Stacking the Shelves #4, Wrap Up of Blogoversary Celebration Month, and Giveaway Winners

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!  This is being hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  I only  have two books to share this week, but I was pretty excited to get them!  I got Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate.  It was a contest I entered through Shelf Awareness newsletter from MacMillan publishing.  And I was so excited to see it come in the mail!

The other book was from Netgalley:  Broken by A.E. Rought, a modern take on the Frankenstein story.  Which sounded interesting to me!

  
Okay, let's get to talking about last month.  First let me wipe my forehead and say WHEW!!!  Posting something every day, especially when I was back to school and teaching, was a lot of work!!  I'm glad I did it.  But, don't expect me to keep it up while school is going on.  I did really enjoy featuring my friends' blogs.  I hope I was able to get them some new followers.  I also enjoyed giving away prizes, and was glad that I reached at least my 600 follower goal so that I bumped up the award amount on the Barnes and Noble gift card.  I have decided to try hosting a challenge this month, so if you are interested in participating, it only requires that you pledge to read 4 books (sequels) to participate.  And once again I'll be giving away a Barnes and Noble gift card, but only to people who sign up to participate.  If you want to help me be successful, you can sign up HERE and then go encourage your followers and blogger friends to come try it out too.  I'd love to make it a yearly event!  Unfortunately I've also learned how far behind other bloggers I am, as I really wanted to make a button for the contest, and I even had an idea, but didn't know how to make it.  I need to learn more about Photoshop, and if I even have it on any computers I am able to use.  Not to mention this past week or two Blogger has been really acting funny.  I no longer have my comment link on the drop down menu on my Dashboard, which I loved to be able to go reply to all my comments without having to go back to all my posts to see which  had comments.  And I also can't change any of the layout on my page, so the book that it says I'm reading now I haven't been reading for a couple weeks!!  So I have thought about moving, but then, the money, and not knowing html, just all that scares me away.  So, still dealing with that kind of stuff too. Okay, enough whining from me!  Thanks to all of you who stopped by and helped make my month long blogoversary celebration a good one!  I'm so glad for all my followers.  And now, onto the list of winners for the contests that ended at the end of August:

• The winner of my Featured Blogger The Confounded Cook - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare is:  Lacey T.  I have contacted and heard back from her, so her book will be shipped from The Book Depository this week.
• And the winner of my month long 3rd Blogoversary Celebration for a $40 gift card to Barnes and Noble is:  Erika Anderson Williams!  She has also been contacted and I've heard back from her.  Her gift card will also be in the mail this week.

Thanks again to all my new and old followers!  Keep hanging out!

New Publishing Company Feature: Move Books

I believe it was around this time last year, fall anyway, that the Community Resource Manager at the Barnes and Noble where I work gave my name to a friend of hers who was getting ready to start a new publishing company.  Since that time, I have been so excited to be part of this new adventure.  Eileen Robinson had the idea from her years working in publishing, as well as from her own family experiences, that it is hard to get boys to read, especially middle grade boys.  And she's right. As a middle school teacher, I see more girls with books than boys.  Now, I agree with a certain favorite author of mine that I follow on Twitter, no names, but there are lots of good books out there for both boys and girls.  But I don't think it hurts to go out with this idea in mind, to do something to work on this issue.  So I was happy to read through the manuscripts Eileen sent me, giving my opinions on the stories, as well as how I thought they would appeal to this age group.  And now, the first book from Move Books is going to be published this October.  I posted my review of The Mapmaker's Sons by V.L. Burgess earlier this week.  I asked Eileen to help me celebrate my 3rd Blogoversary with an interview.  Here's what she had to say:

1.  Can you tell my readers a little about your background in the publishing industry?
I landed in children's book publishing by accident.  Never gave a thought to becoming an editor but have always been an avid reader and I loved to write.  Spent many summers in the library.  I began in educational publishing, moved into school and library publishing and got the opportunity to work with Scholastic magazines, scholastic trade, book clubs and book fairs.  Went on to help authors shape their manuscripts and now there is Move.

2.  What made you decide to start Move Books?
My son, my nephews, and their friends.  Every time I'd ask any of them about school, they preferred to say as little as possible about it.  If I asked their favorite subjects, most responded gym, recess and lunch.  When I asked if they liked reading, for the most part I received a "no" or a shoulder shrug but sometimes they'd show me a book they happened to be reading at the time.  My son didn't like to read.  It was like pulling teeth.  He and other boys I talked to thought of reading as a chore, something you did in school.  And most of the time it was because they couldn't find things they liked enough.  Until one day, my son came home talking non-stop about this book he was reading in school.  It was Diary of the Wimpy Kid.  I would be remiss if I didn't mention my 5-year old nephew who reads fluently and has been doing so since he was about 3.  He actually is one of two readers in his class and reads out loud to the rest of the students!  Reading is definitely recreation for him.

3.  What have you enjoyed the most about starting this company?
I am enjoying the process but am humbled by it.  I've learned for as much as you think you know, there is so much more you don't.  And for me that's building a business while simultaneously being the editor I still want to be.

4. I have a few followers that are also writers/aspiring authors.  If they had a story they thought would be good for this project, what should they know if they want to become a part of this endeavor in the future?
I look for authentic middle grade voices.  Do you know your readers and what motivates them to read?  The books I'd like to be a part of creating are entertaining and give the reader a level of comfort but also challenge them.  I want boys to care, making the same emotional investment that girls do but in their own way.

5.  On a more personal note, how has my reading the manuscripts helped, and what ways could I improve my input for you?
 Lisa, you are absolutely wonderful and your experience has contributed to some of my decision-making.  It's important to look at a story from different viewpoints.

Thanks Eileen for stopping by and answering my questions!  For all of you who read my review and might be interested in ordering the book, it is now available for pre-order on Barnes and Noble HERE.

And again, don't forget to enter my current contests going on with the links below.  AND, stay tuned for tomorrow when I will post my very first Challenge, and I hope you'll all sign up and participate!

• 3rd Blogoversary Gift Card to Barnes and Noble for $40, will be $50 if I make 650 followers on GFC by tomorrow night at midnight!
• Copy of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Waiting on Wednesday - Fuse (Pure #2) by Julianna Baggott

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. The book I've chosen to discuss this week is one that is a sequel to a unique dystopian called Pure, and you can read my review of it HERE.  

Here is the summary from Goodreads.com:

When the world ended, those who dwelled within the Dome were safe. Inside their glass world the Pures live on unscarred, while those outside—the Wretches—struggle to survive amidst the smoke and ash.

Believing his mother was living among the Wretches, Partridge escaped from the Dome to find her. Determined to regain control over his son, Willux, the leader of the Pures, unleashes a violent new attack on the Wretches. It’s up to Pressia Belze, a young woman with her own mysterious past, to decode a set of cryptic clues from the past to set the Wretches free.

An epic quest that sweeps readers into a world of beautiful brutality, Fuse continues the story of two people fighting to save their futures—and change the fate of the world.


I think it sounds like an interesting sequel to the original.  Which left us kind of hanging, wondering what our protagonists would do next.  And again, the cover is really cool looking!

So what book are you looking forward to this week?

Also, while you're here, don't forget to drop by and enter some contests!

• First, my 3rd Blogoversary giveaway of a Barnes and Noble giftcard, which I am bumping up to $40 today now that I've reached over 600 followers!  We still have till Friday to get to 650 to bump it up to $50, so invite your book blogger friends to come follow!
• Second, a copy of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare on my Featured Blogger post - The Confounded Cook.

Featured Blog: Sodaro's Stories

Another friend of mine has graciously volunteered to be a part of my 3rd Blogoversary celebration.  She is a blogger, but again, not really a book blogger, at least not in the way that I am.  My friend Michelle is a writer!  Yes, she does read, but her blog is more about her writing adventures.  I was hoping to be able to surprise her with doing a review of her book with this post, but unfortunately, while I did get started on it last week, I realized I had 2 e-galleys from Netgalley that I wouldn't be able to read after September 1st, so I'll have to save my review for a later day.  I will say that what I've read so far is intriguing!  First Michelle wrote a little paragraph about both how we are friends, as well as her blog.  Then I decided to interview her.  So without further ado, here is her post!


Lisa and I met the way all bibliophiles should meet...at a bookstore. We both worked there and had a connection because not only were we both avid readers, we were also teachers...and we wondered about each other's respective sanity as she taught middle school and I taught high school. My friendship with Lisa reminds me of the friendship I have with my favorite books: I always know that I can pick up the conversation (or the book) and it will be just as intriguing as it ever was. Lisa taught me that there are some really amazing stories out there that are designated as Young Adult that I might not have picked up otherwise...and my life would not be as colorful without those stories. She also inspired me to start a blog.
I started my blog (michellesodaro.wordpress.com) as a way to talk to my readers (though at the time I started it, I didn't have my book published) about the things I think about as a writer, the questions I have, the process I go through when I am taking a story that exists only in my head and putting it in a format that it can exist for others as well. I have had many people (previous students, friends I know in real life, and friends I have made via the internet) tell me that they want to write a book and that my blog helps them. I like the feeling that I get to "talk" to people about writing about being an author. Sometimes I will respond to a quote or a song lyric, sometimes it is a trouble spot in one of my projects, sometimes it is just my thoughts about writing in general. While my blog is only one year in the making, my goal is to keep it going and seeing what it can become. 

1.  So Michelle, where do your ideas for your stories come from?

 Does it sound like I am cheating if I say everywhere? Haha...but honestly my ideas come from my dreams where I might see a snippet of something acted out for my subconscious, my ideas come from bits of conversation that I may or may not be actively involved in (people watching is one of my favorite past times as it helps me make my characters real), and my ideas come from a random question or thought that just appears in my head (what would happen if characters in a book could talk to you, was the premise for Whatever you Make of it, which was the first book I self-published. So, it sounds like I'm cheating, but really anything and anyone could spark a story for me. I've even had stories start because a relationship ended and I start to write about the what ifs...what if he stayed, what if I had said this instead of that...I've joked that writers should come with a warning label that any and all interactions with us could end up in a story. 

2.  Do you feel like your stories model the books you read the most, or are closer to your life experiences?

 Most of the time when I am writing, I try to forget the books I have read and my life experiences, but of course everything plays a role. There are aspects of different characters I have admired in the characters I create, and often I use writing to work through this life experience or that life experience. That is what I wrote my Master's thesis on...the use of writing to work through the things life throws at us. One of the stories I am currently playing with (I call it playing until I am about 10 chapters in because by that time the story has taken hold and has a solid shape) deals with the death of a lover that stems from a similiar experience I went through a couple of years ago. The story will be recognizable for those who went through it with me, but not so much that everyone will see the parallels. 

Mostly...I write stories with characters I would like to meet. I write stories that I would like to read. 

3.  When you begin your stories, do you know how it's all going to end, or do you just write and it all comes out as you write?

 Sometimes I know the ending before I have any idea how I am going to get there. Haha. Sometimes it starts at the beginning and sometimes it even starts with a scene in the middle and I have to figure out not only how to get there, but what to do after that scene. That is actually how my the novel I am self-publishing right now started. There was a scene where the prince suggested to Arianna, the heroine, that she could be his mistress. Her reaction was my first meeting with the story idea and when I finally got to the part in the plot where that scene fit in, I was thrilled. 

4.  Do you set aside time to sit and write every day?  Do you fit in writing whenever something strikes you and needs to be written down?

I really try to write every single day. It may be for 20 minutes or it may be for 5 hours, depending on my schedule, but I really try to put pen to paper every day. It is the best of any kinds of vitamin. 

5.  What made you decide to self publish, and how do you feel that process turned out?  Would you recommend it to others?  Pros and cons?

I had sent out Whatever you Make of It to a few publishers and had gotten back official rejection letters and realized that the Catch-22 that existed in so many aspects of life was also true with publishing. No one wants to publish your work until you are published. I like that I have the ultimate say with my books. I get to design the cover (with amazing help from people with far more skill than I possess). I get to have the final say on how my words look on paper, how my story looks overall...and I like that. I think that more and more people are going to self-publish and even more than that, I think that more and more people are going to strictly e-publish...though I hope for the sake of us bibliophiles that this is not true and paper-copies of books still exist forever. 

Thanks Michelle for stopping by my blog!  And thanks for your answers.  I hope any of my followers that are aspiring writers will take something from your answers!

And if you're interested in checking out Michelle's book, it's called Whatever You Make of It.

In My Mailbox - August 2012

I haven't participated in too many of these, because I forget about them, and then I forget what books I got when, etc.  But, once again in honor of my 3rd Blogoversary celebration, I'm going to participate, but do it as a whole August compilation.  Now, I know, there's been a lot of controversy recently regarding The Story Siren who hosts this, but as she is one of the bloggers that I feel really got me more involved with the whole book blogger community thanks to her Debut Author Challenge, and I feel like she's said she was sorry, and it's time to move on, AND she was really nice to me when I went up to say hi at BEA, I'm going to continue to participate in this meme when I remember, and also follow her.  I hope that doesn't offend any of my followers, but I'm kind of a live and learn, and let live person.

I know a lot of people are doing vlogs for this post, but I'm not a fan of seeing myself on camera, or listening to my voice, so I'm just going to do a normal blog post.  First, a picture of all the books, other than e-books from this month.

• The first book in the picture, The Mapmaker's Sons, is one I'm very excited to talk about, and will be reviewing this upcoming week, so stay tuned for that post.
• The 2nd book in the picture is The Slayer Chronicles: Second Chance by Heather Brewer.  She had a contest/post on her Facebook asking reviewers to email and request the book.  I did that, but figured I was not in the first 19 or whatever number she asked for, and I also emailed and asked if she might do a guest post for my blogoversary.  Now, this was actually back at the end of July, beginning of August, and then the other day I got an email back from her saying she'd try to get a post done for me, and was sending me an ARC, and it came this past week and I was soooo excited!
• The 3rd book is another exciting story involving the author, Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry.  He also made a post on Facebook, his was asking for ideas to help name his next short e-novella.  So one of my first suggestions was Tooth & Nail, which he liked, so I won, meaning he's going to name it that, PLUS I got an ARC of Flesh & Bone.  
• The 4th book is called The Coffin Quilt and it is by Ann Rinaldi.  This is one I bought.  I really enjoyed the History Channel's The Hatfields and McCoys, and so began looking for books to read more.  While this is fiction, and is a kids' level book, it seemed like a good one to get, by a good author, and one I could put in my classroom library when I was finished with it.
• The 5th book is one I won!!  I got Kill Me Softly by Sarah Cross from Nori's Closet's Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway.  It's one I have seen on the shelf at the bookstore where I work, and I've picked it up and read the back of it a lot, but haven't ever bought it, so was glad to win!!
• The 6th book is another purchase.  I didn't want to read Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter  by Seth Grahame-Smith until after I'd seen the movie.  I just thought it might be better that way, so I wouldn't be disappointed if it strayed too far from the book.  And I loved the movie, so when I saw we had the book on our bargain table for $5.98, plus my 30% employee discount, I couldn't pass it up.
• And the final book is another ARC  I got in the mail.  Another of my favorite series is by Jasper FForde, and this book comes out in October, The Woman Who Died A Lot, part of the Thursday Next series.  Now, I'm actually a book behind, haven't read the one before, One of Our Thursdays is Missing.  But I made sure to order it and intend to read it in September as part of the Sequel Challenge I'm going to hold, so also, watch for my post on that this upcoming week, and join in!

Now, I've also got some e-galleys from Netgalley, and one e-galley I got as a free deal.  The free deal was Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey.  From Netgalley I've also got on my Nook right now Archived by Victoria Schwab, which I'm guessing a lot of other people got too, and also The Future We Left Behind by Mike A. Lancaster.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?  And don't forget while you're here to go enter my Giveaways:

• 3rd Blogoversary Celebration Barnes & Noble gift card.
• Copy of Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
• Copy of City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Featured Blog: The Confounded Cook and Giveaway!!

My next featured blog again is not a book blog, per se, although he does sometimes talk about cookbooks and books.  Greg is a friend of mine from the Barnes and Noble where I work.  He is one of those blogs that has kept me going as well.  Reading his blog, and wanting to keep up with mine and do as much with my blog as he was doing, well, my competitive side needed that to keep going sometimes.  Greg got a new job a while back, and it has slowed down a bit his blogging, and it took him away from the bookstore, and I really miss getting to talk to him on the nights I'd come in after teaching all day, and he'd be there for a half hour more before his shift was over.  Okay, without further ado, read about The Confounded Cook!

Sharing Our Blogoversary (While Cooking With Mortal Instruments)

Could it be three years already, Lisa?  Lisa and I started our little blogs in the same month of the same year and here we are still workin’ it.  We wrote about our passions: in Lisa’s case, it’s fiction mostly of the young-adult variety; in my case, it's life with a food theme….every variety of food.  I started my blog, The Confounded Cook with the intention of documenting my frequently knuckle-headed attempts at becoming a better cook.  Lisa started hers by featuring her favorite books.  Three years later, my blog has turned into more of a personal blog; a roller-coaster of emotional highs and lows down life’s highways and byways that feature cooking, restaurants and food.  My blog has suffered a bit of an identity crisis, but it reflects my ever-chaotic life.  I still love food and blogging though and will never stop, but watch out for my frequent outbursts of ridiculous randomness.  Lisa, however, has remained laser-focused on her books as well as bettering her blog and the results (and number of followers) show it. I couldn’t be happier for her or more in awe of her as a blogger.

Lisa and I share this love of literature and have been out and proud bookworms our entire lives. We worked together at a chain bookstore for several years and it was she who turned me onto young adult literature.  Lisa sometimes winces at my more adventurous palate with food and by the same token, I don’t always share the same taste in books with her.  For instance, as I am a guest on this blog I loathe admitting that I didn’t care for a certain uberpopular young adult series…let’s just say I’m on Team Not-A-Fan.  That said, I totally dug the Hunger Games and Rick Riordian’s Percy Jackson series.  The most recent series that Lisa guided towards was the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.  I was enthralled with the adventures of Clary, Jace, Alec, Magnus and Simon. I loved the dialogue and the characters and in this day and age when everyone and their sister is writing paranormal teen fice Mortal Instruments series is utterly refreshing. One of the reasons I reveled in this series was due to it being anchored in present-day Brooklyn and the cool, hipster lifestyle that Clary and Simon lived; complete with some trendy food settings.  For Lisa’s blogoversary, I cooked up a little chicken salad from East Village Ukrainian eatery and coffee shop Veselka; a little joint that pops up in the fourth book in the series The City of Fallen Angels.  The recipe is from the Veselka cookbook and is featured on another fun blog Cooking With Veselka.  Go here to my blog for the recipe…

Happy Blogoversary, Lisa!  Here’s to many, many more!  

Thanks Greg!  And it's okay if you aren't a Twilight fan, yeah, I know that's what you're referring to.  :-)  And if I can get enough entries, I will giveaway a copy of the first book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Bones.  If I get at least 10 people to enter in the Rafflecopter below, I will choose a winner on August 31st, the last day of my month long 3rd Blogoversary celebration!  So whether you're new to the series and want to get started, or just don't own the first book in the series yet, please sign up below!  One rule, you must live where The Book Depository ships.  Check this page to see if you can enter!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature and Follow Friday 8-24-12

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly event hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read where you get to learn about two featured bloggers each week, and then can gain new followers as well by joining in to the fun. 

This week's question is a kind of hard one for me:  

What is the worst cover of a book you've read and loved?

Wow, I can't think of a "worst" cover. I agree with another blog that I was reading this post on, the Sookie Stackhouse novel original covers are kind of childish.  The way Eric and Bill look, yuck.  Not attractive at all.  But I'm going to pick a book that I loved, but that I felt the cover wasn't "horrible" it just was a bit too immature for the age level of the book these days.  I choose Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan.  I LOVED this book!  So good!!  But the cover makes it seem more like a book for middle grades, as opposed to teen.  I'm comparing based on where we shelve things in the Barnes and Noble where I work.  The cover just doesn't fit in with what else is there, and actually reminds me of certain middle age covers.  I wish I could remember the name of that book so I could post it here for you to compare.  And I feel bad saying it, especially when the author talked about how she was so proud of choosing it or having it chosen. But I just am not a fan.

So, what was your worst cover?

And while you're here, make sure you sign up for the giveaways I've listed below:

• Barnes and Noble Gift Card for 3rd Blogoversary Celebration
• Authors Are Rockstars featuring Gina Damico and a copy of Scorch (Croak #2) closes tonight!
• Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz 

Cara Lynn Shultz - One of My Rockstar Authors

When I was planning ahead for my big blogoversary celebration month, I really was wanting to do lots of different types of posts.  One thing I really wanted to do was see if I could get any authors to feature on my blog.  Especially any that I'd actually met in person.  And of course, Cara is the first one I picked, because of how nice she was when I met her last November on my first trip to NYC.  Not only was she really cool online talking through Twitter, but we spent a couple hours hanging out and just talking.  I have to say it was one of the neatest nights ever!

Even cooler, because my sister was with me that night, and she was the one living in NYC, she got to go to the release party Cara had for the next book in the series, Spellcaster.  And she got to try the purple velvet cupcakes that I had heard about on Twitter when the first book came out.  

When I returned to NYC in June for BEA, I got to hang out with her again at the bar that her husband owns.  And I did get to see her at BEA as well!  

I am a huge fan of her books, and will hand sell them at my store, and suggest them to my students at school when they are looking for something to read, and I know that paranormal romance is up their alley.  So I emailed Cara and asked if she wouldn't mind writing a little paragraph for me, and here it is:

I had the very welcome opportunity to meet Lisa when she came to New York last

December to visit her sister. She was as lovely as she seemed on Twitter, and let

me tell you, Lisa’s blog is very aptly named! Lisa truly does love literature. She has

a true passion, love and respect for YA, and it shows in her thoughtful blog. I was

thrilled when we got to hang again at BEA this past year. Congrats on three years,

Lisa — here’s to many, many more!

Thanks Cara for taking the time to write that for me!  Along with my promoting her books, for anyone who hasn't read the first one yet, Spellbound, I am running a giveaway, sign up below!  

                                               

And when you're done signing up for that, be sure to go to my main blogoversary giveaway for a Barnes and Noble gift card, still worth $30, because I still haven't reached the 600 follower mark yet, when I will bump it to $40.  So go sign up for that HERE!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Top 10 Favorite Books Growing Up

Again, with celebrating my 3rd Blogoversary month, I'm doing another post to let you get to know me a little better.  As a child I was a voracious reader.  And there were certain books or book series that I read over and over.  Ones that I still think about when reading new books today, or that I can't understand why everyone hasn't read them!  So I thought I'd share them with you today, here is my top 10, in no particular order.

1.  Nancy Drew - My first memory of Nancy Drew is of my mom buying me a whole bunch of them when we were shopping at the JCPenney outlet one night.  I think later on in my childhood, my mother may have regretted really getting me so hooked on reading, but there it was.  And I became such a huge fan!  I have all my copies from when I was a kid.  The hard cover yellow ones, and then the paperback ones that came after those.

2.  The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.  Another series that I read over and over.  I remember how neat I thought it was about when Aslan died, and rose from the dead, that it was basically the story of Jesus. I attended a Lutheran school from 1st through 8th grade, and was pretty religious back then.  Now, I still enjoy the stories, and am glad that with the movies a whole new generation continues to pick them up.

3.  A Wrinkle in Time.  I loved this book too, and read all the other books in the series too.  Madeline L'Engle was a favorite author of mine.  So well do I remember the book, that when they were talking about the tesseract in The Avengers movie this past year, that is the first thing I thought of.

4.  From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg.  I think this book is the reason when I was a kid I started thinking about what bridges on the highway would be best to go live under if I had to do that for any reason.  Not sure why exactly, but the thought of running away from home to live in a museum sounded so cool.

5.  Bunnicula by James Howe.  Another series I really liked, especially when Howie the dachshund became a part of the family, as I can't resist a dachshund!  I got to meet James Howe a few years ago, and I brought the Bunnicula puppet I'd made for a book report when I was younger, because I still had it.

6.  The Parent Trap by Vic Crume.  I used to check this out from the library over and over.  This is before the movie with Lindsay Lohan of course, this one had Hayley Mills.  Read it before I ever watched the original movie too.

7.  Remember Me to Harold Square by Paula Danziger.  I still have this book as well.  And I need to go back and re-read it before I go visit my sister in NYC again so I can remember what other things I might want to do and see.

8.  Sweet Valley High series by Francine Pascal.  I loved these books.  Jessica and Elizabeth, the chocolate brown room, using vanilla for perfume, etc.  But I don't have these anymore, because my parents made me get rid of them when I was in 8th grade.

9.  A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry.  A depressing book, I did cry every time I read it, and I did read it more than once.  But it is one of the reasons I got a file cabinet when I was in middle/high school and started keeping papers in it.  I got to see Lois Lowry this summer at BEA, but didn't really get to meet her in an autograph line.

10.  The Haunted Mansion Mystery by Virginia Masterman-Smith.  I read this book over and over as well.  I still have this book as well.  I don't think it's been republished, and Goodreads.com doesn't even have a picture of the cover, so I had to take a picture of my copy.  Sad.  Maybe I should get on the bandwagon to get it back out there.

Do you have a list of books from your childhood that you remember reading over and over?  Have you read any of my books?  I'd love to hear from you!

Featured Blog: It's the Little Things

My next featured blogger as part  of my 3rd Blogoversary Celebration isn't a book blog, but it is such a neat, inspiring blog, and a good friend of mine, so I really wanted to share it.  My friend Amanda did such an awesome job with the little write up I asked her for, I almost don't really want to spoil it with too much of my own stuff.  So without further ado, I'll let her take over my blog now.

Happy blog anniversary Lisa! What a special time for you and your readers. Thank you for having me here today to chat about a fantastic book I read over the summer called Bloom by Kelle Hampton. But before I delve into why I love this book so much, I want to give your readers a little background about our relationship and who I am.

My name is Amanda, and I am the writer behind our family's blog, It's the Little Things, about this fantastic little thing called life! Our tiny corner of the internet is your glimpse into ourendless giggles, yummy meals, park excursions, bebe letters, colorful crafts, and heaps of love, with bits and pieces of what inspires us along the way. Something parenthood has taught us so far, is that the little things in life aren't so little after all; they are, in fact, quite big and beautifully important. We invite you to our neck of the woods to enjoy a peek at some of the treasured moments in our lives as a itty-bitty family of four.

How do I know Lisa? Well, we are both middle school teachers at the same school, and up until this year, have taught the same grade right across the hall from each other. Those crazy 8^th graders provided us with some unforgettable moments and have bonded us into becoming friends. I admire her love for reading and am happy for her new adventure as a communication arts teacher!

So let’s talk about Bloom. I have been into memoirs of late, so Kelle’s book about her family’s unexpected journey intrigued me from the start. At the moment of giving birth to her second daughter Nella, Kelle learns that she has Down syndrome. From that point on, her gripping and expressive memoir goes on a wild roller coaster ride of emotions that ultimately reveals how this distraught mother overcame her grief and watched life blossom, or bloom, right before her eyes as she uncovered it’s beauty. This memoir is about growth in a time of pain, and how honesty and optimism can help someone make the most of any difficult situation.

From the first few sentences I was glued to Kelle’s journey and I now hold her and her loved ones in a special place in my heart. As a new mama myself, I could really connect to this story on many levels. What has really stuck with me is Kelle’s positive outlook on life, and I know it is one that I will refer to when I am faced with something unexpected or difficult. I highly recommend this book to all parents, teachers, and anyone that is in the process of overcoming ahardship in their life. 

This book sounds really good Amanda!  I'm not sure about reading it, as with recent issues with my brother and sister-in-law and my first niece, don't know if I'm ready to read about this story.  But some day I would like to read it, and so it is on my TBR list.  I have loved working so closely with Amanda, and am a little sad to not be working across the hall from her this year.  But I'm sure I'll still see her at school, especially when all the communication arts teachers in the building meet!  And I'll keep up with her adorable daughter through Facebook, and of course her awesome blog!  

Waiting on Wednesday - Rise (Nightshade Prequel #2) by Andrea Cremer

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  In fact, I believe it is probably the very first meme I participated in on my blog.  My first post for this was back in July of 2010, the end of my first year on the blog, and you can read it here.  I haven't done this as much lately, partly because I've been just trying to read as much as possible.  Partly because a lot of the books I pick are the same as a lot of other bloggers.  But, since I'm celebrating my 3rd Blogoversary this month, I thought I should visit all the memes I've done.

This time I'm choosing a sequel to a prequel.  I know, that sounds weird.  But I was able to score an ARC of Rift, the prequel to the Nightshade series by Andrea Cremer at BEA this year.  You can read my review of it here.  And I LOVED it!!!!  It left with a cliffhanger, but in a good way.  In a way that I want to go on and find out what happens next!  Here is the blurb from Goodreads.com:

Everything Conatus stands for is at risk. Hoping to gather enough resistance to save their order, Ember and Barrow attempt a desperate escape. But fate offers little mercy. When their mission is exposed, the couple face relentless pursuit by the supernatural horrors that act on the commands of Eira’s ally: the mysterious Bosque Mar. A shocking revelation forces Ember out of hiding, sending her back into the heart of dark magic at Tearmunn keep, where she must convince her old friend Alistair of her love or face dire consequences. Ember’s deception offers the only chance for the resistance to succeed, but what she discovers in the shadows beneath the keep will shatter her world and bring about the Witches’ War.I loved the characters in this book.  Not sure why, but I almost liked it better than the original series.  Not that the original series wasn't great!!  What book are you waiting on this Wednesday?

And while you're here, make sure to go enter my 3rd Blogoversary Barnes and Noble Gift Card giveaway.  Only 35 more followers needed as of the time I post this before I will add $10 to the amount of the prize!  So invite your friends over to follow me as well.

The 10 Books I'd Want If I Was Stranded On An Island

Okay, another post in the spirit of letting my bloggers get to know more about me.  I thought I'd do some top 10 or top 5 lists throughout the month.  Of course my "cheat" answer would be that I'd want my Nook with all my books downloaded on it, and an unlimited supply of batteries/electricity to run it.  However, as that's just silly and unrealistic, here are my top 10 books that I can read over and over and would take care of me on an island.

1.  It by Stephen King

2.  Watchers by Dean Koontz

3.  Swan Song by Robert McCammon

4.  The Flowers in the Attic series in one book by V.C. Andrews  (Is there such a thing?  If not, there should be.)

5.  The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer.  If not all, then just the first one is okay.

6.  Harry Potter series.  Although, there's not just one I would pick, I love them all.  Maybe if I had to pick just one, it would be Goblet of Fire.

7.  Gone With the Wind and/or it's sequel Scarlett

8.  Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

9.  My grandfather's Marx Brothers book I used to always look at when I went to visit him.

10.  Either a Fox Trot cartoon book, or a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon book for laughing.

Have you read any of those?  Would any of those be on your list?  How would you decide which books made the cut?

While you're here, don't forget to go sign up for my 3rd Blogoversary Barnes & Noble gift card.

Partials by Dan Wells Winner(s)!!!!

I'm a little sad that only two people entered my contest from the other day.  But because they did, I've decided instead of picking only 1 to win, both people will get a copy!  So congratulations to Melissa and Jessica S.!!  I've sent them an email and will get their books in the mail sometime next week after I get their mailing addresses.

Feature and Follow Friday 8-10-12

Feature and Follow Friday is a weekly event hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read where you get to learn about two featured bloggers each week, and then can gain new followers as well by joining in to the fun.  This is the 2nd type of meme I started doing regularly with blogging, and at one point I was even the featured blogger!  So I try to come back and participate as often as I can.

This week's question is quite appropriate for my 3rd Blogoversary Celebration month:

Q: What would you do over if you were to start your blog again from scratch?

This is a great question!  Some things I've since realized would have helped with my following, first, my website address would match my blog title of Lisa Loves Literature.  Second, I'd have a Twitter handle that matched it as well.  Those are the main things I'd change if I could go back and do that.

What would you do over?

While you're here, don't forget to enter my month long giveaway for a Barnes & Noble gift card, that the dollar amount will increase as I gain followers here:  Blogoversary Month Giveaway.

And before midnight tonight you need to enter to win a copy of Partials from the Book Depository here:  Charlotte's Web of Books Feature Contest.

Happy 3rd Blogoversary to Me!!!

Today is the big day!  The day that Lisa Loves Literature actually began!  While it was not the first day of my blogging about books, it was the day that I started to develop this blog into what it has now become.  The day that I really dedicated myself to talking about the books I was reading.  As I've mentioned before, I'd been kind of reviewing books and movies, and just kind of journaling about my life.  It was spread out between My Space, Live Journal, and I think one other place that I can't remember.  It might even have been here on Blogspot, but under a different blog name.  My friend Charlotte, who I featured on Tuesday (go check out the post and enter a giveaway!!), was blogging over on Blogspot, and so I decided to follow her lead, and change my blog to just books.  I mean that is one of the reasons I have always loved my job at Barnes and Noble so much, because my co-workers were people who understood just standing around and talking about books, and getting excited about books, etc.  Unfortunately we've had cuts in the number of hours we can have people scheduled, so that part of the job happens less, as we don't often get that much time to talk about books while we're working, and there are less of us there at a time to talk.  As you have seen so far this month, I'm going to be posting about reasons why I blog, and other posts so you can get to know me better, of course along with my normal reviews, as I finish a book, or as scheduled reviews.  I also will have a couple author days, one as part of the Authors Are Our Rockstars Hop, and another as an author I feel like is a friend now.

When I met Jonathan Maberry at BEA 2012

Before I move on to the big giveaway, I want to share some exciting news I got on Tuesday of this week.  First some back story, Monday night I was playing around on Facebook and I noticed that Jonathan Maberry, author of the Rot & Ruin zombie series, had posted a little contest wanting people to give him ideas for a title for his new short novella e-book that takes place between the 3rd and 4th book in the series.  I had several ideas that I posted, but one of my first ones was chosen.  So look for the e-book Tooth & Nail next year, and know that the title was my idea!


Okay, and now for the giveaway!!  In honor of 3 years of blogging, I've decided to give away a $30 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.  And in the hopes to increase my blog following, I'm going to run this giveaway until the end of the month,August 31st, and when I reach 600 followers on GFC, I will add $10 to the gift card making it $40.  And for every 50 more followers I gain after that, I'll add another $10 to the gift card.  It'll be interesting to see after a month how many new followers I can get, and how big of a gift card I'll be giving away.  And keep checking by for other giveaways this month too!

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Featured Blog: Charlotte's Web of Books

Today, as part of my month long celebration of my 3rd Blogoversary, I will be featuring one of my favorite fellow bloggers.  Charlotte of Charlotte's Web of Books, is not just a blogger that has inspired me, she is a friend.  We used to work together at Barnes and Noble, she was one of my managers, until she got married and moved away.  :-(  I miss Charlotte a lot, but thanks to the Internet I can still keep up with what she's reading at her blog.  Charlotte is the blogger that really got me dedicated to being a full time blogger, in as much as I can with working 2, and at times, 3 jobs.  I asked Charlotte to describe how she knew me, and then give a review of a book.  This is a book she has reviewed already on her blog, but since I haven't read it yet, I'm excited to get her take on it.

Happy Anniversary, Lisa!!  Congratulations of three whole years of blogging! I first met Lisa, Wow, it has been over five years ago when I was first transferred to the Zona Rosa Barnes & Noble where we both worked.  We bonded over our mutual fondness of Single-Girl-Finds-Her-Prince-Charming Chick Lit novels.    We would discuss authors such as Meg Cabot,  Stacey Ballis, and of course Stephenie Meyer.

I first started blogging over four years ago as a way to keep track of the books that I had read.  This was before Goodreads was really popular and I was reading so many books that I wanted an easy way to keep track of what I had read.   I don’t know how many times over the years I have referred back to my blog before making a purchase or placing a book on hold at the library, so it has certainly been handy.  I love blogging because I feel like I can share so many books that get looked over by more mainstream reviewers.  My interest in books have changed just a bit over the course of four years.  Thanks to Lisa I have become more open to reading Young Adult novels.  Recently I read Partials by Dan Wells, here is what I thought…

Partials is a post-apocalyptic novel set not too far in the future.  99.96% of the human race was obliterated by the Partials. The Partials group of non-human beings that were first developed by the Government to win a global war, they lived harmoniously among the humans until they turned on the government and obliterated the human race.

The survivors have gathered in East Meadow, New York on Long Island and they are desperate to find a cure to the biological warfare that is preventing the human race from procreating.  Life today is ruled by the Senate and all women, by law, are to become pregnant.  Sixteen year old Kira is a Medic-In-Training and has just started her training in the maternity ward when she realizes that they are going about it all wrong.  She knows they need a live Partial to do testing on if they want to find a cure to the virus and start repopulating the Earth.   But getting a Partial is anything from easy.  Kira enlists the help of her friends and they set off on a journey that will change them and their world, but will she be able to find the cure that they are all desperate to find?

Partials is a fast paced "What If" kind of novel that sucks you deep into the world of "What If".  Kira is a very strong, interesting female character and I loved to see her grow as the story progressed.  Her relationship with Samm was my favorite part of the book.  And when the tables are turned and she discovers a shocking revelation, well, it just made the book all that much better.

Bottom line, post-apocalyptic novels are only as good as your imagination allows them to be.  I loved seeing the future world through Kira's eyes and I could see glimpses of our world in her world.  If you like those kind of novels, then you need to check out Partials. You won't be disappointed.  I promise.

I am even now more interested in reading this book!  I know several of you out there may have already read it, but in the spirit of learning new things with my blogging, today I'm going to have a giveaway of this book using The Book Depository.  I've yet to use this resource, I try so hard to support my Barnes and Noble bookstore, but I see a lot of other bloggers using this, and so I'm going to try it out.  If you'd like to win a copy of this book, just fill out the rafflecopter form below.  You do need to make sure that The Book Depository delivers to your country here.  No requirements, just a free entry, but if you want more entries, you can follow me if you don't already, and definitely go follow Charlotte!  This giveaway will only last till Friday at midnight, so be sure to get entered!

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