Cleaning Up My TBR with a Giveaway: Down the TBR Hole #12

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.  Lucy by Laurence Gonzales:

Laurence Gonzales’s electrifying adventure opens in the jungles of the Congo. Jenny Lowe, a primatologist studying chimpanzees—the bonobos—is running for her life.

A civil war has exploded and Jenny is trapped in its crosshairs . . . She runs to the camp of a fellow primatologist.

The rebels have already been there.

Everyone is dead except a young girl, the daughter of Jenny’s brutally murdered fellow scientist—and competitor.

Jenny and the child flee, Jenny grabbing the notebooks of the primatologist who’s been killed. She brings the girl to Chicago to await the discovery of her relatives. The girl is fifteen and lovely—her name is Lucy.

Realizing that the child has no living relatives, Jenny begins to care for her as her own. When she reads the notebooks written by Lucy’s father, she discovers that the adorable, lovely, magical Lucy is the result of an experiment.

She is part human, part ape—a hybrid human being . . .

Laurence Gonzales’s novel grabs you from its opening pages and you stay with it, mesmerized by the shy but fierce, wonderfully winning Lucy.

My thoughts:  I feel like at one time I might have had a copy of this one?  But I don't know that I do anymore.  I really feel though, that I might enjoy this some time.

Verdict:  Keep


2.  Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielsen:

Violet's TV-director dad has traded a job in Vancouver for one in Los Angeles, their run-down house for a sleek ranch-style home complete with a pool, and, worst of all, Violet's mother for a trophy wife, a blonde actress named Jennica. Violet's younger sister reacts by bed-wetting, and her mother ping-pongs from one loser to another, searching for love. As for Violet, she gets angry in ways that are by turns infuriating, shocking, and hilarious.

When her mother takes up with the unfortunately named Dudley Wiener, Violet and her friend Phoebe decide that they need to take control. If Violet's mom can't pick a decent man herself, they will help her snag George Clooney.

In Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom, Susin Nielsen has created a truly original protagonist in Violet and a brilliant new novel that will delight readers into rooting for her, even when she's at her worst.  

My thoughts:  Still sounds like a fun middle grade story, but not sure I'll get to it.

Verdict:  Toss


3.  Library Mashups: Exploring New Ways to Deliver Library Data by Nicole C. Engard:

This unique book is geared to help any library keep its website dynamically and collaboratively up-to-date, increase user participation, and provide exemplary web-based service through the power of mashups.

Nicole C. Engard and 25 contributors from all over the world share definitions, tools, techniques, and real life applications. Examples range from ways to allow those without programming skills to make simple website updates, to modifying the library OPAC, to using popular sites like Flickr, Yahoo!, LibraryThing, Google Maps, and Delicious to share and combine digital content.

My thoughts:  I'm sure I chose this book back when I was looking for a library job, working on my Education Specialist degree in library science, which I haven't finished.  It might be a little outdated now, unless they've done a more recent version.

Verdict: Toss


4.  Annexed by Sharon Dogar:

I look out the window into the street...I'm meant to be at Mr. Frank's workplace in a few hours. We're arriving separately, all of is. We'll walk into the building just like it was any other visit - only this time we'll never walk out again.

What was it like hiding in the Annex with Anne Frank? To be with Anne every day while she wrote so passionately in her diary? To be in a secret world within a world at war - alive on the inside, everything dying on the outside?

Peter Van Pels and his family have lost their country, their home, and their freedom, and now they are fighting desperately to remain alive.

Look through Peter's eyes.

He has a story to tell, too.

Are you listening? 

My thoughts:  I am always wanting to read these books, they call to me.  Not sure, but I will probably want to read this one day.  However, I wonder if I need to keep it on my list since it is one that is popular and might always be well known.

Verdict:  Keep for now
 
  
5.  Slights by Kaaron Warren:

STEVIE IS A KILLER.

But she brings her victims back to life to demand of them: "WHAT DO YOU SEE?P"

Now she's about to find out for herself...

After an accident in which her mother dies, Stevie has a near-death experience, and finds herself in a room full of people - everyone she's ever annoyed. They clutch at her, scratch and tear at her. But she finds herself drawn back to this place, again and again, determined to unlock its secrets. Which means she has to die, again and again. And Stevie starts to wonder whether other people see the same room... when they die.

The most disturbing novel of 2010... read it if you dare.  

My thoughts:  Hmm, sounds creepy, but not sure if it is one I'd go back to read at some point.  I can probably get rid of this one.  I mean it says it is the most disturbing novel of 2010, so surely someone will be able to remember it if I want to.

Verdict: Toss


6.  51/50: The Magical Adventures of a Single Life by Kristen McGuiness:

After years of living the LA high life, Kristen McGuiness found herself single, sober, and seriously questioning whether she was destined to be alone. How hard could it be to find a guy whose hand she could hold at the movie theater, whose name she could put down as her emergency contact at the doctor's office, and who would know when to tell her she's beautiful? And more than that--where was that euphoric full-body tingle spurred only by being in love?
So she did what any single, newly sober thirty-year-old would do: made a pact to go on 51 dates in 50 weeks. Giving fate the middle finger, she decided that if the perfect guy wasn't going to walk into her life, she'd find him herself. Using "The Onion's" online personals, a sympathetic boss, weekly meetings for recovering addicts, a magical spiritual healer, and good old fashioned blind dates arranged by friends, she embarks on a whirlwind carousel of men she might not normally classify as potential mates.
Her initial plan of landing a man by simply increasing the odds quickly blossomed into more than just coffee with strangers. The experiences became truth-seeking missions, journeys into her problem-riddled past, and spiritual adventures in fear and faith. Of course, she meets a lot of men, but she also discovers unexpected moments of pain and joy within her own family: her divorced mother, incarcerated father, crazy Italian grandmother, and two middle-aged uncles (one conservative, the other gay). And in the end, her attempts to find love lead her to find herself.
At times heart-breaking and laugh-out-loud hilarious, Kristen McGuiness's witty, brutally honest writing gives a valuable true-life spin on "Bridget Jones" and "Sex and the City." 51/50 is a gripping read that will inspire others to follow her courageous search for love. 

My thoughts: There was a time, in my 30s, when I was reading all of these types of books about being single and feeling like I'd be alone forever.  Now, in my 40s, I'm realizing that's just the way it's going to be, and maybe reading these types of books don't help me.  I'll stick to my fictional romance, which I know is fictional and too perfect to be true.

Verdict: Toss


7.  Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of Human Invention by Stanislas Dehaene:

A renowned cognitive neuroscientist?s fascinating and highly informative account of how the brain acquires reading

How can a few black marks on a white page evoke an entire universe of sounds and meanings? In this riveting investigation, Stanislas Dehaene provides an accessible account of the brain circuitry of reading and explores what he calls the ?reading paradox?: Our cortex is the product of millions of years of evolution in a world without writing, so how did it adapt to recognize words? Reading in the Brain describes pioneering research on how we process language, revealing the hidden logic of spelling and the existence of powerful unconscious mechanisms for decoding words of any size, case, or font.

Dehaene?s research will fascinate not only readers interested in science and culture, but also educators concerned with debates on how we learn to read, and who wrestle with pathologies such as dyslexia. Like Steven Pinker, Dehaene argues that the mind is not a blank slate: Writing systems across all cultures rely on the same brain circuits, and reading is only possible insofar as it fits within the limits of a primate brain. Setting cutting-edge science in the context of cultural debate, Reading in the Brain is an unparalleled guide to a uniquely human ability.  

My thoughts:  Um, kind of interesting, but probably not something I'm going to sit down and read.

Verdict: Toss


8.  Grave Secrets of Dinosaurs:  Soft Tissues and Hard Science by Phillip Manning:

Many of us have seen dinosaur bones and skeletons, maybe even dinosaur eggs...but what did those fearsome animals really look like in the flesh? Soft-tissue fossils give tantalizing clues about the appearance and physiology of the ancient animals. In this exciting book, paleontologist Phillip Manning presents the most astonishing dinosaur fossil excavations of the past 100 years—including the recent discovery of a remarkably intact dinosaur mummy in the Badlands of North Dakota.

Bone structure is just the beginning of our knowledge today, thanks to amazing digs like these. Drawing on new breakthroughs and cutting-edge techniques of analysis, Dr. Manning takes us on a thrilling, globe-spanning tour of dinosaur mummy finds—from the first such excavation in 1908 to a baby dinosaur unearthed in 1980, from a dino with a heart in South Dakota to titanosaur embryos in Argentina. And he discusses his own groundbreaking analysis of "Dakota," discovered by Tyler Lyson.

Using state-of-the-art technology to scan and analyse this remarkable discovery, National Geographic and Dr. Manning create an incredibly lifelike portrait of Dakota. The knowledge to be gained from this exceedingly rare find, and those that came before it, will intrigue dinosaur-loving readers of all ages.   

My thoughts: There was a time when I had to read any book about dinosaurs I could get my hands on, and as a science teacher, it really fit in and kept my brain up to date on that science. These days, I just don't have the time.  Plus, I'm guessing there are new updated books with new updated research on this very topic.

Verdict: Toss


9.  Empty by Suzanne Weyn:

A dystopic look at what happens to one American town when all the fossil fuels run out...

It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be.

Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought.  

My thoughts: This is a favorite author of mine, and so I'm sure if I want to read this some time, I'll remember based on looking up other books by this author.

Verdict:  Toss


10.  I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison:

When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen, she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip, and romance that Jane inhabits. At fifteen, Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship. So when Jenny falls utterly in love with Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this dashing man?

But is that even possible? After all, Jenny’s been harboring a most desperate secret. Should it become known, it would bring scandal not only to her, but also to the wonderful Austen family. What’s a poor orphan girl to do?

In this delicious dance between truth and fiction, Cora Harrison has crafted Jenny’s secret diary by reading everything Jane Austen wrote as a child and an adult, and by researching biographies, critical studies, and family letters. Jenny’s diary makes the past spring vividly to life and provides insight into the entire Austen family—especially the beloved Jane.  

My thoughts:  I love a good story that takes truth and weaves it into a fictional story.  And this is one that doesn't seem too well known. So if I take it off my list, I might not remember it later. 

Verdict:  Keep


Final Thoughts:
So, I only kept three out of ten, that's a good week!  And one is just for now, it maybe one I get rid of later.  Have you read any of these?  Would you recommend keeping any that I am getting rid of?  Are there any I'm keeping that you've read and don't think I should bother with?  Now, also, I did get rid of some physical books this past weekend, took them to Half Price Books, even though I didn't get much for them, I spent what little I did get on some new books for my school.  I cleared out 25 physical books!  I might get some more done this week while I'm on spring break. Although today, as this post is up, I'm on the road out of town for a writing retreat, by myself.  I was doing a link up for this giveaway for anyone who wanted to join in, no one else has joined in yet, but I'll go ahead and keep trying it for another couple weeks maybe and see if it ever catches on.  So if you want to do one of these posts any time in the next week, come back and add your link below so I can check your post out!  And don't forget the giveaway below!

   Inlinkz Link Party


Giveaway:
Once again this is a US only giveaway, unless you are International and see a book here you really want and would be willing to pay for the difference in the shipping through Paypal or some other way.  Just as with the past weeks, 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:   

These are my 2018 ARCs you can choose from.

Here are my 2017 ARCs you can choose from.

Here are my 2013-2016 ARCs you can choose from.

Just enter in the Rafflecopter below!

 
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Banned Book Weeks Hop 2013

Thanks to Kathy at I Am a Reader, and Mary at Bookhounds for hosting this blog hop.  Since I have a display up for Banned Book Weeks in my library, I felt it would be good to participate in this as well.  Banned Books Week is something the American Library Association (ALA) began to raise awareness of the censorship of books.  You can go to their website HERE, to learn more about it.  I also really enjoyed this top 10 list of stupid reasons for banning books HERE, and even have it listed on my display in my library.  Here's a picture of my display:

  My giveaway will be international, as long as The Book Depository ships to you.  Because I read and review mostly YA, all of the books I'm offering for your choices will be YA.  You may choose one of the books below if you win.

All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter, then you can click on the links below that to hop around to other great giveaways!

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Happy 4th Blogoversary to Me!!

I'm so excited to share my 4th Blogoversary with all my followers, old and new!  It's been a great year, met a lot more authors at the Romantic Times Convention that took place in my hometown of Kansas City this past May.  Finally figured out how to use Edelweiss and I got some cool e-galleys from that.  And I finally got a library job for this school year!  And of course I'd love to share the fun of this with you!  While I won't be doing the all month thing that I did last year, too busy with my new job this year, I intend to have a good giveaway this time.

Looking back at last year's post, I see that it has been a year since I won the contest to name one of Jonathan Maberry's novellas to his Rot and Ruin series.  Tooth and Nail came out just a bit ago, and you can click on it's title in this sentence to go buy it if you want to!

Since it is my 4th year, I'll give away $40 to either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  And since I haven't had a chance to celebrate the fact that I hit 1500 followers, I'll have a 2nd prize of $15 to either Barnes and Noble or Amazon.  There will be a 3rd prize of some swag I have from the Romatic Times Convention and other Swag I have.  And, if by chance I make it to 1600 fans by the end of the month, I'll add $10 to the first prize, and $5 to the 2nd and 3rd prizes.  How does that sound?  Good?  I hope so.  Thanks to all of you who have followed me and commented.  I appreciate all of you, and enjoy reading your blogs as well!


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Stacking the Shelves - June 30th, 2013

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.  It is a way for us to share the new books we have collected.  And I have a HUGE haul this week.  Well, it feels like it anyway.  First, I want to share something that I came home to find sitting on my front porch on Tuesday:

I saw this box, which as you can see has a Fierce Reads sticker on the lower right side corner of the top of the box.  And I was really excited because Fierce Reads are some awesome books.  Well when I opened it up, this is part of what I saw:

It is a kit to host my own Fierce Reads party!  Also containing four books, one of which I've been really, really, eager to read anyway!  And this is really exciting, because I'm hoping that maybe I can use this box as part of my new high school librarian job to help get kids in the library for reading other than research.  I'll be giving away the things in the box at that event if I'm able to have it.  But, I may have to read through at least 2 of the books myself before I give them away.  Is that wrong?  If you can't tell, the 4 books are:  Of Triton (Poseidon #2) by Anna Banks, Sky on Fire (Monument 14 #2) by Emmy Laybourne, Unremembered by Jessica Brody, and Siege and Storm (The Grisha #2) by Leigh Bardugo.  Sky on Fire is the one I'm really excited about as I loved the first one.  And I'd also really wanted to read Unremembered.  And if you remember from last week, I got the UK version of Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1), so that is cool too. I guess just in case many of the students have read the first in the series for those sequels, I may have to get copies of those too to give away.  

From Netgalley:

I've not read any other books by this author, but with the tagline of "Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead," how could I pass up this zombie book?

From a Shelf Awareness contest:

This looks like a great book for teens, and I did get some bookmarks to go with it.  Could be another book I give away as a librarian this year!  

Traded for at YA Book Exchange:

It's been a while since I read I Am Number Four, but now I can add The Power of Six to my September is for Sequels challenge this year.  I heard a lot about Shards and Ashes at the RT Convention back in May, so when I saw there was one available on the YA Book Exchange, I immediately looked to see if I had anything from that trader's wish list.  

Books I purchased:

Now, I really want to not have very many times that I post books I've purchased, as I really don't need to be buying anything. But, I am a HUGE Marx Brothers fan, and something I often do when I have down time at the bookstore where I work is search the database for new books on them.  This one popped up, and wasn't really that expensive, and so even though I already have 4 or 5 other Marx Brothers books sitting on my TBR shelf, I decided I had to have it.  The other book is another love of mine, dachshunds.  I'm always looking for new dachshund books at work also, and when I saw this in the computer, I had to order it and buy it too.  Aren't they so cute?!

Whew!  That was a lot to share!  What about you, what will you be adding to your bookshelves this week?

Two Bits of Exciting News in My Life!

Normally I don't do "personal" posts, but since both of my good news items are book related, and the book I just finished I can't post my review until August, I'm going to share them anyway!
As many of my followers may know, I have long been trying to get a library job.  I got my Master's in Library Science back in 2003, and a few years after that I decided I was ready to move to the next stage in my teaching career and started looking for a school library job.  I've been pretty much unsuccessful since then, other than an offer that my current school district said they wouldn't let me out of my contract for because of the late date, and another offer from a school district that would have been a HUGE pay cut, like half of what I'm making now, and I'd have had to move out of town, which when you own a house, isn't easy to do.  So anyway, this week I interviewed with a school district in the town right across the state line from where I live, and they offered me the job!  I'm so excited, the interview went great, and I think it is the first one that I've come back so excited about what kind of an opportunity it would  be.  So now, I will really be able to say I am a school librarian.
My 2nd bit of news is that I was recently contacted by a publishing company that published the little biography books that you see in school libraries.  They are getting ready to produce a line of books about authors.  They sent me a message on Facebook asking if they could use one of my pictures that I'd taken, or had taken of me at BEA last  year with Maggie Stiefvater, the picture you see below.  They will be publishing it next year in a book about her, and I will get credit, and got a small payment for it as well.

So this has been a really good week for me, a great start to my summer after a year that was not great teaching.  I'm so looking forward to moving on with my career into the direction I've been so excited to get into.  I hope that all of you are having a good summer so far as well.

Feature and Follow Friday 10/5/12

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:

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Is it to one day become an author yourself, just for fun, maybe get some online attention, or maybe something very different?

I actually began blogging because I love to talk about the books I'm reading, and what a great way to share, but online!  So many people out there!  Also, I'd been working on another degree, an Education Specialist degree in Library Science, and we'd been learning more about blogging and the like.  I love talking to my students about books, and seeing kids get so excited about books that they have to come talk to me about them.  It's probably the main reason I want so badly to be a school librarian.  As I've not been successful in any attempts to get a library job around where I currently live, without having to take a huge pay cut, I went ahead and got certified to teach Communication Arts class, where I do get the chance to at least talk with those students about books.  If there is anything I hope to accomplish, well, maybe to help me get a library job.  Or something completely out there, maybe to get a job in the publishing industry?  Those are not really my "goals".  Well, except for a library job.  

So, if you are a blogger, what are your reasons?

Another Pan by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

Wow! I haven't gotten to blog in forever! Hate being so busy.

Finally got to finish this book when we got it into the store and I was able to check it out. When I first started reading it, I wasn't sure if I would like it, it didn't sound like as good of a story as Another Faust was. But once I got into it, I actually liked it even better!

The Pan they're talking about is Peter Pan. Our main characters are Wendy and John Darling. Sound familiar? And their father is an Egyptologist who is currently teaching at Marlowe, the private school we learned about in Another Faust. He has a theory that he was basically laughed out of the Egyptology community for. He said the god of death was actually a woman, and that there were 5 myths/stories that were true. And there was a book of them that he studied. Turns out that this "Peter" is almost immortal, he is looking for the mummy/bone dust from these stories, and has already partaken of some of it. Our lady death is Madame Villeroy from the first book, or her true self. Only now she is back as the sickly, plain looking school nurse.

The Egyptology and myths really sucked me in. I loved the stories. Probably because I have always been such a huge fan of Egyptology. One of my dream careers would be to be an Egyptologist. Right behind being a Paleontologist and a Librarian.

Another thing that I loved was the scene that is so recognizable for anyone who knows the Peter Pan story, where Peter takes Wendy and John Darling out their bedroom window. That occurs in this book, and I love that it was a part of the modern story.

It says this is the 2nd in the Another Series, so surely if it is a series, that means there will be more. I just wonder what the next story they will re-do is. I will have to do some internet research.

Welcome 2011!

I see everyone else seems to be doing a New Year's resolution/goals blog, so I'll do one as well. I usually only do either book reviews or waiting on Wednesday blogs, but this will be out of the ordinary. First, I want to set some goals for the blog itself. I hope to make it more known by not only posting my updates on Facebook for my friends, but also posting them to Twitter. I also signed up to a challenge for next year: The 2011 Debut Author Challenge.

Next, I couldn't decide if I should list how many books I read only by what I actually blogged about, which is: 104. According to my notebook where I write every book that I read, even re-reads, the number is only 2 or 3 more, and actually 2 of those are ones I started, am still picking up and reading at times, but haven't finished. Weird. I must have counted wrong somewhere. So I think I will set my goal for how many books to read this year to 110. That's only 5 or 6 more than this year, so a reasonable goal. However, since I have a feeling I won't be signing up to read for any of the book awards through the state this year, it might be hard to get that many books in. Or not. We'll see.

I plan to blog in just one entry about series if I am able to read them right in a row, like I did with the Mortal Instruments series, or I am getting ready to do with the Carrie Ryan zombie series right now.

I also intend to take a creative writing class this summer, and get back to work on my chick lit novel I started a few years ago during NaNoWriMo. I'd love to get it finished this year. Since there's a good chance there won't be any need for summer school librarians this year with the state budget, I may have to set up a schedule for myself for writing.

One last reading goal, this year, if a book is just too hard for me to get into, and I don't have to read it for any reason, I will not make myself finish it. I will put it away in a pile and get rid of it. I will not waste any more time on books that I do not enjoy.

Other personal, non-reading goals include getting that final 5 pounds off so I can reach goal and hopefully become a WW lifetime member by the end of 2011. I need to make sure I get out and walk at the gym during the cold months at least twice a week, and then once the weather gets nice, I need to get back to 20 miles a week as soon as I can. With my new online teaching job, I hope to soon be able to start getting some credit cards paid off and get my life in a more financially stable place.

So, those are my main goals/resolutions. I'd add that I want to get a library job this year, but I think that's a pie in the sky dream for me at this point. Not to say I won't still apply and interview whenever possible, but I won't make something a goal that is so far out of my control anymore. I've always liked double numbers, like 11, probably because my birthday is October 22. So I'm hoping my love of double numbers will mean that 2011 is going to be a good year for me.