WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading

I got this one from Netgalley... I've preordered it already, but I just couldn't wait and requested it anyway! :)  I'm SUPER EXCITED!

Recently Finished 

Such an a great follow up to Code Name Verity... absolutely loved it.

Might Read Next

 

This got pushed back due to Dream Thieves, but I'm still looking forward to this sequel. :)

Bout of Books 8.0

What is Bout of Books, you ask? Well...

"The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 19th and runs through Sunday, August 25th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 8.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog." - From the Bout of Books team

I've been looking forward to this since the last time. :)  As soon as I decide what my goals are I'll update this post with them.

Interested in joining in on the fun?  Go here for more information.

Smiles,
B

Teaser Tuesday ~ Rose Under Fire

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Anyone can play along! 

All you have to do:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page.
4. Be careful... do not include spoilers!!!  Make sure that what you are sharing doesn't give too much away;  you don't want to ruin the book for others.
5. Share the title and author, too, so other Teaser Tuesday participants can add it to their TBR list if they like what you shared.

 


"Hope - you think of hope as a bright thing, a strong thing, sustaining. But it's not. It's the opposite. It's simply this: lumps of stale bread stuck down your shirt. stale grey bread eked out with ground fish bones, which you won't eat because you're going to give it away, and maybe you'll get a message through to your friend. That's all you need."

~ Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Rose Under Fire: A Review by Malissa

Rose Justice is a young American ATA pilot, delivering planes and taxiing pilots for the RAF in the UK during the summer of 1944. A budding poet who feels most alive while flying, she discovers that not all battles are fought in the air. An unforgettable journey from innocence to experience from the author of the best-selling, multi-award-nominated Code Name Verity. From the exhilaration of being the youngest pilot in the British air transport auxiliary, to the aftermath of surviving the notorious Ravensbruck women's concentration camp, Rose's story is one of courage in the face of adversity. Code Name Verity is shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

My Thoughts

So this is it. Companion/follow-up to Code Name Verity, hands down one of the best books I've ever read (see my review of that book here if you're interested http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...). I had to have this book shipped from overseas and deal with a shipping snafu with the first copy they sent to get it before the Sept 10 publication date here in the U.S. So was it worth it? In short, yes. Despite a similar protagonist, similar setting and similar narrative style, this is a different book than Verity. That book was, if I were going to try and oversimplify it, a book about friendship filled with twists and turns that made you gasp and and flip back to see what you missed and how. This one is a survival story and a bit more straightforward in terms of knowing what's going on. And while I LOVED (yes, caps and italics are necessary) Verity, I'm glad this book was different because it's a different story. 

We know going into this one (unless you didn't read the jacket flap or publishers description in various locations) that Rose, an American ATA pilot, is going to end up captured by the Nazis and be sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp. And most of us have read concentration camp stories before. At least there are plenty out there for the reading. I've read many, most of the "big" ones both fiction and nonfiction. Still this book stands out for me because Elizabeth Wein's characters just come alive on the page. Her characters live and breathe and cry and sometimes stop breathing and it hurts when they do. It really hurts. Because of the way it's told (the largest part of the story written after the fact by Rose) we know the outcome to some extent but not the details. And the story is in the details. In the friendships and small acts of rebellion and little acts of faith and hope that keep Rose and her fellow women prisoners alive during their time at Ravensbrück. And it's in the outcome for various characters both those who survive and those who don't. It's in the humanity and incredible way people can keep fighting even when faced with the worst that other humans can possibly do to them. I read this book in about two days, and not weekend or vacation-type days, because I couldn't stop turning pages. 

I will say that this book didn't affect me quit as much as did Code Name Verity but I think that's largely because I was prepared this time. I knew what Elizabeth Wein can do to the hearts of her readers going in to this one. And a part of me kept waiting for the other shoe to drop or the rug to be pulled out from under me with a big twist I hadn't seen coming but it didn't and wasn't. Because this is a different story, as I said. 

There are connections to Verity in this book, so I'd recommend reading them in publication order if you're wanting to read both. And while I'm glad for those connection because we get to see the followup events to that book to and extent, to see how people are doing after, they actually weren't my favorite parts because this is Rose's story now. And I think that speaks to the author's skill that I found myself wanting to go forward with this story not go back to that one. 

Definitely a recommended read both for those who loved the author's previous book(s) and those who didn't and a book that will live on my shelf permanently (the U.S. hardcover edition is already preordered). It would also make a great book club selection.

Days of Blood & Starlight: A Review

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

 

Brandy

Allow me to introduce you to another book I loved. Meet: Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor. A-MAY-ZING. This world is so dark and gritty, so fantastical yet real, that it just blows me away how badly I want to stay in it. Note: If you have not read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, do not read on unless you want spoilers for that book. I repeat, do not read on.

We begin right where Daughter of Smoke & Bone left off (my review of that one), with Akiva and Karou at odds with one another after she learned of his involvement in the horrific fate of her family. Within the magic of the wishbone, Karou remembered her life as Madrigal, complete with her love for Akiva and their plans for a better future. Then Akiva told her about what happened after she saved him from The White Wolf's torture. How he, in his grief, despair, and anger over losing her, and his brother and sister were the ones that marked the doorways and burned her family. He didn't know that Brimstone had saved her. How could he?

There is just as much mystery in this second installment as in the first. Thankfully, Taylor brought back Zuzana and Mik, showing just how strong a friendship can be and how loyal Zuze really is. We see Akiva attempt to repent through his actions the deeds of his past. He can't change what he did, and he knows that, but he can try and change the future, still. 

A major difference between the first and second installment in this series is the darkness surrounding the story. There is definitely a lot more blood than starlight in this one. It definitely sets the tone. I love love love that there isn't a clear cut right/wrong, good/evil. There are elements of each of these on both sides. 

The world Laini Taylor builds with her writing is one I want to come back to. She brings things alive in a way that makes me want to live there, breathe there, and rarely leave there.

I am sad I have already read these. For one, I can't go back and have a first time with them, ever, again. For two, now I have a long ass wait until the third one comes out!!!  :(

Malissa

How long is the wait for Dreams of Gods & Monsters?! No release date yet? Damn! Are you kidding me ...

This series is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I enjoyed Daughter of Smoke & Bone then waited a bit to read this one. I probably shouldn't have. It took me a little while to feel totally engaged with this book but by the end the hubby was asking what was wrong with me because I was, apparently, gasping out loud at random ... I mean, you'll have that, right?

Thoughts, also possibly at random (don't read them unless you're read book one...):

It took me a while to realize that this book had a lot of elements of high fantasy or epic fantasy. Not sure why I suddenly realized that, but it struck me. I think it's perhaps because the setting is somewhat different (and very original, in my opinion) than a lot that I've read. After book one, I would have probably leaned more toward modern fantasy (even similar in feel to some urban fantasy) with heavy use of inventive mythology. Maybe it was the lack of dragons and elves and orcs and wizardry that you often see in high fantasy. I Don't know. I don't suppose it really matters, but I like that this series is a bit hard to pin down in terms of genre.

I liked the relationship between Karou and Akiva. Or perhaps lack thereof. It was such a big part of book one where Karou was figuring out who she was and who they had been, and I had a little bit of trouble totally buying into their love. There was the obvious connection that she didn't understand herself and then the revelation at the end about her past when her memories came back, but we had no time to process that (nor did she) before she learned all that Akiva had done in the past 17 years. So a romance in this book would have rung false to me. I think the time the two of them have spent apart will set the stage for them to fall in love all over in book three. We shall see.

The blood. Oh. My. Goodness. Days of Blood & Starlight indeed. I think gallons and gallons of blood were spilled in the course of this book. Starlight, I saw little of. It didn't bother me, and it sets the stage for change in book three, but I wasn't quite prepared for it. Again with the similarities to much epic fantasy I've read. Think along the lines of all the battles in The Lord of the Rings. You know the main character and at least some of her close companions are going to pull through, but most other bets are off ...

I love the way this series seems to explore or questions the ideas of good and evil (but not in a heavy handed way). The battle between good and evil is usually a big part of epic fantasy, but you usually have a blatant bad guy who is pure evil. Not so here. Sure there are characters who are evil, but the other side of the war isn't, and that's a big part of the story. And I love that our main character is on the side that humanity would clearly label the "demons." It's so much more common to see the good guy as the bright and shiny side like the seraphim rather than the "beasts." But that would he boring, right?

Laini Taylor's writing is just awesome. I think I've referenced this before, but she's said on her blog that when she revises she makes each word sing for it's supper, and you can really see that. There's just no sloppiness in her work at all. The story might be good enough to distract you from less than great writing, but it doesn't need to. Because with Laini Taylor you get over 500 pages of good writing. I just love seeing the way she strings words together.

I really can't wait for book three's release, and may even have to reread all 900+ pages we have so far in preparation. This series has a permanent home on my shelf.

WWW Wednesday

Hey y'all! I inadvertently took a nearly week long break from blogging. I took a mini-vacay to visit Malissa and didn't schedule any posts. :(

But, on a happy note, I had a great time visiting. We did yoga, pedis, and some shopping. I did go to a used bookstore with her and I traded in a bag full of books for store credit and got nearly $100 worth of books for only $30.  Needless to say I was uber excited. I was going to take pictures of them before I shelved them but, alas, I forgot.

Now, onto this week's WWW...

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading

This came out in June in Britain and Malissa wanted it badly enough to order it (she sent me her review which I'll post soon...). She's letting me borrow it. We both LOVED Code Name Verity and I'm excited I'm able to read this now. 

Recently Finished

   

I finished Revolution as part of the ReReadathon. I am happy to say I loved it as much this time as I did last time. I also finished Uncommon Criminals and I'm looking forward to getting Perfect Scoundrels through my library.

Might Read Next

 

I'm looking forward to this sequel. :)

Blog Tour: Losing Francesca ~ Review & Giveaway

 

Francesca Sabatini came to America to take in the sights, celebrate her high school graduation, and have fun wasting time before college starts in the fall.

That's not what happens.

Fresh off the plane and barely on American soil more than a handful of minutes, Francesca's face is recognized by TSA scanners to be a match for a child who was kidnapped twelve years ago.

Brody Mason remembers the day Fiona Sullivan went missing during a family vacation in Italy and it's haunted him his whole life. So when Francesca shows up at the Sullivan farm down the road, he's compelled to figure out if this girl really is his long-lost friend.

But Francesca knows she's not Fiona Sullivan. She knows exactly who she is. At least she thinks she knows – until Brody Mason relentlessly pursues her and she begins to have feelings for him. Maybe being Fiona isn't so bad?

Reality becomes blurred, secrets are revealed, and life will never be the same when the final questions are answered: Is she Francesca or Fiona? And where does she really belong?

Losing Francesca is a YA/NA crossover contemporary romance. :)

 

My Thoughts

Full of love, longing, and the search for truth, JA Huss had me captivated from the beginning. What happened twelve years ago and is this girl really Fiona or is she Francesca? There was so many unanswered questions and mystery along the way that I was constantly theorizing. 

Entering the US, Francesca is recognized as a child who was kidnapped twelve years ago. Her claims otherwise don't really add up as she fails polygraphs about her identity, has multiple passports, and refuses to talk about her life, her father, or what he does. She is sent to live with the Sullivan's, who believe her to be Fiona, and she does everything she can do to be rude, hateful, and disrespectful toward them. All she wants is to go home and get back to her life. Nobody knows what that life entails, though. Who is she, really?

Then she meets Brody and as she gets to know him, she softens. We start to see a little bit of who she really is, and how she's not a hateful, hurtful person, she just wants her life back. But as she and Brody spend more time together, she starts to question everything she knows. She sees a picture of Fiona, and even she has to admit she looks an awful lot like the missing girl. We see a lot of internal as well as external struggle, and JA Huss writes it all very well.

Although this is labeled as New Adult, I definitely see crossover appeal for YA as well as Adult. There's no graphic scenes that would make it inappropriate for younger readers and it's a story that transcends age at the basic core. Who are we really? Does it matter who we were twelve years ago, or now? Or does it only matter who we want to be?

Buy It

Kobo

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

About the Author

J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Trailer

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight: A Review

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. 

  

Such a fun, quick read that also had some depth to it. Hadley and Oliver meet in an airport on their way to London. They just so happen to be sitting side by side on the airplane and spend 7 hours talking about the important things in life - talking ducks, favorite colors, weddings, and whiskey. And then they go their separate ways as Hadley makes her way to her father's wedding.

When we meet Hadley, she's a shell of mixed emotions and a lot of anger toward her father. Smith does an excellent job of having Hadley jump the hurdles in her life and reach the other side being stronger for it. We see a lot of growth as she travels to London and makes decisions that not only affect her, but her father as well.  

With Oliver we don't see quite as much change, but the story isn't about him quite as much as it is about Hadley and her family. But we do see a side of him at one point that was so real and true that it nearly broke my heart.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit and definitely could see myself revisiting it. It is a love story, but it's so much more than that at the same time. Definitely worth reading.

Have you read it? What'd you think?

Smiles,
B

Teaser Tuesday: Revolution

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Anyone can play along! 

All you have to do:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page.
4. Be careful... do not include spoilers!!!  Make sure that what you are sharing doesn't give too much away;  you don't want to ruin the book for others.
5. Share the title and author, too, so other Teaser Tuesday participants can add it to their TBR list if they like what you shared.

 





"I'm wishing he could see that music lives. Forever. That it's stronger than death. Stronger than time. And that its strength holds you together when nothing else can."

~ Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly






What's struck you?

Memorable Monday ♥ Revolution

Memorable Monday is a meme hosted by Escape in a Good Book. I'm excited to join in on this one because I love quotes, which was the driving force behind the creation of Memorable Mondays. I thank the ladies at Escape in a Good Book.

So... how do you participate? It's simple ~

1) Share a quote that has captured your interest lately in a Memorable Monday post on your blog.

2) Come back here and leave the link to your post in the comment box below. If you don't have a blog, I'd still love to hear read your quote. Leave it in the comment box instead of a link to a non-existent blog. :)

3) Visit other participants if you have time. It's always nice to have visitors. There's no overstaying your welcome this way, and they don't have to offer the obligatory drinks. Or clean.

4) If you tweet your posts, feel free to use the hashtag #MemorableMonday.

This week's choice:

“Life’s all about the revolution, isn’t it? The one inside, I mean. You can’t change history. You can’t change the world. All you can ever change is yourself.”  

~ Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

What's caught you recently?

Smiles,
B 

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 6 | Shopping Time!

I ran across this today and decided to participate in Good Books & Good Wine's 15 Day Book Blogging Challenge. :)  It's a chance to get to know each other a bit better and have fun doing it.

What is it, you may be asking? Well, she has a list all made up (see below) and each day you answer a different question or write based on the prompt. Easy peasy, right? Probably not, but fun nonetheless. If you're interested, just click on the link to learn more.

 

Day 6: Describe How You Shop for Books

This really just depends on where I'm shopping for books. I will put things on my Amazon Bookish Wants list that I've heard good things about, that sound good, or that people have recommended to me. Eventually I may tack one or two onto an order. Especially if it gets me that free shipping. ;)  If I'm just browsing, I look for books that catch my eye, then I'll read the jacket flap/back of book. If it sounds like something I'd like, then I'll buy it. I'm pretty open to all kinds of books, though. If I'm in a used bookstore, I'll look for authors I know I enjoy first and see what books are there that I might want to buy. Then I'll scan for others. 

What's your MO when shopping for books?

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 5 | Recommend a Tear Jerker

I ran across this today and decided to participate in Good Books & Good Wine's 15 Day Book Blogging Challenge. :)  It's a chance to get to know each other a bit better and have fun doing it.

What is it, you may be asking? Well, she has a list all made up (see below) and each day you answer a different question or write based on the prompt. Easy peasy, right? Probably not, but fun nonetheless. If you're interested, just click on the link to learn more.

 

Day 5: Recommend a Tear Jerker

I've read a few of these. The ones that made me decide I should invest in Kleenex stock (in most recent years, at least) were The Notebook, The Fault in Our Stars, and Code Name Verity.

There we go. Short and sweet. :)  Really though, Code Name Verity broke me, as did TFiOS. The Notebook is just so sad.

What books produced major tears for you?

A Downside to Motherhood

So yesterday I get a message from my sister-in-law, who watches my children while I go to work. Here's the picture it contained:

Apparently her son and my son decided to conduct an experiment and see what would happen if they picked at a crack in the linoleum. Imagine that! A hole!

So what do we do? Spank them? Have a talking to about destruction of property? Make them pay (monetarily) for the damage? Have them help repair the damage? How about all of the above?

Last night after we went through dinner, baths, and getting ready for bed, Eli had to pick out toys to sell (it was time to downsize our toys anyway) in order to make some money to pay for half the damage he did. We didn't go through his closet, yet, but we'll do that this weekend. As of now, here's what he's decided he can part with:

I'm not sure how happy my husband was, when he came home from golfing, to see the middle choice, but such is life. E has other golf clubs. I was putting the clubs in the holes when E made sure I knew that the red one goes in the center. Why that matters, I have no idea.

Needless to say the whole ordeal took nearly 45 minutes and half a box of Kleenex. He was unhappy camper having to choose toys to sell. I had to tell him no a few times... he wanted to pick books (NO!!!), broken toys (those don't count), plastic easter eggs (really? c'mon now...). But in the end I think he parted with a few things that he'll miss and we'll go through his closet to donate to Goodwill some of the smaller stuff he has accumulated.

I'm not sure who the process was more traumatic for - me or him. He did a good job and I hated seeing him SO upset... even though I did take a picture of him upset to add to the scrapbook with the story. (Does that make me horrible... hmmm...).

Hopefully he learns his lesson and will not randomly destroy things that aren't meant to be destroyed. Only time will tell.

Follow Friday ♥

Hosted by Parajunkee's View & Alison Can Read, the goal is to gain new followers and to follow new people yourself! :)

RULES

To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

(Taken straight from the hosts)

• (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
• (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers
• Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
• Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
• If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed
• Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
• If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers.
• If you’re new to the follow Friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Happy Follow Friday!

This week's question/activity:

PHOTOBOMB!!!! Photobomb a picture with your favorite book. Share it of course.

Okay... so I'm supposed to pick a favorite book?  *sigh*  :)  And dangit, I forgot to do this last nite when I was home... so I will be limited to my favorites the library has to choose from. Such is life. So... here you go...

I, in general, love Maggie Stiefvater. :)  Others I might have chosen to photobomb had I done this at home (and probably would have just for fun had I not been dealing with a four year old who tore up his aunt's bathroom floor yesterday):

• Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff
• Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
• Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult
• Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

And possibly others... I don't even know what all is there... lol

Anywho. Got a photobomb to share? Or just a title of one (or more) of your favorites? Share with me! :)

Smiles,
B

15 Day Blook Blogger Challenge: Day 3 & 4 | Blogging BFF & Chucking Books

I ran across this today and decided to participate in Good Books & Good Wine's 15 Day Book Blogging Challenge. :)  It's a chance to get to know each other a bit better and have fun doing it.

What is it, you may be asking? Well, she has a list all made up (see below) and each day you answer a different question or write based on the prompt. Easy peasy, right? Probably not, but fun nonetheless. If you're interested, just click on the link to learn more.

 

Day 3: Blogging BFF's

I really just wanted to skip this one. I don't feel like I've been around long enough to have a "blogging bff". It doesn't help that I'm awfully shy and often will just visit/lurk without a peep. :) There are a few bloggers that I enjoy talking with and more that I enjoy visiting their sites often. But to say they're my 'bff' of the blogging world... I mean, what if they don't even remember me?  Someday I hope to be answer this with an actual person. ;)  It will happen...

In the meantime, luckily I have an IRL bff that shares my love of books, though. And she occasionally posts here... :)

Day 4: Last Book I Flung

I honestly don't remember the last book I flung across the room. I can remember the first one, though. I was about 15, and reading An Isolated Incident by Susan Sloan (I didn't even have to look that up... yay me!). I got to the end and I was so so SO angry I just chucked it. Doing so caused a near uproar from my mom, given that it hit the wall and maybe, possibly, woke her up (did I mention it was late at nite?). But yeah, that was the first time I physically harmed a book. I don't do it very often... typically I close the book and throw a pillow or something... I have a hard time inflicting pain on the book itself. Why  not something that has nothing to do with why I'm angry or sad or whatever the overwhelming emotion is that is causing me to want to do damage? But it does happen... sometimes. :)

What about you? What books have caused such visceral reactions that you wanted to cause pain to them?

Smiles,
B

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 2 | Bedtime Reading Ritual

I ran across this today and decided to participate in Good Books & Good Wine's 15 Day Book Blogging Challenge. :)  It's a chance to get to know each other a bit better and have fun doing it.

What is it, you may be asking? Well, she has a list all made up (see below) and each day you answer a different question or write based on the prompt. Easy peasy, right? Probably not, but fun nonetheless. If you're interested, just click on the link to learn more.

 

Day 2: Bedtime Reading Ritual

Today's post is about my bedtime reading ritual. I will say that I won't read in bed. I will never go to sleep if I do. But, here's a typical evening:

The kids get put down for nap. Usually this takes about an hour by the time baths are done, teeth are brushed, stories are read, and we've made sure bladders are empty, water is by the bedside, and they are tucked in snug as a bug. Depending on the day I've had, I will either poor myself a glass of water after that, or a glass of wine. If there's a show I want to catch up on, I may watch that if I'm not too anxious about what happens next in the book (as was the story last nite). But usually the hubby is home and wants to watch sports *stifles a yawn*. Then I'll pick up my book and read until he's sports-out and turns off the tv. When he then asks if I'm ready for bed, I'll say yes or no, depending on how the book is going. Sometimes I'll be up late reading, always on the floor or the couch (never rarely the bed) after he is sawing logs. If the story is at a good stopping point, I'll close the book and head to bed, usually doing number puzzles to clear my head enough to sleep.

I never really thought I had a bedtime reading ritual until now. I guess I do. I would guess that it's a higher percentage of nights that I read than that I don't. Especially in the summer when most of my fave shows are on reruns. :)

What about you? Do you have a bedtime reading ritual?

Smiles,
B

The Lover's Dictionary: A Review

A sweet and touching modern love story, told through dictionary entries.
 
basis, n.

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you’re in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

If the moment doesn’t pass, that’s it—you’re done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes it’s even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lover’s face.

How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithan’s The Lover’s Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

Per usual, this story by David Levithan is wonderfully written. Despite enjoying that, I didn't fall in love with this book. I wanted to, but it just didn't happen.

Written in an unconventional way, there's no clear beginning, middle, and end to the story. It jumps around a lot, which makes sense with the way it was written, but I prefer my books to be clear on where we are in the timeline of things. If it's a flashback, great, but let me know it's a flashback. I still, by the end of the story, wasn't sure where things stood. I realize that the story itself isn't the main point of the book. I think it's more of a study of the relationship, picking it apart and trying to describe things that are typically indescribable. Once I got past the wanting of a typical story I was able to enjoy it much more than I had been (this was about 1/3 of the way through). 

I did enjoy the characters, despite being nameless. I like how everything was told from his point of view and that's all we got. We have no idea what was going on in her head/heart, only his. I actually liked that for this one. I liked getting glimpses into their relationship and seeing how things unfolded, even if it wasn't told in the usual way.

If you read it, my favorite entry was probably "livid". For no reason other than the sheer emotion emanating from the page. Levithan is masterful sometimes. 

I'd recommend it with the disclaimer that I didn't love it but that it's still a good read.  

Have you read it? Want to read it? :)

Smiles,
B

15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 1 | Bookish Confessions

I ran across this today and decided to participate in Good Books & Good Wine's 15 Day Book Blogging Challenge. :)  It's a chance to get to know each other a bit better and have fun doing it.

What is it, you may be asking? Well, she has a list all made up (see below) and each day you answer a different question or write based on the prompt. Easy peasy, right? Probably not, but fun nonetheless. If you're interested, just click on the link to learn more.

 

Day 1: Book Related Confessions

1. I judge. Definitely. I will totally judge a book by its cover. Don't judge me. You do it too. 
2. I refuse to dog-ear my pages. I will use something, anything, if I don't have a bookmark handy. I've used post-its, mail, pictures, napkins... and sometimes have even resorted to memorizing the page number. 
3. Unless I have protected the dust jacket by covering it, I typically remove it when reading a book to preserve it. 
4. I won't read in bed. I'll never sleep.
5. I can't read in a car - I'll puke on the book and then be sad.
6. I dropped a book in the tub when I was ten - The Witch of Blackbird Pond, to be exact. I haven't read in a tub since. And I still own that book, water damaged and all.
7. I will do nearly anything else while reading, though. Cook, eat, clean, change a diaper... sometimes I just REALLY don't want to put it down.
8. I rarely will buy the first copy of a book I pick up off the shelf - I will look to see which one is the best shape before picking one.
9. Sometimes... *gasp*... I skim. If it's slow going, or if it's just going on and on about the same thing for a page or two, I will totally skim.
10. I get frustrated when my covers don't match on my shelf. Like Shatter Me, for instance. I want both it and Unravel Me in hardcover, but they don't match. :(  I hate when they change it.
11. I will not write in my books. I will post it note the crap out of it, but I won't write in it.
12. I work in a library and still every book I check out is late.
13. I am anal about reading a series in order, even if it's not necessary, and will seriously be upset with people for *not* reading them in order. 
14. I organize all my books by author... I blame this on my profession. I tried to organize by size, color, etc, but I just couldn't do it. Besides, it makes it that much easier to find. (My DVDs are alphabetized as well... lol)
15. I tend to avoid movies that derived from books, unless a friend is going as well. I'm always scared it won't live up (which it never rarely does).

What about you? Any bookish confessions?

WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays was started by MizB over at Should Be Reading,

To play along, simply answer the following three (3) Questions:
1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently Reading

 

I am reading this as part of July's ReReadathon and loving it again.

Recently Finished

   

Losing Francesca was a great read, and I reread Heist Society as part of the ReReadathon. :)

What I Might Read Next

I'm looking forward to continuing the Heist Society series. To continue the ReReadathon I think I might pick up The Space Between.

What have you been reading?

Smiles,

B

Teaser Tuesday: Revolution

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Anyone can play along! 

All you have to do:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page
3. Share two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page.
4. Be careful... do not include spoilers!!!  Make sure that what you are sharing doesn't give too much away;  you don't want to ruin the book for others.
5. Share the title and author, too, so other Teaser Tuesday participants can add it to their TBR list if they like what you shared.

 





"'You must be in pain, kid. Does it hurt?'"
"I nod. 'Yeah, Jimmy. All the time.'"

~ Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly









I just started re-reading this one for July's ReReadathon. I had forgotten so much... I'm hoping I love it as much as I did the first time. :)

Have a teaser for me? Share it below. :)