Graphic Novel Readathon Mini-Challenge #2

Here we have the second of three mini-challenges during this readathon. Each frame shows the main character(s) of a graphic novel that I loved, and you can guess the books that they each come from below.

There are two different giveaways you can win entires for if you participate in this challenge. You get an extra entry for the main readathon giveaway if you just participate, regardless of how many you get right, AND if you can guess all five books for any of the three challenges, you will be entered into a separate giveaway to win a graphic novel of your choice! For every mini-challenge you complete correctly, you receive an extra point for this giveaway.

Hint: If you're stuck, all of the books come from this list.

Good luck!

Book #1

Book #2

Book #3

Book #4

Book #5

And now it is time for you to guess! fill in this form with your answers.

 Are you participating in the Graphic Novel Readathon? Sign up or get more information here.

The readathon is 4 days of graphic novel fun, giveaways, interviews, and more!

Happy readathoning!

Graphic Novel Readathon Mini-Challenge #1

Here we have the first of three mini-challenges during this readathon. Each frame shows the main character(s) of a graphic novel that I loved, and you can guess the books that they each come from below.

There are two different giveaways you can win entires for if you participate in this challenge. You get an extra entry for the main readathon giveaway if you just participate, regardless of how many you get right, AND if you can guess all five books for any of the three challenges, you will be entered into a separate giveaway to win a graphic novel of your choice! For every mini-challenge you complete correctly, you receive an extra point for this giveaway.

Hint: If you're stuck, all of the books come from this list.

Good luck!

Book #1

Book #2

Book #3

Book #4

Book #5

And now it is time for you to guess! fill in this form with your answers.

 Are you participating in the Graphic Novel Readathon? Sign up or get more information here.

The readathon is 4 days of graphic novel fun, giveaways, interviews, and more!

Happy readathoning!

Graphic Novel Readathon Starting Line & Updates

It's January 3rd, which means that it's time to begin the Graphic Novel Readathon!

The sign-up list is below, but since there's only one person signed up (hi Logan), I will have to cancel the giveaways unless more people choose to participate.



Everyone is welcome to sign up at any point in the readathon, and even if you're not readathoning with us, please enjoy the fun features going on in the next few days.

The first of the mini-challenges will be posted today. Unfortunately, I do not plan to have a giveaway for the winner, but if there are enough entries I will absolutely have that giveaway. There will be two more mini-challenges in the coming days, and on Sunday, Nathan Hale will be stopping by for an interview.

My Reading List:

• Bone by Jeff Smith
• Uglies: Shay's Story and Uglies: Cutters by Scott Westerfeld (Read 3 January)
• Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack by Shannon, Dean, and Nathan Hale
• Anya's Ghost by Vera Brogsol (Read 4 January)

I expect Bone to take up a lot of readathoning time, but it's also the book I'm most looking forward to.

DAY ONE
january 3
Today I read Uglies: Shay's Story and Uglies: Cutters. I really liked Shay's Story, perhaps even more than I had the first time I read it, but I was ambivalent about Cutters. I liked the metaphor-story about the ranger that was not included in the book, but I felt like a graphic novel format was not the best way to tell the story, and that if I hadn't already known what was going on from reading Pretties, I would have been lost for a lot of the book. Tomorrow I'd like to start Bone, but I might read Anya's Ghost instead. I'm planning to finish the readathon with Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, since I love those two so much.

DAY TWO
january 4
Today I did not read much, but I did get through Anya's Ghost, which was just as good as I remembered.

DAY THREE
january 5
Again I did not read much today. I read so many graphic novels in December to prepare for this readathon that I am not feeling so motivated to read now that the readathon is actually happening. I hope tomorrow Rapunzel's Revenge will get me out of the graphic novel slump.

DAY FOUR
january 6
xx

Happy Readathoning!

What are you reading?

Bringing YA to You: Promotion and Giveaway!

Have you ever wished that a big YA book tour would make a stop in your hometown? Well, here's your chance for that wish to come true! YA2U is a program that features five award-winning and best-selling authors who are holding a contest to see what city they should visit in an exclusive tour stop!

The authors are collecting votes from January 1 to February 15, and any city in the continental US or any Canadian city that has an international airport can win an exclusive visit from all five authors, including an author panel and book signing! Entering is super easy--and if you help spread the word about the contest, you can also enter win a signed copy of all of their books (TEN signed books in total!)--and the book contest is open internationally!


The authors in the program are:

• Marie Lu, the New York Times best-selling author of Legend and the upcoming Prodigy
• Marissa Meyer, the New York Times best-selling author of Cinder and the upcoming Scarlet
• Beth Revis, the New York Times best-selling author of Across the Universe, A Million Suns, and the upcoming Shades of Earth
• Victoria Schwab, author of The Near Witch and the highly-anticipated upcoming The Archived
• Megan Shepherd, author of the debut novel The Madman's Daughter

And they want to have an event in your home town! To participate, just got to the YA2U website and let them know what city you want them to come to. And while you're there, help spread the word about the contest and you can be entered to win all of their books--TEN signed books in total! 

Why should the YA2U Team come to your hometown? Why not join in the fun today and share with others about this program and your hometown. The more votes your town gets, the closer you are to having your very own personal tour stop! Vote for YOUR town here!

And if you help spread the word, you can also participate in the book giveaway. Tell them that you learned about YA2U from me and we both get extra entries in the contest! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday: Scarlet

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I am eagerly waiting on...

Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer

Summary (from Goodreads):
Cinder returns in the second thrilling installment of the New York Times-bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She’s trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother’s whereabouts, she has no choice but to trust him, though he clearly has a few dark secrets of his own.

As Scarlet and Wolf work to unravel one mystery, they find another when they cross paths with Cinder. Together, they must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen who will do anything to make Prince Kai her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Scarlet will be released February 5th 2013 by Feiwel and Friends.

What are you guys waiting for this week? Leave thoughts and links in the comments!

P.S. Signups for the Graphic Novel Readathon are still going on! Join in the fun January 3-6! Click here to sign up.

Postpone the Graphic Novel Readathon?

Hello, lovely readers.

So, I've reached a situation I was hoping to avoid: namely, that the Graphic Novel Readathon is two days away, and I've gotten exactly zero signups.

I plan to have a fantastic readathon myself, read lots of great graphic novels, but it's always so much more fun with other people.

The signups have been up for about two weeks now, and no one has signed up, so that means that either: A) people don't know how much fun it will be to readathon graphic novels OR B) January 3-6 is not a great time for a readathon.

Well, let's address these two options.

A) Don't think it will be fun? Let me assure you, it will be LOTS of fun.

• Not one but TWO giveaways
• Mini-Challenges
• Author interview
• Community graphic novel fun!

You will get the chance to pick up some great graphic novels, and even if GNs aren't usually your thing, it's a chance to try something new that you just might love.

Not sure what to read? Try looking through this list of my 10 favorite graphic novels, or comment asking for recommendations.

B) January 3-6 doesn't work with your schedule?

Well, I am willing to change the dates. You will just need to let me know that you are interested in participating at some other time, so I can pick dates that are better!

If people are willing to participate, we can make this a fantastic readathon that is super fun for everyone involved. Please comment if you have any questions or suggestions, or sign up here!

Best 12 of '12

As the year comes to a close, it is a time for reflection on the past twelve months. 2012 was a great year, filled with many wonderful reads. Here are my 12 favorites, in the order that I read them. Not all of these books were published in 2012, but I read them first this year.

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My favorite fairy tale retelling of the year. The original setting, the well-developed characters, and an incredibly engaging writing style made Cinder an overall great read and left me wanting more! I can't wait for Scarlet to come out in just a few short weeks. 

2. Well Witched by Frances Hardinge
I adore Frances Hardinge's writing. Well Witched was deliciously creepy and still scares me a bit. Although it is a relatively older book, I only discovered it this year, and am so glad I did. 

3. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
An amazingly crafted fantasy - and in my opinion, the best book of Cashore's trilogy. This carefully woven tale absolutely won its place on this list with characters I fell in love with, a complex and fascinating story, and amazing writing. Absolutely superb.

4. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
This weighty historical fantasy absolutely captured me with its amazing characters and  multiple (captivating) storylines. The complex politics of the court and the amazing development of the already awesome character of Ismae kept me glued to the pages. 

5. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Ah, The Night Circus. This beautiful book was absolutely breathtaking. It's beautiful writing and story was perfectly crafted and masterfully woven together. I've read it twice so far, and it only gets better upon rereading. 

6. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was probably the most fun book I've read this year, although technically I listened to it rather than reading it. I laughed more times than I can count when I was listening to this book, and I've listened to it three times this summer alone. An excellent, excellent middle grade.

7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Princess Bride is such a classic, I can't believe I hadn't read it until this year. I grew up with the movie, which my family quotes extensively, and my dad had read the "good parts version" to my brother and me (which, looking back, is somewhat ironic as the whole book is supposed to be the good parts version) so I never felt I needed to read it until this year. Well, I was missing out. I loved it!

8. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Although I preferred Divergent, Insurgent definitely earned its place among my favorites of 2012. I read it when it came out in the spring and also listened to it as an audiobook this summer. I can't wait to see what happens in the series' conclusion.

9. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The twists and turns of this excellent MG enthralled me, and the fantastic main character became a favorite of mine. I love Sage, and I cannot wait to read The Runaway King, the next volume in this wonderful trilogy.

10. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone was absolutely one of my favorite fantasies of the year. I couldn't get through it fast enough. It had such great characters and compelling plot that I did not want to put it down.

11. Reached by Ally Condie
I loved Matched, and although I was not quite as enamored of Crossed, finishing the series with Reached made me love the entire trilogy more than ever. Ally Condie brilliantly wrapped up the Matched trilogy in the perfect way, keeping true to the characters and the story. The writing was so beautiful and the way that the poetry, art, and songs were woven in enriched the story and made it stand out from all the other dystopians I've read.

12. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I almost never read contemporary fiction, but I had heard so much about The Fault in Our Stars that I knew I had to pick it up. And even though I don't generally like contemporary books much, I loved TFioS. It took a lot to keep me from shoving it into the hands of everyone I knew, although I suspect I will end up giving it to many of my friends as birthday presents this year. Very highly recommended.

So there you have it: my 12 favorite books of 2012.  What were your favorite reads?

Happy Holidays!

Year in Review: 2012

Happy New Year!

2012 was a great year. I wrote many fewer blog posts this years (less than half from 2011) but my viewership increased significantly and I became much more a part of the book-blogging community. I also read many fantastic books - and reached my goal of 200 books in a single year!

This year, I wrote 30 reviews, and 95 posts in total. I also got 29034 page views, averaging 2419.5 views per month. Thank you to all my readers for helping me achieve such a great viewership boost this year.

I also participated in three challenges this year, not counting my personal challenge to read 200 books (not counting rereads within the same year). I completed two of the three: the Fairy Tales Retold Challenge and the 2012 Debut Challenge. I only finished about half of the 2012 Standalone Challenge, but I am not to disappointed, as I didn't particularly try to read books for this challenge (rather, I read what I wanted and some happened to fit), and many of the standalones I did read were not published in 2012, I requirement I had forgotten about. You can see the books I read for each challenge on my 2012 Challenges page.

Best wishes to everyone,

The Oh-My-Word Readathon: 2012 Edition

Hello, readers!

I am participating yet again in Squeaky Books' annual year-end readathon: the Oh-My-Word-The-Year-Is-Over-And-I-Haven't-Reached-My-Goal Readathon. Last year I actually had reached my goal at this time so I was causally readathoning, but this year I have been speeding through books for the last few days to try to reach my goal of 200 books by January 1st.

Although I've been readathoning on my own for a few days, at the official start of this readathon, I have 6 books to go in order to reach my goal, and 5 days in which to read. I'm going to be crazy busy and/or out of town until New Year's Eve, but if I can time it right, I just might be able to make this happen.

Because it is going to be such a close shot to finish enough books in time for New Year's, I am extending the readathon an extra two days, until December 31.

Reading List:

• Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
• Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill
• Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis (Read 26 Dec)
• Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (Read 26 Dec)
• Instead of Three Wishes by Megan Whalen Turner (Read 27 Dec)
• Book of Enchantments by Patricia C. Wrede (Read 30-31 Dec)
• Tales from the Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird by Vivian Vande Velde
• Fathomless by Jackson Pearce (Read 28-29 Dec)

I tried to choose a mix of long and short books, and included three short story anthologies because they're both fun and quick. I am especially looking forward to Seraphina, Iron Hearted Violet, and Fathomless.

DAY ONE
december 27
Yesterday I read Renegade Magic, which was fun and light and exactly as I expected it to be. I really liked it but preferred Kat, Incorrigible. I still would like to see what comes next for Kat. Then I read Stargirl which was amazing and totally surprised me; I had read it on a friend's recommendation, which next to no idea what I was getting myself into. I absolutely loved it.

Today I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to read, but managed to finish Instead of Three Wishes, which I'd forgotten how much I liked. I really enjoyed it and it certainly made me excited to reread some of MWT's other works. I'll have to revisit Gen next year.

DAY TWO
december 28
I meant to read a lot more than I did today. I had time to read during the day but did not have a book with me until the evening, when I read the first 200 pages of Fathomless. I wanted to read much more, but unfortunately didn't have the time. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

DAY THREE
december 29

Today was a really good reading day. I finished Fathomless, which ended up being very exciting, and also started two more books. I visited a bookstore and found a fantastic gift for my English teacher: The Annotated Alice. This particular teacher is my favorite English teacher I've ever had, and he taught a semester of Through the Looking Glass two years ago (which I took, and loved) so I thought he would enjoy this annotated edition. And I'm hoping he won't mind if I take a peek at it first, since the annotations are actually quite interesting. I've read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass many times (I have a well-loved copy on my shelves) and the notes in this addition add a whole new layer to a story I already love. I finished Alice in Wonderland tonight, and will read Through the Looking Glass tomorrow. I also read the first two stories in Book of Enchantments, both of which I enjoyed quite a bit. As with Instead of Three Wishes, I'd forgotten how much I liked these stories.

DAY FOUR
december 30
Today I visited the bookstore where I bought my beloved copy of Howl's Moving Castle, and found a copy of Robot Dreams, a graphic novel that I read nearly two years ago and was never able to find again. I reread it in the store along with Sarah Varon's new book Bake Sale, which brings me so close to finishing my 200-book goal. I also read a few more chapters in The Annotated Alice and a bit in Book of Enchantments, but overall did not read much. Tomorrow I am going to finish my challenge, and it will be New Year's Eve Day!

DAY FIVE
december 31
Today I finished Book of Enchantments and The Annotated Alice, and finished my challenge. Happy New Year!

Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday: Unravel Me

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I am eagerly waiting on...

Unravel Me, by Tahareh Mafi

Summary (from Goodreads):
tick, tick, tick, tick, tick
it's almost
time for war.

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance.

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch.

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible.

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life.

Unravel Me will be released February 5th 2013 by HarperCollins.

What are you guys waiting for this week? Leave thoughts and links in the comments!

P.S. Signups for the Graphic Novel Readathon are still going on! Join in the fun January 3-6! Click here to sign up.