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!

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.

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!  

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was lucky enough to get a copy of this at BEA this year. When I first saw the cover, I did a bad thing, I judged it. And not that the cover isn't really neat looking, it just didn't look like a type of book I'd want to read. So I didn't ever bother to pick it up and read the synopsis on the back. But then I began following a new blogger, Book Hounds YA, and at the top of her blog she has a quote from the book that immediately made me put it on my TBR list: "You'd have to have, like, a lentil for a soul to hate wiener dogs. ~Zuzana" And boy am I glad I did!!!
The minute I picked up this book I was immediately interested in the characters, the witty banter, the non-paranormal sounding beginning, and what was going on. And I really didn't know what kind of book this was going to be, there were creatures, Chimaera, and angels or Seraphim. But it seemed the angels were to be the bad guys. Beautiful bad guys, but still. It seemed the main character, Karou, a strange name, but it means "hope", didn't have really anything supernatural about her. She could make wishes with beads she got from Brimstone, her father figure you could say. And he set up portals so she could travel around the world quickly to get things he needed for his work. But that was about it. Otherwise she was pretty normal. She went to art school with her friend Zuzana in Prague. Her best friend is a good friend, the sarcastic kind of friend I love.
I don't want to give a lot away, but we soon learn about what the angels are wanting, although one of them, Akiva, seems to have a strange attraction to Karou, and she to him. But they don't know why, and Akiva wonders about it, when Brimstone is his enemy. Karou has recently been through an interesting relationship ending with a guy, and so doesn't want to trust these crazy feelings, and holds out. Until, soon, through an ordinary object, a wishbone, Akiva understands, and uses it to show Karou the same.
Great story, loved it! Loved the characters, loved the world built by the author. Loved, loved, loved! And while the quote that Book Hounds YA has on their site I also love, it unfortunately was followed by the statement that Zuzana hated wiener dog owners. Which I am one, so not too keen on that part. :-) But I do love the whole conversation that this is a part of, it seems like something I would do and say sometimes. And I just love a book that I can connect with the characters in this way.
I also got a little sneak preview at the sequel booklet with this.  So I'll be reading that soon, I think.  Sometimes I'd almost rather wait until the whole book comes out to read.

View all my reviews

While you are here, make sure to go and sign up for my 3rd Blogoversary Barnes and Noble gift card giveaway.

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.

Beyond by Graham McNamee

First, thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books for allowing me to read an egalley of this over the summer.  This is the first book from this author that I've read.  And it was really good.  It was a ghost story, but had a very unique take on the whole ghost thing.  A very creepy one!  The main character is Jane, and she is haunted.  Only, she doesn't know that it's a ghost, all she can tell is that her shadow seems to have it out for her.  Things keep happening to her, life threatening things, that seem like she is trying to kill herself.  Although she's not, she can kind of say her shadow made her do it, but she can't.  Because who would believe that?  Well, fortunately for Jane, she has a best friend named Lexi, and together, they call themselves the Creep sisters, because everyone thinks they're weird.  Lexi is a good friend, she believes Jane, and has even seen some evidence to help back Jane's story up.  Jane's whole life has been a series of almost near death experiences it seems.  She even almost didn't make it when she was born.  When she was about 8 she drank poison.  A little bit older she grabbed a live wire after a storm and electrocuted herself.  She almost got ran over on a train track, and what we've just joined in the story after, is she's shot herself in the head with a nail gun.  She has a nail in her head.  And Jane is wondering if this is causing her link to her shadow, or maybe a ghost as she and Lexi research online, to be stronger.  She's also started getting flashbacks of people and events that she doesn't know, or aren't her memories.  And this is when the ghost theory starts in. And if it is a ghost, why does he want to kill Jane?

The whole shadow thing was a new idea for me, and it was very creepy!  I can totally see this as a book my students would like.  The "romance" of the story was very realistic seeming to me.It was a good story, can't wait to have it at the bookstore and recommend it to teens looking for ghost stories.  It seems there aren't as many plain ghost stories for teens, without all the paranormal romance stuff.  (Don't get me wrong, I do like those too).  And this will fit that niche perfectly!

Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield

First, thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Book Division for letting me read the egalley of this.  I saw the author's name, and knew it from reading the Aftertime series by her.  In the Aftertime books, the main character is a really tough, kind of bad girl.  So I wasn't sure how that would translate into a teen book.  But no need to fear, Sophie Littlefield is a good writer in my opinion, because she can write different types of characters, they don't all seem the same.  While Aftertime was a zombie story, this is a little bit different.  It's still got a paranormal edge, the main character Clare can sense things about people by touching clothing.  She's moved back to the town her mother grew up in, and that she lived for awhile when she was younger.  It's a little different now, there have been 2 murders, or a murder and a disappearance in the past two years.  Both on the same day of the year.  It's now coming up on the anniversary of that day, and the town is getting nervous and hoping that another tragedy doesn't occur.  Clare has gotten back to her friend, and it seems like nothing has changed in their friendship, other than her friend seems to be a little different.  Clare's big thing is taking old pieces of clothing, and giving them new life.  Cutting them apart, putting new trim, different parts together, etc.  One of the things she finds, a denim jacket from a consignment store, gives her a very, very strong vision, and she thinks it is a clue to the death or disappearance of the second kid, Amanda, a girl who Clare's best friend used to be friends with.
This talent Clare has is one that has been passed down from generation to generation.  In fact, the reason Clare's mom moved away in the first place was because of something Clare's grandmother saw.  Clare's mom has always tried to tell her to stop doing it, and told her it wasn't a good thing.  But it seems this jacket wants Clare to solve the mystery of Amanda's disappearance.  In the mix is the town bad boy.  But is he really a bad boy?  Or does he just not conform to the small town way?  Clare feels an attraction to him, but tries to fight it.
This was a good story.  I enjoyed finding out what happened, although I began to suspect something like the actual answer.
I hope there will be a sequel, although this was a totally good stand alone novel if that is all it will be.  I will be looking up other books by this author now that I know the wide range she can write.

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.

Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy #1) by Sarah Rees Brennan

First off, let me say, this book was sooooo good!  Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's Books for letting me read an egalley of this.  I read this in April, and as I read it I was just going over and over in my head what I was going to say in the review, and then I was disappointed when I realized no one would get to see this information for about 4 months since it is going to be published in September.  So let the gushing begin!

I love, love, loved the characters in this book.  The banter between them, etc.  It reminds me a lot of Spellbound by Cara Lynn Schultz.  The way the characters talked to each other is just so much like how I talk with my friends and family.  I love the sense of humor, the snark, the sarcasm.  The story was good too, don't get me wrong, but it was the characters that pulled me in, made me laugh out loud, and keep coming back.  There was a cliffhanger ending, which I guess makes sense because this is going to be a series.  But I think it's okay if sometimes books don't have such huge cliffhangers.  My favorite series, Twilight, ends each book so that it could be the end.  At least I felt like it did.  And I don't know if I'm actually very happy about the way it ended, but because of other somewhat similar situations earlier in the book, I know I have to read on, because hopefully, it will get back to where I want it to be.  Where I loved the characters.

Our main character is Kami Glass who is part Asian, and a bit different from the other people in her small town in England.  Although, a lot of the way the book is, I would forget I was reading about England, that it wasn't just a small town in the USA.  And I think that's good too.  Anyway, there is a mysterious family, called the Lynburns, that have the huge mansion, and used to "run" the town in the way that rich families seem to do in small towns.  Yet they've been gone for a long time.  Kami also has a kind of unique quirk, she seems to hear someone talking in her head.  Someone she says is still her imaginary friend, that she's had forever, she's never outgrown him, Jared.  When the Lynburns come back to town, one of them a boy her age named Jared, it seems her imaginary friend may not be so imaginary.  She soon learns there is magic in this town.  And that there is a sordid history of the people in the town.  And there are people getting hurt, including Kami.  She forms a friendship both with Jared, and his cousin Ash, the other younger Lynburn back in town.  The adults in the Lynburn family aren't quite as friendly.  Kami thinks of herself as quite the Nancy Drew.  And as she starts a school paper with her friend Angela, she sets out to figure out the mysteries of her small town, Sorry in the Vale.

I loved the relationship between Kami and Jared mostly.  Although I don't understand why exactly he didn't want to touch her.  Maybe I missed how bad it was for them to feel each other's emotions that way.  I like Angela, she amused me to no end.  Such a great story, and I can't wait to read part two, but realized with the first book not even actually published yet, it will be awhile.  Maybe I can find book 2 on Netgalley as well next spring.

My only real complaint is the cover of the book.  And after reading the author's note/acknowledgement at the end of the egalley, I'm a bit afraid to say anything.  The cover just seems a bit childish for a teen book.  Off the top of my head I can't think of what more middle grades age book it reminds me of, but it just doesn't seem to fit in with the covers I see in the Teen sections these days.  It's not bad, just seems a bit immature.  Who knows, I could be crazy.  And it's not like I definitely want it to be one of those covers with the girls in the sweeping formal dresses, just doesn't work that great for me.

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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Redemption (Hearts of Stone #1) by Veronique Launier

First, of course, thanks to Netgalley and Flux books for letting me read an egalley of this book.
I have to say as soon as I figured out from the cover, as well as the description of the book that this was about gargoyles, I was hooked!  I have always been fascinated by gargoyles, from the time my dad used to play the scary gargoyle sounds record to wake me up when I was younger, to even buying books about them and looking for them on buildings when I traveled with my mom.  And, let's face it, a whole new type of paranormal character to write about!  But, of course, there has to be magic, and that comes into the story through witches, who made gargoyles to protect them.  And also, there is magic in this story from the Native Americans of the area it takes place in.  It is in Canada, Montreal to be exact, so that is a little bit of an unfamiliar area to me.  But it works.
The main characters are Guillaume, and Aude.  Guillaume is the gargoyle, who is somehow freed from his stone self even though the witch family who brought him about is long gone.  Aude is the girl who Guillaume and his fellow gargoyles/family are watching be attacked when this all happens.  As it happens, they hear this strange chanting, and drumming.  They are of course intrigued and wonder how this happened, and so Guillaume begins to follow Aude, trying to get to know her and find out how she did this.  Aude, who goes by Odd, lives with her mom, who is a bit of a strange woman, but knows she is, and so her daughter has always dealt with her strange ways.  Aude is a musician, and it turns out, so was Guillaume in the past.  But it wasn't a one time attack on Aude, she continues to get attacked and have strange things happen around her.  Without completely trusting Guillaume, she works with him to try to figure out exactly why these things are happening to her.  She also learns about her past and things about her family she never knew.
I really liked this book.  I like that even though there may be a "connection" almost right away between the 2, they don't just all of a sudden fall in love, and all that.  They work through it.  Aude is attracted, but doesn't know whether to trust this strange guy who appeared out of nowhere when this weird stuff starts happening.  Guillaume is the one who doesn't seem to have feelings, according to his "family" anyway.  So he is sure he is just interested in her to find out what he needs to, in order to stay alive, so he doesn't have to go back to being a stone creature who just watches the world around him go on.  I liked the use of both witches as an ancient power, as well as the Native American "magic" as story lines.  The stone creatures are really good too.  Makes me think of golems.  I'm glad to see this is going to be a series, because while it did end pretty well, it doesn't HAVE to go on, I am eager to follow the story on and see what happens next as Aude learns about her powers and her lineage.
I will be adding this to my A-Z Reading Challenge as well, on the V for the author's first name.

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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My 5 Favorite Things About Blogging

Continuing in the 3 year Blogoversary celebration, I'm using an idea I saw on Red House Books blog when they had their blogoversary last month.  Mine is a little different, I think hers was about her least favorite things about blogging.  And maybe I'll do something like that later this month.  But here are my 5 things.

1.  First, as I am still waiting to find someone to take a chance on me and hire me as a school librarian, I love that this is a way I get to share my love of books with others.  In some cases it is my fellow book bloggers and lovers.  But in other cases, it may just be family members or friends, who see a post show up on my Facebook timeline and want to check it out.
2.  In a way, it gives me one more excuse to spend extra time reading.  If I'm to keep my blog up to date and keep it going, I must keep reading books to have more to review, right?  :-)
3.  I've made a lot of new friends through blogging.  Some are more just Internet friends.  And some I got to actually meet in person at BEA this year.  I was disappointed that some I know and hoped to meet at BEA I didn't get the chance to meet up with them.  But that's okay, I got to meet others that I hadn't followed before, and now I have new awesome blogs to follow!
4.  Along with making new friends this way, I feel like I get to learn about books and authors I might not have heard of without following other people's blogs.  With all the drama about Independent authors lately, I have to say this is one way I have heard about them, whereas even with my part time job at the bookstore I might not have had a chance to hear of them.
5.  Finally, in a way, I feel like blogging has helped me meet or talk to authors online, in a way I might not have without it.  In fact, just the other day I emailed a link to my review of a book to the author, and he came and commented on my review!  So cool!  And then I feel like I get to talk to other authors on Twitter, or through their blogs, Facebook, etc.  And it even led to me meeting one of my favorite authors in New York City last November.  And then I feel like we got to be friends, as we hung out for several hours and had drinks and talked about all kinds of things!  And now I have my sister in NYC who has someone to know as well.  And I got to see her again when I was there for BEA.  You can see us all in the picture below, along with one of my new blogger friends!

Cara Lynn Shultz(author), Nancy DiGirolamo(blogger), me and my sis.

So, what do you think of my 5 reasons?  Are any of them things that are your favorites?  Or what do you enjoy?  I'd love to hear about it!  And again, stay tuned for my big giveaway which will start on Thursday, and I promise there will be some smaller ones coming up soon!

Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was one of the ARCs I got at BEA this past June. I took it because it sounded interesting, and it was a good read. I debated between a 4 and 5 when I first rated it, but since then I've decided to stick with the 4, and I'll explain why in a bit.
Our main character is 17-year-old Penryn, yeah, kind of a strange name, and a little weird to say in my head as I was reading. But unique! We begin in the future, after the angels have come to Earth and attacked humans. We don't know why they did this, or why some people are still alive, like Penryn and her mother and sister. They have decided to leave their home in search of a better, maybe even safer place to live. Her sister Paige is in a wheelchair. So that is one obstacle to travel. Another obstacle, is that they must travel during the night. The daytime is now when the human gangs are in charge. At night of course people are more scared because of the dark, and angels, etc. So as they start out, they get just a little ways when all of a sudden they see an angel come crashing down, being chased by other angels. The ones ganging up on this angel cut his wings off. Penryn feels that she must try to help, and so jumps out for a distraction, also hoping her mom and sister can get away while she distracts them. Unfortunately, Penryn's mom is a bit out of it, and doesn't think to grab Paige's wheelchair. So as Paige tries to get away on her own, one of the angels grabs her out of her wheelchair and flies away with her. Penryn now must find her sister, and obviously her mother won't be any help. So she decides that she must keep track of this angel and use him to get her sister back. She takes his wings as something to try to hold over him. Which does work.
The angel is Raffe. He doesn't want her help, but ends up finally giving in to a point. They travel to where he says her sister will be. Getting kidnapped at one point by a human resistance group. Luckily they have the sense to hide Raffe's wings, and when he's dressed, you can't tell he is an angel, other than just how drop dead gorgeous he is. Eventually they are able to get away from the resistance group, but they have gotten some info and made some friends here who will be helpful when they reach their final destination.
I won't give anymore away. Just to say that I like that Penryn's character is a strong girl. She's had to be, her home life wasn't great. You get to find that out through the story. The attraction/bond between her and Raffe unfolds at a reasonable pace. It's obvious she would be attracted to Mr. Perfection in looks. He has a bit of a sarcastic sense of humor that I liked as well. But he doesn't seem to care for her quite to the same degree, but enough to save her several times. I'm glad to hear that this is a sequel, as the ending leaves you really hanging.
I don't quite understand what the angels are doing in their lab at the final destination, I really am interested in the reasoning behind that. Also, Raffe thinks he'll get other angels to put his wings back on, and I want to see what happens with what they do to him at that point.
A good story, but once again, reading it before it is published only makes it that much more torture to now have to wait for the next book in the series to be released.

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Blackwood by Gwenda Bond

First I have to thank both Netgalley and Angry Robot publisher for allowing me to read this e-galley in June.  I was intrigued right from the description because the story is based on the mystery of Roanoke.  Something that has always fascinated me.  There have been many theories over time, of course first is that they all died, but then where were the remains, or any people left to tell what happened?  The Native Americans there should be able to tell something, but nothing was ever learned.  Then the word Croatoan carved into a tree there.  This is a topic that has been explored on many of my favorite tv shows, including the X-Files, and Supernatural.  And this book has a new, unique take on the whole thing.
The main character is Miranda, and she is the town "freak".  All her life her family has been treated as if they are the causes of anything bad that goes wrong.  She is a Blackwood, the only possible survivor of the original colony was an ancestor of hers.  Or so she learns later from the crazy scientist on the island that she calls Dr. Roswell, after the tv series, and his crazy theories about what happened.  She works on the town's big summer play about the whole disappearance and what is known about that original colony.  At the beginning of the story we are with Miranda watching the play's performance, and all of a sudden she sees a giant ghost ship flying above the area, and she thinks it will crash into the stage!  But no one else notices it, and she disrupts the play, embarrassing herself.  When she goes home that night, she thinks it is following her, in fact all the dogs begin to act funny as well.  That night, her father goes out, but never comes back home.  And he's not the only one, 114 people have disappeared.  The exact number of the original settlers that disappeared.
Our 2nd main character is Phillips, a boy Miranda's age who was sent away for causing trouble, and even accused Miranda of what her family had always been blamed for, and he did it in a humiliating way.  Yet, he has his own issues.  He can hear the voices of the dead.  And he sees this story, and has this feeling he must get back to help Miranda.  Even though by going away he has stopped the voices in his head.  When he was on the island, before he got sent away, Dr. Roswell had been his therapist, so he looks to him for help, using what Miranda has seen to try to help.  Not too long after, the missing return, except Miranda's father who has been murdered.  Miranda and Phillips must figure out what is going on, the returned people seem different.  Miranda is soon accused of helping to kill her father.  They must fight an evil force to get back their family, and friends, and save the island and themselves.
I have to say the theory behind this story is a new one, and a very interesting idea!  I liked it a lot.  The whole story got very intricate and detailed, there was a bit of confusion for me, but it wasn't enough to keep the story from making sense, and me enjoying it.  I'll let you read and see if it is confusing for you at all.  A great stand alone story for teens for a change.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I checked this book out from my school library because I didn't own it.  And once again, I have to admit, I was surprised by how much I loved this book.  I don't know why, I love Maggie Stiefvater's wolf series.  But the synopsis of this story just didn't grab me.  But, when I saw my school had it, I went ahead and checked it out, thinking I'd have plenty of time to read it this summer.  And I picked it up this past week, and I'm so glad I did!  I was just once again sucked into the characters, Stiefvater does such a great job of creating characters that you really want to find out more about them and what will happen.  And this story is no different.  We get to hear the story from two characters' viewpoints.
First is Sean Kendrick.  We begin the story with the death of his father in the Scorpio Races 9 years before the main story.  What they ride in these races are water horses.  These are "horses" that come out of the water.  And they are not like normal horses, they are much faster and bigger, and dangerous.  Even during the rest of the year, going into the ocean can be deadly, as they will pull people under and eat them.  For the Scorpio Races, people around the island, and tourists, capture them when they come out of the water, and try to train them to race.  During the race, there will always be people killed.  Sean is now working for the biggest horse breeder on the island, Malvern Yard.  While the father is mostly fair, he won't sell Sean the red water horse, Corr, that Sean always rides in the races, and has won on 4 of the last 6 years.  But Mutt Malvern, the son of the big man, doesn't like Sean.  In fact, it is probably a lot that he is jealous of Sean, because as we see later in the book, it is easy to tell that the father respects Sean more.  But it is easy to see why as we learn more about Mutt.  All Sean really wants is to be able to own Corr and live his own life.  But he is an expert with both the horses and water horses, and so is invaluable to Mr. Mavern.
Our other main character is Puck, or Kate Connolly.  Puck and her two brothers are orphans, their parents were killed by water horses.  Her older brother Gabe breaks the news that he is going to leave the island, and doesn't plan to take Puck or Finn, their younger brother, with him.  They're barely making it, and so Puck has decided to ride in the Scorpio races, something that women are not able or at least have never done.  She doesn't have money to get a water horse, or a way to capture one on her own.  And while twice she almost has the opportunity to get one, it doesn't work out either time, and so she is choosing to ride her own normal horse Dove.  She soon learns that Mr. Malvern plans to take their house as they haven't made a payment on the mortgage since when her parents passed away.  She makes a deal with him, to wait until after the Scorpio Race, because if she wins, she might have the money to save it.  She also convinces Gabe to wait to leave until after as well.
On the beach with the training and registering and bartering of the horses, Puck and Sean do notice each other.  First when Dove causes one of the water horses to attack, as they see the normal horse as food.  Sean tells her not to bring that horse back to the beach.  So Puck must find another way to train, but must be within a certain distance of the ocean to train.  She and Sean are somewhat drawn together, finding ways that they can help each other.  Puck must deal with people not wanting her to race because she is a girl, and Sean must deal with Mutt's tricks that cause him many problems.

Maggie Stiefvater and I at BEA

The story is filled with heartache, and realistic feeling love.  The characters in town, and those who are tourists even fill the story quite well.  Once again Stiefvater has really pulled me in.  I may have to try her Books of Faerie series, even though I've never really been interested in faerie stories, because I'm sure she's written them in a way I can't help but be drawn in.  Great book!

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for sending a copy of this ARC to the Barnes and Noble where I work part time. I was so thrilled to see this, as I loved The Guinea Pig Diaries by this same author. Although, when I went to Goodreads.com to see what I had rated that book, I found I'd never marked it read! I must have read it before Goodreads was around, or at least before I found it. All I can say that A.J. Jacobs is hilarious. Once again I laughed out loud as I read about him throwing himself wholeheartedly into his experiences in order to write his books and articles.
In Drop Dead Healthy, Jacobs has decided to become the healthiest man in the world. This after a health scare on a vacation with his family. This isn't just a book about losing weight, although he does discuss this, it is about all the different parts of the body (almost all) and what you should do to take care of each part. Also during this time we get a window into what is going on in his life, and we get to learn about his grandfather, and his relationship with him, and as is fitting (but very sad), we also learn about his grandfather's health descent and death. Again I love his talk about his family, I just would love to meet his wife, or see her talk on a talk show, just to find out how she puts up with him. Now, because this was an ARC, I know there are things that weren't put into the book, it even says that as you read with pages reserved for things that aren't there yet. So I can only talk about the things in the book that I could read. Jacobs goes basically with a new body part or system for each chapter, although some of them could be tied together. I like how he not only follows up on what you have heard about in the mainstream media, but even searches out lesser known "experts" and ideas for health. I really like how he points out how so many health reports are either conflicting, soon discovered to not have scientific evidence to back them up, or maybe slanted by who sponsored them. I feel like these are things the American people don't always think about when a newscaster announces some new, big health news. I also liked how at the back he condensed several things into the top 6 things for you to remember about that topic. For example he gives tips on how to eat less, both for the normal person, and for the obsessed. One of the main ideas that carries throughout the book is one I wish I could do. It is the treadmill desk. I know that I watch a lot of tv and play on the computer a lot. And as a teacher, I do a lot of grading as well. I have always thought it would be perfect to have the treadmill every day as I watched my recording of The Young and the Restless. But just to have a treadmill to be constantly walking during that stuff would be great. My problems are I have nowhere in my house to fit it, as well as money, and I'm not sure what my new puppy would think of it, I'm afraid she'd get hurt. Sooo, maybe someday I'll enact that idea.
I want to point out a couple parts of the book that I had to mark the pages to share. First, in the chapter about the adrenal gland, or having less stress, he goes to a laughter club. And at one point he talks about there being a young adult author in the club with him. Well of course, I'm curious as to who this YA author is, because I'm nosy and love YA authors. Also, he talks about she catches him chuckling, which makes her start laughing, and then he starts laughing harder. I love moments like that. They seem to happen to me and my mom a lot. One of us will just get so tickled by something, we can't stop laughing, to where we snort when we try to stop and hold it in, and finally just give in and are crying from laughing so hard. And forget looking at each other when we're trying to stop, just a look and we bust out laughing again. But again, I want to know who this YA author in NYC is. Anyone know? :-)
And the other thing I marked was about smoking. I have been anti-smoking as long as I can remember. So much that while I don't remember it, my step-dad says he quit smoking because at about 5 years old I came home with a kit to quit smoking, and he figured if a 5 year old knew how bad it was, why didn't he? I've also lost both my grandmother and grandfather to lung cancer from smoking. Neither one was fun to watch, and my grandmother was so young when it happened. In the book Jacobs mentions a fact that Cigarettes are still the leading preventable cause of death in America. And that just astounds me. I don't understand the draw of them, I've never had ANY desire to even try one. But I guess I've just had the examples in my life to show me. Not that those examples always work, I have a cousin, who also was there watching our grandfather die a few years ago from lung cancer, and he still smokes. I just don't understand it.
Once again the book is hilarious, and I know I just have to read the author's other books, The Year of Living Biblically, and The Know-It-All.
**EDIT**  I forgot to mention one of the things in the book that did really stick with me!  You are not supposed to read while going to the bathroom.  That is supposedly bad for that part of your health.  Unfortunately, some days that is one of the few times I get to read, so probably not going to stop that!  :-)

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A Little Bit About Me and Why I Started Blogging

My 1st book t-shirt idea

August 9th will be my 3rd year blogoversary, and as I feel like I've really gotten into the blogging this past year, I'm going to do a whole month celebration. And I figured the most important thing to start with was why I do this in the first place.  A while back I began blogging, mostly as kind of a diary thing.  I talked about all kinds of things, my life, movies, books, tv shows, etc.  It was part of another website, one I'm not sure if I can even log into even more.  I teach middle school kids, and back in 2003 I got my Master's Degree in library science and information services.  And I also work part time at Barnes and Noble.  I've been trying to get a school library position since 2005, but have yet to actually get one.  So the bookstore is one way I kind of get to do what I want, a lot of the time I get to work in the kids department, so it is almost like I'm a school librarian.  And even within my own classroom I'm always talking to my students about what they're reading, and sharing about what I'm reading and my love of reading.
I moved my blog to Blogspot about 4 years ago.  And I continued kind of with the "diary" style of blogging.  I did do some book reviews and movie reviews still.  One of my friends from the bookstore, who I will be featuring her on Sunday hopefully, was also blogging, and hers was all books.  I really admired her blog, and talked to her all the time about books, so about 3 years ago, I decided to narrow down my blog.  At first I planned to do movies, books, and tv, and that is why my address for my blog is not quite the same as my blog title.  It was about miscellaneous reviews.  When I did decide to change to just books, I named it Lisa Loves Literature.  But I don't think I'm able to change the web address without losing all my posts, so I'm stuck with what it is for now.  I only know basic html, so that is one reason that I love Blogspot.  It makes it really easy for me to blog.  About a year ago I decided to pay someone to create my background, and that was Amber Laha.  I wanted a girl, with lots of books, with a dachshund.  My dachshund at the time was my Sydney, who I lost last January.  I do have another dachshund now though named Dora.  And I debate on either changing the dog picture to look more like Dora, or maybe to just add another one, so I can leave the Sydney dog.
I really got into reviewing when I was helping our state library association, MASL, choose books for their yearly award nominees.  This was a great way to keep track of my thoughts for the final rating, as well as I could share with my students my thoughts on what I'd read.  Then I remember finding that on Twitter, there were lots of authors.  Every time I read a new book, and liked it, I would look for that author on Twitter and follow them.  Oftentimes they would follow back, and that was the coolest thing in the world to me!  My  new motto was that authors are my rock stars.  (Which fits in well with the hop I'm participating in this month!)  Some authors I may not have read at the time I started following, but I followed them because I saw their books were popular in the Teen department.  And I've tried to read at least one of their books since that point.  I do still have a few I need to read one of their books.
I now blog mainly for my love of books.  I love to read, and I love to talk about what I've read.  I have a couple friends I can talk to about my books, and I do love to share my knowledge at the bookstore when I get a chance with customers, or at school with my students.  But in the book blogging world, I've found my kind of people.  I have met some of the nicest people, and get to talk books ALL the time with them!  And they don't think I'm weird when I talk the way I do about books and book characters.  I also have gotten some awesome opportunities to meet authors!!  I've been getting "free" books with ARCs as long as I've been working at a bookstore, I think about 10 years total between B. Dalton and Barnes and Noble.  But I've had a chance to win actual books from my fellow bloggers, and that has been great!  As well as learning of Netgalley, and when I got my Nook, all the e-galleys I get to read.  I honestly have only purchased about 5 or 6 books for my Nook, mostly what I read on there are e-galleys.  And the Shelf Awareness newsletter where I can keep up on the book world news as well as often get chances to get ARCs as well.
I hope you'll all keep up with me this month.  I'm going to try to post every other day, if not every day.  My Lazy Days of Summer Giveaway will end tonight at midnight.  And I know for sure my big giveaway will start on the 9th, with other giveaways spread throughout the month.  Thanks for following me, and giving me blogs to follow back, I've learned about so many books I may never have known about thanks to you guys!