Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo

Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth is the story of young Fenfang's journey away from the sweet potato fields of her village and into life as a twenty something in modern day Beijing.

Fenfang works as a film extra among other jobs. There she meets Xiaolin an Assistant to the Producer. Though there isn't much actual romance between them they live together with his family for several years. She also befriends an American student named Ben and his cast of friends.

I really enjoying seeing the world through Fenfang's eyes be it her use of the phrase "Heavenly Bastard in the Sky" to the cockroaches in her apartment to her film script outline of "The Seven Reincarnations of Hao An" to the Old Hens in her apartment watching her every move. Fenfang's is a quiet story and for that I truly enjoy it. I don't believe I have ever read anything quite like this before, it's a beautiful portrait of what it's like to be a young woman in modern day China. It's funny, exciting and a little bit sad.

This book is literally told in twenty small atmospheric fragments. I really like how each fragment has a descriptive title. There are also small black and white pictures sprinkled throughout the book. The dust jacket art is just beautiful. I really can't think of a more beautifully designed book and cover.

This book has renewed my interest in visiting Asia and now specifically China. Has a book ever made you want to visit a place? Have you visited that place?

Look for Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth in stores August 5th.
4/5 Stars
Review copy provided by publisher

This Week In Books Or Oooh I Found Some Room In My Closet (For Books!)

Monday: The Elite arrives, I won it from the Book Vault's Contest!

Tuesday: My first half day off of work. I get home and am greeted by Swimming With Strangers. Head off to the dentist. During my cleaning I think about going to Borders because it's right across the street. I figure I'll stay away. Then I find out I have two cavities! So I go to Borders and find out they are having a 3.99 Summer Clearance Sale (never seen one of these before)
So I pick up:
It's Not About the Accent
Love From London
The Glass Castle
The Romance Reader's Book Club
Tender Is the Night
Geek High
all for the price of one new hardcover book ( I don't even really care for hardcovers!)
I come home from my appointment feeling a little guilty (though I had just this past weekend made a bunch of room in my closet for books) only to find out Schooled had arrived while I was out!

Wednesday: Months and Seasons arrives from author Chris Meeks.

Thursday: Homegirl arrives from a fellow LibraryThing member who saw my mention of looking for a copy on the message boards and reserved it for me on Bookmooch! Thank you!
American Wife also arrived from a fellow LibraryThing member who saw my mention of wondering if the ARC I requested would ever arrive. She offered to send me her extra copy, how sweet Thank you!

Friday: Aberrations arrived from author Penelope Przekop who I had a nice conversation with earlier this week :)

Saturday: Creepers arrived after only requesting it the beginning of this week. Also the Penguin Classic, A Mixture of Frailties arrived.

Since I have written this post early in the day who knows what else will happen this afternoon. My sister has decided we should go to Borders and I will not say no to that!

Not surprisingly at Borders I got two books. On clearance, Unhooked and not on clearance but about the coolest sounding book of all time The Mysterious Benedict Society. Has anyone read this, it sounds amazing!

Booking Through Thursday!

What are your favourite first sentences from books? Is there a book that you liked specially because of its first sentence? Or a book, perhaps that you didn’t like but still remember simply because of the first line?

I'm horrible about remembering these kinds of things! The first one that comes to mind is from the Great Gatsby, the book I picked as my "favorite" my junior year of high school. I haven't really picked a new one since, just added more.

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

I can't recall any books I liked specially for their first line, I'm sure I've read some books that started out promising and didn't end that way. I can't remember any though!

What's your favorite first line?

Thank You's and Giveaways

Over the past few months I've been pretty lucky when it comes to blog giveaways so I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who's giveaway I've won! You have all inspired me to hold my own giveaway! I just posted it Sunday and it's been a blast! I've gotten a whole list of hilarious books to add to my wish list!

Thank you to author, Elizabeth Scott! I won Audrey, Wait in her book wish contest!

Thank you to Dominique at the Book Vault! I won a copy of The Elite!

Thank you to author, Melissa Walker! I won a copy of Secrets of My Suburban Life in her Win-It Wednesday contest!

And most recently...

Thank you to Marie, the Boston Bibliophile! Yesterday I won an ARC of Garden Spells!

In Giveaways...

A Book Blogger's Diary is having two giveaways, one at her blog, A Bookworm's Diary for Joy is the Greatest Gift and the other is for How the Other Half Hamptons (which has a pretty sweet cover!) enter both by July 31st!

Don't forget about my giveaway going on right now for Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal-Snogging. Find the details here!

Oh my it's my bedtime!

Have you won any giveaways lately?

Blog Award!

Carrie K. at Books and Movies has nominated me for this blog award! How sweet!

Here are the guidelines:

Once an award is received, the rules are as follows:

1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs.
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog.
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

Here are my nominees:

Bookroomreviews
Tracy shares my passion for not only books but tv and movies and most importantly So You Think You Can Dance!

The Page Flipper
Back from retirement, The Page Flipper is one of my favorite reviewers of YA books.

Reviewer X
Reviewer X is also another blog I turn to for YA suggestions. Very passionate reviews!

The Story Siren
I can't keep up with the Story Siren's YA reviews. She's a reading machine!

In the rules it doesn't say I can't nominate someone that already has been nominated...

J. Kaye's Book Blog
J. Kaye is also a reading machine! She's probably the most friendly blogger I have ever met!

Presenting Lenore
Lenore, like myself not only blogs about YA but other types of books as well. I love the balance!

S . Krishna's Books
S. Krishna blogs about books very similar to my taste. She's my new favorite blogger!

Summer Blowout by Claire Cook

Bella Shaughnessy works at her family salon(s) with her brother and four sisters (two of them half). And also her two stepmothers, thought we see them much less. Her over the top father runs the whole business. He's been obsessed with Italy forever even though they are of Irish ancestry. If this isn't the setup for a hilarious story I don't know what is. I immediately thought of the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and all the inter family antics.

Bella has been divorced from her ex-husband Craig for about a year now ever since, while they were separated he starting sleeping with/going out with her half-sister Sophia. This understandably creates some family tension.

At a college fair where the salon has a booth, Bella meets a man by the name of Sean Ryan who turns her onto the idea of creating beauty kits. Through this interaction they begin a friendship and maybe even more.

Now all these human characters are great, but Precious/Cannoli the dog takes the cake. I can't remember ever loving or wanting a dog this much! She has so much personality!

The story is pretty simple and straight forward. I think the book really shines when it is just Bella being herself or making observations. I love the part of the "Silly Siren" bride and family whom no one can understand when they speak. Bella is just funny!

I really enjoyed this book and definitely want to read more by author Claire Cook.

3.5/5 Stars
ARC provided by LibraryThing Early Reviewers

Violet By Design By Melissa Walker

Violet By Design is the second in this series. I'm going to try and keep it vague for people that haven't read the first book, Violet On the Runway.

Violet had quit modeling but couldn't resist a trip overseas. She did get into modeling for the travel! So Violet is off on another modeling adventure while her best friends Roger and Julie are off to college. While Violet is in Brazil she meets the young designer, Paulo. She eventually becomes the face of his campaign. They start a romance... that's all I will say on that. Violet's modeling friends, Sam and Veronica are back this time (and Veronica is less bitchy-yay). I'm not going to say anymore, no spoilers here. I'll just say I'm glad we get to see more of Violet's modeling friends getting along and especially her friend Roger! ;) I'm keeping this short, apparently blogger is going to be going down for some maintenance soon.

Melissa, there needs to be a movie if only so I can see a real live depiction of Roger!!

To read my review of the first book in the series, Violet On the Runway click here.

Violet In Private is in stores August 5th! Can't wait!

Visit Melissa Walker's blog! She recently did a blog about the making of the Violet On the Runway cover. Thanks Melissa!

4/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

Tuesday Thingers!

Bop over to the Boston Bibliophile to join in! And thanks again to Marie for the ARC of Garden Spells!

Today's topic: Recommendations. Do you use LT's recommendations feature? Have you found any good books by using it? Do you use the anti-recommendations, or the "special sauce" recommendations? How do you find out about books you want to read?

This is a feature I look at briefly every now and then and every time I scroll past it I think to myself "I need to spend more time exploring that feature". I do agree with what some people have said about how it always lists other books in a series you have some of, that's sort of a given, we know about those already.

How do I find out about books I want to read? Everywhere! Mostly blogs these days. I used to look at the Amazon 100 Best Sellers a lot but not so much anymore with all the wonderful blogs out there! I do like the Amazon recommendations feature though.

Where do you get book recommendations?

The Watercooler Effect by Nicholas DiFonzo

The Watercooler Effect explores the idea of rumors from multiple angles. I'm sure we have all had some sort of experience with rumors but it's really nice to see the idea of a rumor laid out in front of you. I've never thought about rumors in such detail but really enjoyed this exploration.

We learn about how and why rumors start. The difference between rumor, gossip, and urban legends. The personal gain of passing on a rumor in your social circle and how rumors can be successfully snuffed out among other things.

Some of his examples of rumors I had never heard about and others I had. I really enjoyed reading the urban legend section. He talks about how people rather believe something even if it may not true than risk the consequences if they do happen to be true. I very easily identified with this. What parent wouldn't rather keep their child home from school for one day then risk the rumor of a child bring a gun to school being true.

Reading the study results was also interesting. I'm not sure exactly how it would have worked but some nice graphics of some of the different concepts would have helped me retain the information even better.

I liked the use of examples in this book, they help me remember information better then just plain facts. I was expecting them to be more flushed out, longer examples like those in The Tipping Point, Blink and Freakonomics. I like how those books frame the information inside an example more so then use smaller examples to illustrate the information within the text.

I think fans of Malcom Galdwell's work and Freakonomics would enjoy this book.

Watch for The Watercooler Effect in stores in September.

What's your favorite book that explores one subject matter in great detail?

3/5 Stars
Manuscript provided by publisher

GIVEAWAY! Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

Do you guys remember me raving about Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison about two weeks ago? Well I liked it so much and it was so hilarious I went out and hunted down another copy to share with one of you guys!

So here's how it's going to work:
Leave a comment on this post telling me the funniest book you have read this summer!

For one additional entry, blog about this giveaway and leave the link in the comments here.

Open to residents of the US only. Sorry everyone else, I still love you!

Please leave your email address in your comment so I will be able to contact you if you are the winner. :)

The giveaway will end Saturday August 2nd at 11:59 PM Central Time. (That's the day Breaking Dawn is released!)

For anyone picky like me when it comes to books here are some condition notes: I bought this book new from Half Price Books but it has that black mark on it's underside and a couple little pokes in the cover like a staple was sitting on it! I found the best of what they had. That's where I got mine too! So it's not perfect but it's pretty good! It also doesn't have that "Extras Inside" feature.

Comment away, I look forward to hearing about all the books that are making you guys laugh this summer!

This Week In Books Or How I Accidently Went To A Half Price Books Tent Sale

I really didn't intend to go to a Half Price Books Tent Sale. I was just there like I normally am and they happened to be having a tent sale. I couldn't not go out to the parking lot. I had never been to one! And to be fair only that right pile is from the tent sale. I had been wanting to do a week in books post for awhile now and thought this would be the perfect time.

So let's see:

Normally priced Half Price Books books (Left pile, top six)- Lenore pointed out the book The Myth of You & Me about a week or so ago in the comments of Melissa Walker's post about Best Friend Breakups . Some other new releases mostly YA and a book about books! This was my original intent in going to HPB, after returning the Tent Sale books to the car we went back into the store.

New independent bookstore (Left pile, next two)- Today was their grand opening, big article in Friday's newspaper. I bought The Overachievers and got a "free classic" (Wuthering Heights).

ARCS (Left pile, next three)- Librarything's Early Reviewer's Summer Blowout, which I am reading right now, 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, and The No Complaining Rule (thanks J. Kaye!)

Bookmooch (Left pile, bottom four)- Freakonomics what! I love that book, I only got to read half of it about a year ago before having to return it to the library.


Half Price Books Tent Sale Books- Flowers in the Attic, Melissa Walker talked about this "classic" in her vlog on YA New York this week, I feel really bad, I mooched a copy yesterday and found this one today so I canceled it! :( A hardcover copy of Nick and Norah's Playlist for a dollar! what!!

I also bought several books I had already, that were better copies or paperbacks so i could swap out my big hardcovers! So I gave my bookmooch inventory a nice bulk up today.

I also got a few things for some giveaways! So look for the first any day now!

What book(s) did you buy this week that you probably shouldn't have?

Booking Through Thursday

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday? Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip? What/where are they?

LOL. I actually sort of answered this last week for Tuesday Thingers but that's ok! I'm a serious book shopper while on vacation. Books are souvenirs to me. I always pack light because I know I'll be coming home with books. That doesn't stop me from bringing several with me as well.

About two years ago when I went to visit my grandparents on the east coast and go on a two week vacation to Delaware I managed to buy, I kid you not 18 books. There may have been more! I hid them under my bed so my parents never knew how many I had actually purchased. My sister knew though and rolled her eyes at me several times. A lot of the books came from this great used book store called The Book Alcove, I now go their every time I visit my grandparents. They have the BEST selection I've ever seen in a used bookstore and the best prices too. That summer I believe I went there 2-3 times in a matter of a few weeks.

I went to London several years ago to study abroad for a month. I thought my suitcase was going to be overweight because... you guessed it I bought books. Really nice, big, heavy, museum books! I got some absolutely fabulous books there.

Last year while visiting my grandparents (and going to The Book Alcove) we visited a friend in Baltimore. I had done my research and knew that Atomic Books was close by. We all went, I bought a stack of comics and zines, my grandpa got a magazine, and my friend a book. Great, great times. My dad knew how very excited I was that he gave me some cash so I could get even more things! Now that I have a REAL job that probably will not be happening anymore... haha!

This past weekend I was on a mini vacation for a wedding and my friend took me by two bookstores, the one we really wanted to go into was closed. I settled for a magazine ;)

Where/what is your favorite vacation bookstore spot?

The Heartbreak Diet by Thornia Rose

The Heartbreak Diet is the memoir of a woman who's husband begins an affair that eventually separates them. They also have two children together. It is told in the format of a graphic novel.

You'd think due to the subject matter this would be depressing. In fact, what sold me on reading this was the format. I love graphic novels but usually try to avoid this sort of subject matter, it just makes me sad. I'm very glad I decided to read it. Rose has a great sense of humor about her life. She goes back and tells the story of how she and her husband met and formed a family. She also takes us through her healing process and the fun times with her children. I loved this book. Throughout the book are "Words of Wise Women" with great illustrations of famous women.

The graphic novel format is relatively quick to get through but I love how she broke her story up into different sections, like by day of the week or coping mechanism. Her illustrations are beautiful as well. There is a great amount of detail in them. I have a very large respect for cartoonists. It looks like she draws with an ink brush of some sort. If you mess up you have to start over! That is very tedious!

I think this book would be great for anyone that is the least bit curious about graphic novels. There are no superheros, zombies, or talking animals. It's a story we can all identify with and would be a great introduction into the genre.

I will definitely be reading this over and over again. Rose mixes real life situations with a great humor for life.

4.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by publisher

Do you read graphic novels? If yes, what is your favorite? If no, do you plan to?

Violet On The Runway by Melissa Walker

Violet on the Runway is the story of Violet Greenfield. She's very very tall and very thin and because of this insecure. One day while working at her local movie theatre (I would love that job!) Violet is discovered by Angela Blythe of Tryst Models. This begins her whirlwind journey into modeling in New York City.

I really enjoyed this book. You get to put yourself in the shoes of someone realizing every girl's fantasy. What would it be like to become a model in New York City? I really looked forward to enjoying the luxurious life with Violet, being pampered and fussed over and going out on the town. I also liked the pop culture references. I just started reading the next book in the series, Violet By Design. Violet reveals that her "public" favorite movie is The Royal Tenenbaums! That is my favorite movie!

I did miss Violet's friends Julie and Roger (I think I have a crush on him!) while she was away in New York and lost touch with them. Eventually they find each other again and for that I was very glad. I wanted to pinch Violet but nobody is perfect and she soon realizes her mistake.

I really liked watching Violet grown into a young adult. She learns a lot through her experiences. Not everything she encounters in the modeling world is a dream come true. But Violet handles it and becomes a better person for it. She also becomes a more confident person that can stand up for herself.

Violet on the Runway is the first in a series of 3 currently. I'm always extra attracted to books that are part of a series. I really like getting to know a character on a larger level than just one book.

I love the cover designs of her books. The color palettes are beautiful and the pictures are really fun but still leave a little to the imagination!

Visit Melissa Walker's awesome blog! Tomorrow is Win-It Wednesday!

Also watch for Violet In Private in stores August 5th!

4/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

Tuesday Thingers!

Today's topic: Book-swapping. Do you do it? What site(s) do you use? How did you find out about them? What do you think of them? Do you use LT's book-swapping column feature for information on what to swap? Do you participate in any of the LT communities that discuss bookswapping, like the Bookmooch group for example?

I totally do it! I joined Bookmooch in October of 2007. I started very slowly adding only a book or two at a time and right now I'm the most active I have ever been there. I haven't tried any of the other sites, Bookmooch is working for me right now so I think I will stay there. I have no idea how I found out about the site it could quite possibly be through the link on Librarything. I know I had heard of it long before I actually joined. I never had anything to give away though.

I think around the time Bookmooch was created I was busy giving away a few bags of books to Half Price Books. How I wish I knew about it back then, I would much rather put them on Bookmooch and give them to people that wanted them (and get books in return) than take them to a bookstore that will do whatever they want with them.

So far I haven't really had any bad experiences with Bookmooch. It seems like a lot of people go into it and list a ton of books and then have to go send them all out when they get mooched right away. I slowly gave away one every once in and awhile. I kinda liked it that way.

I used to look at the Librarything book swapping column before I actually joined Bookmooch, to see what I was missing. But since then I really don't pay attention to it. I rather just look at my wishlist or search right in Bookmooch. I am a member of the Bookmooch group on Librarything. I have asked several questions and everyone has been so very helpful!

A great deal of my books I've listed on bookmooch are library sale finds of books I already have. Slowly, I've been better about actually getting rid of my own books, it's just so hard!

Visit my profile here and my inventory here! Let's be friends :) A lot of the books currently in my inventory are my sister's. She's eagerly awaiting her first mooch request :)

I actually got two smooches a few weeks back and that really got me going big time. I started getting more mooch requests around the same time. It's been a very fun time!

In the last month I've mooched:
Coffee and Kung Fu
Towelhead
The Man of My Dreams
Forever
Thirteen Reasons Why
The Market
The Boyfriend List

and have Freakonomics and We Thought You'd Be Prettier on the way!

I think it's also helped to bulk up my wishlist. For the longest time I had like 40 books on my list. Really expensive nice graphic design books that of course no one would give away. I think I'm around 130 now. It's nice to actually see books available. I was very used to never ever seeing anything available.

Do you use bookmooch? What's the most exciting thing you have mooched?

Booking Through Thursday

What would you do if, all of a sudden, your favorite source of books was unavailable?

Whether it’s a local book shop, your town library, or an internet shop … what would you do if, suddenly, they were out of business? Devastatingly, and with no warning? Where would you go for books instead? What would you do? If it was a local business you would try to help out the owners? Would you just calmly start buying from some other store? Visit the library in the next town instead? Would it be devastating? Or just a blip in your reading habit?

I think I would be ok. Bummed for awhile but ok in the long run. The reason for that is because I spread out my buying between a lot of different places: Borders, Half Price Books, Amazon, random other stores. Now if two of these were gone, then we might have a problem. I think I would be sad if Borders was gone (or eaten up by B&N) I'm really fond of their weekly coupons and Borders Rewards program and that's the nearest bookstore to me. I have walked there.

I'd be sad if our library was gone because it's very nice. I really doubt that it would ever happen in this lifetime because it's the main branch and people have their weddings in the building the library is in for goodness sake!

What would really make me upset is if I was unable to get a discounted price from any store. I feel better about my buying habit when I know I'm getting a discount, even if it's just a few dollars. If I was forced to pay full price I would probably buy much less. And I would be very sad.

I think that if my favorite store was an independent store and it went out of business that I'd be pretty upset. Since it would be a one of a kind store. I guess maybe it's good that's not the case. I'd probably talk about it for years and years.

Tuesday Thingers!

Since we're past the Fourth of July and the summer season has officially started, what are your plans for the summer? Vacations, trips? Trips that involve reading? Reading plans? If you're going somewhere, do you do any reading to prepare? Do you read local literature as part of your trip? Have you thought about using the LT Local feature to help plan your book-buying?

My plans for the summer are to work. I started my first "real" job about five months ago. What I am looking forward to this summer are the releases of Breaking Dawn and Violet In Private. My reading plans include reading those two books, and cross my fingers a lot of the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series (which means I should start buying them, but i shouldn't because i have nowhere to put them, and i don't want to check them out from the library because I'm supposed to be reading books from my big TBR pile!) and tons of other things!

When I do go on trips I usually try and scout out interesting and unique bookstores or libraries to visit (along with art museums) Sometimes I'll scream and point from the car forcing my family to turn around so I can go into an amazing looking store we've just passed! While my sister is shopping for clothes I'm shopping for books.

I think the Librarything Local feature would help a lot next time I go on a trip. When I went to the UK for a month I believe I did some research before and during the trip about sights to see. I'll usually look at the displays of local books but never usually buy anything from them. I did get two tiki books in Hawaii though (pretty sure I could have gotten them anywhere though)

Some of my favorite bookstores around the country include... The Book Alcove, somewhere in Maryland, great used bookstore for a cheap price. Atomic Books in Baltimore, Maryland comics and zine heaven. The Borders Express stores on Maui (after all the nature I needed something familiar to bond with!) The Atlantic Bookstores on the east coast (our location closed about a year ago) all the bookstores in Bethany Beach Delaware. If you can't tell bookstores are where I get my souvenirs!

What was your favorite bookstore you visited while on vacation?

Who's been to Powell's cause I want to go there so very badly! A friend gave me their map/flyer once and I just about passed out!

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Now I just said Audrey, Wait! was hilarious but this is also hilarious! A different kind of hilarious.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging is the first of nine (so far) in Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series. It's basically Georgia's diary we are reading. This book starts right before Georgia is to return to school. She's 13/14 years old. She has a crazy cat named Angus and a little sister named Libby who may have peed somewhere in her room. At first I thought it would be a sweet read made for maybe junior high readers. But it was hilarious, just hilarious! I'm ready to read all the rest of the books now! Georgia and her friend Jas get into some hilarious situations along with their other friends and frienemies! I just adore this book!

This series takes place in the UK so there may be some words Americans are not familiar with. Georgia has provided us with a hilarious glossary in the back of the book. I think the difference in language allows for new laughs that we haven't seen overused in American books.

The books were originally released with different, cartoony covers. These new covers are so very beautiful in my opinion. The color palette and photography work together magically. Check out most of them here.

What series are you hoping to read more of this summer?

4/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

Audrey, Wait! is the story of a normal girl that breaks up with her boyfriend who just happens to be in a band. Next thing she knows he's written a song about her, it ends up on the radio and catches like wildfire all over the country and world! Audrey becomes an unwilling celebrity and this is her journey.

I had heard tons of good things about this book and it did not disappoint. This book was hilarious but with a strong heart. I'm in love with this style of writing, hilarious and full of popular culture references and asides. It reminds me a bit of the style of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist which I also adored. Audrey's cat, Bendomolena cracked me up every time she was mentioned. I want to be friends with Audrey, James, Victoria, and Jonah. I only wish I was as cool as them when I was in high school.

Each chapter is headed with a song quote. Which makes a great soundtrack for reading this book! A good portion of the musicians I recognized but I didn't begin to appreciate this type of music until I started college. But thank goodness I did!

This is the most beautiful cover I have seen in a long time. I actually looked up the design firm, Rodrigo Corral Design. He has done tons and tons of book covers and jackets including James Frey's A Million Little Pieces. All I want to know is Sir, how can I get your job!

Thanks to author Elizabeth Scott! I won this book in her last book wish contest!

4/5 Stars

A New Dawn: Your Favorite Authors on Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series edited by Ellen Hopkins

Well I guess I was on a mini anthology kick here! Listen up all Twilight fans, this will get you through the final month up until Breaking Dawn's release!

I happened to be in Borders one Saturday, like most weekends! and the Special Edition of Eclipse had just come out. There was a big display right in the front entrance that included the Special Edition of Eclipse, the paperback of New Moon and this book. Definitely an impulse buy but it was well worth it!

Classics lovers with love some of the essays that go into comparisons with Romeo & Juliet, Dracula, and Pride and Prejudice among others. I really enjoyed the tour of Forks, Washington, the battle between Edward and Jacob as the best boyfriend for Bella, the history of vampires and the history of werewolves. As you can tell I pretty much liked this whole anthology!

I think some of my lesser favorites dealt with Edward: sociopath or not? and two fan girls debating with two scholars. Another thing that was just slightly off putting was several of the authors explaining how they didn't want to read these books at first and then finally they did and they liked it. I guess I went through that myself but it's not really something I'd be proud to mention! It sort of made me wonder if they should be writing essays for this book.

Does anyone have any ideas about what is going on, on the cover? I'm not really making the connection. I swear I see a faded scar on the girl's hand, either that or some sort of printers error. Is that supposed to be Bella? I'm not sure I'm buying that...

Overall, I really enjoyed this anthology. I'm surprised more people haven't talked about this book. I wonder if because it's a "Borders exclusive" some people don't have access to it.

Are you a fan of the Twilight series, and if so do you have Breaking Dawn pre-ordered?

I'm dragging my sister to the midnight release! Who knows when the next one of those will ever be! I thought I'd never get to partake in that kind of excitement after the last Harry Potter book was released!

3.5/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

Have I Got A Guy For You- Edited by Alix Strauss

Have I Got A Guy For You: What Really Happens When Mom Fixed You Up is a anthology of 27 stories of woman and their mothers who set them up on blind dates.

It's hard to give a summary since this is a anthology. So let's see some of my favorites involved Hindu Matrimonials, "Cousins", the Perfect Son In Law, and a live-action game of Dungeons and Dragons. For the most part this was a good natured look at blind dating. It was funny!

Most of these matches end up in mismatches. But I found myself hoping that something good would come from these blind dates and in a few cases something did! Most of these mothers had their daughters best intentions in mind so it made the stories more lighthearted and loving.

It seemed like a large group of friends got together to contribute to this and a good number of them happened to be Jewish and live in New York, nothing wrong with that but it was definitely a theme throughout.

Reading these all in a row could get a little bit repetitive but at the same time anthologies are nice because you can set them down and pick them back up without losing your place. This is one of the many reasons I love anthologies. I read several stories a day for maybe 3 or 4 days.

I love love love anthologies. The idea of look at one subject (be it vague or specific) from multiple angles introduces you to many new and exciting ways of looking at a subject. And also getting to sample a bunch of different authors at the same time! I still need to go back to this one and look up some of the authors other works. (There are great bios in the back) I love that anthologies have the potential to lead you to your new favorite author.

What's your favorite anthology?

Thanks to J. Kaye for featuring this book on her blog.
3/5 Stars
Review copy provided by publisher

Booking Through Thursday!

It’s a holiday weekend here in the U.S., so let’s keep today’s question simple–What are you reading? Anything special? Any particularly juicy summer reading?

I am reading Violet On the Runway by Melissa Walker. I've been wanting to read her series for months now and I'm really enjoying it! I'm also hoping to read the second book in the series this weekend, Violet By Design and an ARC I received this week for The Watercooler Effect.

In other book news..
I popped by our large library today after getting done with work early. They have a pretty large friends of the library store.
I picked up:
Smashed: Story of a drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas
Me vs. Me by Sarah Mlynowski
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
The Case of the Missing Books by Ian Sansom

What are you reading this holiday weekend? Have you read any of my finds for today?

This Year In Movies: June

June was a busy month for everything but movies *sniffle* But I did watch a few tv shows on dvd which eats up lots of time. Speaking of which I got the first disc of Mad Men today, I've been hearing good things about it FOREVER!

Dedication- was waiting for this on netflix for months, gave up and got it for cheap in a blockbuster sale, I really liked this!
The Riches Season 1- good! I was hoping it would be a little bit on the comedy side more so than the drama..
I'm Not There- thought it was going to be awesome.. it hopped around a little too much for it to make much sense, need to watch it again
The Savages- really good, really funny, I freaked out when I first saw the chris ware poster!
Lipstick Jungle Season 1- way better than I thought it would be, need to read the book...
Get Smart- I cried from laughing at least two times, was still talking about it the next day, will be buying this one for sure!
August Rush- cried from happiness- two of my favorite actors, and a little cutie!
There Will Be Blood- better than I thought it would be, the music was very creepy, almost distracting
Persepolis- finally! I wanted to see this in the theatre but didn't get to, it was great, just like the graphic novels
Definitely, Maybe- really sweet, it was semi-predictable but I really liked it. most movies you can predict probably before you even see them, this one was more of a mystery
Under the Same Moon- very sweet

Tuesday Thingers!

Here is the Top 100 Most Popular Books on LibraryThing. Bold what you own, italicize what you've read. Star what you liked. Star multiple times what you loved!

1. Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone by J.K. Rowling (32,484)***
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6) by J.K. Rowling (29,939)***
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5) by J.K. Rowling (28,728)***
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) by J.K. Rowling (27,926)***
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) by J.K. Rowling (27,643)***
6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) by J.K. Rowling (27,641)***
7. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (23,266)
8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (21,325)
9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) by J.K. Rowling (20,485)***
10. 1984 by George Orwell (19,735)
11. Pride and Prejudice (Bantam Classics) by Jane Austen (19,583)
12. The catcher in the rye by J.D. Salinger (19,082)***
13. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (17,586)
14. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (16,210)****
15. The lord of the rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (15,483)
16. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (14,566)
17. Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics) by Charlotte Bronte (14,449)
18. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (13,946)*
19. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (13,272)
20. Animal Farm by George Orwell (13,091)
21. Angels & demons by Dan Brown (13,089)
22. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (13,005)
23. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (12,777)
24. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Oprah's Book Club) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (12,634)
25. The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1) by J.R.R. Tolkien (12,276)
26. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (12,147)
27. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (11,976)****
28. The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, Part 2) by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,512)
29. The Odyssey by Homer (11,483)
30. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (11,392)
31. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut (11,360)
32. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (11,257)
33. The return of the king : being the third part of The lord of the rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (11,082)
34. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (10,979)
35. American Gods: A Novel by Neil Gaiman (10,823)
36. The chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis (10,603)
37. The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy by Douglas Adams (10,537)
38. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (10,435)
39. The lovely bones : a novel by Alice Sebold (10,125)----- hated it, I gave it away!
40. Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1) by Orson Scott Card (10,092)
41. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman (9,827)
42. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman (9,745)
43. Dune by Frank Herbert (9,671)
44. Emma by Jane Austen (9,610)
45. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (9,598)
46. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Bantam Classics) by Mark Twain (9,593)
47. Anna Karenina (Oprah's Book Club) by Leo Tolstoy (9,433)
48. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (9,413)
49. Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides (9,343)
50. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (9,336)
51. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (9,274)
52. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (9,246)
53. The Iliad by Homer (9,153)
54. The Stranger by Albert Camus (9,084)
55. Sense and Sensibility (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen (9,080)
56. Great Expectations (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens (9,027) **
57. The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel by Margaret Atwood (8,960)
58. On the Road by Jack Kerouac (8,904)
59. Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt (8,813) * never got to finish it!
60. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery - (8,764)
61. The lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (8,421)
62. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (8,417)
63. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (8,368)
64. The Grapes of Wrath (Centennial Edition) by John Steinbeck (8,255)
65. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (8,214)
66. The Name of the Rose: including Postscript to the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (8,191)
67. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (8,169)
68. Moby Dick by Herman Melville (8,129)
69. The complete works by William Shakespeare (8,096)
70. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond (7,843) never finished it, for school
71. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (7,834) ***
72. The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (Perennial Classics) by Barbara Kingsolver (7,829)
73. Hamlet (Folger Shakespeare Library) by William Shakespeare (7,808)
74. Of Mice and Men (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) by John Steinbeck (7,807)
75. A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics) by Charles Dickens (7,793)
76. The Alchemist (Plus) by Paulo Coelho (7,710)
77. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (7,648) never finished, got too depressing
78. The Picture of Dorian Gray (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics) by Oscar Wilde (7,598)
79. The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition by William Strunk (7,569)
80. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (7,557)
81. The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials, Book 2) by Philip Pullman (7,534)
82. Atonement: A Novel by Ian McEwan (7,530) ** beginning section was amazing
83. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (7,512)
84. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (7,436)
85. Dracula by Bram Stoker (7,238)
86. Heart of Darkness (Dover Thrift Editions) by Joseph Conrad (7,153)
87. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (7,055)
88. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (7,052)
89. The amber spyglass by Philip Pullman (7,043)
90. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Penguin Classics) by James Joyce (6,933)
91. The Unbearable Lightness of Being: A Novel (Perennial Classics) by Milan Kundera (6,901)
92. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (6,899)
93. Neuromancer by William Gibson (6,890)
94. The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics) by Geoffrey Chaucer (6,868)
95. Persuasion (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen (6,862)
96. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (6,841)
97. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (6,794)
98. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt (6,715)
99. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers (6,708)
100. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (6,697)

I currently own 34 of these books. I've read 32 of these. The Great Gatsby was my first chosen favorite, in high school. I've never been able to proclaim a new favorite since then, I probably should. What's your favorite book?

The Ultimate Mail Day or Why I'm Saying "Screw The Book Buying Ban"

I came home to a pile of awesome today! The mailman/FedEx person dropped off for me:

-Two bookmooch books- Coffee and Kung Fu (I saw this in the airport when it first came out and forgot about it until now) and The Man of My Dreams (Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep was pretty interesting so I thought I'd give this one a go)

- A mini-bound manuscript (they were out of arc's) of The Watercooler Effect (I love books like these... The Tipping Point, Freakanomics)

-Violet On the Runway, from Amazon (with its sequel and 3 other books coming in 2 other shipments, Can't wait to read these!!)

- A coupon to Best Buy, Half Price Books (foam at the mouth!) and a $20 voucher for Amazon!

I don't think I'll be able to top that for a long time!

Did you get anything super exciting in the mail today?

Booking Through Thursday

Visit Booking Through Thursday to read more answers!

What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is? … Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

When I ask someone if they are a reader, what I'm really asking is if they read a book more than say 4 times a year. Sometimes people roll their eyes at me like "Duh, how could anyone not be a reader" and then others, get what I mean, and answer "No, not so much". For a lot of the past several years of my life I would answer "I used to be, and wish I could be more so." These days I can proudly answer "Yes, I read almost everyday!"

So to me a reader is someone that actively seeks out books to read, most than once every season change. They don't wait for someone to insist they read a book and do it so they will stop bothering them.

What do you consider a reader?

Tuesday Thingers!

Visit the Boston Bibliophile to join in!

Last week I asked what was the most popular book in your library- this week I'm going to ask about the most unpopular books you own. Do you have any unique books in your library- books only you have on LT? How many? Did you find cataloging information on your unique books, or did you hand-enter them? Do they fall into a particular category or categories, or are they a mix of different things? Have you ever looked at the "You and none other" feature on your statistics page, which shows books owned by only you and one other user? Ever made an LT friend by seeing what you share with only one other user?

I love this question! I have 79 items unique to my library. A lot of them are hand entered zines and mini comics. (I'm not even caught up entering those!) I've been slowly adding in covers for these, someday I hope to have covers for them all! Some things that aren't zines and comics: A Wild, Cold State by Debra Monroe, picked this up in a library sale a few years ago, haven't read it. An Americana Annual from my birth year from my grandparents, a few textbooks, a few photography collections, a book on tiki, a novel called Juno and Juliet (library sale) and most surprisingly, A New Dawn, the Twilight essay anthology I just recently read. Apparently no one knows about this... (I'll be reviewing it soon!) I think everything that wasn't a zine or comic I entered via it's ISBN number, so they exist, it's just that no one else seems to have them!

Now the you and none feature. I share 27 books/zines/comics with one other person. In several cases I share multiple things with one other person, mostly library comic collections or schools. I'm hoping that by me hand entering some of the comics and zines it made it easier for other people to add them as well. Some books I share with one other person? The best book ever, Wrongboy's History of the Earth, my friend bought this for me in the UK, the other owner actually struck up a conversation with me about it awhile back. Actually a lot of these books are ones I got on my trip to the UK a few years ago, exhibit companion books mostly. And some other random stuff!

What's your favorite book that no one has ever heard of?

Summer Reading Extravaganza Day One

Visit The Friendly Book Nook to Learn More!

Since I'm not actually going to be going to the beach this summer, but will be going to work I'm going to talk about a few of the things I plan to take along for my daily bus rides to work this summer!

David Sedaris's, When You Are Englufed In Flames looks to be a promising one. I've enjoyed what I have read of his previously. It will definitely wake me up with a good laugh in the morning. Plus I got to meet him about a week ago!

Leah Haye's all scratchboard graphic novel, Funeral of the Heart promises to be a creepy and quirky read.


Audrey, Wait! By Robin Benway is one of the most talked about new young adult books from this spring. And it has a pretty fantastic cover. It's the story of a girl who's ex-boyfriend writes a hit song about her and she can't get away from the limelight. I think? I haven't read it!

What can't you wait to read this summer?

Booking Through Thursday

Visit Booking Through Thursday to join in the fun!

Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?

This is a hard question. I would consider The Time Traveler's Wife and The Namesake two of my favorite books. I have only read them once each (though plan to read them again and again) and these are the only books I've read by these authors (unless you consider Audrey Niffenegger's graphic novel type books, that's a different ballgame to me). I do consider these two favorite authors. I've been waiting and waiting for Audrey's Niffenegger's new book that she's talked about on her website and hope to read all of Jhumpa Lahiri's books. I think what makes a book a favorite is when it bring all the different aspects a book can have together, plot, characters, emotion, writing style. All of it, it has to be epic! I enjoy a lot of books but for it to be a favorite I think it needs to be firing on all cylinders.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

I never thought anything in the series would get better than Twilight. But I think this may have. I enjoyed Twilight for it's take on first love. New Moon was ok, necessary to the story but a little depressing for my taste, still better than a lot of other junk I've read. It had it's good moments (I couldn't put it down). And Eclipse wow, it brought back the story with all the power it could. I really really liked it. It took all the great elements from the first two books and added something I was crossing my fingers and toes for: more history about the characters! And now I can't wait for Breaking Dawn! You still have time to read the first three books in the series before Breaking Dawn comes out August 2nd. I suggest you start now!

Reading this series reminded me how very much I love series. They allow you to arrive in a much more complex and detailed world because each book just builds and builds the story. What's your favorite series?

5/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

Tuesday Thingers!

What's the most popular book in your library? Have you read it? What did you think? How many users have it? What's the most popular book you don't have? How does a book's popularity figure into your decisions about what to read?

The most popular book in my library is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 32,544 members have it. Yes I did read it. Time for a little story...Me and my sister started collecting the books around the time the fourth book came out and the buzz was to the extreme. It's the reason we bought the books, the hype. I remember sitting at home watching all the news about the Harry Potter release. We even ended up going to the midnight release two times. Also seeing the first movie before starting to read the series got me going! Usually that prevents me from reading the a book right away (after seeing the movie), gotta wait til it isn't fresh in my memory, but in this case it made me read it.

The most popular book I don't have is The Hobbit (at 21,235 people) It's number 8 on the list. I didn't like the first LOTR movie, so I really doubt I'll ever read any of the books.

As I talked about a little bit before I do let popularity influence my reading choices. I look at it this way, if I'm already interested in a book and it's getting rave reviews/lots of people reading it I consider that a good thing, if it doesn't I still might read it anyways. And on the flip side, if a book doesn't sound interesting, it usually still doesn't sound interesting even after people say it's worth checking out. Hype and popularity got me to read the Twilight series which I really enjoyed.

One more side note, do you guys have a lot of books in your library that you share with one other user or no one? I have a lot because of the manually entered zines I have. But I just counted and there are 26 books/zines I share with one other person. And some of those are 2-4 things with one other person. I think they are zine collections and libraries.

The Library Book Sale or Why I Shouldn't Be Allowed Near Places That Sell Books for a Very Very Long Time

Day One:

There hadn't been a big book sale in my town since October. It was like Christmas. I left way too early but I was so excited I couldn't wait any longer. I didn't get to go the first day because of work :( I was the first one to enter, while at home sat about 200 books in my to be read pile (cringe). Everything is 50 cents to a 1.00.

I got:

Blue Bloods (One of the first places I looked was the YA section, didn't have much and then I found this! In the romance section. YA is my new book passion)

Carolina Moon (The synopsis sounded good, I guess I didn't read it all the way through though, so hopefully this will be good. The cover is pretty ugly, but it's still in print so that's a good sign)

Why We Buy (A friend or two had to read this in college and it sounded really good to me)

Assassination Vacation (Not sure I want to necessarily read about assassinations but I've read such good things about Sarah Vowell I definitely want to give it a shot, love her covers too)

The Alchemist (Friend recommended this)

The Bean Trees (Friend recommended this)

PS I love You (Read this a few years ago and liked it, it's a mass market paperback, let's see how long I can hold onto it before swapping it out for a trade paperback)

Slaughterhouse Five (I've been meaning to read this for awhile now)



(and a few things for my sister)

Day Two:
This is where it gets embarrassing/buying things I really shouldn't. Darn dollar a bag!

So I will just give you a number: 14 books I shouldn't have bought. Oh +3 I found in the upstairs regular library sale.

Do you go to library sales? Do you end up buying things you really shouldn't or do you only buy a few choice books you really want? How do you control yourself?

Admit One: A Journey into Film by Emmett James

To me my love and books and movies were always separate. There weren't many movies about books nor books about movies. When I heard about Emmett James's book, Admit One: A Journey into Film I knew the gap had been bridged. I knew I had to read it.

Emmett's memoir starts with his early memories of visiting the cinema with his family. He doesn't remember much of the movie (he falls asleep) but remembers the affect it has on his brother. Each chapter is framed by a different movie and gives a little synopsis. The first half of his book explores Emmett's love of movies as a viewer and the second half explores it as a participant. He moves to LA and starts to work. I loved how it hits movies from two sides. I could relate to the viewer side but had always wanted to hear about the participants side. I wish this jump between the two different parts had been bridged with just a little more detail (he seems to go from a young teenager to a 20-something like that) but maybe that's just me.

I was also pleasantly surprised to hear he went to school for graphic design for a spell. The chapter about retouching was so funny to me.

All in all, I love books, movies, and memoirs so to me this was just a great idea for a book. Peeking into something I don't believe i ever had, has been a great joy.

Thank you to Lisa Roe, Online Book Publicist for the review copy.

3.5/5 Stars

Book Readings and Signings: David Sedaris

It had been my goal for a few years now to be able to go to a book signing and I finally did it! Mr David Sedaris read from his new book When You Are Engulfed In Flames and then signed books. Boy was it exciting! He is so hilarious it could brighten anyone's afternoon! He's gotten pretty well known but was such a nice man signing multiple copies for people.



I wasn't sure what to expect as far as lines so I got there about an hour early. It was at a Borders so they used their colored wristband system that they also use for midnight book releases. I ended up in the third group. All in all it was everything I hoped for. I hope I can go to another one soon. I wish I knew a website to check to find out about upcoming events. I just happened to see a sign at my own Borders for the event.



Have you gone to a book signing or reading? What was it like?

Lookalikes 4

I've had my mind on this one for a few years or so and finally remembered to compare the two to see what i found. Not the same photo but a similar composition. 

Booking Through Thursday

Booking Through Thursday

Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (ot, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion?
Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?

Book Clubs. How I've always wanted to belong to one. I've come close but not all the way yet!

At one point in college about ten of us decided to try and read a book together. We threw out ideas and voted via facebook. Ended up picking The Time Traveler's Wife. The school year ended and we never found a time to get together and discuss it. I think about half the people finished before the year was up but the other's weren't done. I did hear that most people really did enjoy it, including myself. It's just a shame we never actually got to meet, I'm so glad I got to read that book though I really love it.

I've also read the same book at the same time as a friend before but we never actually sat down and discussed it. We more just talked about it casually on and off.

Tuesday Thingers!

Visit the Boston Bibliophile to learn more!

Today's question is about tags- do you tag? How do you tag? How do you feel about tagging- do you think it would be better to have standardized tags, like libraries have standardized subject headings, or do you like the individualized nature of tagging? What are your top 5 tags and what do they say about your collection or your reading habits?

I do tag! I don't believe I started doing it right when I joined Librarything but for awhile now I've done it like clockwork once I get a good number of new books into my library I tag them all.

I tag everything from the genre of book, to how much I paid for it (if it was really really cheap), to if it's an ARC to when I read it or if I haven't read it. I also write where I bought a book in the comments box if I remember.

I think I would like to have a set of standarized tags applied once a book was entered but also have the choice to edit them myself or add to them. I think that would be nice.

Top Five Tags: (man this first one is horrible!)
1. TBR (185) (I need to stop buying and read these darn things!)
2. Fiction (163) (Fiction that isn't Chick Lit or Young Adult Fiction)
3.Reference (97) (Something that isn't meant to be read straight through, a lot of art/design books)
4. Collection (93) (Anything from short stories to Artist Books to Comic Anthologies)
5.Comics (76) (these range from graphic novels to small little self published comics)

A Bad Boy Can Be Good For A Girl By Tanya Lee Stone

Written in verse, three girls encounter the same bad boy. Using a library copy of Judy Blume's Forever, all the girls that have been used by this boy leave messages to each other, sharing their experiences.

When I saw all these reviews saying this should be required reading I wasn't so sure about that... After reading this, I think it should be required reading for girls, boys, grownups, parents, everyone! What a powerful piece in such a slim package. I think it's one great life lesson. I hadn't heard of this book until it was mentioned as a giveaway on a blog and I looked into it. It's a shame it isn't more widely recognized.

Though the book teaches a powerful lesson it's still very fun to read. I really enjoyed it. I had never read anything I liked in verse, probably because it was all school related. But this book is very easily digestible. Makes me want to seek out other books in the same format.

I also really like the cover. It's perfect, the image, the doodles, the handwritten title. I could do without the boy's stubble. There's something about the image being so close-up that makes it distracting.

4.5/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

What book have you read that shares a powerful life lesson in a enjoyable way?

Adrian Tomine's New, New Yorker Cover

For anyone not familar with Adrian Tomine, he's a ultra talented graphic novelist/cartoonist. He publishes the comic Optic Nerve, who's last three issues were turned into Shortcomings, the book which has done pretty well in the mainstream market I believe . He also does several New Yorker covers a year. Definitely one of my favorites.

Booking Through Thursday

Visit Booking Through Thursday to join in!

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?

I don't think my tastes have changed they have evolved. I read in waves. For awhile chick lit, then memoirs, then graphic novels, and most recently young adult literature. I don't think I've dropped a particular category, I've just added more. It's not all strictly one genre I read at a time, but you can definitely tell what genre I'm into by looking at my reading list and what I buy!

I've never read much that's considered serious, except for in school so there is probably less of that now and more FUN stuff! I usually don't like dark and depressing books. I never considered myself a nonfiction reader, but if you consider memoirs nonfiction, I guess I read it now.

Tuesday Thingers!

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Why did you choose to open and maintain an LT account? Do you/did you use other online cataloging/social networking sites, like GoodReads or Shelfari? Do you use more than one? Are they different or do they serve different purposes?

I joined Librarything about 2 years ago. I must have been searching for something to help catalog my books. I don't know how else i would have found it. I actually just found something to catalog my movies as well (it's not as good as Librarything though) I think I probably found the website, squealed and sat down and started entering my books, it's totally my kind of thing.

I didn't find out about GoodReads or Shelfari probably until a year later (maybe they didn't exist then). 

I tried GoodReads because my friend invited me, but it seemed too much like an application on facebook that I don't even like that much. It didn't seem worth it to me to maintain my Librarything account and that as well, I think I still have a profile there though.

 I actually tried Shelfari a few weeks ago, since I could easily import my books from a excel file, but it didn't like a lot of the ones I had manually entered into Librarything. It also listed all my books as read, which is so not true. It was kind of a pain in the butt to go through and fix that. I'm not sure if I'll keep using that or not. The books do look pretty on the shelves though. 

As I see it now, Librarything offers me what I need. Maybe if I feel like dorking it up and maintaining more I will but Librarything will always be my number one, I have a lifetime membership!

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

I don't want to say too much about New Moon so as not to ruin it for anyone that hasn't read Twilight (because you should read Twilight!). So I'll try and keep it short and vague.

Let's see, I wish there was more vampire awesomeness, related to their powers and back story. I haven't read Eclipse yet so I'm crossing my fingers that these things will come up more in the last two books.

Bella got sort of depressingly pathetic during the middle part of the book.

My favorite parts of the books tend to be when the vampires are being their awesome and nurturing (Alice) selves.

I heard that this cover really has no meaning to Stephanie and that she doesn't really like it. What I want to know is how they were able to give her what she wants for the other covers but completely dropped the ball on this one. What changed that she had no say for this cover. Or is it that she just happened to like what they came up with for the others and she's never had a say to begin with? That really bugs me, I think authors should have more of a say. I also thing the designers should read the books before trying to design a cover, I know that's not always possible but I think it's important enough that an effort should be made to get them the manuscript or something.

2.5/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

What's your favorite book from the Twilight series? Are you going to go and pick up Breaking Dawn at midnight when it's released?

Lock and Key By Sarah Dessen

Ruby is abandoned by her mother. She thinks she can sail on through living alone until her 18th birthday until she is discovered by her landlords and is sent to live with her sister who she hasn't seen in 10 years.

This is my first book by Sarah Dessen and I rather enjoyed it. I saw the movie that two of her books was based on, How to Deal, and didn't exactly like it so I never tried out her books until now. But I'm glad I did. Lock and Key had a really nice theme of family, more specifically sisters. It also speaks about losing the hard shell that a lot of us walk around wearing from day to day.

I felt there were enough secondary characters to keep the story interesting but not so many that I started forgetting who was who. I especially liked Ruby's friend Olivia and her cousin Laney. The book is rather long but I read it pretty fast because the story was so great. Nothing too shocking happens, it's a quiet sort of story but none the less very worth the read. It's sort of a snippet of life sort of story.

I've heard that the next place to go would be Sarah Dessen's Just Listen so I hope to check that out sometime in the near future. What is your favorite Sarah Dessen book? Did you like the movie, How to Deal?

3.5/5 Stars
Purchased by myself

Big Love = The Riches

Well not exactly. I just started watching The Riches yesterday and noticed it has some pretty big things in common with Big Love, at least in my opinion. Both families in Big Love and the Riches are hiding (or trying to hide) their true identities from their neighbors, coworkers, etc . Also with Big Love, it shares a very large extended family that won't let them escape their origins. They keep appearing in their new lives and this threatens to reveal who they really are.

Dexter also comes to mind when thinking about hiding someones true identity.

What are you going to watch this summer?

This Year In Movies: May

Nancy Drew-very cute
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly- painful to watch but worth it
PS I love you- different from the book but still enjoyable
$100 and a t-shirt-great information about the zine scene in portland
Over Her Dead Body-better than i expected
Tin Man-pretty good, i like how the story evolved
Chuck and Buck- his movies got better
Superbad-rewatch, so funny
Venus-ok
The Good Night-didn't really like
Mad Money- really fun
No Reservations-carbon copy of mostly martha, yet still fun to watch
Dhoom- my first bollywood action movie, funny!
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With- ok
Cloverfield- really liked, wanted more backstory on the monster
A Collection of Academy Award Nominated Short Films- some were really good, some were not
Dans Paris- kinda funny, ok
Iron Man-theatre- really liked this
Sex and the City-theatre - really good, i hoped it wouldn't suck