3rd Time is the Charm

So I still have 100 pages left to read of my ARC of The Dream Thieves, so I'm not going to be ready to write the review till tomorrow.  Now normally I can get through 100 pages really quickly, but even the fact that Maggie Stiefvater's writing hooks me and doesn't want to let me go when I pick the book up, her books take me longer to read.  Why?  Because they are so detailed and so much to read, so much to catch, that they are not books that I can skim over and skip parts.  I want, need, however you want to describe it, have to read every little detail, every word.  And so, like I said before, it'll be tomorrow before I'm done.  So, I guess to tie my blog over with a post till then, I'll just have to talk about going to see Ms. Stiefvater speak tonight about this very book!
It was so neat to see her again!  So thanks to Rainy Day Books for hosting her visit and kickoff to the tour for her new book.  While we heard some of the same stories, (the wolf trainer), we also got to hear many new ones.  And as usual, she is such a great speaker, so funny!  Someone I wish I could hang out with in real life.  One main thing she started off talking about is how people always want to know which of her characters are most like her, or are her.  So then she went through all the main characters in The Raven Boys.  Afterwards she did a fun reading of one part of the new book, and even had guest readers!  One was Tessa Gratton, another author I really enjoy, in fact, I got to be the host for her during the Authors are Rock Stars Tour.  Along with Ms. Gratton were her parents, her dad was also in the reading, playing Mr. Gray, which was quite funny, until the parts where it kind of became awkward, as Maggie was reading the part of Maura, Blue's mom in the story, who may be interested in Mr. Gray.  Here is a picture of that scene:

After the reading, there was time for questions.  I waited till it seemed most others had asked their questions, and also after a mention of a deleted scene from a story.  And then I asked if the character who had an afghan, and was supposed to have my last name, that was in the first draft of The Raven Boys, might make an appearance in the 3rd book.  Happily at that point she remembered me, and explained to the rest of the audience what I was talking about.  Yay!  Then, after about half the people lined up for autographs, the other half got to go outside and start spray painting the Mitsubishi that she brought, that from her stories, was probably purchased accidentally while she was doing research for The Dream Thieves.  If you haven't seen the video about it yet, check this out:

I forgot to take a picture of the car tonight, and by the time I got to go out and paint something, it was dark outside.  So nothing else to add for that.
But I was in the first group to get autographs, so I'll share my pictures with Maggie and Tessa.  I only wish Brenna Yovanoff had been there as well, like she was last time, I brought two of her books to get signed.  And I also forgot to bring the copy of The Scorpio Races I just bought specifically to get signed.  Oh well, I guess it leaves me something to bring next time I see her!  I also told her about how my picture of her and Brenna and Tessa from BEA 2012 is going to be in a biography book about Maggie that is specifically for school libraries.  And while she and Tessa both told me not to give up on maybe my last name being used some day in one of her books, to keep bugging her about it, they said now I was kind of connected with her in print!  Anyway, below are my pictures, first with Maggie Stiefvater, then below that with Tessa Gratton.

So it was another rock star night for me!  Which means I'm not too upset that I was unable to finish The Dream Thieves today.

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 

Waiting On Wednesday - Scorch (Croak #2) by Gina Damico

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting. This week I've chosen the sequel to the book by the author I got to host as part of the Authors are Rockstars tour.  You should go check it out and sign up for the contest to win this book HERE.  

Croak is a cool series about Reapers, and Scorch continues Lex's story after a renegade reaper has taken off with an extra power that Lex unwillingly gave to her.  Here is the summary from Goodreads.com:

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby is a teenage grim reaper with the bizarre ability to damn souls. That makes her pretty scary, even to fellow Grims. But after inadvertently transferring her ability to Zara, a murderous outlaw, Lex is a pariah in Croak, the little town she calls home.

To escape the townspeople’s wrath, she and her friends embark on a wild road trip to DeMyse. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, it feels like a prison to Lex. Her best chance at escape would be to stop Zara once and for all—but how can she do that from DeMyse, where the Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara’s killing spree?





So, what book are you eagerly waiting on this week?

Authors Are Rockstars Tour stop featuring Gina Damico, author of Croak

I'm so excited to get to be a part of this awesome tour!  I've been telling people that authors are my rockstars for such a long time!  Probably since I first joined into the whole Twitter and blogging universe, and got to talk to them, and even occasionally meet some of them!  When I was notified that I got to host Gina Damico, I was really excited!  I'd tried for awhile to win her book on Goodreads.com, but never won.  Then I got to meet her at BEA this summer, and get the book autographed!  I had put off reading it, as I kind of set up a little schedule with trying to read ARCs before they came out.  But when I found out I was hosting her, I picked Croak right up to read.  And I LOVED it!  You can read my review here.  I got a top 5 list from Gina to share with you, I hope you enjoy it!!

All summer long, I've been working on the third and final book in the Croak series. It's been wonderful and fun and difficult all at the same time (emphasis on the difficult when my house decides to turn itself into a sauna), but lately I've been thinking about how I used to spend my summers when I was a kid: not writing, but reading. More specifically, going to the library and checking out the same books over and over and over until the librarian had to call pry them out of my freakishly strong little hands. So here are the top five picture books I loved as a kid, in no particular order:

-Herman the Helper, by Robert Kraus
This charming little ditty is about an octopus named Herman who loves to help. It's his favorite thing ever. Get stuck in a web of seaweed? Herman'll help you out. Ocean traffic jam? Herman will use all of his legs to direct traffic. DWI charge? Herman's the best lawyer there is. (There is a chance I'm remembering this story wrong.) 

-Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are? by Dr. Seuss
This is one of those books that I loved so hard, I memorized it. Which is a difficult thing to do with a Dr. Seuss book, in my opinion, with all those made-up words. It's a gorgeously drawn book that tells you that even if you are stuck in a desert and sitting atop a cactus (as a wiser cactus-sitter is telling our narrator), there's a whole bunch of crap that can happen to you that's a whole lot worse. Like poor Mr. Bix - every morning at six, poor Mr. Bix has his Borfin to fix! 

-Peter and the Penny Tree, by Thomas James
I'm not sure this was one of my favorites, actually, but it definitely was the first book I ever read. I was only three at the time, and I remember sitting at the kitchen table while my mom was drying dishes or something, and I was looking at the book, and then the words just came plopping out of my mouth. Mom freaked out and I got scared. But then once I realized what was happening we all had a hearty laugh and a celebratory round of Goldfish. Thus began my career of reading and getting paid in processed cheese snacks. My book advance consisted solely of Doritos!

-Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
The story is about how all the letters of the alphabet get together to climb up a coconut tree, and then it gets a little too crowded up there and they all fall out - which, now that I am seeing that all typed out, is actually pretty horrible. But I dare you to read this book  and not start saying "Chicka chicka boom boom" to yourself for the rest of the day, or perhaps the rest of the month, driving anyone within hearing range to insanity with your nonsensical ramblings.

-Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst
I know I'm not alone in loving this book, and I think it's because kids are just so darn convinced that they are constantly going through the worst possible things that could happen to them, when meanwhile they have no idea how much harder life is going to get. Hey Alexander, I bet you'll stop whining about the ice cream that fell off your cone once you get audited by the IRS. Good luck whining your way out of THAT one. Sure, you can move to Australia like you keep threatening, but you know what? THEY WILL FIND YOU.

I have to say I definitely agree with the last book on that list.  It is one of my favorite books EVER!  I find myself quoting lines from it even when I'm having a bad day.

And in going with the top 5 list and the theme of these books, I've created my own top 5 Grim Reapers list, like above, in no particular order.

• Lex from Croak
• Georgia Lass from the Showtime series Dead Like Me
• Sam Oliver from the CW series called Reaper
• Tod Hudson in the Souls Screamers series by Rachel Vincent
• And a classic, the one from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

And to all of you out there, let me say that I wish I could enter the contest I'm sponsoring today!!  Gina Damico is offering a copy of the 2nd book in her Croak series, called Scorch.  A book I really can't wait to read now!  So, make sure you enter the giveaway below, so you can be the lucky owner of this book.  And it is open to US entries only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the rest of the Authors Are Rockstars Tour HERE.