Blog Events

The Versatile Blogger Award

 in Blog Events / Book Events / Books / Interesting by

I would like to thank Jennifer from Down-Home South Jersey for picking me to win The Versatile Blogger Award.

I received this award and I started to worry because you have to find 5 to 15 other bloggers who you think is worthy of getting this award but luckily I follow a few blogs who I think deserve it. Since I am so busy with homework, after school activities, reading etc, I do not have a lot of time to read other blogs. But luckily I have my mom who points me to blogging events where I meet new bloggers. But first, for the people who I gave this award to, I would like to let them know what they have to do. You have to…

a.  Write a post accepting the award and show the award’s image.

b.  List seven random, quirky facts about yourself – things that probably haven’t already come up in your blog posts.

c.  Pass the award on to 5-15 other blogs, ones that you already follow or for which you solicit invitations.

And now I will list 7 quirky facts about myself.

1. I like sticking a spoon on my nose without holding it.
2. I do NaNoWriMo for fun.
3. I like to have light saber fights outside with my dad in the sumer.
4. I have memorized the first 20 digits of pie.
5. I can memorize any and all of the funny lines from a movie which I have seen only once.
6. I sing Christmas carols in the middle of the summer.
7. I went to a gala and did not recognize Bill Clinton.

Now I would like to award the Versatile Blogger Award.

Parenthetical – A blog were an adult reviews books for YA and a person who loves to let the opinions fly (in a good way) and there are also some interesting give aways.

Presenting Lenore   – An adult who reviews books for Young Adults but throws in a twist with her gorgeous cats, and wonderful interviews.

In Bed With Books – A college graduate who lives in Texas who reviews books for teens but these books can be read and love by all.

Farmgirl Fare – Want to see some cute pictures and great recipes? Head on over to Farmgirl Susan’s blog Farmgirl Fare.

Smexy Books – Do you want a steamy book? Head over to Smexy books and I am sure that you will find the book you need. With hot (literally) books you will not need to look any further.

So once again I would like to thank Jennifer to choosing me to win this award. I hope that the people I chose will pass it on.

Readers

 in Blog Events / Interesting / Young Adult by

Thursday September 15th: Readers
Book bloggers blog because we love reading. Has book blogging changed the way you read? Have you discovered books you never would have apart from book blogging? How has book blogging affected your book acquisition habits? Have you made new connections with other readers because of book blogging? Choose any one of these topics and share your thoughts today!

-BookBloggerAppreciationWeek

Blogging has changed my reading habits a lot. I read more frequently (even though I read like there was no tomorrow before.) I now eat up the books at an astonishing pace. My parents and friends are extremely amazed at how many books I get through. I also read different types of books. I had never really picked up dystopian books before but once I started my blog, I am all over them. My writing has also changed. I am better at editing (a little bit) but that does not have to do with reading. I read a wider variety of books now. I look at memoirs, biographical, cook books, romance, action, dystopian and a few other ones I cannot name off the top of my head.

Interview with MyFavoriteAuthor

 in Author Interview / Blog Events / Fun / Young Adult by

Reading is such a great thing to do. Writing about the books is great too. But it can be a little lonely. So, as it is summer I thought I would venture forth and dip my toes into the water of the  blogshere (so to speak….summer metaphor!) and meet some other bloggers. People who inspire me. Get to know them. People who love books and blog about them. So, I decided to do some interviews. Find like minded people and get to know them.

My first interview is with Angela from MyFavoriteAuthor. She does great reviews and has a good variety of books. So, lets meet Angela. I hope that you enjoy it.

Thanks Angela ~ MyFavoriteAuthor ~  for taking the time to answer these questions. This was fun.

What inspired you to create a blog? A heated debate in bookclub about BREAKING DAWN by Stephenie Meyer.  I went home and wrote a long post on my family blog about it and realized that wasn’t the best outlet for posts like that.  Then I had the *brilliant* idea to start a blog where I blogged just about books and reading … I thought I was so original with my idea, but I was glad to find such a large community of book blogs already out there to read.

What are you currently reading? I can’t decide whether to start WOLFSBANE by Andrea Cremer or SUPERNATURALLY by Kiersten White.  Both authors had EXCELLENT first books!

What can you be found doing in your spare time? What’s spare time?  Haha!  Usually reading, or playing the piano.

What are your top 5 favorite books? THESE IS MY WORDS by Nancy Turner, BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS by Shannon Hale, THE ACTOR AND THE HOUSEWIFE by Shannon Hale, PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White, NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins, MISTRESS OF ROME by Kate Quinn, STRINGS ATTACHED by Judy Blundell, SING ME TO SLEEP by Angela Morrison, THE SIREN by Kiera Cass, THE DARK DIVINE by Bree Despain, LOYALTY’S WEB by Joyce DiPastena, SONG OF THE SPARROW by Lisa Ann Sandell, THE SEASON by Sarah MacLean, MUDVILLE by Kurtis Scaletta, WICKED LOVELY by Melissa Marr, THE HOST by Stephenie Meyer, THE FALSE PRINCESS by Eilis O’Neal … okay I’ll stop there.  It’s so hard to pick only 5!!

This summer, which is the best book which you have read so far? It’s hard to pick just one … but sticking to the strict definition of summer, my favorite book read since June 21st is STRINGS ATTACHED by Judy Blundell. So amazing!

What are your top 5 favorite movies? Haha! Most of my favorite movies are adaptations of books!  North & South (the Elizabeth Gaskell one, not the Civil War one), Penelope, Pride & Prejudice (A&E and Kiera Knightly versions), X-Men, Pirates of the Caribbean, Inception …

If you were stranded on a remote island and food and shelter is not a problem, what 5 things would you bring with you? I think as long as I have my Nook (because there is electricity & internet & an unlimited credit card balance that I never have to pay off in my version of this scenario) and sunscreen to go with the food & shelter, then I’m probably good for … ever!

Do you have any pets, and if so what are they? Much to my children’s continued disappointment, we do not have pets.

What is your favorite activity to do? Read!  🙂 And play the piano.

What is your favorite way or place to read a book (ex. In bed snuggled up, in a cozy chair covered by a blanket, in the park?)  I think my new absolute favorite place to read is on a Caribbean cruise!  But really, I can (and do!) read anywhere.

What is the biggest book which you have ever read? I adore long books!  I can rarely find a book long enough to suit me, but most of the books I read these days seem to top out at 400-500 pages.  I know I’ve read 1000+ page epics, but I can’t think of the titles off hand right now.  Although I consider books in a series as one long story and will frequently re-read my favorite series.  That’s easily 1000+ pages right there.

What is the best book to movie you have ever seen? While it’s fun to watch movies based on books, they are rarely as good as the book.  The only exceptions I can think of off the top of my head are the BBC book-to-movie adaptations (P&P, North & South, etc) and THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks.

Why inspired the name of your blog?  Where most people are looking for a good book to read, I’m always looking for a new author to read.  Chances are great that if I love one book by an author that I will love other books that they write.

Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson

 in Blog Events / Fantasy / Fiction / Young Adult by

 

I took park in a book blog event called Nerds Heart YA . What it is is that books that were written in 2011 and were overlooked are chosen for this competition. The books have to fall under the following categories.

  • Person(s) of Color (POC)
  • GLBT
  • Disability
  • Mental Illness
  • Religious Lifestyle
  • Lower Socioeconomic Status
  • Plus-size

The two books that were passed on to my division of the contest was Tall Story but Candy Gourlay and Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson. The Blogger, which I was paired with, was Sam from Parenthetical. After some debating we chose the book to go on to the next round. Our decision was Toads and Diamonds.

Summary

“Set in the fictional Indian land of Hundred Kingdom, Tomlinson’s memorable novel employs magic realism to explore a universal truth: an individual’s gifts and talents are not always as they might seem. Stepsisters Diribani and Tana are blessed by the goddess Naghali-ji in very different ways. When Diribani speaks, flowers and gemstones fall from her mouth. Tana’s talent seems to be more of a curse: she produces frogs and snakes when she talks. While Diribani is held at the opulent court of the Believers, where her every jewel is collected and tallied for the kingdom’s profit, Tana is chased from her village by its snake-fearing residents. Taking on the disguise of a mute stable hand, she returns, and with her unusual abilities, she saves the land…”

*Amazon.com

Review

I have to say that this was quite a good book. The story line was interesting as it was taken from a French fairy tale, which Sam told me. I voted to choose this book as a winner because of the story line. I have never really read a book that is taken off a fairy tale. I have read fairy-tale-like stories but not one taken from an actual fairy tale. It was about these two girls who met a goddess in human form (she was testing them.) One of the girls was gifted with speaking jewels and flowers. The other girl was gifted with speaking toads and snakes. Each thing that the girl got was a gift and a curse. People tied to kill the girl who spoke jewels but jewels can buy riches. The girl who spoke toads and snakes was feared and kicked out of cities but snakes were needed to get rid of insects. Each girl had to learn how what she was given was a gift and a curse. It was a very touching story.

One thing that I did not like though, was that I did not really think that the author described the characters very well. I personally could not picture them in my mind at all. What they were wearing may have been described but what they looked like was not. I could not imagine them. That puts me off a book very much if I cannot imagine what I am reading.

I chose this book over the other one also because Tall Story, I felt, did not go anywhere. It just was kind of boring and did not appeal to me that much.

So, Parenthetical and I have chosen this book to be passed on to the next round in the Nerds Heart YA book blog event. Hopefully the next set of bloggers will like it.

Please check out Parenthetical’s review of Toads and Diamonds.