The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
Publish Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
*I've featured this before, but I had to do it again. Only one more week. So excited!!!!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Waiting on Wednesday: The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead
Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine!
*I've featured this before, but I had to do it again. Only one more week. So excited!!!!!
*I've featured this before, but I had to do it again. Only one more week. So excited!!!!!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
2013 Printz Awards: No TFIOS?
**I'm sorry I haven't been commenting much lately. I'm currently in Oklahoma for my Granny's funeral. And I'm also only 3 weeks out from the bar exam (EEEK!!!). I'm super busy studying. I should be back to normal in March.
The 2013 Printz Awards were announced last week.
The winner was:
In Darkness by Nick Lake
Have any of you heard of this book? As a blogger, I thought I'd heard of everything.
The Printz Honor Award winners were:
1) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
2) Dodger by Terry Pratchett
3) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
4) The White Bicycle by Beverly Brenna
Are you surprised that The Fault in Our Stars by John Green neither won nor received an honor award?
I was definitely surprised. I'm not disputing that In Darkness deserved to win. I haven't read it or heard anything about it, but I'm sure it's excellent. I am thrilled that Code Name Verity received an honor. It certainly was one of the most incredible books I read last year.
Why not TFIOS though? It was touching, erudite, quotable, well-plotted, and so much more.
Here are my guesses:
1) The awards committee didn't like it as much as the five winners. Boring explanation, but certainly possible.
2) John Green has already won the Printz Award once and been an honor winner another time. Perhaps they wanted to give another author a chance. A few authors have received the honor award twice, but John is the only one who has both won the award and received an honor award.
3) The book is uber-popular. The Printz gives a good book exposure it may not otherwise have.
4) Over-hyped? I wonder if the committee consciously or unconsciously didn't want to join the chorus.
What do you think?
What book(s) do you think should have won the 2013 Printz Award?
I would have picked TFIOS, Code Name Verity, or The Raven Boys (Maggie Stiefvater's book)
The 2013 Printz Awards were announced last week.
The winner was:
In Darkness by Nick Lake
Have any of you heard of this book? As a blogger, I thought I'd heard of everything.
The Printz Honor Award winners were:
1) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
2) Dodger by Terry Pratchett
3) Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
4) The White Bicycle by Beverly Brenna
Are you surprised that The Fault in Our Stars by John Green neither won nor received an honor award?
I was definitely surprised. I'm not disputing that In Darkness deserved to win. I haven't read it or heard anything about it, but I'm sure it's excellent. I am thrilled that Code Name Verity received an honor. It certainly was one of the most incredible books I read last year.
Why not TFIOS though? It was touching, erudite, quotable, well-plotted, and so much more.
Here are my guesses:
1) The awards committee didn't like it as much as the five winners. Boring explanation, but certainly possible.
2) John Green has already won the Printz Award once and been an honor winner another time. Perhaps they wanted to give another author a chance. A few authors have received the honor award twice, but John is the only one who has both won the award and received an honor award.
3) The book is uber-popular. The Printz gives a good book exposure it may not otherwise have.
4) Over-hyped? I wonder if the committee consciously or unconsciously didn't want to join the chorus.
What do you think?
What book(s) do you think should have won the 2013 Printz Award?
I would have picked TFIOS, Code Name Verity, or The Raven Boys (Maggie Stiefvater's book)
Monday, February 4, 2013
Manga Mondays #140: What Are You Reading?
Manga Mondays Meme!
I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 2 and a half years ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.
The linky will be below my review.
I had to go to Oklahoma unexpectedly for my Granny's funeral today, so I didn't have time to write a manga review for today.
So in the meantime...
I've been doing Manga Mondays every week since I started my blog 2 and a half years ago. It's always been a personal feature, but now I'm going to try turning it into a meme. There are quite a few people who do Manga Mondays. I don't claim by any means that I owned or created the idea of Manga Mondays - it's an obvious choice given the alliteration. I think a meme would be a good way for everyone to publicize their own Manga Mondays and get a little more publicity.
The linky will be below my review.
I had to go to Oklahoma unexpectedly for my Granny's funeral today, so I didn't have time to write a manga review for today.
So in the meantime...
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Feature and Follow Friday #134
Welcome to the Feature & Follow
Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.
The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!
How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!
What sets this Hop apart from others, is our Feature. Each week we will showcase a Featured Blogger, from all different genres and areas. Who is our Feature today? Find out below. Just remember it is required, if you participate, to follow our Features and you must follow the hosts (Parajunkee & Alison Can Read) as a courtesy. How do you follow someone? Well, if you have a preference, state it in your #FF post. A lot of blogs are transitioning to Wordpress in which they do not have the luxury of GFC, so an RSS subscription is appreciated or if you choose an email subscription. If you don't have GFC please state in your post how you would like to be followed.
Barnes & Noble Closing 200 Stores!
The big news in the bookstore world this week was the announcement that Barnes & Noble plans to close a third of its store over the next decade. That will add up to about 200 stores. A Barnes & Noble executive said in an interview that the chain will close at least 20 stores per year. The closure of stores is nothing new. Barnes & Noble has closed about 15 stores per year for the past ten years, but it used to be that it would open just as many or even more stores than it closed. Last year, the chain closed 14 stores and didn't open any.
This news is hardly surprising, but still quite sad. I love Barnes & Noble. I love the atmosphere - classy yet relaxed. I love the cafe. I love the wide selection of books and often CDs and DVDs as well as journals, games, and puzzles. I love the author events they host. I love the big armchairs where you can sit for hours.
I love independent bookstores too. Oftentimes I like them even more, because they have more personality. But I think the day of the charming mom and pop store versus the big bad chain bookstore are over. We saw with the closure of Borders that no one wins when a bookstore dies.
Physical bookstores are all at risk, be they The Tattered Cover or The Kings English or Changing Hands or Barnes & Noble. With the ease of buying a cheap book on Amazon (or even BN.com), fewer people bother buying a book in a traditional bookstore. Not to mention that books are often cheaper and more convenient at Target or Walmart. Of course, the main threat now is e-books. I have no problem with e-books. I love their convenience, and I don't want them to go away. But the fact remains that they have reduced the need for physical bookstores.
It's not as though physical bookstores aren't still busy. The problem is that the visitors are browsers not buyers. I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I frequently go into Barnes & Noble, write down book titles that I like, and then look for them at the library or on Amazon. It's even worse with the Amazon app where you can scan the barcode and see the cheaper paper or Kindle price while you're standing in the bookstore. Guilty of that too.
What do we stand to lose if Barnes & Noble eventually shuts down its physical operation entirely? Tons. We'd still have independent bookstores and online retailers. But when a bookstore closes, everyone loses. Readers have less choice in where to buy their books. Authors have fewer places in which to sell their books and fewer opportunities to catch a bystander's eye with an enticing cover. Publishers will need fewer employees to market their books yet also have fewer publicity opportunities. And people who work at Barnes & Noble will have no jobs.
I hate to see Barnes & Noble shutter any of their stores, but I desperately hope they are able to find a plateau point where they can maintain a strong presence in the country and also remain financially stable. Life would not be as bright without the green Barnes & Noble sign smiling at me as I walk in the store.
What do you think about B&N's announcement?
This news is hardly surprising, but still quite sad. I love Barnes & Noble. I love the atmosphere - classy yet relaxed. I love the cafe. I love the wide selection of books and often CDs and DVDs as well as journals, games, and puzzles. I love the author events they host. I love the big armchairs where you can sit for hours.
I love independent bookstores too. Oftentimes I like them even more, because they have more personality. But I think the day of the charming mom and pop store versus the big bad chain bookstore are over. We saw with the closure of Borders that no one wins when a bookstore dies.
Physical bookstores are all at risk, be they The Tattered Cover or The Kings English or Changing Hands or Barnes & Noble. With the ease of buying a cheap book on Amazon (or even BN.com), fewer people bother buying a book in a traditional bookstore. Not to mention that books are often cheaper and more convenient at Target or Walmart. Of course, the main threat now is e-books. I have no problem with e-books. I love their convenience, and I don't want them to go away. But the fact remains that they have reduced the need for physical bookstores.
It's not as though physical bookstores aren't still busy. The problem is that the visitors are browsers not buyers. I'm as guilty of this as anyone. I frequently go into Barnes & Noble, write down book titles that I like, and then look for them at the library or on Amazon. It's even worse with the Amazon app where you can scan the barcode and see the cheaper paper or Kindle price while you're standing in the bookstore. Guilty of that too.
What do we stand to lose if Barnes & Noble eventually shuts down its physical operation entirely? Tons. We'd still have independent bookstores and online retailers. But when a bookstore closes, everyone loses. Readers have less choice in where to buy their books. Authors have fewer places in which to sell their books and fewer opportunities to catch a bystander's eye with an enticing cover. Publishers will need fewer employees to market their books yet also have fewer publicity opportunities. And people who work at Barnes & Noble will have no jobs.
I hate to see Barnes & Noble shutter any of their stores, but I desperately hope they are able to find a plateau point where they can maintain a strong presence in the country and also remain financially stable. Life would not be as bright without the green Barnes & Noble sign smiling at me as I walk in the store.
What do you think about B&N's announcement?
Do you shop at B&N much?
Do you plan to shop there more in the future?
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Blog Tour and GIVEAWAY: The Goddess Inheritance by Aimée Carter
The Goddess Inheritance by Aimée Carter
Release Date: February 19, 2013 Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Summary
Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.
During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can’t stop her–until Cronus offers a deal.In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he’ll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.
Even if it costs her eternity. (courtesy of Goodreads)
What's Divine About The Goddess Test series?
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel
Release Date: January 29th 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: Received for blog tour in exchange for an honest review
Summary
Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human—and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss.
With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead... (courtesy of Goodreads)
Review
Stolen Nights is the second book in the Vampire Queen series. Second books are often an author's downfall. I get swept away by the newness and creativity of the first book in a series only to be disappointed when the second book gets bogged down in too much world building, a needless love triangle, estrangement from the main love interest, and too little action. So I approached Stolen Nights with some trepidation. Not to worry, Stolen Nights is fabulous and in fact, significantly exceeds my love for the first novel, Infinite Days.
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