Cleaning Up My TBR: Down the TBR Hole #6 with Giveaway

This meme was started by Lost in a Story.  Here is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

Because I have so many to do, I'm going to try to do this weekly, and do 10 at a time.

1.  Stiff:  The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach:

Stiff is an oddly compelling, often hilarious exploration of the strange lives of our bodies postmortem. For two thousand years, cadavers—some willingly, some unwittingly—have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings. In this fascinating account, Mary Roach visits the good deeds of cadavers over the centuries and tells the engrossing story of our bodies when we are no longer with them. 

My thoughts:
I really do want to read a book by this author at some point.  And this is one that I am definitely interested in.  I think I should keep at least one book by this author on my TBR to make sure I don't forget her.

Verdict:  Keep


2.  Under a Green Sky: Global Warming, the Mass Extinctions of the Past, and What They Can Tell Us About Our Future by Peter D. Ward:

By looking backward at the course of great extinctions, a paleontologist sees what the future holds.

More than 200 million years ago, a cataclysmic event known as the Permian extinction destroyed more than 90 percent of all species and nearly 97 percent of all living things. Its origins have long been a puzzle for paleontologists. During the 1990s and the early part of this century, a great battle was fought between those who thought that death had come from above and those who thought something more complicated was at work.

Paleontologist Peter. D. Ward, fresh from helping prove that an asteroid had killed the dinosaurs, turned to the Permian problem, and he has come to a stunning conclusion. In his investigations of the fates of several groups of mollusks during that extinction and others, he discovered that the near-total devastation at the end of the Permian period was caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide leading to climate change. But it's not the heat (nor the humidity) that's directly responsible for the extinctions, and the story of the discovery of what is responsible makes for a fascinating, globe-spanning adventure.

In Under a Green Sky, Ward explains how the Permian extinction as well as four others happened, and describes the freakish oceans—belching poisonous gas—and sky—slightly green and always hazy—that would have attended them. Those ancient upheavals demonstrate that the threat of climate change cannot be ignored, lest the world's life today—ourselves included—face the same dire fate that has overwhelmed our planet several times before.  

My thoughts:  So, in a way, you could call me a bit of a "climate change denier".  Although honestly, what I think about it is based on the education I received to become a science teacher in college.  And this book is right up my alley.  I think that a lot of the change our climate goes through is natural, but I do feel that as humans we could be speeding things up. The fact that this book looks back at other extinctions in our past is one that interests me due to my background in earth science and paleontology.

Verdict:  Keep


3.  Beauty Sleep:  A Retelling of Sleeping Beauty by Cameron Dokey:

"ONCE UPON A TIME"
IS TIMELESS 

The Princess Aurore has had an unusual childhood. Cursed at birth, Aurore is fated to prick her finger at the age of sixteen and sleep for one hundred years -- until a prince awakens her with a kiss. So, to protect her, Aurore's loving parents forbid any task requiring a needle. 

Unable to sew or embroider like most little princesses, Aurore instead explores the castle grounds and beyond, where her warmth and generosity soon endear her to the townspeople. their devotion to the spirited princess grows as she does. 

On her sixteenth birthday, Aurore learns that the impending curse will harm not only her, but the entire kingdom as well. Unwilling to cause suffering, she will embark on a quest to end the evil magic. The princess's bravery will be rewarded as she finds adventure, enchantment, a handsome prince, and ultimately her destiny.

My thoughts:  If you know me, you know I love a good fairy tell retelling.  And while this one definitely sounds good, I don't know if it is one I will ever get to.  But again, I'm afraid to take it off my list, because the author, while prolific in this type of story, isn't as popular these days.

Verdict:  Keep  


4.  Behind the Bedroom Wall by Laura E. Williams and A. Nancy Goldstein (illustrator):

It's 1942. Thirteen-year-old Korinna Rehme is an active member of her local Jungmadel, a Nazi youth group, along with many of her friends. She believes that Hitler is helping Germany by instituting a program to deal with what he calls the "Jewish problem," a program that she witnesses as her Jewish neighbors are attacked and taken from their homes. Korinna's parents, however, are members of a secret underground group providing a means of escape to the Jews of their city. Korinna is shocked to discover that they are hiding a refugee family behind the wall of her bedroom. But as she comes to know the family, her sympathies begin to turn. When someone tips off the Gestapo, loyalties are put to the test and Korinna must decide what she really believes and whom she really trusts. Filled with adventure, Behind the Bedroom Wall helps readers understand the forces that drove so many to turn on their neighbors and the courage that allowed some to resist.  

My thoughts:  I am someone who seeks out books about the holocaust.  I think that I feel like if I can read about what happened, and feel their stories however it is possible, then I have done something to make the memories of the horrible injustices live on, and not let it ever happen again.   This is a less well known story, as far as I know, so I think I will probably still want to read it some day.

Verdict:  Keep


5.  Truancy by Isama Fukui:

In an alternate world, in a nameless totalitarian city, the autocratic Mayor rules the school system with an iron fist, with the help of his Educators. Fighting against the Mayor and his repressive Educators is a group of former students called the Truancy, whose goal is to take down the system by any means possible - at any cost.

Fifteen-year-old Tack is just trying to survive. His days are filled with sadistic teachers, unrelenting schoolwork, and indifferent parents. Things start to look up when he meets Umasi, a mysterious boy who becomes Tack's mentor.

Then someone close to Tack gets killed in the cross fire between the Educators and the Truants, and he swears to avenge her. To achieve his purpose, he abandons his old life and joins the Truancy, looking for an opportunity to confront Zyid, its enigmatic leader. But Tack soon finds himself torn between his desire for revenge and his growing sympathy for the Truants.  

My thoughts:  I think this is one that I became interested in around the time I was reading The Hunger Games. While it sounds like maybe something I'd like, I don't know that I will probably get to it.  I've had chances to read it, but haven't taken any of them.  

Verdict: Toss 


6.  Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr:

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.
But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first-century faery tale.  

My thoughts:  So, Melissa Marr is an author that I either love, or else can't get into.  This is one that while it sounds good, I don't know if I'll ever get to it.  However, I feel that Marr is a well-enough known author that this is one I won't have to worry about forgetting even if I don't keep her on the list.  

Verdict:  Toss 


7.  Cut by Patricia McCormick:

Callie cuts herself. Never too deep, never enough to die. But enough to feel the pain. Enough to feel the scream inside.

Now she's at Sea Pines, a "residential treatment facility" filled with girls struggling with problems of their own. Callie doesn't want to have anything to do with them. She doesn't want to have anything to do with anyone. She won't even speak.

But Callie can only stay silent for so long...   

My thoughts:  I know that this is a well-known classic, and I think it has won awards.  And it is one I'd probably want to read.  But, I know that I've read other books about this topic, and so not sure if this is one I have to read or not.  It is short enough that it would be a quick read, but as I said, probably not one I have to save the name of so I don't forget it.

Verdict:  Toss 


 8.  Going Home by Harriet Evans:

They say love feels like going home . . . 
but what if your home is no longer there? 

Leaving her tiny flat in London -- and a whole host of headaches behind -- Lizzy Walter is making the familiar journey back home to spend Christmas with her chaotic but big-hearted family. In an ever-changing world, her parents' country home, Keeper House, is the one constant. But behind the mistletoe and mince pies, family secrets and rivalries lurk. And when David, the Love of Her Life -- or so she thought -- makes an unexpected reappearance, this one ranks as a Christmas she would definitely rather forget.

As winter slowly turns to spring, all the things that Lizzy has taken for granted begin to shift. Keeper House is in jeopardy and might have to be sold for reasons Lizzy doesn't understand. Her family seems fractured like never before. And, with a new man in her life, she may finally have to kiss her dream of a reunion with David good-bye. By the time the Walters gather at Keeper House for a summer wedding, the stakes have never been higher -- for Lizzy, for her family, and for love.  

My thoughts:  I honestly have no idea why I saved this one.  If I've read other books by the author, her name doesn't stand out to me. And the synopsis isn't enough to make me sure I want to read it again.

Verdict: Toss 


9.  Evolution's Darling by Scott Westerfeld:

Does a clone have a soul? Darling, an astronavigational control unit and personal companion, achieves sentience and wants to know. Now, 200 years and an artificial body later, he is off in search of a dead artist, a living artwork, and the forces behind a mystery that spans the universe. Accompanied by a female assassin, he'll confront the Maker and get the answer.  

My thoughts:
So, I love Scott Westerfeld.  And this is an older book, but still sounds like one I would want to read.  You don't see it around much, so even though Westerfeld is a well-known author, I'm afraid to take it off my list and not remember some day that I want to read it.

Verdict:  Keep 


10.  Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent:  How Daring Slaves and Free Blacks Spied for the Union During the Civil War by Thomas B. Allen and Carla Bauer (Illustrator):

It's 1863. Harriet Tubman is facing one of the biggest—and most dangerous— challenges of her life. She has survived her master's lash, escaped from slavery, and risked her life countless times to lead runaway slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad. Now she has a new role—that of Union spy! The outcome of a secret night raid deep into Confederate territory depends on the accuracy of the intelligence she and other black spies have gathered. Success will mean freedom for hundreds of slaves. Failure will mean death by hanging. 

You are about to enter the undercover world of African-American spies—enslaved and free—risking everything in the name of freedom. How were the Underground Railroad and slave songs used to pass secret messages? What were "contrabands" and "Black Dispatches?" What did Harriet have in common with the Secret Six and a maidservant in the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis? You'll discover these answers and more as the action unfolds. 

Thomas B. Allen, author of the award-winning George Washington, Spymaster, has sifted through military and intelligence archives, diaries, and little-known memoirs from ex-slaves to bring to light new facts about the role Harriet and other black spies played in helping the Union win the war. 

This detailed account combined with powerful archival images supplemented with woodcuts by Carla Bauer, maps, a time line, footnotes, and extensive quote sources make this incredibly detailed account an excellent resource for report writing as well as an exciting true-life adventure.

National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.  

My thoughts:  So, back in middle school, in the 80s, we still had a class called handwriting.   What we did was to choose a book to copy from and practice our handwriting, cursive, and then turn in what we'd copied.  That's when I first really learned about Harriet Tubman and became very interested in her whole story and others of that time.  This is one that may be hard to find, but I feel like I'd still like to read it some day.

Verdict:  Keep 



Well, didn't do quite as well this week with tossing books, well, kept more than I tossed. But that's okay.  I'm going to rectify the physical stacks with the giveaway below!  Tell me, have you read any of the books above?  Would you agree with my decision to keep or toss them?


Giveaway:
I'm going to continue doing this giveaway that I started last week.  Once again I can only do a US giveaway, unless you are INT and want to chip in on the shipping costs because you really want a book from my shelves.  Just as with last week, you get to pick any book from the pictures below, as long as they don't get traded away, or picked by last week's winner, and I will pick a surprise book from the piles to add to your choice.  Here are your choices:

The picture above is all of the 2018 ARCs I have for this giveaway

These are the 2017 ARCs I have to giveaway

These are the ARCs I have from 2013-2016.

There you have it!  Just enter in the rafflecopter below to win!

 

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Three YA ARCs, One YA Audiobook, and One YA Finished Copy Mini-Reviews

Finally, finally getting around to posting a review on a book I read clear back in April, because I was waiting until I finished its sequel, an ARC I had, so I could review them together.  Then another book that I just finished reading this past week, an ARC that was top of my list to get at ALA this past summer.  And the other two are a free audiobook I got from the Sync program this summer, as well as another ARC I received from a publisher. 

Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas #1) by Zoraida CordovaGenre:  YA Paranormal
Release Date:  September 6th, 2016
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Source:  Purchased finished hardcover copy. 
My rating:  5 stars

Now, I first bought this because I was going to get to meet the author at NOLA StoryCon that same month it was published.  So I have had this autographed copy sitting on my shelves for over a year while I just didn't get around to reading it for one reason or another.  Then last spring, the publishers sent me an ARC of the sequel to the book, and I thought I would go ahead and get this one read and jump right into the sequel.  I picked this one up and got sucked right in, and as you can tell from my 5 star rating, I loved it!  But then, I had other books on my review calendar that I had to get to, and so the sequel got pushed back and back.  I waited to do the review for this one, because I wanted to do them together.  So now, I'm finally getting around to it, because I made myself finally finish the second one, even though I had other review books.  I loved the world of these witches, or brujas.  Their own mythology and spells that really drew me in to find out just how it all worked.  I love the cultural aspects of this family and story, as well as the real world of Brooklyn that was the background setting for all of this drama.  I can now highly recommend this to my students based on my own reading.  Before I share the synopsis for this one, here is the picture I took with the author when I met her at NOLA StoryCon.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation...and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can't trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland...


Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas #2) by Zoraida Cordova:

Genre:  YA Paranormal
Release Date:  June 5th, 2018

Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Source:  Received ARC from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating:  4 stars


Something about this one didn't grab me as much as the book before.  I don't know why, because I still enjoyed it though.  The sad thing is that my ARC of this one got messed up pretty bad on my trip back from ALA.  I put it in a regular duffel bag that got soaked in the rain in New Orleans as it was being loaded onto the plane I guess.  It was still readable. But it is in horrible condition now.  I wouldn't want it, but I'm going to keep it since it is the sequel to the first book and I just am.  The first book was the story of Alex, one of the three sisters in the family.  This book is about her older sister, Lula.  When things go wrong for Lula, boyfriend problems, then a horrible accident that causes her to make choices no witch/bruja should make, things now go wrong for all those around her as well.  We get a little back into the culture from the first book, until the Mortiz family starts getting shunned not only from what Lula has done, but also from what her sister Alex did in book one.  We meet some other big players in this magical world because of the separation between all the bruja families.  Lula must find out if these other players or organizations are there to help, or what their real motives are when they do help her.  I still kind of love Nova from book one, and I like the bit of romance that Lula gets closer to the end of this one.  I'm looking forward to the final book that is maybe coming out next year, as the youngest sister had some things happening in this one that suggest some major events for that story.  Another book I need to get in for my students to read.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Three sisters. One spell. Countless dead.

Lula Mortiz feels like an outsider. Her sister's newfound Encantrix powers have wounded her in ways that Lula's bruja healing powers can't fix, and she longs for the comfort her family once brought her. Thank the Deos for Maks, her sweet, steady boyfriend who sees the beauty within her and brings light to her life.

Then a bus crash turns Lula's world upside down. Her classmates are all dead, including Maks. But Lula was born to heal, to fix. She can bring Maks back, even if it means seeking help from her sisters and defying Death herself. But magic that defies the laws of the deos is dangerous. Unpredictable. And when the dust settles, Maks isn't the only one who's been brought back...  

Echoes by Alice Reeds:

Genre:  YA Thriller
Release Date:  August 7th, 2018

Publisher:  Entangled Teen
Source:  ARC received from Publisher which did not influence my review
My rating:  2 stars


If you have been following me, you'll know that if I am going to rate a book lower than 2 stars, usually it's one I didn't finish.  This book had soooooooo much potential!  And I'll say this, it kept me reading until the very end.  But then, the ending, let me just say I was so angry at the end!  There were elements of this story that totally had the feeling of that tv show, Lost.  Not only throughout the story, but in how much that ending ticked me off!  I got to the end, there were no explanations of any sort, NONE!  There were parts that were possibly either earlier moments or flashbacks, or maybe they were alternate timelines or realities.  Or maybe other parts of the story were memories that weren't real.  Someone was after them, but why?  Did they want to kill them, or were they experimenting on them?  When I finished I totally felt like I had wasted my time reading this. The details and situations I had overlooked, expecting some sort of answers or something, ANYTHING at the end, all came crashing back with that ending.  I may be an unpopular opinion on this one, I don't know, haven't read all the other reviews, but man.  I do NOT recommend this one.  Unless you want to go read it, and then come back and tell me what I missed.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
They wake on a deserted island. Fiona and Miles, high school enemies now stranded together. No memory of how they got there. No plan to follow, no hope to hold on to.

Each step forward reveals the mystery behind the forces that brought them here. And soon, the most chilling discovery: something else is on the island with them.

Something that won't let them leave alive. 

Imposters (Uglies #5) by Scott Westerfeld:

Genre:  YA Dystopian
Release Date:  September 11th, 2018
Publisher:  Scholastic Press
Source:  ARC received from Publisher which did not influence my review
My rating:  4 stars

This was one of my unicorn ARCs to get at ALA this summer.  The Uglies series is one of my all time favorite series, maybe even one of the first YA books that got me back into YA when I was teaching.  So when I heard there was going to be another book in the series, I was very excited.  Honestly, this book didn't disappoint in a new addition to the story.  Obviously it had been a while since I'd finished the first four books, so I was worried I wouldn't quite be able to jump right back in.  Fortunately, just a short way into the book, the earlier books were caught up to in a perfect way to not just be an info dump.  Not only did we get a refresher, but we also got filled in on the things that had happened between those books and this one.  I like the new characters, I like the intrigue, and I like how to defeat the real enemy, groups that may not have gotten along before must work together now.  There was a part in this that I definitely got a hint of a poke at today's  real world climate and culture, and I liked it as well.  Of course we're left in a way that we need to continue into another book, so I'll be eagerly awaiting that as well, and hopeful that I will get that one early as well.  Also, I got to meet the author again when I got this, so here is my picture of that.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Frey and Rafi are inseparable . . . but very few people have ever seen them together. This is because Frey is Rafi’s double, raised in the shadows of their rich father’s fortress. While Rafi has been taught to charm, Frey has been taught to kill. Frey only exists to protect her sister. There is no other part of her life. Frey has never been out in the world on her own – until her father sends her in Rafi’s place to act as collateral for a dangerous deal. Everyone thinks she’s her sister – but Col, the son of a rival leader, is starting to get close enough to tell the difference. As the stakes grow higher and higher, Frey must decide whether she can trust him – or anyone in her life. 

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather:

Genre:  YA Thriller/Historical
Release Date:  July 26th, 2016
Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source:  Audiobook received free through Sync Audiobooks for Teens 2018 Program
My rating:  5 stars


I loved this book.  I actually kind of thought I would, I'd been interested in reading it for a long time. When I saw it was one of the books available this past summer through the Sync summer audiobook program, I immediately downloaded it, and listened to it pretty soon afterwards.  One really cool part was the author read her own book, which I think definitely means a lot of the inflections and way things are read out loud was done the way the author intended, obviously.  All throughout the book we got clues dropped as to who could be causing all the things that were happening.  And just when I'd think it had to be one of those people, something else would happen that totally pointed me in the opposite direction.  A little over halfway through, it seemed to get to a point that we could be wrapping the whole story up, and I wondered where else it could go.  But the author moved it in such a way that I kept on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next.  I really could see this as a movie, and would LOVE to see it as a movie.  I love how it ended, and it is one that I am definitely recommending to my students whenever I get the chance.  So glad I got the chance to listen to this, and I'll definitely be looking into reading the sequel.  

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
It's the Salem Witch Trials meets Mean Girls in a debut novel from one of the descendants of Cotton Mather, where the trials of high school start to feel like a modern day witch hunt for a teen with all the wrong connections to Salem’s past.

Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous witch trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam and her stepmother are not exactly welcomed with open arms. Sam is the descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those trials and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that weren't enough, Sam also comes face to face with a real live (well technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff. But soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries old curse affecting anyone with ties to the trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and find a way to work with The Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first accused witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it's Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself. 

A to Z April: U Reviews - Uglies by Scott Westerfeld/Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

My two book choices today couldn't be farther apart in what type of story they are. The first is a YA Science Fiction/Dystopian story, a series that I LOVE!  The second is a classic realistic fiction story about an inner city school and what a teacher who works there deals with while trying to do her best to educate according to her ideals.

First is Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.  I love, love, love this series.  The first book was what sounded like an idea world.  You go through your adolescence dealing with all the things everyone does now, awkwardness, acne, growing into your features, etc.  But then at a certain age everyone has surgery and becomes what is called a Pretty, which is the second book in the series.  It's kind of the way kids feel about when they finally become an adult, how all those problems are supposed to magically disappear, like having surgery.  Of course there is more to the story than just a surgery to fix your looks, as you'll find as you read it!  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:
Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license - for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all.

The choice Tally makes changes her world forever...

I also got to meet the author a year or so ago, here I am with him:

My second book is a classic called Up the Down Staircase.  I don't remember how I got ahold of this one, but it was an eye opener for me as someone who wanted to be a teacher.  I grew up going to a private school until 8th grade, then I went to a suburban school for high school.  So the way the students were in this book were not at all like I was used to as a student myself.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Bel Kaufman's Up the Down Staircase is one of the best-loved novels of our time. It has been translated into sixteen languages, made into a prize-winning motion picture, and staged as a play at high schools all over the United States; its very title has become part of the American idiom.

Never before has a novel so compellingly laid bare the inner workings of a metropolitan high school. Up the Down Staircase is the funny and touching story of a committed, idealistic teacher whose dash with school bureaucracy is a timeless lesson for students, teachers, parents--anyone concerned about public education. Bel Kaufman lets her characters speak for themselves through memos, letters, directives from the principal, comments by students, notes between teachers, and papers from desk drawers and wastebaskets, evoking a vivid picture of teachers fighting the good fight against all that stands in the way of good teaching.

So, have you read either of these books?  If not, do you think you might want to now?   And while you're here, don't forget to enter my contest below!


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200th Follower Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to those of you who entered the contest. I did what I said I would, wrote your names on paper and threw them in a bowl, then pulled one out. The name that I pulled out was Liza over at Book Crook Liza. Congratulations Liza! Thanks for entering, and I'm now following you as well!

I'm so excited to go see Scott Westerfeld tomorrow night. However, I just figured out tonight that I only own the first two books in the Uglies series. I must have checked the rest out from the library. So now I must decide, do I go ahead and try to find time tomorrow night to run to Barnes and Noble, the store I work at, to buy them with my 30% discount, or should I just purchase them from the bookstore, our local independent competitor, at least for getting in authors, that is actually hosting him. Now, we have a location of our store right almost across the street from where this is going to be, so maybe I'll just go there and get them so I can get my discount. 30% is 30%. Although I swear somewhere up there is another of the books that I haven't read before, so need to go do some digging and make sure before I buy it again.

Again, congrats to Liza, and I'll be emailing you after I publish that to find out how you'd like it personalized, and to get your mailing address. As I live in Missouri, it shouldn't take long for it to get to you in Kansas!

200th Follower Giveaway! (A little late, but better late than never!)

I reached over 200 followers thanks to Parajunkee and Alison Can Read featuring me a couple weeks ago on their Feature and Follow Friday. But with being so busy back to teaching my darling middle school science students, I haven't had a chance to do this. And, also thanks to being so busy, I'm going to just do a plain old comment type entry. This week I'm planning to go see Scott Westerfeld when he comes to town. I plan to get his latest book in the Leviathan series, Goliath autographed by him and give it to the winner of this contest. So, if you are interested in winning this book, all you have to do really, is be a follower of my blog and then comment that you would like to win this autographed copy. On Wednesday at 3 pm CST, I will choose a winner from the comments by putting their names on a piece of paper and throwing it in a cup and pulling out a name. I will email that person and ask what name they would like to have it autographed to, as well as their mailing address. If I don't hear from the winner before I head down Thursday night, I will just get a generic autograph. I hope people are interested in getting this. Can't wait to see him myself!

'