF EDEN by JM Warwick

Eden is used to getting whatever she wanted, whether it was a person, place or thing. But when a new teacher walks in the door and steals her heart, her every desire, for once, can't be met. Or can it? Warwick does a fantastic job of portraying a forbidden love with both dripping seduction and class. You can feel every feeling Eden has and it'll make you question just what is right and what is wrong. It's a provocative story that deserves to be read and isn't as lurid as its premise suggests.

STAY by Deb Caletti

Clara is trying to escape a volatile relationship that she just can't seem to get away from. Told in present/past increments, you get her past story slowly, reliving it little by little, watching her break down and then, in the present, piece her life back together. Sometimes the clam doesn't stay calm but Caletti really knew how to portray a strong character and Clara persevered. It's hard to not be both horrified and in awe of what this story has to tell.

A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness, adapted from Siobhan Dowd

Conor has a monster to deal with. It looms dark and scary in his yard, threatening to break in and rip him out. But it's not safe inside either. His mom is sick and he has to decide which monster is worse. In a story that reduced me to a blubbering mess by the end, it walks you through Conor's life as he comes to terms with his mom's illness. And it's not an easy ride. Ness/Dowd did not sugarcoat this story. It is exceptionally gritty and realistic and should be read by every single person alive.

THE SANTA CRUZ BEACH BOARDWALK: A CENTURY BY THE SEA by The Santa Cruz Seaside Company

One of my own personal loves, this book wasn't destined to get anything under five bites. It displayed the history of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in California in vivid photographs that bring the past to life. It's like something out of a movie, and it probably is since it's been featured in a few, including my favorite.

ROT & RUIN and DUST & DECAY by Jonathan Maberry

The zombie apocalypse has happened and this is Benny Imura's story as he lives his life in the aftermath. And holy crap is it an amazing story. Maberry kept the zombies zombies, making them insanely horrifying. Yet at the same time he humanized the story, making it not just about fear but about life and death and what that really means. Salivating would be a good word to define my love for these two books.

ASHES by Ilsa J. Bick

If it's not already blatantly obvious, I'll repeat myself: Ilsa Bick can do no wrong. And she proved that yet again with ASHES, an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic novel that makes the rest of them hang their heads in shame. With a plot focused on survival and the world as opposed to romance, and the science actually making sense, it was love at first sight. Again. ASHES is going to blow the competition away, if it hasn't done so already. Alex is the heroine that other like novels would hope to have. Because she'd actually survive.

THE LAST VAMPIRE and THE LAST VAMPIRE 2: BLACK BLOOD by Christopher Pike

This series is what other current vampire books so desperately want to be if they had the balls to actually consider the thought of being it. Alisa is filled with pain but knows how to lay the smackdown if need be, and she's unapologetic for it. Sure, she doesn't like to kill, but she's not a fan of being killed either. Quite possibly one of the most level-headed vampires in YA horror yet.

FAT VAMPIRE by Adam Rex

A satire of epic proportions, FAT VAMPIRE has awesome pop culture references while treating the current vampire trend with the sneer and derision it deserves. It made me laugh and it even made me a little sad but it was a story that needed to be told and I'm all the better for it. I would say I wish there were more vampire books like this but not everyone can write in this amazing style and the market shouldn't be saturated with it. It'll lessen its awesome effect and that would just be downright bad.

THE GRAY WOLF THRONE by Cinda Williams Chima

The third book in the SEVEN REALMS series, it's just as phenomenal as the other two. It carries on Raisa and Han's story as they come to terms with where they need to be in life and what that means for them as a couple. Raisa's struggling with the throne and Han is being used as a pawn. Neither are too fond of it and the story is just as thick and real as it was at the beginning.

GO THE F**K TO SLEEP by Adam Mansbach and Richard Cortes (illustrator)

An epically epic parody of your typical children's book, and read by Samuel L. Jackson if you find the video on You Tube, even those of us without kids an appreciate the dire desperation put forth in this short little story. Truly, you will laugh your ass off.

THE FORBIDDEN GAME: THE HUNTER by LJ Smith

It's highly likely the only reason why I love this book so much is because it reminds me of the movie Labyrinth but I'm okay with that. The world needs more awesome like that. Plus this is just a great, nominally timeless story that has Jenny getting stalked from when she was a kid by an evil darkness in the shape of a handsome boy. But looks can be deceiving and not everyone will make it out of the game alive. He did warn her. I can't help but love the ruthlessness of it all.

FAIL HARDER by the failblog.org community

Who wouldn't like pictures of utter fails from all over the world to laugh at? Surely, it must make you smile. And then maybe die a little on the inside as your faith in humanity wavers a little more.

GOOSEBUMPS: GHOST BEACH by RL Stine

While the GOOSEBUMPS books have a tendency of being a little on the cheesy side, every once in a while Stine will let his inner darkness show for the younger crowd, like with GHOST BEACH. The ending brings a crazy twist that leaves it all hanging and the safety of the main characters' well-being is severely compromised. And we never know how it really turns out. Love it!

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake

The title that brought me hope for the future of YA horror. With a story that's truly terrifying coupled with a relatable and likable main character, it's hard not to get sucked into Cas's world of ghost hunting. Plus it helped that I'm a huge SUPERNATURAL fan and this is right up that alley. But, as of late, far better written than the show.

THE IRON QUEEN by Julie Kagawa

What I think is probably the best book out of THE IRON FEY series, THE IRON QUEEN, is still fresh in Meghan's voice and richly displaying the Fey realm around her in such vivid detail that you can almost taste it as you read it. Personally I think the series could have ended here but that was not to be. Still, it's the end of Meghan's story and a phenomenal one it was.

THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS AND ZOOT SUITS by Alison Marie Behnke

It probably helps that this is one of my favorite eras in modern history but I just loved this book for the fashion history it provided. And I'm not even big into fashion. But it spawns from a time when curves were once sexy and clothing was made to fit those bodies beautifully. And they were some damn fine clothes too.

AWKWARD FAMILY PET PHOTOS by Mike Bender and Doug Chernak

Like the FAIL HARDER title, it's really hard not to like a book filled with photos of horribly awkward people projecting their awkwardness onto their pets. The added bonus with AWKWARD FAMILY PET PHOTOS is that one's dying faith in humanity gets stalled for just a little while. Because really, we've all had some horrible photos taken of us and if we can't laugh at ourselves, what do we have left?

101 THINGS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT THE TITANIC . . . BUT DIDN'T! by Tim Maltin

An excellent resource for every Titanic nut, 101 THINGS throws together information about in a heap of books under one cover. Just enough information to ease your fix before you move onto deeper and bigger things. Every Titanic enthusiast needs to have this title on their shelves. Really, it's invaluable.

Things I've Learned from Books + 132

2012-01-01T10:29:00.002-05:00

Sometimes, just sometimes, a night filled with demons can be easier to deal with than a night filled with prom.

2012 Off the Shelf Reading Challenge

2011-12-31T15:24:00.012-05:00

You bet your snazzy ass I'm doing this one again. I still have a whole TBR pile to tackle! Hosted by Bookish Ardour, the Off the Shelf Reading Challenge has seven levels and while I'm technically buried, I'm going to go with the On A Roll level, attempting to read 50 books again this year. I have a good feeling about this. I can do it!

1. DROUGHT by Pam Bachorz

2. THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE by Kim Culbertson

3. MESMERIZE by Artist Arthur

4. CATCH & RELEASE by Blythe Woolston

5. RETURN TO TITANIC: TIME VOYAGE, BOOK 1 by Steve Brezenoff

6. TITANIC: DISASTER AT SEA by Philip Wilkinson

7. ESCAPING TITANIC by Marybeth Lorbiekci, illustrated by Kory S. Heinzen

8. LADY GAGA: LOOKING FOR FAME by Paul Lester

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2012 ARC Reading Challenge

2011-12-31T15:18:00.010-05:00

I still have a bunch of them in my pile, so I might as well join the ARC Reading Challenge again hosted by So Many Precious Books, So Little Time. There are three levels with this one and I'll be going with silver, reading 24 ARCs in 2012. That sounds nice and cozy to me.

1. DROUGHT by Pam Bachorz

2. THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE by Kim Culbertson

3. MESMERIZE by Artist Arthur

4. RETURN TO TITANIC: TIME VOYAGE, BOOK 1 by Steve Brezenoff

5. TITANIC: DISASTER AT SEA by Philip Wilkinson

6. ESCAPING TITANIC by Marybeth Lorbiecki, illustrated by Kory S. Heinzen

7. LADY GAGA: LOOKING FOR FAME by Paul Lester

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2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge

2011-12-31T15:06:00.006-05:00

Since I am a YA book blogger, it seemed fitting that I participate in the Young Adult Reading Challenge, hosted by The Eclectic Bookshelf. There are four levels in this challenge and I will be doing the mega size challenge, reading 50 or more YA books. Considering that's nearly all I read, it shouldn't take too much effort to complete it.

1. DROUGHT by Pam Bachorz

2. THE LIBERATION OF MAX MCTRUE by Kim Culbertson

3. MESMERIZE by Artist Arthur

4. CATCH & RELEASE by Blythe Woolston

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2012 Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge

2011-12-31T15:00:00.004-05:00

Yup. I'm doing this one again. Hosted by Book Chick City, the Horror and Urban Fantasy Reading Challenge has two levels, reading 24 or 48 books of like kind. Me, I'll be doing 24. I don't want to over extend myself and since I completed it in 2011, I want to make sure I do the same in 2012.

1. MESMERIZE by Artist Arthur

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2011 Off the Shelf Challenge FAILED!

2011-12-31T14:47:00.003-05:00

Awww. Sad face. At least I didn't miss it by one or two books. That would really piss me off. Nope. I missed it by 20 books. Eek! Check out that gap! But you know what I didn't do this past year that I'm going to do in 2012? Count the damn ARCs. I tally them in with my TBR pile count so why am I not going to count them here too? I don't know why I didn't count them to begin with. I think maybe I thought of the ARCs as a pile unto themselves that functioned separately. Not this time. They're getting lumped in there. Looking back, I doubt adding them in would have done anything to help me get to the finish line but it definitely would have gotten me closer. Here's to completing it in 2012!

Ditched by Robin Mellom

2011-12-31T12:48:00.005-05:00

Pub date: January 10, 2012.

High school senior Justina Griffith was never the girl who dreamed of going to prom. Designer dresses and strappy heels? Not her thing. So she never expected her best friend, Ian Clark, to ask her.

Ian, who always passed her the baseball bat handle first.

Ian, who knew exactly when she needed red licorice.

Ian, who promised her the most amazing night at prom.

And then ditched her.

Now, as the sun rises over her small town, and with only the help of some opinionated ladies at the 7-Eleven, Justina must piece together -- stain by stain on her thrift-store dress -- exactly how she ended up dateless. A three-legged Chihuahua was involved. Along with a demolition derby-ready Cadillac. And there was that incident at the tattoo parlor. Plus the flying leap from Brian Sontag's moving car...

But to get the whole story, Justina will have to face the boy who ditched her. And discover if losing out at prom can ultimately lead to true love. (netgalley.com

Well, I will say I liked the voice. Mellom carried it off with a quirkiness that didn't feel contrived or disingenuous to the character. That voice alone could have carried the story without the ridiculous TV sitcom-like execution of the plot itself shoving the story ahead with dangling tease after dangling tease after dangling tease. That voice, in my opinion, was quite frankly fantastic. It would have been enough. It alone would have made all of the wacky elements that happened in Justina's night seem a little more genuine. It alone would have made Justina feel more real.

Instead the motivating factor of the plot was the execution of the story. Told in twelve and a half minute segments with convenience store commercial interruptions thrown in, it felt like the author didn't trust the story enough to let it tell itself. Instead information was dangled in front of me and the only way to get it was to read the next chapter. Was it an effective method to get me to read on? Absolutely. Goddamn it, I wanted to know what happened. It doesn't mean it wasn't a cheap tactic.

From the beginning you know Justina's night was filled with epic fail. This is not new information. The story starts at the end and is then told from the beginning (see bad sitcom moment above). You know it ends bad. What you don't know are the details and instead of just coming out with it, the story's dragged out as long as humanly possible, with each chapter ending on the edge of a cliff. This story-telling tactic made me irrationally angry, simply because it's such a cheap tactic. The story could have actually been told from the beginning, as Justina lived it and, personally, I think it would have been so much better. It wouldn't have felt like a knock-off of Ferris Beuller's Day Off after being bastardized by Fox. Or enter your choice of outrageous teen movie. So yeah. It's one thing to read a book to find out what happens. That's usually why we read them. But when you already know what happens and reading the book feels like being pecked to death by a chicken, waiting for the story to unfold can become ingratiating.

Not to mention the events that happened fell so far beyond by suspension of disbelief that it stopped being entertaining (see above re: outrageous teen movie). You remember those teen magazines, like Cosmo Girl, Teen People and whatever and they had those write-in columns for embarrassing moments? And they were so ridiculously outrageous that there's no way they could be true (and I remember one editor actually ranking on them for it)? Well shove a bunch of those together and you'll get this plot. So many shit-ass things happened that you have to wonder why Justina just didn't go Cartman and say screw you guys, I'm going home.

That's probably because Justina needs to be on some heavy-duty medication to control that bi-polar psychosis she's got going on. I don't think people this unhinged exists in psychology textbooks. Here's a girl that's so all over the board with her emotions, that's so pessimistic and fatalistic and at times downright nasty, I was really hoping Ian would see the forest for the trees and be like holy shit! And run. People tried to help her and she screamed at them. She abandoned all notion of logic and thought of the worst in every single situation despite the numerous people shoving calm logic down her throat. One second she would show some semblance of rationality and then go completely off her rocker the next. I really just wanted someone to throw a bucket of water on her head and maybe give her a slap or two. Unhinged is putting it nicely. As someone that has a tendency to spiral in the brain department, I can half understand her pessimism but she takes it to an extreme that renders psychiatric help.

The thing is, when I finally found out why Ian ditched her, I didn't feel it was an excuse. Because he just up and left her hanging without an explanation and without some kind of notice until something like a half hour later. Of course the people that did know what he was doing didn't divulge the information but it's not like Justina gave them a chance. Funny that she was just as judgmental of Miss Jimmy Choo Shoes (Allyson?) as she claimed Allyson was of her. Except Justina was unhinged about it. Still, Ian was a dick for doing what he did without letting her know where he was going. I personally wouldn't have forgiven him very easily, irrespective of my night turning out like Justina's or not.

The ending was sugary sweet and quite frankly I'm not sure the parties involved deserved it (see above re: dick and irrational headcase). It was a nice ending to a crazy night (honestly, as if one couldn't see that coming a million miles away, since that's how all crazy teen movies end) but it didn't fit the supposed reality of the situation. Someone should have been slapped and someone else should have been chastised for treating people like shit and using them for their own selfish means. But that's just my opinion.

At the end of the day the story was nominally entertaining in a brainless current teen movie sort of way (because the 80s teen movies are INFINITELY better than this) but I didn't see Justina as too likable of a character so I couldn't empathize with her plight and the lack of, whether it's trust in the reader or in the story itself, on the author's part and thus the execution of the story itself made me want to inflict pain on small woodland creatures. But I can definitely see how some people would get a kick out of this, simply because it's so zany and out there. But it was a little too much for me and the way the story was told was a killer. Plus I don't like sitcoms.

Ban Factor: High - Just the drinking, drugs and sexual references alone would have the banners fanning themselves in anger.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 141

2011-12-31T10:14:00.003-05:00

Yup. That little purple man is the one and only Prince. Who is now represented by an unpronounceable symbol. Or TAFKAP, The Artist Formally Known As Prince. He used to make super awesome music way back when. And he even used to be a super sex symbol. I'm guessing it was the music. But he did come out with a pretty epic New Year's song not really used until years later, the last time we really thought the world was going to end. You know what I'm talking about. It's only appropriate that I use it on this New Year's Eve.

It's okay. You can sing along. You know you know the words.

Freaky Friday :|: 141

2011-12-30T20:49:00.004-05:00

Title: The Accident

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: 1992

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 176

Summary:

She appears in Megan's mirror one day, nothing more than a wispy, shadowy plume, glowing with an eerie light. Her voice is faint and hollow, like a distant echo. The voice of a young girl.

Strangest of all is her request.

"I beg you to trade places with me, Megan. For just one week. Let me live again."

Megan is overcome with fear. Yet she is drawn to the shadow in the mirror, unable to look away. Fascinated by the oddly soothing voice, she listens to a tale of a horrible accident many years before. A tale she would never forget.

Gradually, Megan begins to realize that she has no choice. As terrified as she is, she knows she must make the trade.... (fantasticfiction.co.uk)

Okay. This one sounds good. Like I need to go hunt this one down good. This is why I love YA horror. Love it!

101 Things You Thought You Knew About the Titanic . . . But Didn't! by Tim Maltin

2011-12-29T21:15:00.008-05:00

Published November 29, 2011.

Ever since that night, fact has merged with fiction about what really happened. Now, for the first time, Titanic expert and author Tim Maltin gathers together all the key elements surrounding the disaster and presents a fascinating, compulsive and accurate account of what really happened. Taking as his lead one hundred and one oft-quoted theories about the fateful night, Maltin uses eyewitness testimony to rigorously examine each one in chronological order, and in so doing tells the true story of the Titanic and the night she sank with the loss of 1,500 lives. (netgalley.com)

The sinking of the Titanic was one of the worst tragedies in modern history, evidenced by the fact that, as a whole, we're still salivating over it 100 years later. We're still eager for information about it, we want to know the people, we still want to learn things we didn't know, and for some god awful reason, we want 1996's Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet released in 3D. Apparently there isn't a god.

But that's besides the point. As a crazy Titanic enthusiast myself, having been reading about the ship since I was roughly eight, thus coming across new information is a pretty big rarity, it was refreshing reading 101 THINGS because it did shake some rumors and clear up some cloudy moments about the Titanic for me. Of course, and I say this not patting myself on the back but just as someone that's done a shit-ton of Titanic reading, I already knew a lot of the stuff presented in this book. But that's okay because I still got a kick out of it.

Really it's all in the presentation. Maltin pulled right from the source, relying heavily on the transcripts from the hearings after the Carpathia docked in New York, and also from the hearings in London. It's astounding to read words spoken by Lightoller about how sure he was that the Titanic didn't break in half before sinking. I mean, he was SO sure. Of course, we now know that to not be the truth. And one of the pieces of information I didn't know was that the Brits tried to whitewash the whole thing. Bad, Brits. Bad. Another piece of information I didn't know: even if there were enough lifeboats to fit everyone on board, there weren't enough able seamen to man them, thus rendering the boats useless. How's that for a paradox. Really, those people were screwed anyway.

So there's really something for all levels of Titanic interest in 101 THINGS. If I can find new information within these pages, then anyone can. And it's told in a manner like you'd hear a good teacher talking about it. It's not just information regurgitated back at you simply to get it out. It's evident in the tone of the information that Maltin has a great interest in the Titanic and he's enthusiastic about it. You can't fake that so when you're reading you, in turn, get enthusiastic about the information you're given. You won't be able to help it. It's infectious.

101 THINGS would be especially wonderful for those just coming across the Titanic and wanting to know more about it. It's the Cliff Notes version of what you can find scattered throughout the referential material floating out there. Definitely a good place to start. And it's a good book to have to round out your Titanic knowledge. I can almost guarantee that there'll be something in there that even the most interested Titanic aficionado might not know. So give it a whirl. You'll be able to envision it all as you read. In this case, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's vivid. That's for sure.

Ban Factor: Low - It's a book of Titanic facts. What's there to ban? Knowledge?

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

2011-12-28T18:49:00.007-05:00

Published April 1, 2007.

Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high-schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts.

Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: He is Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game. A magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death, the winning house ruling the Weir. As if his bizarre magical heritage isn't enough, Jack finds out that he's not just another member of Weirlind, he's one of the last of the warriors at a time when both houses are scouting for a player. Jack's performance on the soccer field has alerted the entire magical community to the fact that he's in Trinity. And until one of the houses is declared Jack's official sponsor, they'll stop at nothing to get Jack to fight for them. (goodreads.com)

You know, with how big of a fan of THE SEVEN REALMS series I am, it really pains me to say that I wasn't too big of a fan of THE WARRIOR HEIR. I mean it really does. I tried. I really did. But I didn't love it like I do THE SEVEN REALMS. Considering THE SEVEN REALMS was written later, giving Chima time to hone her craft, and considering how effing awesome it is, maybe my expectations were too high. It's not often I start out with books that came out later in an author's career. But in this case I'm glad I did because I honestly don't know if I'd keep reading this series, let alone more of Chima's work, if I had started with THE WARRIOR HEIR.

It's not the writing. Not really. I found the same type of prose in THE WARRIOR HEIR as I did in THE SEVEN REALMS but the former was missing something. Heart, maybe? The story was decent enough but it felt like it was skimming the surface of what Chima is truly capable of. Again, something else that could be chalked up to higher expectations. It just felt kind of done before. There were some good original elements in there, like the sleeping dragon stone and the portrayal of the underground magical society and the whole battle between the Roses and the lengths they go to in order to sabotage each other. But I wasn't really into it. I found it kind of difficult to pick up the book again once I put it down. It was hard for me to get into.

Maybe it had to do with Jack. I think I felt him more like a pawn than an actual character. I felt the plot move him more than he moved the plot, like he was just coasting along and going with the flow. He wasn't a stand-out character to me. I found him blending into the background too easily, getting pushed out of the way for the big kids to handle it, getting a somewhat easy way out. I wasn't too big of a fan.

I was far more interested in Ellen, for all her standoffishness. And I was hoping there would be more going on with Will and Fitch. I will avoid spoilers but I think shifting into their POVs, in some cases more often, would have benefited the story, given it a little more depth. I did like Longbranch. She played her role well and came off as quite a likable villain. A bit cookie-cutter but I liked her attitude. And Linda was pretty cool too but I felt she was shunted to the side a little too easily. I would have liked to have seen her be more prominent in the story than what she was. She would have provided a good balance for female strength in the story.

Don't get me wrong; it's not a bad story. There's an excerpt of THE WIZARD HEIR at the end and that looked pretty interesting. Just the excerpt made me feel like I'd connect with it just a little more than I did with THE WARRIOR HEIR. But it's not THE SEVEN REALMS. I don't want to say skip the first series and go to the second because this one definitely has its merits. As opposed to what it's not, what it is is a really good fantasy story. If Chima does nothing else, she builds her worlds marvelously and even though I think we're cheated out of some of that world here, what bits and pieces you do get are exceptionally vibrant and stand out on their own. Plus I don't want what happened to me to happen to you: you read one of the most awesome series ever and then go backwards to the author's debut work which, while still good, still provides a pretty big gap.

I think it'd be neat to see Chima's writing improve through the series. I still don't think I'd continue with this particular series because I wasn't thrilled with it but it's not lacking in writing. That's for sure. THE WARRIOR HEIR is very well written and deserves applause for that. So if you, like me, weren't thrilled with THE WARRIOR HEIR, hang in there. I can't vouch for the rest of this series, although I do want to read it at some point, but I can vouch for THE SEVEN REALMS, which is amazing and so totally worth it.

But, you might like this one just as much. They're two different types of fantasy, this one being more urban while THE SEVEN REALMS is more high so you need to take those genre differences into account when reading them because if you lean to one or the other, it's obviously going to color which one you'll like more. But give THE WARRIOR HEIR a try. It definitely deserves it. Not my favorite but it could be yours.

Ban Factor: High - A fantasy world with no Christian godly influence. Big banner fail.

Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersley Cusick

2011-12-27T21:26:00.005-05:00

Republished October 4, 2011.

Martha wants to be happy for her father. She likes his new wife-even if she's a terrible cook-but she doesn't understand why they had to leave Chicago and move to this horrible house in the country. It's big, broken-down, and miles from anywhere, alone in the woods with nothing on the property but an overgrown cemetery. But at night it doesn't feel empty.

Conor-her new, weird stepbrother-chose Martha's new room for her. It's dark and drafty, and no matter how she tries to fix it up, she can't sleep easily there. At night, whispers come from the closet, filling Martha with a sense that something terrible happened here. She's right. Not long ago, the house was the site of a gruesome murder. When Conor and Martha's parents leave town on their honeymoon, the two teens will find out why the dead don't rest easy at the old Bedford house. (netgalley.com)

Hooray! 90s YA cheese is re-emerging! My evil plan is working! What?

Yes, TRICK OR TREAT was originally 90s cheese of my now major obsession. No, it's not a total turd like some cheese is. I was actually really surprised reading this and realizing just how well it transcended time. Initially I thought it might have been updated but with the mention of records, cassettes and VHS tapes, my fears were eased.

I am always super giddy for horror and sometimes that eagerness comes around to bite me in the ass. Not this time. While TRICK OR TREAT may come off as your standard haunted house story, the twist at the end will have you totally creeped out. I certainly didn't see it coming. Then again I'm not really adept at spotting those kinds of things in advance so take that as you will.

Martha comes off a bit insufferable, a drama queen and a definite whiner to begin with so it's really not a surprise when no one believes her when she starts complaining about the creepy house and her cold bedroom. And Conor is a bit of a creep factor. He's really elusive and isn't straight forward when he speaks. Some people might find that mysterious. I pegged him as a baby serial killer. Enter the absentee parents that leave their teen kids alone in a house for weeks while they honeymoon (brilliant!) and you have the beginnings of a super horror story.

So while Martha comes off as a bit ingratiating eventually I did get past her initial complainer attitude and start to sympathize with her plight. The house was affecting her so badly that it was starting to show physically. And still no one believed her. But by the time people started seeing the forest for the trees, it might have been a little too late. Or was it?

TRICK OR TREAT is one of those old school YA horror books that actually has some genuine creepiness to it. Chances are you won't want to read it in the dark. Or during a thunder storm. Or around Halloween. Because who knows what you'll see when the lightening flashes on that old, dying oak in your front yard? Or equally creepy lawn element? TRICK OR TREAT is a good piece of nostalgia that transcends the current YA market and injects some honest to god horror back into the YA world. I love it. I need more.

Ban Factor: High - Horror and crazy bitches. A deadly combination.

In Trouble by Ellen Levine

2011-12-26T17:37:00.005-05:00

Published September 28, 2011.

Jamie and Elaine have been best friends forever, and now they’re finally juniors in high school. Elaine has a steady boyfriend, and Jamie could have one—if she'd just open her eyes and see Paul. But Jamie has a bigger problem to worry about.

Then Elaine gets "in trouble"—something they thought only happened to "other" girls. Are there any good choices for a girl in trouble? (goodreads.com)

Carolrhoda Lab does it again with another gripping story that I get to gush about. Although I will say this is probably my least favorite out of the CL books I've read. I still think very highly of it but I do feel it was lacking something that the other CL books had, mainly depth.

The situation that Jamie and Elaine go through is terrifying. Hell, it's terrifying now, let alone 60 years ago where you were either biblically virginal or a whore, irrespective of what happened to you to get into that "in trouble" position. Elaine's problem was really front and center and while it pulled me in, it also pushed me away from Jamie a bit, and it was her story. So a bit of a flaw in the story-telling. You could really feel for Elaine through Jamie. You could feel her impossible situation but at the same time you could feel Jamie's helplessness when it came to helping her friend. Elaine was a bit lost when it came to the other half of the problem and I know I got frustrated right along with Jamie when Elaine just couldn't see the forest for the trees.

And then things start opening up about Jamie. The little flashes seen throughout the story come to light and things start to click into place. That horror that was projected onto Elaine comes right back around to Jamie. Her situation's different, though. Jamie had more support and options. But here's where I think the story starts to fizzle, when it really gets into Jamie's problem.

Jamie attempts to terminate her problem on her own which results in some terrible moments in the story and I will say I had some tears but the story reached a point where it just zoomed by and before I knew it it was over. It left me wanting more and I think considering the situation of the plot, it would have rendered that. Instead there's a fade to black moment, some skimming and the end of the story. It's Jamie's story but as a reader I was never privy to Jamie coming to terms with her decisions. She made them, yes, but any repercussions she had were skipped over. I think the story could have been so much more had those issues been drawn out more.

IN TROUBLE really is a good story and a quick read but I think it's quickness does more against it than for it. That depth that I think is required for such a topic is absent and the focus is really on the wrong person. And then the story ends far too abruptly to have any real resolution. But it's still good. I liked what I was reading. I could connect with Jamie and I felt everything she did. But overall IN TROUBLE lingered on story elements that should have been shorter and dashed by moments that should have been more drawn out. I ended up feeling a little robbed at the end. I wanted more, especially for the topic. Yes, it sucked what women had to go through back then when they got "in trouble" and it's because of that that I don't feel it should have been glossed over when it got to be Jamie's turn.

Still, I'd recommend to read IN TROUBLE. Just keep in mind going in that for the topic, the story doesn't go very deep.

Ban Factor: High - Teen pregnancy. That's all you need to know. Context doesn't matter. It's all about premarital sex and teen babies.

Beware of the Review Bomb!

2011-12-26T14:27:00.005-05:00

No, it's nothing bad. I just have to put up a bunch of reviews this week to purge what I have left of my 2011 standing pile. I'm far too OCD to carry over books read in 2011 into 2012. Nope. So that'll pretty much all I'll be posting this week so I can get it done. Expect a few more than my normal two reviews a week. Review bomb! Five more reviews to post before the end of the year.

Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw

2011-12-26T09:51:00.008-05:00

Published October 3, 2011.

Michiel feels resentment towards his father, a mayor, seemingly only interested in maintaining the status quo between the town and the German Army. He worships his uncle Ben, an adventurer in contact with the local resistance. During the winter, Michiel's loyalties are tested. When he discovers an injured pilot in the woods, Michiel must find a way to keep the wounded man alive, hidden from the increasingly desperate occupying force.

As Michiel mounts his own small resistance, he becomes aware of the currents of Resistance that are swirling through the town. A German soldier is killed and his death must be revenged so they take six townspeople, threatening to shoot them if the murderer does not surrender. They compromise and shoot only one--Michiel's father. (netgalley.com)

I'm a total sucker for novels set in the European theater of World War II and the fact that this was autobiographical only fueled that fire. I don't know what it is about that war, but I'm drawn to it. It's like I can feel these experiences in my heart and it just keeps pulling me in.

Writing-wise it had a couple of things going against it: it's a translation so some of the beauty of the language was taken away; and, in my opinion, it's written by someone that had a story to tell but wasn't necessarily a writer. And that's okay. The writing as I read it could have been a result of the translation or it could have been the way in which the author told the story. Had it been anyone else, I might have been more critical of the writing but keeping these two factors in mind, coupled with the fact that the story was pretty short, I was able to push the flaws in the writing aside and just read the story. That's not something I'm able to do very often at all. Another testament to how much I love this era of story.

And the story was amazing. Just the notion that the author's real-life experiences fueled WINTER IN WARTIME was such a fantastical feat. That Michiel aided in hiding a British pilot in the woods. How someone so young was working for the underground movement. How he could lose his father simply because the Germans were being retaliatory. It's horrifying that this was real. And it's almost unbelievable. But I believe it. It's probably one of the reasons why I keep reading WWII-era works: writers can't make this stuff up. They really can't. What happened during that time was just so fantastical that creative liberties really need not apply.

It reminds me of THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien (who himself never went to war), which is a Vietnam-placed work of metafiction. And it's entirely fictional but it could have happened. And maybe it did. I guess that's true of any war story in general. While the stamp on the spine says fiction, there are things going on in war that one just can't imagine so who's to say it never really happened?

WINTER IN WARTIME is another excellent addition to any WWII nut's reading collection. The point of view is switched so you're not getting a war story in the sense that there's actual fighting (think BAND OF BROTHERS). You're getting the point of view of a boy living in a country occupied by the Germans. You see the daily life. The fear. The blackouts. It's a different aspect of such an expansive war. And you feel it. Despite the writing, despite the translation, it's an amazing story and it deserves to be read. If you're at all interested in WWII, you won't want to miss it.

Ban Factor: Low - It's an historical. Clean except for a couple background killings. Overlookable by those that don't read.

Added to the Pile + 99

2011-12-25T22:30:00.003-05:00

Haven't had one of these in a while. Which I'm okay with. It's been over a month since I've acquired new reading. Is it bad that I'm kinda cheering about that? Not that I hate books, obviously, but my TBR pile is just so massive that I'm starting to begrudge adding to it. But I'm weeding it out for the new year and while I'm drastically cutting it down, I'm leaving myself with literally piles of books that I'm not sure what to do with. I'll have to figure that one out.

In the meantime, from Orion Nova Buzz Promotions, I received the following -

DEAD OF NIGHT by Jonathan Maberry

Things I've Learned from Books + 131

2011-12-25T19:49:00.002-05:00

Beware of that chick that's all "Let's be BBFs!" right when you move into town. There's a good chance she's a crazy bitch. A little bit of paranoia never hurt anyone.

A Christmas Poem, From Me to You

2011-12-24T12:42:00.003-05:00

aka why I stopped writing poetry, especially poetry with rhyme scheme. Enjoy!

Twas the night before dinner of the holiday kind;

My wife's on amphetamines and I'm losing my mind.

My testicles were grabbed by her fist without care

For I didn't know the green beans didn't go there.

I asked for fresh turkey 'cause that kind's the best.

And dear Kevin claims it was all in good jest.

But since there's now wild poultry shitting in my shoe,

I want to weld his ass to the toilet seat using the strongest of glue.

Will someone get this fucking bird out of here?

Linda's got a list of who can eat what and when -

Constipation for Nana and acid reflux for Ken.

So now your bathroom's filled with laxatives and Tums;

When it comes to bodily functions, god forbid people remain mum.

Rod's car's got an exhaust leak yet he backs it up the driveway.

Carbon monoxide death be damned; gasoline's a good smell to have around anyway.

What holiday's complete without your token screaming baby?

At this point a jackhammer to my skull really wouldn't faze me.

Who the hell invited all these people to spend the night?

Linda said she heard the weather's supposed to be a fright.

Considering I heard record warmth and sun, I have to wonder

Whether the dyslexic meteorologist fed people a blunder.

Oh Jimmy! Oh Charlie! Oh Nancy! Oh Claire!

The dog really doesn't like it when you stick ornaments up there.

C'mon Carol and Bill, would you help me out a little here?

For the safety of my keepsakes, pen your young up somewhere.

The kitchen's ablaze and the smoke detector's going off.

Why the hell is Frank's mouth starting to froth?

Apparently swallowing Alka-Seltzer and Coca-Cola too

Will make a distant relative of Cujo out of you.

So help me, Frank, if that takes the lacquer off the table I'm sticking your head in the oven.

The turkey's now destuffing my antique couch

And Greg, the hemophiliac, just arrived and I swear I heard 'ouch.'

Now here's Kathy and her emo boyfriend, Nick.

Does he wear eyeliner and her jeans to purposely be a prick?

Rosemary's baby just vomited on my widescreen TV,

Proof positive that an exorcism would be good: Flee, demons, flee!

Too bad I already called the priest and he told me nice try.

They actually need to sizzle under holy water for the evil brand to fly.

My Christmas tree that I had spent hours perfecting

Now lies askew against the wall, the notion of holidays it's now vehemently rejecting.

Only half of it is lit at any given time

And the angel's getting sodomized by a holly vine.

Where the shit did you kids learn about that?

Linda just yelled at me for swearing at the children.

Obviously she doesn't know that my outbursts are prudent.

220 over 180, how the hell am I not dead?

I guess drowning it out in eggnog works in nitrate's stead.

There are crayons in my canned cranberry sauce

And the youngest of Carol's spawn just told me to fuck off.

Whose brilliant idea was it to get Greg to chop potatoes?

Blood's not good as far as gravy goes.

I think our neighbors just called the cops

Because the door is echoing with authoritative knocks.

Turns out cousin Willy got caught with his pants down again

And thinks we're nothing short of a bail bondsman.

I don't care about Bubba. Maybe a round of Christmas bitch and wreath around your dick will teach you to keep your clothes on, asshole.

My house smells like farts and there's bird shit on my china.

I really hope this pain in my chest if nothing more than angina.

I'm expected to be smiley and greet our guests with Christmas cheer.

To that I say bite me you all. Just let me self-medicate with beer.

And the winners are . . .

2011-12-24T10:57:00.002-05:00

I have some Michelle Moran/MADAME TUSSAUD winners to announce! So let's have at it!

The winner of the MADAME TUSSAUD prize pack is -

Gina

And the winners of the signed MADAME TUSSAUD bookplates are -

Veronica

Melissa

Bookish in a Box

Congratulations! All of the emails have already been sent out. And a huge thanks to everyone who entered!

80s Awesomeness! ~ 140

2011-12-24T09:19:00.003-05:00

If you've noticed my 80s Christmas movie theme this month, you're probably looking at the Die Hard poster and going WTF? But it's a movie that takes place on Christmas Eve. At a Christmas party. It's the ultimate guys' hard-on Christmas movie. With lines like -

Hans Gruber: [Reading what McClane wrote on the dead terrorist's shirt] "Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho."

~

Theo: [as the SWAT Team closes in]
[over the CB]
Theo: All right, listen up guys. 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except... the four assholes coming in the rear in standard two-by-two cover formation.

~

and John McClane: You throw quite a party. I didn't realize they celebrated Christmas in Japan.
Joseph Takagi: Hey, we're flexible. Pearl Harbor didn't work out so we got you with tape decks.

- how could you go wrong?

Yippee-Ki-Yay, Motherfuckers!

Freaky Friday :|: 140

2011-12-23T22:28:00.002-05:00

Title: The Invitation

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: August 1996

Publisher: Scholastic

Pages: 176

Summary:

It arrives on crisp, ivory paper with elegant gold script. It is an invitation to a party like no other, an invitation to death. (amazon.com)

I won't lie. A little more information would have been helpful. It could be good. It could not. Only one way to find out.

Shift by Charlotte Agell

2011-12-22T22:23:00.006-05:00

Published September 30th, 2008.

In fifteen year-old Adrian Havoc's world, Homestate rules every aspect of society: identity cards need to be carried at all times, evolution is a forbidden topic of discussion, and religious education is enforced in daily "rapture" doses. If life weren't hard enough, now come the threats that the end of the world--SHIFT--is quickly approaching. But Adrian refuses to accept things as they are. He sets out for the toxic Deadlands on a trip that may very well alter the course of the universe. (goodreads.com)

SHIFT had such crazy potential if you're reading the blurb but getting into it, it just felt rushed. Scenes changed in a jolted, jerky sort of way and information was thrown at you without much explanation. Like how the US got to be in this Homestate situation to begin with. Apparently nuclear bombs dropped and took out all of Massachusetts. From what I could tell, Adrian was living in either Connecticut or Rhode Island. Based on driving distance and the directions they were talking about traveling and through which states, those are the only two options that made sense. What didn't make sense was how the entire region wasn't affected by nuclear fallout.

By the time I got to the end of the book I just felt like all of the information was dumped on me and then ran like water on Teflon. It could have been so much better if the pace was slowed down, situations were dwelling on a little more and things weren't so forced. Odd and awkward inserts of curse words throughout the story made it a little weird to read. Every time I came across it it just felt misplaced and it was jarring to read as a result. The psychic sister was nothing more than a tool that helped advance the plot more easily and the penguin was just an excuse to get them to travel. Once it was set free, it stopped serving its purpose and to me it ultimately felt like a sorry excuse to once again further the plot.

Adrian is a bit of a non-conformist with a mother that apparently doesn't care much about him because he disappears for days at a time without her so much as worrying. His whole character just felt like it was trying too hard so I never really connected with him. Shriek, as I said above, was just a plot-serving tool that made sure the pieces were set up for Adrian to nicely resolve the conflict. It felt way too easy and because it was so rushed I was left unsatisfied at the end.

There were some neat concepts and I think the world was broaching on something that could have been awesome but I just felt not enough time was spent in really digging into not only the story but the characters. They were caricatures in their own story instead of actual people. I couldn't believe a lot of it because of the distance I felt. SHIFT felt like a paint-by-numbers story created to ride on the dystopian wave. It had potential, but it's execution was weak and lacking. I can be left wanting in a book but there has to be some satisfaction there. Here there really isn't much. The writing was decent but in a simple kind of way. There wasn't much going on between the lines and I felt that was another area where it could have enriched the story more.

Ban Factor: High - With swearing and the breaking down of a devout Christian regime, the banners would be twitching.

A Giveaway Reminder and Some Winners!

2011-12-21T19:09:00.003-05:00

Okay. First the reminder -

Tonight's the last night to enter to win a Michelle Moran MADAME TUSSAUD prize pack or one of three signed bookplates! So get your entries in by tonight at midnight, EST, for your shot to win.

And now for the winners of my Holiday Book Grab Giveaway!

And the winners are . . .

Cinnamon @ A Thousand Little Pages

Natalie @ Mindful Musings

Bethie

Wrighty

Samantha D

Congratulations! All emails have been sent out and I'm just waiting to hear back from one person. Hooray! A huge thanks to everyone who entered!

A Blue So Dark Only .99 for Kindle!

2011-12-20T20:53:00.004-05:00

In case you haven't heard, Holly Schindler's A BLUE SO DARK is available for Kindle for a mere .99! To add to that, Holly's even willing to sign the copy via Kindlegraph! So what are you waiting for? If you haven't read A BLUE SO DARK yet, now's the perfect time! Go out and buy it. You know you got a dollar.

Contagion by Joanne Dahme

2011-12-19T20:58:00.005-05:00

Published October 5, 2010.

Rose Dugan is a young and beautiful woman living in Philadelphia in the late 19th century passionate about keeping Philadelphia’s water reservoir clean and healthy. But when Rose starts receiving threatening letters, warning her to convince her husband to shut down his plans for a water filtration system or else, things take a turn for the worse. A conspicuous murder and butting heads cause Rose to search for the culprit, the truth, and a way to keep the people of Philadelphia safe from contagion in more ways than one. (goodreads.com)

I almost gave up on this one. Am I glad I stuck it out? Meh. It was okay. What had me wanting to put it down originally was the language. Names were heinously overused in dialogue and for me, that really stands out. People don't say each other's names when talking to each other that often. It just ends up sounding stilted and it was used so much that it grated on me enough to want to walk away. Plus the plot was really lagging at the beginning. It didn't seem to be going anywhere and it was heavily involved in the intricacies of water filtration. Good on the author for knowing her stuff, but I think far too much of that knowledge was transferred to the page unnecessarily. There were points where it really bogged down the plot and I started not wanting to pick up the book again when I put it down.

But once Nellie died, everything picked up and the suspense held me to the page enough that I wanted to keep reading. Just barely. Another pervasive irk was the insistence of people's clothing. Regardless of the POV, both Rose and Sean were exceptionally detailed about what people were wearing. Again, good on the author for being historically accurate, but again I think it was a little too much knowledge transferred to the page for my liking. I got the images the first time around. By the 25th time, I was over it. But the plot, once it picked up with Nellie's death, I was able to push aside these issues that I had and it kept me engaged in the story.

For all of the rather useless information that was dumped throughout, Dahme definitely knows how to write suspense. I absolutely wanted to know if Sean had ulterior motives and if Patrick really was the slime that he appeared to be. I really did want to find out who was behind Nellie's death and whether Patrick's faithful housemaid was just a bit touched or if she was really dangerous.

Really, the best part was how Dahme connected something as innocuous as water filtration to something sinister. It's so subtle yet so horrifying but absolutely believable. In people's bids for power and money, I wouldn't put it past them to make sacrifices out of others. It's been done before and I have no doubt it'll be done again. So while Dahme was heavy-handed with the water works information at the beginning, it did serve a bit of a purpose later on in the story. I think it would have been just as effective without so much but since she's heavy into Philadelphia's water treatment herself, I think it's only natural that it would be front and center in a story like this.

The most infuriating part of the story for me was Rose's insistence at defending her husband despite all of the evidence overwhelming him. Maybe it was a voice of the time, which I do believe. But I'd like to think that even women who were bred to stand by their man would exhibit some kind of independent thought. And since we get to be in Rose's head for half the story, you'd be able to see if something like that cropped up. But how she'd melt at a touch from her husband and forget her worries made me want to scream. I couldn't stand it. It did get very bad towards the end and really colored my vision of Rose but keeping the time in mind, I'm wondering how many options she actually had.

The ending I found both too easy and nominally satisfying. It's a decent juxtaposition. I don't want to spoil it so I'll just say that it wrapped up really abruptly and I think it gave Rose an easy way out. It saved her from actually having to fight and stand up to anyone. That bothered me. But at the same time she did stand up to people, as much as a woman of that time could. So can I really fault her for not being stronger? I don't know. But I was, in some part of me, satisfied with the ending. It rounded out the story nicely and left Rose's life open. It ended in a good spot.

Overall, the suspense was good and if you stick with the plot, it will pick itself up pretty nicely. The story had it's pitfalls but the plot was good enough to just cancel all of that out. Not one of my favorite reads but I'd recommend it just to see how good suspense can be.

Ban Factor: Low - Another historical set in one of the prissiest times in American history. They're really digging if they find something they contest in this one.

Do They Know It's Christmas?

2011-12-18T20:04:00.003-05:00

Every year I have the unrestrained need to bake around Christmas, simply because it's the only time of the year I allow myself to eat my favorite cookie, anginetti. If I went all unruly, I'd be the size of a house. So I figured I'd share not only another one of my favorite Christmas songs but some virtual cookies. Since I can't actually share them with all of you (holy crap, image the electric bill! not to mention my hands), I figured a photo is the next best thing. :) From left to right, anginetti (anise), biscotti (anise), amaretti (almond). Yum!

Giveaway Reminder!

2011-12-18T14:26:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder that today's the last day to enter my Holiday Book Grab Giveaway! You don't want to miss your chance to win one of five surprise Christmas presents so be sure to get your entries in by midnight, EST, tonight! Good luck!

Things I've Learned from Books + 130

2011-12-18T12:32:00.005-05:00

Independent thoughts save lives. Literally. Maybe next time EVERYONE is pointing their fingers at your husband and shoving evidence under your nose, you won't ignore it and end up buried alive. Maybe? Stand by your man only goes to far.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 139

2011-12-17T18:35:00.003-05:00

Nothing says awesome like a mogwai for a Christmas gift. Just don't feed it after midnight (then when the EFF are you supposed to feed it?), don't get it wet and if one has a mohawk, just throw it in a microwave now.

Freaky Friday :|: 139

2011-12-16T22:43:00.003-05:00

Title: Funhouse

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: July 1990

Publisher: Point

Pages: 192

Summary:

When the Devil's Elbow roller coaster goes off track, killing one teenager and maiming two others, everyone thinks it's just an accident . . . except Tess. She saw someone tampering with the track. Then another "accident" occurs in the Funhouse and Tess may have been the intended victim.

Dun dun dun! I think I may own this one. Buried somewhere in my stack o' cheese. I'll take it. Anything taking place at an amusement park is an immediate win for me. The Lost Boys has ruined me.

And so this is Christmas . . .

2011-12-15T21:30:00.000-05:00

A Michelle Moran Giveaway!

2011-12-14T17:02:00.007-05:00

I'm a big fan of Michelle Moran's books so to have the opportunity to help her celebrate the paperback release of MADAME TUSSAUD on December 27th, I was more than willing to get all over that.

So here's what's going on. First, be sure to head on over to the website for Michelle's Heads Will Roll Giveaway starting tomorrow, December 15th. The top ten people with the most liked photos of themselves at Madame Tussaud's will win a signed copy of MADAME TUSSAUD!

But right now you don't have to wait. Now I'm giving away a signed paperback copy of MADAME TUSSAUD along with a pair of earrings (look below!)! Awesome, right? And three other winners will get a signed bookplate! How's that for Christmas presents?

You know the drill. Just fill out the form below for your chance to win!

Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
Must be a follower of this blog to enter.
One entry per person per email address.
Duplicate entries will be deleted.
Giveaway ends 12/21 at midnight, EST.

Lily Renee, Escape Artist by Trina Robbins

2011-12-13T20:27:00.005-05:00

Published November 1, 2011.

In 1938, Lily Renée Wilheim is a 14-year-old Jewish girl living in Vienna. Her days are filled with art and ballet. Then the Nazis march into Austria, and Lily's life is shattered overnight. Suddenly, her own country is no longer safe for her or her family. To survive, Lily leaves her parents behind and travels alone to England. Escaping the Nazis is only the start of Lily's journey. She must escape many more times—from servitude, hardship, and danger. Will she find a way to have her own sort of revenge on the Nazis? Follow the story of a brave girl who becomes an artist of heroes and a true pioneer in comic books. (netgalley.com)

I'm always amazed by the survival stories that come out of occupied Europe, and Lily Renee's is no different. For such a young girl to have to leave home alone, travel to a foreign country where she barely knows the language and try to ride out the war, it's amazing adults were able to do it, let alone a girl that was barely a teenager. But she did it and it really puts the trials in one's life into perspective. Escaping from the Nazis, then from prejudiced English, traveling to America and then fighting adversity to become a pioneering name in comics kind of makes the daily grind of one's life pale in comparison.

But she did it without a thought about it. It was survival mode and Lily did what she had to do to make it. The story is a simple one, told in simple language but it doesn't need to be dressed up. The story itself is already grand. Flowery prose need not apply. Plus the illustrations to go along with it make it stand out all the more. As if you couldn't picture Lily's story in your head just from the words, the images were there to help. Rich and colorful and sometimes frightening, Robbins didn't hold the story back and Timmons and Oh were relentless with the illustrations. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

Whereas something like MAUS, while amazing, is probably too graphic for a younger audience, LILY RENEE tells a realistic story without being gruesome so it makes it a little more easily digestible for a younger reader that might not be able to handle the images in like comics. It'll make them see without making them see too much and it does it without sugarcoating. I'd like to see LILY RENEE, ESCAPE ARTIST in all classrooms as a teaching tool, it's just that good. It's just one of many stories coming out of that time and I'm glad it did. It shows a fight of will and of character and I think everyone should be reading stories like this, just to see what real survival is.

Ban Factor: Low - It's a vanilla historical graphic novel free of swears and anything lewd. Unless banners are offended by the troubles of a young girl escaping Nazi-occupied Europe, they're going to keep their grubby hands off of this one.

Why Your Emails Get Deleted Unanswered

2011-12-12T19:12:00.008-05:00

Because you call me Bites.
Because you call me LitBites.
Because you call me nothing at all.
Because you send me mass emails and I've never worked with you before.
Because you're self-published.
Because I've never worked with you before.
Because you send me your entire manuscript as a PDF attachment.
Because you shower me with praise for my blog but can't get my name right.
Because you tell me you've read my policy and yet you still insist on contacting me.
Because you actually have read my policy, quote from it, and request anyway.

How to remedy this -

If you've never worked with me before, don't bother formatting an email let alone sending one. Read why here.
Get my name right. It's all over my blog. There's no reason why you should be calling me Bites.
Take me off of your mass emailing list or I will spam you.
Don't send me anything as an attachment, ESPECIALLY if I've never worked with you before. Don't be presumptuous in thinking I'm actually going to read anything you send me, ESPECIALLY if it's 400 fucking pages.
Don't lie to me. It's a bad foot to get off on. And I will know if you're lying. It will be heinously obvious.
Your mom may think you're special, but I don't. Don't read my review policy and decide you're so super awesome that you should still request a review. You're not. Your tactic will fail.

Quite frankly, I really don't care that my review policy and it's update post are a little lengthy. If you want any iota of hope of me reading your work, you'll read it and follow it as closely as humanly possible or I will release your email into the internet void like a fart into a hurricane. I may not present myself as a professional in connection with my blog but that doesn't mean professionalism should be checked at the door when authors are trying to get their books read. Do it right and save yourself a lot of time. I respond to all of my emails. If you don't get a response from me, even if it's a nice decline, it means you sent me an email when you shouldn't have because you couldn't be bothered to actually read my policy. Which, in turn, means I couldn't be bothered to consider your email.

So, at the end of the day, all you have to do is read my policy. I'm not taking on any more new books at this time and I'll only accept reviews from an approved list which only I know. If you don't think you're on that list, you're probably not. Listen to your gut. If you're self-published, don't even bother, even when I lift my restrictions. I'm not reviewing your books. Considering the bulk of the review request emails I get are from self-pubbed authors, it only furthers my belief that they're unprofessional and it probably reflects in their work. No, I don't feel bad about it. Why? Because they shouldn't be emailing me to begin with. If they read my policy, they'd know that.

READ MY POLICY. I didn't create it because I was bored. If you can't bother, neither can I. And for the love of fuck don't think you're better than it and attempt to request a review anyway. You'll only anger me immensely and I might be so inclined to respond. Trust me. In that instance, that's the last thing you want. At this point, I'm just fucking tired of people not being able to follow directions. As seemingly educated adults, it really shouldn't be this big of a problem. It saddens me on the inside that it is.

Stupid Christmas by Leland Gregory

2011-12-11T20:44:00.004-05:00

Published October 5, 2010.

From absurd 911 calls to presidential philosophizing and foolish felons, Leland Gregory generates the best laughs by exposing the worst of human nature. Following up his New York Times best-selling Stupid American History, Gregory sets his sights on the holidays as he exposes mind-numbing mistletoe maladies in Stupid Christmas: Idiots under the Mistletoe.

Perhaps it's the spiked eggnog or the multiple family members gathered around crazy-colored, twinkly lights, but the holidays are rife with idiocy by the daft and the dumb. Inside this latest collection, Gregory offers more than 200 accounts of holiday-induced stupidity, including:

* While smoke billowed out of the store, firefighters had to physically restrain enthusiastic shoppers from entering a Great Lakes Mall store during an electrical fire.

* In 1995, officials debated over whom to invite to the city's Christmas tree ceremony: President Bill Clinton or the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

* As a joke, Andrew Jackson sent formal invitations to his Christmas ball to a well-known mother-and-daughter prostitute team in Salisbury, North Carolina. (goodreads.com)

Overall it was a cute read. It got some chuckles out of me. No plot to speak of, of course, but I wouldn't necessarily call someone that just rehashes dumb stories pulled from other sources an author. I'm not trying to say that to be mean or anything. I'm just saying Gregory, in my eyes, is more of an editor than an actual author. Sure he retold these stories to the reader but I didn't feel the voice was all that amazing or anything. Cute, but that's about it.

STUPID CHRISTMAS works well as a stocking stuffer for that hard-to-buy-for person with the quirky sense of humor. There are outright funny stories in these pages, along with some that are slightly horrifying. But they're all interesting to read. And it's a quick read at that. Something that you zoom through, get your fill of human stupidity and set it aside. Maybe hand it off to someone else or else pull it out each holiday season and use it as coffee table fodder next to your dancing Santa Claus.

My favorite blurb, though, was all so poignant to us book lovers -

A public library in Oberlin, Ohio, unveiled a holiday display by conceptual artist Keith McGuckin that featured a legless Santa Claus in a wheelchair being pushed down the stairs by an evil Christmas tree. A narrative that accompanied the image explained that Santa had lost his legs when they got entangled in power lines during an alcoholic binge and that the sadistic tree is planning on stealing the money in a Salvation Army kettle and visiting a strip club. A December 4, 2008, article from United Press International quoted library director Darren McDonough as saying that the display would remain in place during the holiday season and to "Remember the old library saying - 'If we don't having something to offend you, we're not going our job.'"

Loved it. This one really tickled me so. This is also a good example of the length and style of the writing. Not bad, but not really indicative of any kind of stand out voice, in my opinion. I'm just getting retold some silly stuff. It's like of like giving Bob Sagat credit for the videos that's he simply replaying on America's Funniest Home Videos. You get the cute little asides but, at the end of the day, it's really someone else that provides the entertainment.

Like I said, STUPID CHRISTMAS is cute and works great as a stocking stuffer. I learned some mind-numbing stuff about my area as it's so featured in this snarky book. I just don't see anyone needing to read this one more than once, though. I wouldn't be surprised with its regifting potential. Hey, at least it's better than a singing fish.

Ban Factor: Medium - While free of swearing and lewdness, it is poking fun at anything and everything it can get its hands on, including religion. But then banners would need to READ it to see that. That may be asking too much.

Holiday Book Grab Giveaway!

2011-12-11T16:57:00.004-05:00

Following on my own coattails from last year, I'm having the Holiday Book Grab Giveaway again this year! This is my lovely new tree. If you remember from last year the lights on the bottom half of the old one were ghetto-rigged with light strings because the pre-lit potion was out. This year it's all fresh and new and shiny and bought for $50 on sale at Target. Hooray! Still fake, and even Solider Boy, who's a self-proclaimed Grinch, called me blasphemous for having a fake tree. I'm okay with it. I don't have to deal with the smell of Tanqueray or covering my apartment in sap. I'll survive.

Okay, so this year I have 5 separate presents to give away to 5 awesome winners, but one of those lovely wrapped gifts is a bonus. It doesn't contain just one book but three! But which one is it? Hmmmm . . . Here's what I'm giving away -

ENCLAVE by Ann Aguirre (ARC)
FIRELIGHT by Sophie Jordan (ARC)
THE IRON FEY set including THE IRON DAUGHTER, THE IRON QUEEN and THE IRON KNIGHT by Julie Kagawa (ID and IQ finished copies, IK ARC)
THE GRAY WOLF THRONE by Cinda Williams Chima (finished copy)
NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer (ARC)

Like last year, I'll pull the names of 5 people who will then give me a number from one to five and then they'll get that particular gift in the mail! What you get will be a total surprise! Nothing fancy to enter. Just your usual -

Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
Entrant must be a follower of this blog and provide your Google Friend Connect name (the name on your Blogger profile).
One entry per person per email address.
Duplicate entries will be deleted.
Giveaway ends December 18th at midnight, EST.

Fill out of the form below for your chance to win! Good luck!

Things I've Learned from Books + 129

2011-12-11T11:12:00.002-05:00

Christmas has the potential to be so much worse than just the influx of heinous Christmas sweaters. For this minor inconvenience we need to be thankful, for it is only temporary.

YAckers Review: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

2011-12-10T22:06:00.005-05:00

Published September 29, 2011.

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities. (goodreads.com)

It was a pretty much general consensus that this book was full of love. While we all had our minor quirks with it, overall, we were falling just short of fangirling.

Of course, I think we need to start with the initial reactions. Melissa was all like, "MJ's certainly outdone herself this time... One of my favorites of hers (which means the fact that I impulse bought it so she could sign it wasn't a waste. Thank heavens)." Then I said, "I will say that I want to place this book on the floor, open to the middle, and roll around on it like a dog rolls around in the grass, goofy ass smile and all. Is that weird.?" To which Laura affirmed, "Nope, your reaction is completely normal. There's a hell of a lot of awesome in it." Of course, I was super excited about "No love triangle. OMFGBBQ a YA novel WITHOUT a love triangle!" Melissa backed me up with "OMFG I can figure out but BBQ??? And you're right: I didn't even think of it that way, but that is one bit of awesomeness there."

Laura then wanted to get into the scary - "I DO NOT read scary books, watch scary movies, think scary thoughts or go out in the dark because I am a giant wuss but I wanted to read this book even knowing that it was about Jack the Ripper. AND IT WAS SCARY. Not in a blood and gore way but in a wtf-ghost-of-Jack-the-Ripper-is-killing-people-and-now-I-have-a-NEW-thing-to-be-afraid-of kind of way. I WAS SCARED STUPID WHEN- "Jack" suddenly appeared behind Rory when she was climbing back in through the dorm window. He was so calm and polite and smiling that I think that scared me more than anything. I like my evil to be diabolical and chaotic so that it's easily recognized- I don't want it to be nice to me.

So what part SCARED YOU STUPID?"

Melissa's response - "I think the whole final scene in the subway station. Sure it was the same-old showdown that you see everywhere, but I was terrified. That, and the whole atmosphere of not knowing who the Ripper was. Scared the pants off me."

Then I said - "It takes a lot to actually scare me so I wasn't really scared reading this one but I was waving the horror banner for it. The pivotal moment for me was when Jack swung Boo right in front of the car and he's all like don't lie to me bitch or people will get hurt to Rory. Pure genius. I love authors that are unafraid to do what needs to be done for their story. Up until this point, I felt that Jack had a soft spot for Rory. Nope! It made him all the more terrifying. As if him slicing people up wasn't bad enough. When that element of "no one is safe" finally hits the pages, it elevates the horror story for me into someone amazing." Melissa backed me up again with - "Agreed! MJ said, when I saw her in TX back in Oct, that it's the author's job to make your character suffer. She obviously practices what she preaches." I agreed with - "I love her for making her characters suffer. Nothing says crappy writing like characters getting everything easy. Johnson went above and beyond to make her characters work for their ending."

Sya jumped in with her two cents - "I found the whole thing very creepy, but a lot creepier BEFORE the idea of Shades appeared. Jack The Ripper gives me the willies, anyway and the writing was suitably atmospheric. I liked how MJ combined this with the whole fish out of water thing and I thought the school life side of things was really nicely written. My only complaint would be that it reminded me massively of a series I'd recently re-watched called Whitechapel, which dealt with a Ripper copy cat. Some of the scenes were (inevitably) so similar that I felt I was reading my own copy cat. I understand that when dealing with the whole copy cat thing that's the whole point but it did lead to me feeling it had all rather been done before. However, I suspect that Whitechapel was only shown in the UK (although you should ALL look it out as it's brilliant) and therefore this wouldn't bother US readers."

Of course, where would a discussion be if I didn't get off on a ramble about something technical? "What really pulled me in about Name of the Star was the setting. Having been a study abroad student, I could relate to Rory so well, from the weight of her luggage to being the "only one" with an accent. I think outside of the story, Johnson captured the subtleties of setting perfectly and ended up sucking me in even more. I could still feel the damp rain, taste the weird food (sorry, Sya! some of it is strange, like the Brits' affinity for beans on everything, and they're not the brown sugar beans!) and just the little things that Rory craved from home and cherished, like her cheez whiz. The setting as a whole, for me, just hugged the plot in its tight embrace and blended everything together all seamless-like. Everything just rang true to me.

Anyone else have any thoughts on the setting?"

While I kind of threw a bit of a dud into the questions pot, some of my fellow YAckers did have things to add. Like Melissa, who said "Um. Not that I can put in so eloquent of words. My thoughts are along the lines of: The setting? Yeah, it rocked. Actually I'm not a setting person; I get into plot and characters more and let the setting fade into the background. And I feel like MJ is such a character person: hers pop off the page and into real life. (I seriously have a crush on Spencer from Suite Scarlett) And in this case, I thoroughly loved Rory and Jaz (that was her name, right?), and the setting more than supported that love."

Then Laura proceeded to frighten me a little - "Now, y'all know I like to do the good talkin' when every I can. It don't always come out all eloquent like but when we hicks go cross the pond there we still try to act like we have at least a bit of home schoolin'. MJ was very generous letting Jack be as nice and polite to Rory as he was. We all know that ain't how it would have happened because ain't many dead English serial killers out there that speak southern . . .So no, I don't have much to say about the setting. Well, other than, EVERYTHING is scarier when it takes place in a strange boarding school." Then Jillian jumped in with "I too liked the setting part of the story. It was what mainly pulled me in the story. I do love places with such a rich history!"

Jillian then threw down with a few questions, starting with "Did anyone else read this book MAINLY for the Jack the Ripper-ish premise? I have to be honest; it was what made me even interested in reading it! Sooooo what pulled YOU in the most?"

Sya was the first to get in on that - "I was definitely attracted to the book due to the Ripper premise - I think it's a mystery that still obsesses much of Britain and is truly creepy. I wasn't sure about the whole ghosty mythology - I thought it was a little rushed." Melissa added "I didn't actually know that much about Jack the Ripper before reading this book. I'm not into the whole serial killer thing. If it wasn't MJ, I wouldn't have read it. And even then, I wouldn't have been as interested in reading it if I hadn't heard her speak at the Austin Teen Book Festival. So, really: MJ herself pulled me in the most. Once there, though, I was completely hooked." Jillian came back in and rounded it out with - "I have to agree that I thought the ghost mythology stuff was rushed! I felt like it was just like, 'surprise! this is a story about paranormal stuff!' I sort of wish it was just about Jack the Ripper and an actual and new serial killer on the loose! In my opinion only of course! not that MJ's premise wasn't good.. because it obviously was . . .For some reason Jack the Ripper's one of those figures in history that's always been extra intriguing to me! I mean, how can such an evil person, who did evil things, got away with his crimes? Mystery crimes have always been really interesting to me, so maybe that's why I was highly intrigued with its premise"

Jillian followed up her first question with - "If you could change anything about the Name of the Star, what would it be? And what did you think of the characters? I personally would change the characters and their development! For some reason, I thought they lacked a bit and I couldn't really find myself empathizing with them or even rooting for them!"

Sya was the first off the line - "I'd have more time spent on the mythology of the whole ghostie thing - I thought it all felt a bit rushed. I quite liked the characters, although a few of them (particularly whatserface Ghostbuster/fake student - sorry, I don't have the book to hand and her name for the moment escapes me) seemed a little depthless. I liked Rory, though." I was right behind her with "I don't want to be that person that says I wouldn't change anything so I'm going to say Boo (that's her name, Sya!). She was just a little . . . much to me. Plus it made the segue into the Shades a little brash and abrupt and I think they let Rory in a little too quickly but even that's a reach for me to say. I just loved this book so." Melissa added "My biggest complaint was that the whole ending in the bathroom was a bit... anti-climatic and unconvincing. But that's it. Really." And Laura brought up the rear with "I thought Boo was needlessly annoying and I could have done without her. I was also unimpressed with Rory's "love" interest- if you could even call him that. No chemistry what so ever. I wanted her to fall for the library ghost :) What sold everything for me, aside from it being a really kick ass, freaky serial killer ghost story, was Rory. She was loveable, likeable and extremely cool. I'm currently reading another story by MJ (Let it Snow, Sya Bruce!) and I think writing kick-ass leading ladies may be her strong point."

A good place to end our YAcker review would be with Jillian's final question - "What would be your favorite thing/s about the Name of the Star?"

I was the first eager beaver here - "Just the way it made me feel. I've been in Rory's shoes, an American living in London's East End so I felt everything she did. Plus the story was pretty awesome too." Sya was next with "The whole Jack the Ripper aspect being put into a modern context. Like I said previously, it's been done before but still works. More serial killers in YA - MORE!" Laura was right there with "I liked that it was scary! I never read anything even slightly scary (remember that I'm a wuss) and not only did I read it but I couldn't put it down. Such is the power of its awesome. I'm so big and brave now that I could shovel-decapitate zombies, or better yet, go to Walmart at 5pm." Melissa popped in and said "I find MJ to be hilarious. Seriously. I like all the little asides and snide comments. Character and setting be dammed; I like that MJ makes me *laugh*." Jillian said "My favorite thing would be the Jack the Ripper idea too as well as the setting!" With Sab rounding out the discussion with "I second the Jack the Ripper twist too, specially the first half when you still don't know that there are ghosts involved. It was very exhilarating and thrilling! and scary as hell."

So yeah, you think we all liked it? After the turd that the first book ended up being, it was a wonderful early Christmas gift for us all to get to read this amazing book. If you haven't read THE NAME OF THE STAR yet, put it on your Christmas wish list and FedEx it to Santa ASAP. It's definitely a must read!

YAckers involved in this discussion -

Ban Factor: High - Ghosties will do it. Not to mention the graphic detail of the murders.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 138

2011-12-10T11:10:00.003-05:00

Oh yeah. That's right. What Christmas would be complete without National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? From those damn Christmas lights, the in-laws, the yuppies next door and Eddie's black dickey under a white shirt, it just reeks of holiday festivities. Plus it's still one of the real, good National Lampoon movies. You just can't fail with Chevy Chase.

My 2012 Promise

2011-12-09T22:19:00.007-05:00

I just don't care.

Not that I don't care about my own blog, or about other people. What I don't care about is what you do on your blog because that's all you. I came to the slow but steady realization late this year that complaining about how other bloggers handle their blogs will only result in flared tempers, mild pissy fits and gritted teeth. By the one getting cranky. The person/people it's directed at? Just what are the chances that they'll change because someone else complained, usually indirectly, about what they had on their blog or how they operated? Slim to none. Really, what's the point in getting all riled up about something you have absolutely no control over?

I will readily admit I've done my share of complaining. My most recent gripe from a few months ago was about personality-less blogs filled with nothing but memes. Yeah, they're annoying and they grate me to see. But really, if that's how you want to run your blog, that's your prerogative. Who am I to try and get you to change? Who is anyone? I've also commented on music (which is annoying but ultimately easily remedied by a volume control), bad colors (feed reader anyone?) and CAPSCHA (I still don't understand why people go feral over this). And let's not forget negative reviews. Oh how that one keeps cropping up! But you know what? If I want to write a 100% negative review because I found absolutely NOTHING redeeming about a book I just read, what's it to anyone else but me? If I'm justified, if my opinion is supported, why should I attempt to find something good despite the fact that I really couldn't simply because I run the risk of getting backhandedly harangued about it by someone else? I just don't care enough.

And because I came to this realization that getting worked up over something not in my control isn't worth my time, seeing other people posting about it kind of got me angry (kind of counterproductive, I know). Listen, I've been doing this for three years next month and the entire time I've been doing it, I've seen post after post after post, across different bloggers and amongst the same bloggers, offering words of advice on how to fashion one's blog, how to write reviews (or not) and so on. But it gets to a point where one really needs to ask oneself -

Really, where does the help end and the nagging begin? Where does the fault lie; with the person unwilling to change their blog to conform to the wills of others or to the people that insist on stating the same opinion repeatedly with the hopes that, maybe this time, it'll change? I'm not on eleven billion social networking sites. I barely use Twitter. I only cross-post my reviews at 3 other sites. I don't post enough reviews. I prefer CAPSCHA. Whose problem is this other than my own, if I were so inclined to call it a problem?

If someone was seriously adamant about improving their site, they'd seek out the information for themselves because there is a shit-ton of it out there. But to see it posted over and over and over again saying, essentially, you kind of suck because you do or don't do this, that and the other thing and you'll stay kind of sucking until you change, it makes me doubt myself and I'll be damned if I do that in my own space. And I'll be damned if I make someone else feel like that. I got enough of that shit in high school.

So if you want to use CAPSCHA, I say use it. If someone is so feral against it that they will absolutely not visit your blog until you remove it, quite frankly I don't think that's someone you want visiting your site. If you don't feel comfortable removing it, don't remove it. Same goes for music, negative reviews, shitty layouts and whatnot. Learn by doing works for a lot of people, like me. I don't learn by being talked at. On the adverse side, if you want to continue posting those seemingly helpful posts, have at it. You won't see me complaining about it in 2012. You also won't see me reading them either. Because I just don't care enough. The unfollow function is a wonderful thing.

As someone that works in a professional business industry, I'm fully capable of weeding out my problem clients from my darling clients, even with there being hundreds of them and only one of me. I think it's safe to say the publishers and the publicists and the authors can do the same thing. If someone's super shitty at reviews, it'll show. You won't be the only one to see it. If someone's site is so bad that it's inaccessible, other people will notice it too. If someone's an unprofessional dick, GUARANTEED that will get noticed. So I just don't see the point in getting worked up over something that no one could control if they tried unless they happened to be that particular blog owner. And because of that I don't see the point in trying to force (or should I say strongly suggest?) personal preferences on other people simply because it appears to be the majority thinking.

So in 2012 I promise not to complain about the actions or websites of other bloggers unless it's something that directly affects me. Like someone stealing my shit. Oh I won't let that one go. Or someone making an unrelated comment on a post to shill their own blog. No dice. Things like that I can control. Blogo-botting, music, CAPSCHA, shameless self-back-patting, bad colors, ad nauseum I can't. So what do I care? Someone else's use of CAPSCHA doesn't affect me. Someone with an undying passion for memes isn't my problem. What I care about is my blog and how I function and I'm going to stick to it.

I understand that people view the book blogging world as a blanket term. One blogger is just like the next. But we know that isn't the case. We don't function under a common system. We don't answer to anyone but our individual selves. No matter how much we insist, we can't force people to change. They're going to have to want to change on their own and, if it were me, if I had people stuffing "recommendations" down my throat I'd fight it just out of principle. But that's just me.

So consider me out of the ring of book blogger nagging/helping/advice next year. I don't like the way it makes me feel and I don't want to impose that feeling on anyone else, if I haven't done it already. Does this make me sensitive? Maybe to some. Personally I'm just over it all. Run your blog how you like; just leave mine to me.

Freaky Friday :|: 138

2011-12-09T19:46:00.004-05:00

Title: Prom Date

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: May 1, 1996

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Pages: 284

Summary:

It's the biggest event of the year at Toomey High - Prom Night. Popular girls like Stephanie and Kiki will be going, but Margaret and her friends do not have dates. Then Stephanie is found murdered, and Kiki has a nasty accident. Is someone trying to kill off the competition? (fantasticfiction.co.uk)

Oh how . . familiar. I'm guessing this was a really popular theme back in the 90s. I'm pretty sure I read one just like it by RL Stine, where one chick goes totally insane because she doesn't like competition so she starts killing off prom queens. In fact the title was PROM QUEEN. I'm wondering how similar this one is.

Deviant by Adrian McKinty

2011-12-08T21:13:00.004-05:00

Published October 1, 2011.

Danny Lopez is new in town. He made a mistake back home in Las Vegas, and now he has landed at an experimental school in Colorado for "tough cases." At the Cobalt Charter School, everything is scripted-what the teachers say, what the students reply-and no other speaking is allowed. This supercontrolled environment gives kids a second chance to make something of themselves. But with few freedoms, the students become sitting ducks for a killer determined to "clean up" Colorado Springs. (netgalley.com)

DNF.

I tried. I didn't succeed. I found the opening chapter exceptionally disturbing and thankfully the rest of the story didn't carry on from that POV because I don't know if I would have been able to get through it. It's about an unknown boy (not Danny) about to kill and mutilate a cat. Pretty gross. But it's written succinctly. It roiled up a pretty strong reaction in me. So the writing did it's job. But that's where it left me.

After that, it snaps into Danny's head but it doesn't stay there. The whole story reads kind of schizophrenic in that it's kind of limited third but it's talking in an almost stilted, highly educated voice that is not befitting Danny at all. And then it head-hops something awful. It's jarring to switch POVs from one sentence to the next. Very few authors can do it and have it flow. McKinty isn't one of them. It just felt all over the place, I couldn't get a grip on any of the characters and from what I was seeing, I didn't like most of them.

Danny's a bit of a jerk, not bailing out his step-dad simply because he didn't want to (the thing with the cops was all a misunderstanding, easily solved should Danny have opened his mouth). His step-dad is the token hippy guy with some of the most cliched dialogue I've ever come across. Danny's mom is just as cliched and is barely a presence in the story up to the point where I stopped reading (about 100 pages in). The interaction between these three is something out of a paint-by-numbers lesson on parental dialogue. It was painful at times to read.

Info-dumps are set up through awkward dialogue (everyone's guilty of this) and there's far too much name-dropping going on. And then the interjections with the mystery boy and his cat obsession were really weird and didn't seem to be going where. I get it. It's funky and mysterious. Get on with it.

Just the whole thing felt forced and it eventually became a burden to read. It got to a point where I was begrudging having to read it. That's usually a good time to stop. The plot had great potential and the set-up for the school was well-played. It's definitely a bit of a creepy place. But the overall execution fell short for me. I just felt the writing wasn't up to snuff and the emphasis was usually in places it didn't really need to be, and was grossly lacking where it should have been. Maybe the story got more intriguing but I couldn't tough it out.

Ban Factor: High - Just judging by the beginning of this one and it's potential cat mutilation, that would be enough to make it highly offensive to baby eyes.

And the winner is . . .

2011-12-07T21:12:00.000-05:00

The winner of a copy of THE IRON KNIGHT by Julie Kagawa is . . .

Xia!!!

Congratulations! I've already sent you an email. And a big thanks to everyone who entered!

November TBR Pile Update

2011-12-07T16:49:00.004-05:00

*rubs hands together evilly* I think I did good this month! Mainly because I think I acquired a total of two books (in hindsight I think it was a little more than that but oh well). And I know I read far more than that. So let's prove it!

The original -

With my original NetGalley list -

I ended up evening out last month with a not-too-cool 270. What did I end up with this month? 262! Woohoo! I'd call that a win! Shit, one down would be a win for me. But that's a pretty big jump compared to what I'm normally used to so I'll take it.

My current pile -

With my digital reads (from NetGalley unless otherwise stated) -

DREAMING ANASTASIA by Joy Preble (free copy from BN)
DITCHED by Robin Mellom
THE BUTTERFLY CLUES by Kate Ellison
TRICK OR TREAT by Richie Tankersley Cusick
101 THINGS YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ABOUT THE TITANIC . . . BUT DIDN'T! by Tim Maltin
DROWNING INSTINCT by Ilsa J. Bick

MESMERIZE by Artist Arthur

ESCAPING TITANIC by Marybeth Lorbiecki

TITANIC by Philip Wilkinson

TIME VOYAGE by Steve Brezenoff

There's a slight theme going on with my digital copies (actually there are 4 like titles, the Brezenoff title is centered around Titanic). Believe it or not, I was wondering why so many Titanic titles were coming out in 2012. Duh. Not getting it? Google it.

The Girl's Guide to Werewolves by Barb Karg

2011-12-06T21:15:00.005-05:00

Published September 18, 2009.

The good news is: He's tall, dark, and handsome.

The bad news is: He's short-tempered, a bit hairy, and has a tendency to howl at the full moon.

. . . Which makes bringing him home to meet mom and dad a bit difficult. How do you expect him to meet the family when he's shedding on the furniture and sharpening his nails? Will he have more in common with the family dog than you? Will he leave you for a hairy hottie? No worries-in this guide, you will learn everything you need to know about these wild boys, including:

How to spot a werewolf
What to do when he changes shape
How to avoid his animalistic mood swings
How to destroy the savage beast (before he destroys you!)
The best-and worst-werewolf books and filmsWith this book, all ladies in love with lycanthropes learn how to tame their creatures of the night!

If you find yourself crushing on these beastly bad boys, The Girl's Guide to Werewolves will teach you how to train and tame your creature of the night! (book back blurb)

See, that blurb is a bit misleading but ultimately in a good way: it's not as cutesy as it's made out to be. Thanks to the likes of certain glittering vampire movies, Karg's book is trying to cater to a particular female pubescent clientele that may or may not have an affinity for a particular shirtless "werewolf," of which she mentions constantly throughout the book. But THE GIRL'S GUIDE is actually a really good cliff notes source for all things werewolf, without pictures. Chagrin, Team Jacob. Chagrin.

From their very beginnings in legends and lore to their current cinematic manifestations, Karg covers them all in quick succession. If you're a writer looking for an easy way out but not willing to go all SMeyer-lazy, THE GIRL'S GUIDE is a great tool to use for those quick and easy look-ups. From how the varieties transform, to what they look like, to how they're killed and the celluloid offspring they spawned, you can find it here. Are there more comprehensive guides out there? Of course. But I'm sure none have the spunk of THE GIRL'S GUIDE.

So don't be fooled by the title, the cover or the book blurb. THE GIRL'S GUIDE is a good book to have when you're just getting into the werewolf lore. Don't be turned off at the notion that it actually plays into the same scheme as the likes of THE VAMPIRE IS JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU does. It doesn't. Like I said, the kitch is a ploy to bring in the Twihards. There's genuine information between these covers that you don't want to miss, especially if werewolves are your thing.

It just kind of saddens me that publishers think they need to strum the heartstrings of Twihards everywhere in order to get this to sell. Marketing it for the information bloom it is should have been enough, in my opinion. Sure it's snazzy and quirky and plays pretend really well. But it would be a shame for THE GIRL'S GUIDE to get thrown aside by the same market that actually wants to know how to bag a werewolf. Because girlies, this one doesn't actually do that.

So when you pick up THE GIRL'S GUIDE, just remember you'll get a fill of werewolf information when you read and you'll be fine. Then, if this has piqued your interest enough, move on to the meatier stuff. Just remember where you started.

Ban Factor: High - The supernatural always does it in. And since this one is talking about getting with a werewolf, they'd be salivating to kill it.

Giveaway Reminder!

2011-12-05T20:49:00.003-05:00

Attention all! Today's the last day you'll have to enter to win a copy of THE IRON KNIGHT! So click on the link above before midnight, EST, tonight and be sure to enter for your chance to win! You don't want to miss it.

The Simpsons Mocks YA?! Surely You Jest!

2011-12-04T18:27:00.004-05:00

At least it was all in good fun. And, I think, a rather poignant jab at not only the likes of YA manufacturers like Full Fathom Five but the tendency of the publishing industry to ride a wave raw.

The general gist of the show, Lisa gets her book bubble burst when she finds out that one of her favorite authors isn't actually an author but a cover model and the series this person supposedly penned was cranked out by a bunch of "drugged up lit majors." Homer, in all his glory, wants some quick cash and realizes the best way to do that is capitalize on the YA craze, get a team together and write a book. Lisa, of course, protests and vows to write her own book but, like any good writer, procrastination gets in the way. Neil Gaiman pops in with a prominent role in the episode, titled The Book Job, and serves as food bitch to Homer and Co.

While this article wishes the message were a little more accurate (that, really, not ALL YA is pumped out in a writing factory), I ultimately don't think it's needed. It is, after all, The Simpsons. This is, after all, a parody. Is the overall context true? Pretty much. But those of us that do the reading know full well that authors are real and something like this takes up a small corner of the market. And there are people out there that don't mind the manufactured books. I'm not talking about the copycats but books like I AM NUMBER FOUR that really are work-for-hire books, written by one person, or a couple o people and masked by a name that isn't theirs. That's okay if they do (I personally don't, especially with who owns that particular business, plus I'm not a fan of how it belittles reader tastes, but that's just me). Love for a book is love for a book and the show asks, does it really matter who wrote it?

For me, most of the time it does. I probably would have liked I AM NUMBER FOUR if it were actually well-written. I was a huge fan of THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB. A lot of popular books have been ghost written and pseudonymously authored. I like my authors, though. I like knowing that the book I hold in my hands was created out of love of writing, not purely out of want of money. Passion can't be faked, no matter how much money is involved.

If you still haven't seen the episode, you can catch it on Hulu. It's definitely worth the 22 minutes. It's hilarious!

Things I've Learned from Books + 128

2011-12-04T13:45:00.003-05:00

Most of the time excess chest hair is immensely horrific . . . and the least of your worries, especially where the moon is concerned.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 137

2011-12-03T17:31:00.004-05:00

1983 not only spawned me, but the world was bestowed with another enduring bundle of joy. Mother Hollywood shot out A Christmas Story that year, gracing us with the joys of leg lamps, triple dog dares and pellet guns. With tongues frozen to metal poles, dogs eating the Christmas turkey and 'oh fudge!,' but not, being uttered all over the world, it's really not a surprise that A Christmas Story has remained a classic. And plays for 24 hours straight at Christmas. I love the movie, but that's a little much. Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra!

Freaky Friday :|: 137

2011-12-02T23:35:00.004-05:00

Title: Nightmare Hall: The Voice in the Mirror

Author: Diane Hoh

Published: November 1995

Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks

Summary:

Annie is terrified when she learns the truth about her friend, whose split personality includes an evil half that believes every girl he meets is the reincarnation of a girl he once murdered, and Annie may become his newest victim. (amazon.com)

The plot alone sounds a bit schizophrenic. I like it. Just not the mirrors. I hate mirrors. Shit lives on the other side of that reflective surface.

Awkward Family Pet Photos by Mike Bender and Doug Chernack

2011-12-01T21:15:00.006-05:00

Published November 1, 2011.

Pets. They love us unconditionally, shower us with affection, and because of them, we actually live longer. So, what can possibly be awkward about our animal BFFs? Well...nothing. In fact, we're the awkward ones. Let's face it-- sometimes our adoration for them makes us go a little overboard. Like giving them middle names or convincing ourselves that they really want to wear the pink diamond-studded Prada collar. Truth is, what they really cherish is our companionship, a belly rub, and a treat every now and then. And maybe that's the reason we care about them so much - because for such simple pleasures, they allow us to be as awkward as we want. (netgalley.com)

From the people that brought you awkwardfamilyphotos.com and awkwardfamilypetphotos.com, they bestow upon you the book form of the latter, filled to the brim with awkward people and pets looking chagrined. Really, you're either going to love something like this or you're going to hate it. If you hate it, I'm pretty sure you don't have a soul. Because really, who doesn't like to gaze upon picture after picture of horribly awkward people inflicting their deep-seated dorkiness onto their non-human loved ones? It'll give you the chance to laugh, even for just a moment, as you project the horror onto someone other than yourself. That is, after you fix the antlers on your dog.

There's really not much to say about AWKWARD FAMILY PET PHOTOS other than poor animals and hilarious people. It's nice to know that people can laugh at themselves. Because when it's 1986 and you're posing with your cockatiel and you both have matching hair, if you can't laugh at that, you're going to give yourself an ulcer.

AWKWARD FAMILY PET PHOTOS would make a great Christmas gift for the jokester in your family, or a super stocking stuffer for anyone. Image the conversations that would ensue with this book lying about on your coffee table. You might find far more out about your neighbor than you were willing to live with. But that's okay. That's what evergreens are for. Really high evergreens.

With quirky commentary and photos so epically awkward they're have you laughing until you cry, AWKWARD FAMILY PET PHOTOS is something you not only need to buy for yourself, but for all of your loved ones. If they don't appreciate it, see above re: soul.

Ban Factor: Medium - Because banners can't laugh at themselves, it's nominally likely they wouldn't get the humor here and would want it killed dead.

Bloomsbury's Epic Holiday E-Book Deals!

2011-11-30T20:29:00.007-05:00

Is it really any surprise that Bloomsbury is jumping into the awesome ebook deals parade that seems to be going around lately? Well it shouldn't. And they've marked down some awesome books for the season! From now until January 6th, Bloomsbury's marked down 60 of their titles to $3.99 or less! What a steal, right? And they're available for every digital format. Check out the flyer below and then head on over to your favorite retailer to snag some books! Some titles you can get?

So what are you waiting for? Go buy!

Author Bites - Kendare Blake on POV

2011-11-29T21:05:00.003-05:00

After I read ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, I wanted to gently place it onto the floor and roll around on it like a dog in the grass. YA needs more horror like this. So of course, because I loved it so much, I just HAD to have Kendare stop by and say a few things about this marvelous story she's written. And she agreed! Yay! This little piece was originally written to appear in a Tor newsletter but stuff happened and now I have it. Yay again! Thanks for stopping by, Kendare!

The Girl in the Picture: Perspective choices in Anna Dressed in Blood

Kendare Blake

One of the most frequent questions I’ve been asked since people started reading ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD, is, “How did you decide on Cas as the narrator? Why a male point of view?”

I’m not going to touch on the last part. It’s a male point of view because Cas is a boy. But as far as why I decided on Cas, well, the narrator was Cas, because it couldn’t have possibly been Anna. I didn’t know that in the beginning. Everything in the beginning feels magically organic, like the story decides on its own. But think about it: Anna Korlov was once a murder victim, and now is a vengeful ghost, confined to haunt the rooms of her boarded up Victorian. If she had been the narrator, what I would have had is a story better suited to the stage than the page, and it would have been a budget-friendly set design. See, even though it’s Anna’s story, a good deal of the action takes place where she can’t go. All of the things going on that she couldn’t see, like Cas’ plans to thwart her, would have to be told to her, resulting in complete, exposition bog down. Plus, writing through Anna’s eyes, I would have been knuckle deep in steaming entrails. And cracked spines. And torn-off limbs. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

By listening instead to Cas’ side of the story, I got a pass to the outside. And I think too, that seeing Anna through someone else’s eyes, someone sympathetic to her situation, really brought out the human side of the murdering, blood-soaked demon. She’s really quite a sympathetic character, despite all the killing and the maiming. But if she had tried to tell me so herself, I don’t think I would have believed her. “What? It’s not you? It’s just the little voices in your head? Sure, yeah, absolutely. (aside) Somebody get me an old priest, and a young priest.”

It seems obvious to me now, looking back, why ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD needed to be told the way that it was. I’m glad that it made the right choice on the first try. Trust me, I’ve had other projects that haven’t. But that is a pain-in-the-butt story for another time.