Category Archives: Books

Leigh Bardugo Event!

I went to what felt like my first legit YA author event on November 9: Leigh Bardugo at Parnassus Books in Nashville! It’s about a 45 minute drive for me and it was completely worth it! (Not to mention that I got to pick up a slice of my absolute favorite cheesecake before I headed home… but anyhow…) Last year I saw Kat Zhang at a local Barnes & Noble when she was part of a local author signing, so I got her to sign the first two books of The Hybrid Chronicles, neither of which I had read yet at the time, and chatted with her briefly. This event was more like what I have seen other bloggers post about, and I was glad to finally have one of these experiences of my own, especially since I just came to love the Grisha trilogy so much this year!

Some bloggers take good notes during these events, but I didn’t, so here’s just a quick recap:

  • She shared about what her younger self thought via some  of her old diary entries. I have to say that was brave; I can’t imagine sharing my old journals with a crowd of people like that! But then again, maybe I would share a snippet or two to make a point, just as she did. She used it as a segway to discuss…
  • She talked about why she’s proud to write genre fiction. One thing younger Leigh pleaded with older Leigh was to remember how important young people are, which I thought was so neat for someone who grew up to YA fiction. She talked about how while, yes, genre fiction may be escapist, really so is ALL FICTION. She talked about how readers of genre fiction are the ones who will always be waiting for that letter from Hogwart’s or looking for the door to lead to Narnia, and considering when I was younger I was always hoping to find that door to Narnia, that really resonated with me. Some people (probably not anyone reading this now though) might think that’s silly and childish, but it’s about imagination. Anyhow, I just really appreciated it.
  • She read a decent-length excerpt from Six of Crows. It was hard for me to pay attention to the whole thing just because I’m bad at listening to things being read in general, but the concept is definitely interesting (a heist in an underworld trade society within the Grisha universe) and I’m looking forward to it.
  • She answered questions about characters and writing. I don’t have anything specific to note here, except it’s always nice to hear authors share their struggles with writing.

When it was all over it was time for the signing part! So, if you follow Leigh on social media you know about the dice you could get if you bought one of her books from the hosting bookstore. So of course I wanted to get on that, so I bought another PB copy of Shadow and Bone as a present for a family  member. Well, apparently everyone else who was buying their books did it beforehand (smart), but since I waited until after, I ended up the back of the signing line. BUT I did get the dice, which is important, and I still got to meet Leigh and get my stack of books signed plus other swag, also important! I had not really thought of what to say to her, but I decided at the last moment to mention my Grisha wedding inspiration post that I knew she had seen (thanks to tumblr), and she remembered it and said she loved it! I told her it made my day when I saw she liked the link, and she said it made her day when she saw the post! So that was a cool moment. (Then recently I tweeted her a link to the other posts because she said she wanted to see more and she tweeted me back saying she loved them all!)

And of course, pictures or it didn’t happen…

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Leigh and me!
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Leigh asked for my favorite character before she started writing book quotes inside. I said Sturmhond was my favorite, of course.
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Books + swag, picture obviously not taken with my phone. So the band around the first two books was described to me as a bookmark/headband. 🙂
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A better look at the dice and pins.

Have you ever gotten to meet one of your favorite authors? What’s your favorite memory from an author meeting?

Top 10 Books I Want to Reread

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Books I Want To Reread. Rereading seems like such a luxury. Like when will I ever have the time to put aside my ever-growing TBR pile and revisit an old book love? But, I want to get better at it in the next year. I doubt I will actually reread all these soon, but maybe in my lifetime. Here’s my list, in no particular order.

1. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

hunger_games_trilogy

I think I am going to try to reread the trilogy before the second Mockingjay movie comes out next year. I hope it really pulls me into the story again as it did the first time.

2. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

gr-walktorememberI read this back in high school, and I’m really curious if I would like it as much now as I did then.

3. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

GR-littlewomen2One of my all-time favorite stories that I really want to revisit via the book.

4. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

chroniclesI like some of these books more than others, but I think I would like to reread all of them again sometime.

5. Rebecca by Daphene de Maurier

GR-rebeccaI really enjoyed this one in high school and really want to read it again.

6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

GR-thepictureofdoriangrayAnother read from high school.

7. Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

GR-seraphina

I wanted to reread this book right after I finished it. That’s pretty rare, especially for a book I gave 4.5 (not 5) stars to.

8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

gr-thehobbitI read this back in middle school! I wanted to reread it before the first of the movies came out, but didn’t. But maybe one day…

9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

GR-tokillamockingbirdAnd one last read from high school I feel I really ought to revisit.

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

GR-bookthiefBecause I can never get enough of Rudy.

What books do you want to reread? 

10 YA Halloween Costumes You Might Want to Try

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Books/Movies To Read Or Watch To Get In The Halloween Spirit OR Top Ten Characters Who I Would Totally Want To Be For Halloween. I don’t usually dress up for Halloween, and when I do, I generally keep it super simple. But I thought it might be fun to compile a list of characters that others might want to try out for Halloween.

Prom/Formal Dress Reuse

America from The Selection

america-costumeDress source

If you have a blue, ruffled dress hanging in your closest, you can pretend you’re America participating in The Selection.

Kestrel from The Winner’s Curse

winners-costumeDress source

Have a dress that resembles Kestrel’s? Then brush up on your Bite and Sting game and strategize for a fantastic Halloween.

Lilac from These Broken Stars

brokenstars-costumeWith an emerald or jade gown you pretend to be Lilac on board the Icarus, or if you’re not afraid to, you can rip and tatter the dress for her look once she’s stranded on the planet surface with Tarver.

DIY

Katniss from The Hunger Games, The Girl on Fire dress

katniss-costume-firedressPattern/tutorial source

If you enjoy making your costume, you might enjoy this DIY tutorial for Katniss’ girl on fire dress!

From Your Closet (or Thrift Store)

Katniss in the Arena

katniss-costume-arenaSource 

There’s a chance you’ve got several of these basics in your closet: boots, khaki or olive green cargo pants, a black top, and a black jacket. Cap it off with a braid and bow, and don’t forget the Mockingjay pin!

Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Costume Theatre Style

lizzie-bennet-costumesSource

Even though The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet isn’t really YA and I’m really pulling from the Youtube series for inspiration, who cares? You can dress in one of Lizzie’s more iconic looks or, for even more fun, sport one of the costume theater outfits!

Deryn (Dylan) Sharp, from Leviathan

deryn-costumeSource 1 and 2

For something unique, you might want to try this alternative history/steampunk look of Deryn disguised as a boy airman.

Tris from Divergent

tris-costume Source

With the simple outfit of pants, tank top, and boots, added with the flair of bird tattoos (though I would advise against permanent ink) you can achieve Tris’ Dauntless look.

Hermione from Harry Potter

hermione-costumeIf skirts and sweaters are a part of your wardrobe, find some Griffyndor colors and perhaps a robe to add, and suddenly you’re Hermione!

Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles

cinder-costumeSource 1 and 2

 There are several ways to approach a Cinder outfit, mechanic wear or ball wear or prisoner wear or fugitive wear, showing her cyborg parts through clothing like these leggings or through makeup, etc. And if you dress for the ball, don’t forget the iconic red heel from the cover!

Are you dressing as a YA character for Halloween? If not, which of these would you dress as? 

Birthday (& Beyond) Book Haul!

I promised to show you guys my birthday book haul, but after getting a Barnes and Noble gift card and ordering a book, I thought I would wait until I had ALL THE BOOKS, at least that I was planning to get for now, before showing the complete haul.

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Birthday gifts: Behemoth and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld, The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey, and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Book order: Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

Impulse “it was on sale” purchase: To Live is Christ to Die is Gain by Matt Chandler

Purchased with Barnes & Noble gift card: Echoes of Us by Kat Zhang and The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Needless to say, I think I’m in good shape until Christmas! (Except I will need to buy my next book club pick, The Young Elites before then, unless I can borrow it from the library…)

So about Shadows Beneath… one of my regular podcasts is/was (unfortunately, I just don’t get to listen to them liked I used to) called Writing Excuses, and features the authors who contributed to the anthology. So I was listening to one of their podcasts from like June (because I’m hopelessly behind) and they talked about this anthology now being available. Included in it are a new short story by each author, the first drafts of each of these stories, as well as critiques/notes/behind-the-scenes of the crafting of each story. Basically, it’s perfect for aspiring authors who want to see someone else’s writing process and the end result (which of course was the whole point). Oh, and apparently if I ordered it for Brandon’s store website, I could get it signed by him and a free e-book version. For less than $30, it sounded like a bargain; sign me up! So I ordered it pretty quickly after hearing about it! It took a while to process but only a day or two to ship out! I’m really looking forward to going through it!

And really, I’m looking forward to reading all these (well, except Behemoth, but only because I have already read it and enjoyed it :))! I’m so glad to have rediscovered my love for reading because new books give me such a warm happy feeling. 🙂

What’s been your latest book haul? What from my haul should I read first (or next, since I’ve already read Behemoth)?

Harry Potter Mini Reviews

Movies: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 

harrypottermovies1&2While overall I liked the first two movies well enough, I do hope they get better. They’re not bad, but they are only pretty fair adaptations in my opinion. I don’t mind changes that help speed things along, but I hate completely unnecessary changes, some are even downright awkward, like Draco and Harry having their first encounter in front of everyone instead of on the train. I noticed the director changes after the second movie, however, so maybe I will like the next director’s way of doing things better. A lot of the direction felt inconsistent, with moments that felt well-done like the invisibility cloak, but then there would be simple scenes, like in the second movie when Harry and Ron are hiding from Dumbledore, Mr. Malfoy, etc. in Hagrid’s cabin and the whole scene was just so poorly staged. I do like the actors and actresses though, but of course I’ve known of who was who in the cast for years now, so I already feel familiar with them. I’m also looking forward to continue watching them grow up (even between the first two movies Harry had a growth-spurt and poor Ron was going through puberty!).

Book: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

harry-potter-new-chamber-of-secretsSee my review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone here

I don’t have too much to say about Chamber of Secrets, especially since I waited too long after reading this book to start writing this review, but it felt a little too much like it was trying to stick with the formula of the first book, and it didn’t really introduce very many new elements or character insights. I did, however, really like the chapters we got where Harry spent time with Ron’s family. It was nice to get more of Ron’s mom and to meet his dad, and I’m looking forward to more reading about the Weasleys (all of them!) in the future books. I’m surprised by how quickly Hermione was fine with breaking the rules (even suggesting it!), but I guess after everything that went down in the first book she realized things could get pretty serious at Hogwart’s. But still, why don’t these kids ever just tell the adults what’s going on?! But as mentioned before, I’m still really looking forward to continuing the series.

What are your thoughts on the first two Harry Potter movies and on The Chamber of Secrets book?