tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-337392042024-03-06T21:33:32.097-08:00The Shady GladeA leafy green glade with a breeze rustling softly through the trees... it's the perfect place to curl up with a great book.Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.comBlogger1258125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-63205275891107851892018-10-24T08:58:00.000-07:002018-10-24T09:11:10.067-07:00In Which I Tackle My TBR PileDo you ever feel like your TBR (to be read) pile is taking over?<br />
<br />
I love Goodreads, it's great for helping me keep track of books that I want to read, books I've read, books on my wish list, etc. But it can also be a bad thing, because it allows me to keep track of every book I've ever seen that I want to read.<br />
<br />
And my want-to-read list is getting long.<br />
<br />
Like, really long.<br />
<br />
Like, over 3000+ books right now.<br />
<br />
And I'm pretty sure that's a soft number, because there's a lot of books I've added to my Kindle wish list when perusing Amazon or books from my digital wish list at the library that never make the transfer to Goodreads.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I feel like it's getting out of control. I realize that I will probably die before I can read every book I've ever heard of that I feel like reading, mostly because they keep coming out with new books every year! It will be impossible to catch up.<br />
<br />
But I do feel like it would be nice to get around to some of these books that have been sitting on my bookshelves for a very long time. I unfortunately have a "save the best for last" personality, which manifests in my reading as holding off on reading a book I'm really excited about in favor of something I'm not quite as eager to read. I guess the idea in my subconscious being that I'll enjoy the other book more once I've got the not-so-great out of the way.<br />
<br />
But you know what? Life is too short.<br />
<br />
So I'm pledging to get started on all those books I've been "saving" that have been on my shelves forever. And I'm going to get my Want to Read list under control (or at least more control).<br />
<br />
Step 1: Sort through all 3482 books currently on my Goodreads list (yes, that's really how many books are on there) and take out books that are duplicated/on there by mistake/I am no longer interested in. Because my reading interests have changed over the years after all.<br />
<br />
Report on my success to come soon. Wish me luck.Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-67122663978468698122017-12-31T08:59:00.000-08:002018-10-24T09:04:13.996-07:00Sources of the Last 15 Books I've Reviewed (2)It's been awhile since I've done one of these, so an explanation is probably called for.<br />
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I'm really bad at remembering to put those FTC notices in my reviews. So rather than do them all at once, I do them 15 at a time. Thanks to <a href="http://presentinglenore.blogspot.com/">Presenting Lenore</a> for the idea to do it this way. You can see the complete list of all these posts (it's pretty short so far) <a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/p/book-sources-ftc-guidelines.html">at my sources page</a>. <br />
<br />
Here are the sources for the last 15 reviews I've posted in reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent:<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2017/09/review-pirate-penguin-vs-ninja-chicken.html" target="_blank">Pirate Penguin Vs Ninja Chicken, Volume 1: Troublems with Frenemies</a> by Ray Friesen - Public library<br />
<a href="https://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2017/08/review-drama.html" target="_blank">Drama </a>by Raina Telgemeier - swapped for through <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133">Paperbackswap.com</a><br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2016/09/review-forbidden-stone.html" target="_blank">The Forbidden Stone (The Copernicus Legacy #1)</a> by Tony Abbott - Public library digital collection<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2016/09/review-princesses-comic-2.html" target="_blank">Princess Comics #2</a> by Amy Mebberson - Personal purchase<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2016/09/review-wild-born.html" target="_blank">Wild Born</a> by Brandon Mull - swapped for through <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133">Paperbackswap.com</a><br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2016/08/review-ivys-ever-after.html" target="_blank">The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer </a>by Sydney Padua - Public library digital collection<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-ivys-ever-after.html" target="_blank">Ivy's Ever After</a> - Local newspaper for review (and I assume from publisher/publicist to the paper)<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-doll-bones.html" target="_blank">Doll Bones</a> - Public library<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-prince-tennyson.html" target="_blank">Prince Tennyson</a> - Public library digital collection<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2014/08/review-aphrodite-goddess-of-love.html" target="_blank">Aphrodite: Goddess of Love</a> - Public library<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-secrets-at-sea.html">Secrets at Sea</a> by Richard Peck - Public library<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-theodosia-and-serpents-of-chaos.html">Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos</a> by R. L. LaFevers - Public library<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-foiled.html">Foiled</a> by Jane Yolen - Local newspaper for review (and I assume from publisher/publicist to the paper)<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-world-without-heroes-brandon-mull.html">Beyonders: A World Without Heroes</a> by Brandon Mull - Local newspaper for review (and I assume from publisher/publicist to the paper)<br />
<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-dorothy-of-oz.html">Dorothy of Oz</a> by Son Hee-Jun - ARC from publisherAlyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-40551631816809664442017-09-04T07:57:00.000-07:002017-09-08T08:10:19.611-07:00Review: Pirate Penguin Vs Ninja Chicken<a href="http://amzn.to/2wO0P6M" target="_blank">Pirate Penguin Vs Ninja Chicken, Volume 1: Troublems with Frenemies</a> by Ray Friesen<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczFGOmbKkogf6sukuznfNy626iyh3MpE2A9cKofggzbI75v3u5m-Rw0IUWE-sBcAFoUjM3fTmo6eA_6zQhgWBSEDn9QrN3om6Y9ZNznU99ea0uLp8xvarIdQQzDZG5ohx5XMeNA/s1600/11010029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="308" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczFGOmbKkogf6sukuznfNy626iyh3MpE2A9cKofggzbI75v3u5m-Rw0IUWE-sBcAFoUjM3fTmo6eA_6zQhgWBSEDn9QrN3om6Y9ZNznU99ea0uLp8xvarIdQQzDZG5ohx5XMeNA/s320/11010029.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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Pirate Penguin and Ninja Chicken are the perfect definition of frenemies. One minute they’re the best of friends, and then the next they’re fighting and trying to beat each other. But you can count on them having lots of fun along the way.<br />
<br />
There is something so endearing about this book, and it’s not just the charming illustrative style (which I really enjoyed). It was instant book love for me. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book that consistently made me genuinely belly laugh. And then I was not only laughing, but also running to the next room to share my favorite jokes with family members. The antics of these two characters are completely silly and ridiculous, but somehow that works for their personalities. The “troublems” in the title should give you a clue that there’s a lot of odd word combinations, which sometimes works great for the storylines and sometimes not so much.<br />
<br />
My one complaint was that the format of the book was a little weird. The first half is made up of mini-comics episodes 1-3 pages long, while the second half of the book was a longer continuous story (albeit made of up of smaller episodes). If you can’t stand silly or ridiculous things, you’re probably not going to enjoy this one, but I can see kids totally eating this up (and adults who don’t take life too seriously will enjoy it too).<br />
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Shady Glade Rating: <b>5 leaves</b><br />
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Available at Amazon.com in <span style="color: #bd118c;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2wO0P6M" target="_blank">Hardcover or Kindle</a></span></div>
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Add to your <span style="color: #bd118c;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11010029-pirate-penguin-vs-ninja-chicken-volume-1" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></span></span><br />
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Check availability on <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Paperbackswap.com</span></a></span>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-79791018613497745412017-08-28T11:45:00.000-07:002017-09-08T08:05:06.583-07:00Review: Drama<a href="http://amzn.to/2xix4N0" target="_blank">Drama</a> by Raina Telgemeier<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiprSZffbIl1aOdptJNUzbbkw3BrRJov0wwYQlQuSAJu6yMxk_TCp7D2-oFFEe-vGLTvfIOpE_8iHiDojPFq0vl1ixrzCu65BCqO-JA-E4uQJSpYyN3HjK7g-NF_VZWS7qsMDw0dw/s1600/13436373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiprSZffbIl1aOdptJNUzbbkw3BrRJov0wwYQlQuSAJu6yMxk_TCp7D2-oFFEe-vGLTvfIOpE_8iHiDojPFq0vl1ixrzCu65BCqO-JA-E4uQJSpYyN3HjK7g-NF_VZWS7qsMDw0dw/s320/13436373.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
The plot of Drama is hard to sum up. I think this is because I see it more as a "slice in the life of" book. Callie is a middle school student who loves theater (especailly musicals). Due to a less than stellar singing voice though, rather than trying out for a role in her school's production of <i>Moon Over Mississippi</i>, she's part of the stage crew. And you can bet there will be a whole lot of drama to ensue. <br />
<br />
I’ll start by getting the controversial out of the way first. This is a middle grade book, featuring middle school aged characters, a book aimed at 9-12ish years of age. And one of the characters is gay. So if you’re a parent and that’s something that will bother you, keep that in mind. For me, personally, it didn’t bother me, and I say that coming from a conservative perspective. It is definitely presented as a situation where being gay is not a big deal, so parents you may want to use that to start a conversation with your children. Personally, I am of the opinion that a child in middle school doesn’t know enough about him/herself to know if he/she is gay yet, but that’s a discussion for a different medium.<br />
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Moving on to the book itself, I have to start by saying that I love Raina Telgemeier’s books. I have read pretty much every one she’s done, and Smile in particular ranks up there in my favorite books of all time. That being said, I felt something was missing in Drama. There were parts of it that I loved. The artwork and characterization is spectacular as always, and I enjoyed the theater aspect greatly because it reminded me of my (brief) stint in high school theater. But as mentioned above I just didn’t feel like there was much of a plot. Callie seemed a little too boy crazy for my taste (although I realize some girls are really like that), I just felt like it didn’t gel well with the whole theater plot thread. I will also say that I wasn’t very happy with the shoehorned climax at the school dance, which I won’t talk more about because it would give the ending away. But it just felt a tad too cliché for me.<br />
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All that being said, I would still recommend this, especially if like me you’re a fan of Telgemeier’s other books. I just think it’s going to need to find the right audience to really enjoy it.
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<b>Shady Glade Rating: 3 leaves</b><br />
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<a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/p/about-book-ratings.html" style="text-align: left;">Find out more about my ratings here</a></div>
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Available at Amazon.com in <a href="http://amzn.to/2xix4N0" target="_blank">Hardcover, <span style="color: #bd118c;">Paperback</span> or Kindle</a></div>
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Add to your <span style="color: #bd118c;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13436373-drama" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></span></span><br />
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Check availability on <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Paperbackswap.com</span></a></span>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-30421155088326479182016-10-11T13:48:00.000-07:002016-10-12T05:49:20.065-07:00Have you got your nominations in yet?There's just 5 days left to nominate your favorite books of the year for the Cybils awards! If you haven't yet, <a href="http://database.cybils.com/nominate.php" target="_blank">head over to the Cybils blog right now to submit your favorites</a>. <br />
<br />
About this time each year, the Cybils blog <a href="http://www.cybils.com/2016/10/nominations-notes-and-wish-lists.html" target="_blank">collects lists of items that haven't been nominated yet</a>, but<br />
someone would like to see still make the list. If you haven't used of your one item per category nomination yet, you might want to peruse the lists to see if you can help someone out. <br />
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As I mentioned in my last post, I'm judging in the new audiobook category this year, and we could still really use some nominations! So I thought I'd put together this list of things I found on audible that are definitely eligible.<br />
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And if none of these float your boat, remember that most books nominated in another Cybils category this year that has an audio version available is eligible for the audiobook category. Even if you haven't listened to the audio version, but you know the book is good, then it might still deserve and audio nomination. <br />
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Here's some audiobooks that are eligible based on their date and the middle grade criteria for this year. I haven't read all of these yet, but if you have read any of these and you loved it, consider nominating it for our category. Hopefully this list helps you think of a great audiobook nomination!<br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/2d4XkR4" target="_blank">A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dSIOtc" target="_blank">All Four Stars by Tara Dairman</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dZow0s" target="_blank">Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e79uGr" target="_blank">Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2ecOAcK" target="_blank">Case of the Girl in Grey by Jordan Stratford</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2du8g74" target="_blank">Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella by Megan Morrison</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dZeZXj" target="_blank">Foxheart by Claire Legrand </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2ecRzSb" target="_blank">Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom by Booki Vivat </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dGDtXn" target="_blank">Fuzzy by Tom Angleberger</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dIS07q" target="_blank">Going Wild by Lisa McMann</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dSRFLv" target="_blank">Grayling's Song by Karen Cushman</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e4TseT" target="_blank">Grounded by Megan Morrison</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2eofM7r" target="_blank"><strike>Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar </strike></a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dGE9vR" target="_blank">I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980 by Lauren Tarshis</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dJ2wbf" target="_blank">Impyrium by Henry H Neff </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dYQObx" target="_blank">It Ain't So Awful, Falafel by Firoozeh Dumas</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2diEzbc" target="_blank">Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2epdXY8" target="_blank">Lock and Key by Ridley Pearson</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2d5AQzr" target="_blank">Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts by Esta Spalding</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2diE4xP" target="_blank">Milo Speck, Accidental Agent by Linda Urban</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e6zhyv" target="_blank">Moo by Sharon Creech</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2d5bEJc" target="_blank">Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics by Chris Grabenstein</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2epclxu" target="_blank">Ned's Circus of Marvels by Justin Fisher</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e4UrMm" target="_blank">Once Upon a Toad by Heather Vogel Frederick</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dOoWIK" target="_blank"><strike>Out of Abaton by John Claude Bemis</strike></a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dGIgrZ" target="_blank">Pax by Sara Pennypacker</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dOrSVC" target="_blank">Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood by Liesl Shurtliff </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dGKN5j" target="_blank">Save Me A Seat by Sarah Weeks</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dTusZE" target="_blank">Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2diDY9z" target="_blank">Six Kids and a Stuffed Cat by Gary Paulsen</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dIYtiP" target="_blank">Slacker by Gordon Korman </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e79p5y">Sting: A Loot Novel by Jude Watson</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e3aNdD" target="_blank">Summerlost</a> by Ally Condie<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dOppdU" target="_blank">Sweet Home Alaska by Carole Estby Dagg</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2diDEYk" target="_blank">The Adventurer's Guide to Successful Escapes by Wade Albert White</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dtHcEM" target="_blank">The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase by Wendy Mass</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dZfEI5" target="_blank">The Case of the Vanishing Emerald by Holly Webb</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2da617R" target="_blank">The Charmed Children of Rooksill Castle by Janet Fox</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e4UszF" target="_blank">The Dala Horse by Lissa Jonston</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2diInJH" target="_blank">The Door by the Staircase by Katherine March </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2daBJ4I" target="_blank">The Firefly Code by Megan Frazer Blakemore</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dGJKTe" target="_blank">The Girl in the Well Is Me by Karen Rivers </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dZimxd" target="_blank">The Girl Who Could Not Dream by Sarah Beth Durst </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2d5Bxsq" target="_blank">The Glass Castle by Trisha Priebe</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dZjVew" target="_blank">The Haunting of Falcon House by Eugene Yelchin</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dSUkov" target="_blank">The Lincoln Project by Dan Gutman</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dSRU9A" target="_blank">The Scourge by Jennifer Nielson</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dGHc7k" target="_blank">The Secret Keepers by Trenton Lee Stewart</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e7c9Qq" target="_blank">The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse by Brian Farrey </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2ecPuFY" target="_blank">The Trilogy of Two</a> by Juman Malouf<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2e7jO0U" target="_blank">Time Stoppers by Carrie Jones</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2diC3BW" target="_blank">Time Traveling With a Hamster by Ross Welford</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dJxJyR" target="_blank">True Heroes: A Treasury of Modern-Day Fairy Tales Written by Bestselling Authors</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dZijS7" target="_blank">Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2d59s4C" target="_blank">What Elephants Know by Eric Dinerstein</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dIXFug" target="_blank">When Friendship Followed Me Home by Paul Griffin</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dHfYha" target="_blank">Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls by Raymond Arroyo</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2da3jzh" target="_blank">Wish by Barbara O'Connor </a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dZhN6P" target="_blank">Wishing Day by Lauren Myracle</a><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2dGHE5C" target="_blank">Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk </a>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-18131709061813610032016-10-06T12:08:00.001-07:002016-10-06T12:11:01.702-07:00It's that time again...I'm a few days behind on announcing this, but things have been crazy the past few weeks. In addition to getting the usual autumn cold, helping mom continue to recover from surgery, and trying to keep up with things at work, we also bought a new car. Which came with its own long weeks of shopping and deal wrangling. O.o<br />
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Anyway, things are getting back to normal for me, and a few days ago the Cybils Awards opened up for nominations! For those of you who are not familiar with the Cybils, they are the Children's and Young Adult Literary Blogging awards. Basically it's the kidlitosphere's blogging version of the literary merit of awards like the Newberry medal combined with the popular vote of the Webby Awards. The biggest criteria for the Cybils is both good writing/literary merit and kid appeal. <br />
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I'm happy to be participating again as a Round 1 judge this year, in a brand new category, audiobooks! It will be fun to break ground in this new area for the Cybils. <br />
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The biggest part of the "popular vote" section of the awards is now. The awards<a href="http://www.cybils.com/2016/10/and-go-cybils-nominations-are-open.html" target="_blank"> accept nominations for books in 11 categories from people just like you</a>! So if you have a favorite book for kids or teens published in the last year, make sure you go nominate it. <br />
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We especially need audiobook nominations! So even if audiobooks aren't your thing, if you have a book that you want to nominate (or has already been nominated) in either of the middle grade categories this year, all you have to do is check if it has an audio version to qualify for the new category. I found tons of great possible nominations on audible.com, there's lots that will qualify. <br />
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Happy reading everyone!Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-51346738205960800192016-09-14T08:04:00.004-07:002016-09-14T08:04:40.294-07:00Review: The Forbidden Stone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://amzn.to/2cnh7H3" target="_blank">The Forbidden Stone (The Copernicus Legacy #1)</a>
by Tony Abbott
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Wade Kaplan loves astronomy, something he learned from his Uncle Henry. When Wade, his stepbrother Darrell, and their two friends Becca and Lily get a strange email from Uncle Henry shortly before receiving word of the old man’s death, Wade is sure it has something to do with the star map Uncle Henry gave him for his birthday. Together the group of friends, although with Wade’s father, travel to Germany to attend Uncle Henry’s funeral, where they discover the strange email was in fact a code. The code leads to a clue which leads the kids to discover the mysterious Copernicus Legacy. Now they must race against time to find the other clue and protect this ancient secret before a sinister secret society gets to it first.<br />
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This book has all the hallmarks of a good adventure story, with international espionage, clues, secrets, codes, historical artifacts, and just enough wonder to push the book over the edge from realistic fiction to that speculative/science fiction “what if” sphere. This being the first book in a series, it does get bogged down a bit in the beginning through the introduction of the characters and the plot. That being said, it definitely does a good job of building the suspense through these introductions, which kept me going even though I felt a bit bored and confused at the beginning.<br />
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I may be posting a separate review of the additional books at another time, but I can confidently say that although my rating of this first book may be a little on the low side, the series definitely gets better the farther you go along. As of this post I’ve read all but the last (yet unpublished) volume, and I am eagerly awaiting its release in November of this year. I’m only awarding this one an “it was okay” rating, but I do still recommend it, especially as it gets better the farther the series goes on. This one also gets an Up All Night award leaf since the action kept me eagerly reading, especially near the end. Recommended especially for middle grade/teen readers that enjoy astronomy and/or spy stories.<br />
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<b>Shady Glade Rating: 3 leaves</b> and the <b>Up All Night</b> Award<br />
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Available at Amazon.com in <a href="http://amzn.to/2cnh7H3" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Hardcover, Paperback,</span> Kindle, or Audiobook</a></div>
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Add to your <span style="color: #bd118c;">Goodreads shelf</span></span><br />
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Check availability on <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Paperbackswap.com</span></a></span>
Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-86614071585024851522016-09-08T12:32:00.001-07:002016-09-08T12:33:32.463-07:00Review: Princesses Comic #2<a href="http://amzn.to/2cgZThi" target="_blank">Disney Princess Comics #2</a> by Amy Mebberson and Geoffrey Golden<br />
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If you know me well, you know that I have a bit of a Disney obsession. Well, maybe more than a bit. My mom likes to say that my blood cells are probably Mickey shaped. And as a girly-girl at heart, there’s nothing I love more than the Disney Princesses. So when I found out about this new comic series that was being published, I knew it was a no brainer for me to try it. Sadly, I missed out on the first issue (it was sold out long before I got to the comic book store), but I was able to pick up this second volume on a birthday trip this year.<br />
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Unlike some serial comics, the Princess comics are done as a series of short stories with no correlation to each other, so it wasn’t a problem to pick up the second issue without reading the first at all. Each story is more of a behind-the-scenes type peek into the lives of the princesses, outside what the movies show of their stories. The balance of smaller 1 strip and large multi-strip stories is a good combination, and both types of strips have the perfect amount of humor. I particularly liked the story of Princess Jasmine dealing with her tiger Rajah at bedtime. Anyone who has ever owned a cat will understand that one.<br />
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And as much as I love the storytelling, I have to say that I love, love, love, the artwork. I am a big fan of Amy Mebberson from her Pocket Princesses fanfic comic on her Facebook page, and it is nice to see her Disney artwork in an official capacity. For those who haven’t seen her work before, I would describe this as a sort of Japanese “chibi” style, while still being very true to the actual Disney artwork. I will definitely look forward to collecting these comics!<br />
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Shady Glade Rating: <b>5 leaves</b> and the <b>Gold Leaf Award </b><br />
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Available at Amazon.com in <a href="http://amzn.to/2cgZThi" target="_blank">Kindle</a> (hard copy sold out)</div>
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Add to your <span style="color: #bd118c;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28908170-disney-princess-2" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></span></span>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-4026030957444879742016-09-02T09:12:00.003-07:002016-09-02T09:12:38.698-07:00Review: Wild Born<a href="http://amzn.to/2bYNM8u" target="_blank"><i>Wild Born</i> (Spirit Animals #1)</a> by Brandon Mull<br />
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In the fantasy world of Erdas, each child who comes of age must go through a special ceremony. The purpose of this ritual is to see if the child summons a spirit animal; a special animal with which you form a spiritual/mental bond with that grants additional strengths to both human and animal. It’s kind of like your own personal animal best friend. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan all summon spirit animals. But not just any animals. The wolf, leopard, panda, and falcon who apper during their ceremony are special animals, great beasts; animals of legend who have been foretold to return to Erdas in its greatest need. Together the four must work together and learn how to use their spirit animals in battle before the sinister forces taking over Erdas one country at a time have a chance to succeed.<br />
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I went into this one with pretty high expectations, mostly because I just love Brandon Mull. On the other hand, I’m always a bit worried with these multi-author series that Scholastic does (39 Clues and Infinity Ring being two other examples) just because I’m worried about continuity between character traits, world settings, plots, etc. I’m happy to say that Mull does a good job introducing the series. For a book that’s much shorter than many introductory middle grade fantasy books, there’s a nice balance between character introduction and the initial conflict of the series’ overall plot. Readers really only get glimpses of settings and characters other than the main four characters, but I felt it was enough to keep me satisfied, expecting that further explorations will occur in later books in the series. While there may not be a lot of substance literarily to this series, I think the kid appeal is definitely there, especially for kids who like books with animal characters. I plan on continuing with the rest of the series, which is always a good indication it hasn’t lost my interest so far.
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<b>Shady Glade Rating: 4 leaves
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRjXSpTBvCbzLjAGCzcW7lSlIy6KNRS_I_Muu6djiJp78SHAgL0mN3KnlU9FKsuB7WSroyU6tqzGUHQJ_KHqufaoBu32-aLNmyv0WYAj_QNPdbvJLeKT7mjZhsik2L0JcfxYL9g/s1600/4+leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRjXSpTBvCbzLjAGCzcW7lSlIy6KNRS_I_Muu6djiJp78SHAgL0mN3KnlU9FKsuB7WSroyU6tqzGUHQJ_KHqufaoBu32-aLNmyv0WYAj_QNPdbvJLeKT7mjZhsik2L0JcfxYL9g/s320/4+leaves.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/p/about-book-ratings.html" style="text-align: left;">Find out more about my ratings here</a></div>
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Available at Amazon.com in <a href="http://amzn.to/2bYNM8u" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Hardcover,</span> Kindle, or Audiobook</a></div>
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Add to your <span style="color: #bd118c;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17244430-wild-born" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></span></span><br />
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Check availability on <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Paperbackswap.com</span></a></span>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-62748512400842007512016-08-31T08:37:00.004-07:002016-08-31T08:38:10.222-07:00Continuing Thoughts on AudiobooksContinuing my thoughts on audiobooks from a few days ago, <a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2016/08/thoughts-on-audiobooks.html" target="_blank">which you can read here if you haven’t already</a>. I mentioned in that post how I love that audiobooks can bring books alive and make them so much more real. A lot of this is credited to the narrator (and I suppose the director) for how well they tell the story itself. Well, a narrator can also kill a book too, which I’ll highlight in a few examples. These are books that aren’t necessarily bad books, but in my opinion the audiobook was not worth listening to.<br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/2bSprkx" target="_blank"><b>The Inheritance Cycle</b></a> by Christopher Paolini, read by Gerard Doyle<br />
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I will start off by saying Gerard Doyle has narrated A LOT of audiobooks, and there’s been some that I’ve enjoyed a lot more than Eragon et al, so I don’t entirely blame the narrator for this one. Eragon was always a good example of how I often dislike books that have gotten a lot of hype. I had tried to read it several times, but just hadn’t gotten that into it. So I decided to try the audio, since a lot of times that can get me over the hump. The narration ended up making all of the characters seem rather whiny and weak, and although I slogged all the way through the first book, I did not get any farther in the series. And I have to say that Doyle’s voice for the dragon Sapphira was always completely ridiculous to me.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cc5pzE" target="_blank">The Looking Glass Wars</a></i></b> and <b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bRYC1K" target="_blank">Seeing Redd</a></i></b> by Frank Beddor, read by Gerard Doyle<br />
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Another fail by Gerard Doyle, although I didn’t realize it until I started writing this post. The Looking Glass Wars, a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, was a book that should have been right up my alley. The synopsis made it sound amazing. And yet listening to it wasn’t so amazing. The urgency of the war was just never there for me. But I enjoyed it enough to try the sequel. Again, not wowed, but now I wanted to find out what happened. So when the third book came out, I simply read it rather than listening to it. And suddenly, the world and characters and plot and motivations became so much more real to me. I ate the book up. To this day I’m still not sure if the third book was so much better than the other two, or if it was the lackluster narration of the first two books that made me not like them so much.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2cc5qnq" target="_blank">The Tale of Despereaux</a></i></b> by Kate DiCamillo, read by Graeme Malcolm<br />
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I think I may be the only person in the entire world who didn’t love this book. It had all the hallmarks of a story I would have loved: a brave mouse knight, a princess in peril, etc. And yet it was rather forgettable to me. I listened to it several years ago and to this day I can remember that I didn’t like it, but not why I didn’t like it. One of the marks of a good audiobook is that it impresses the story into your mind. It’s something you can remember and reflect on. And this one just didn’t do it for me.<br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/2cc5x2k" target="_blank">The Dispossessed series</a></b> by Page Morgan, read by Katharine McEwan<br />
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I would be remiss if I only included male narrators in this post, so here’s a female narrator I didn’t care for. Although the narration itself didn’t bug me so much, the accents of the individual characters, especially the French characters, was ridiculous to the point of being distracting. Some narrators are more successful than other at creating distinct voices for each character, and let’s just say these books don’t do male characters well at all.<br />
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I could dig up more examples of audiobooks that fell short of my expectations, but if you’ve read the blog awhile, you know I don’t like talking a lot about things I didn’t like. I’d rather spend time on positive opinions. So I think I’ll leave the list off there. Now, by all means, feel free to try these audiobooks for yourself. I think audiobooks can be even more subjective than the books themselves, because the listener usually invests a lot more in the story than a reader would (or at least I do). So perhaps the things that bug me won’t bug you at all. Each book definitely has its own advantages, and each reader to his own of course!
Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-29441445292322552622016-08-29T13:07:00.000-07:002016-08-29T13:07:01.839-07:00Thoughts on AudiobooksI’ve been thinking a lot about audiobooks lately. I don’t mention it a lot on the blog, but a lot of my “reading” these days is done via audiobook. I find it’s the perfect way to combine my hobby of reading with another of my hobbies, cross stitch. But that’s a discussion for my other blog.<br />
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I love that audiobooks in general have been gaining so much more attention lately, even among teens, which is awesome. Programs like <a href="http://www.audiobooksync.com/" target="_blank">Sync Audiobooks</a> (hosted every summer) and the prevalence of digital audiobooks through sites like audible.com are bringing so much more awareness to readers. Which is awesome, because of course that means more audiobooks are being made every day.<br />
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For me, audiobooks are a good way to “read” a book while I’m busy doing something else. They are also lifesavers on long drives and car trips. A lot of what I listen to are books that are new to me. But I also love hearing my favorite books come alive too. Perhaps my love of audiobooks harkens back to when I used to be read to every night before bed by my parents. I love closing my eyes (except when driving on those long car trips of course) and getting lost in the story.<br />
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So in case you’ve never tried audiobooks, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites with you.<br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/2bx9lxL" target="_blank">The Harry Potter series</a></b> by JK Rowling, read by Jim Dale<br />
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I cannot highly recommend these enough. Besides the fact that the books are awesome all on their own, Jim Dale’s narration does an amazing job of bringing the books to life. He gives each character a distinct voice, which is a nice contrast to his somewhat dry narration style. Some narrators have voices that are very similar to each other, or don’t distinguish very well between sexes, two of my biggest narrator pet peeves. No problems with that here. The really nice thing is that Dale is consistent with each character voice from book to book too, which is amazing considering they were recorded years apart as the individual books were coming out. Fun fact, I don’t think I ever actually have read <i>Goblet of Fire</i> or <i>Half Blood Prince</i>. Both books I finished by listening to them on summer car trips.<br />
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<b><a href="http://amzn.to/2bzbh4J" target="_blank">The Artemis Fowl series</a></b> by Eoin Colfer, read by Nathaniel Parker<br />
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So I had read the first 2 Artemis Fowl books and enjoyed them, although I wouldn’t say they made it on a favorites list by any means. Then my brother borrowed the audiobook for the 1st book from the library, and it changed everything for me. Nathaniel Parker made Artemis Fowl for me. Something about his narration captured Artemis’ personality so crystal for me, I was able to understand him as a character so much more. Holly also became much more real of a character and friend, and less of an intimidating presence, which was definitely something that had a large influence on the series later on. Needless to say, I’ve listened to all of the books now, and they’re definitely books I fall back into listening to from time to time.<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://amzn.to/2bzbUuX" target="_blank">Fairest</a></b> </i>by Gail Carson Levine, read by Full Cast Audio<br />
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In picking my favorite audiobooks, just about everything done by Full Cast Audio would make the full list. Seriously, they are amazing recordings. Rather than being read by a single person, the book is read by, well, a full cast. So a different person for each character. This gives the books another dimension; makes them feel almost like watching a play instead of listening to a single person relate a story. I’ve listened to so many of their recordings now that I frequently recognize actors from one story to another, which gives a whole different dimension to the characters of the stories (as a weird and unintentional side effect). As I said, I love Full Cast Audio’s productions and would recommend many, many of them, but for the sake of keeping this post manageable size, I would choose Fairest as one of my favorite. I loved this book, both because of its standalone qualities and also because it was a prequel of sorts to one of my favorite books of all time, <i>Ella Enchanted</i>. But in addition to the amazing full cast reading, this book has music. Lots of it. Music plays a big part in the story line, and the studio put the author’s songs to actual music, so you get to hear the main character actually sing her parts. The result is nothing short of fantastic. Sadly, I don't think Full Cast is doing much these days, and a lot of their books have been re-recorded by other narrators, but I'd definitely get this version if you can.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2c4VPhU" target="_blank">Dealing with Dragons</a></i></b> by Patricia C. Wrede, read by Words Take Wing Repertory Company<br />
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Okay, this one is a cheat in several ways. <a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-favorites-dealing-with-dragons.html" target="_blank">If you’ve read my review of this book on the blog here</a>, you’ll know that this is one of my all-time favorite books. So it was probably a no brainer I was going to love it for that reason. Secondly, this was done by the Words Take Wing division of Listening Library, which was the precursor to Full Cast Audio, which we’ve already covered the fact that I adore their productions. This is a great book to read, and also a great one to listen to. There’s something about hearing the story being read that highlights the hilarity of the plot and characters, which is one of the most charming devices Wrede uses in this story.<br />
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I could go on a lot more about these and other favorites, but to keep this shorter, I’ll just highlight two more books that I didn’t expect to love at all, but listening to the audiobook completely changed my mind.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bMNykD" target="_blank">The Last Dragonslayer</a></i></b> by Jasper Fforde, read by Elizabeth Jasicki<br />
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I had tried several times to pick up Fforde’s Thursday Next series, never with much success. Probably because I kept getting distracted by other books. So when I saw this audiobook at the library, I decided to give it a try, since it was supposed to be his attempt at a “young adult” series. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed the book, and I think it was mostly because the narration made the main character Jennifer Strange so endearing to me. I was completely lost in Jennifer’s world, and I fell in love with many of the characters, causing me to actually shed tears at the end. If I hadn’t picked this up, I certainly wouldn’t have ever picked up the second book in the series, <i>Song of the Quarkbeast</i>, which I loved just as much.<br />
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<i><b><a href="http://amzn.to/2c4WlfT" target="_blank">Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos</a></b></i> by R. L. LaFevers, read by<br />
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This is another book I really task the narration with my falling in love with it. The narrator became Theodosia for me. I could believe that an 11-year-old was telling this story. Although I had seen this book around from time to time, for some reason it hadn’t really appealed to me that much enough for me to actually give it a try. But needing something to keep me entertained on a long commute, I gave the audiobook a listen. And I’m so glad I did. Listening to it definitely opened up the whole world of this story, where the setting of ancient Egyptian curses and prophecies is almost a character of its own. <a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-theodosia-and-serpents-of-chaos.html" target="_blank">I’ve already done a full review of this book here</a>, so I’ll let you go read that if you want more specifics.<br />
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Well, hopefully that’s a few suggestions to get you started if you’ve never been brave enough to try them. I’ve got a few other audiobook discussions I’d like to have rolling around in my head, but I’ll save those for another post.<br />
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Until then, happy reading (or listening!)Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-22641125236050826542016-08-26T08:58:00.001-07:002016-08-26T09:00:47.571-07:00Review: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage<i><a href="http://amzn.to/2bUDJjm" target="_blank">The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer </a></i>by Sydney Padua<br />
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Did you know the basis of the first computer program was invented back in 1842? When I think of the beginnings of the computer, the newish scene in Spaceship Earth featuring a lady in 70s go-go boots surrounded by enormous beeping white machines comes to mind. So when I happened upon this book in a library exploration trip I was very intrigued to find out more about the very beginning of the computer, which apparently happened way earlier than I thought it did. The beginnings of the computer involved the collaboration of Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage working on an invention called the Difference Engine. Sadly, Countess Lovelace died young and the Difference Engine was never actually built.<br />
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But in the grand way that fiction allows us, this book explores the idea of “what if”. What if Lovelace and Babbage had actually completed the Difference Engine, and then used its marvelous computing abilities to go on strange adventures? This book not only gives an accurate historical biography of Lovelace and Babbage and their collaboration, but also features a section where in an alternate universe the duo complete their engine and use it’s awesome power to have all sorts of adventures and mishaps (mostly mishaps).<br />
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Those who are particularly interested in the history behind Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, and the Difference Engine will be delighted by the sheer amount of research that must have gone into this book. There are extensive footnotes explaining and expounding on the historical events and people featured, as well as a very large appendix containing a vast amount of primary resources. But it’s not just about the history. The adventurous side of the book is quite fun too, and has a very steampunk-esque feel to it. This is where the author’s characterization of Lovelace and Babbage really has the chance to shine, such as when both receive Queen Victoria for a demonstration of the Difference Engine.<br />
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I have to say I quite enjoyed the art style of this one. It has a very whimsical feel to it, especially in the “adventures” section of the book, but it is also right at home in the very historical part one as well. The expressions and emotions I thought were particularly well done. Overall, this is a great recommendation for both the historical and alternate reality sections, which lends itself to the graphic novel format quite well. This one is definitely recommended.<br />
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<b>Shady Glade Rating: 4 leaves
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRjXSpTBvCbzLjAGCzcW7lSlIy6KNRS_I_Muu6djiJp78SHAgL0mN3KnlU9FKsuB7WSroyU6tqzGUHQJ_KHqufaoBu32-aLNmyv0WYAj_QNPdbvJLeKT7mjZhsik2L0JcfxYL9g/s1600/4+leaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBRjXSpTBvCbzLjAGCzcW7lSlIy6KNRS_I_Muu6djiJp78SHAgL0mN3KnlU9FKsuB7WSroyU6tqzGUHQJ_KHqufaoBu32-aLNmyv0WYAj_QNPdbvJLeKT7mjZhsik2L0JcfxYL9g/s320/4+leaves.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/p/about-book-ratings.html" style="text-align: left;">Find out more about my ratings here</a></div>
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Available at Amazon.com in <a href="http://amzn.to/2bori1A" target="_blank"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Hardcover, </span>Paperback, or Kindle</a></div>
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Add to your <span style="color: #bd118c;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22822839-the-thrilling-adventures-of-lovelace-and-babbage" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></span></span><br />
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Check availability on <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133"><span style="color: #bd118c;">Paperbackswap.com</span></a></span>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-9234053793977745702016-08-22T07:55:00.002-07:002016-08-22T07:55:37.818-07:00Pokemon Indigo League Read Them All Thon Here's the new challenge I hinted at last week. I've joined the Pokemon Indigo League Read Them All Thon hosted by <a href="https://readatmidnight.com/2016/07/25/pokemon-indigo-league-readthemallthon-sign-up/" target="_blank">Read at Midnight</a>. The challenge started on August 14th and runs through September 4th, so I'm coming a little late to the party, but better late than never, right?<br />
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This challenge is inspired by the recent popularity of a game I'm sure you've heard of called Pokemon Go. But also, it's inspired by the Indigo League that Ash had to work through in the beginning of the Pokemon cartoon. Which is what I rushed home to watch after school when I was younger, so it is near and dear to my heart. :)</div>
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For those not familiar with the situation, Ash had to battle 8 different elemental Pokemon gyms, earning a badge from each one, to try and help on his quest to be a Pokemon Master. So for this challenge instead of battling Pokemon, we'll be reading books. </div>
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Here's what my list looks like so far, with badge descriptions borrowed from the challenge organizer (in italics):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3drLWOKMWkuhtQjcNfIXetZkcvlriRXhs8tnWWXoMcoX-_Vz6zhg5KV0AfHH2lTq82F4vPxWaz2K71eOTI3eIvlAYJYjOf5emo-PjWXwCehhpw4oPvv0BgCI0KUmjVUeO2j6oMw/s1600/readthemallthon-badge01-boulder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3drLWOKMWkuhtQjcNfIXetZkcvlriRXhs8tnWWXoMcoX-_Vz6zhg5KV0AfHH2lTq82F4vPxWaz2K71eOTI3eIvlAYJYjOf5emo-PjWXwCehhpw4oPvv0BgCI0KUmjVUeO2j6oMw/s400/readthemallthon-badge01-boulder.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Pewter Gym: The First Book In A Series </b></div>
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<i>This Rock-type gym is the first gym Ash and the Pokemon player ever encounters. Finish this challenge to win a <b>Boulder Badge</b>.</i> </div>
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I will be reading <a href="http://amzn.to/2bAdOio" target="_blank">The Isle of the Lost</a> by Melissa de la Cruz, first in the Descendants series.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhvln3ihmAbXVwA49Oyzpc3XiZ2YZ7mb0XghqADDMu2f1ZMttf1VlJHRacldj9IIOhRjKRXcvB2eF7ebrb1pRwh4iApvQ3uuhjFgx6SFxqBVkTAin-Ti-FAuzv2pZ5zZreSgDdA/s1600/readthemallthon-badge02-cascader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDhvln3ihmAbXVwA49Oyzpc3XiZ2YZ7mb0XghqADDMu2f1ZMttf1VlJHRacldj9IIOhRjKRXcvB2eF7ebrb1pRwh4iApvQ3uuhjFgx6SFxqBVkTAin-Ti-FAuzv2pZ5zZreSgDdA/s400/readthemallthon-badge02-cascader.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Cerulean Gym: A Book That Might Make You Cry </b></div>
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<i>This Water-type gym has a badge that looks like a droplet of your tear, so read a book that will rip your heart out. Finish this challenge to win a <b>Cascade Badge</b>. </i></div>
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I'll admit, I struggled with this one. Books don't make me cry as much as movies do for some reason (I even cried at the end of <i>Batman V. Superman</i>. I am SUCH a sap!). So I turned to the trusty Goodreads looking for a book that was on my TBR that had notes it made someone cry and ended up with <a href="http://amzn.to/2bbHOSl" target="_blank">Fangirl</a> by Rainbow Rowell<br />
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<b>Vermillion Gym: A Book With Thunderous Hype </b></div>
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<i>Vermillion City is the home to Lt. Surge and his many Electric-type Pokemon. For this challenge, read a book that’s been hyped all over bestseller’s list and the internet. Finish this challenge to win a <b>Thunder Badge</b>. </i></div>
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So I'm ashamed to admit I have not actually read the Percy Jackson books yet. So I figured this was as good a time as any to rectify that. I will be starting with <a href="http://amzn.to/2bGUKMM" target="_blank">The Lightning Thief</a> by Rick Riordan (bonus: double qualification of "thunderous"!)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIege87JCBUbU3DHJl4DdSdnTwJSu-mGGCajBqC-culnSZT_lLwk0QDDr3Of8q2n_gdqPgvP5-8GxDjhJiMRB3YeDcHQMC6Y4ad9QZY2QYUN9Pmd-weFoY_DpcYfH0guIx1ilFQ/s1600/readthemallthon-badge04-rainbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIege87JCBUbU3DHJl4DdSdnTwJSu-mGGCajBqC-culnSZT_lLwk0QDDr3Of8q2n_gdqPgvP5-8GxDjhJiMRB3YeDcHQMC6Y4ad9QZY2QYUN9Pmd-weFoY_DpcYfH0guIx1ilFQ/s400/readthemallthon-badge04-rainbow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Celadon Gym: A Book That Focuses on Diversity </b></div>
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<i>Celadon Gym is one of my favourites, because of it’s colourful Grass-type aesthetics. Read a diverse book and you will earn yourself a <b>Rainbow Badge</b>. </i></div>
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For this one I will be reading <a href="http://amzn.to/2bGTJ7z" target="_blank">Drama</a> by Raina Telgemeier. I've been looking for an excuse to pick up this book for ages.<br />
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<b>Fuschia Gym: A Book With A Great Romance </b></div>
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<i>I’ve always been confused by the fact that a Poison-type gym has a heart-shaped badge. Can someone explain please. Read a book that features romance prominently and earn a <b>Soul Badge</b>. </i></div>
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I don't normally read a lot of romance, but I've found myself reading more lately. I just borrowed a Kindle book from Lendle that fits this category, so I will be reading <a href="http://amzn.to/2bAcdcI" target="_blank">Bride of Pretense</a> by Amanda Tru and Cami Wesley<br />
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<b>Saffron Gym: A Book With Fantasy/Supenatural Elements </b></div>
<i>Saffron City is where all the Psychic-types hang out, so for this challenge, read a bool with fantasy, magical realism, or paranormal elements. Finish this challenge to win a <b>Marsh Badge</b>. </i><br />
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I've just recently started the Spirit Animals series, so for this one I will do the second book in the series, <a href="http://amzn.to/2bGTzgx" target="_blank">Hunted</a> by Maggie Stiefvater<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0kgpabJIFIpTIp9TDfgqOJTdLZgvgYnrMtTCShxSYje7VokPc1raCXqF9FpH5qLHzJAQUmtf8v13scniF4XCTZYhp7cTxwAYgbOEaAz0UgTm49iWoUmZd9XLFO_udUXNFT4vqw/s1600/readthemallthon-badge07-flame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii0kgpabJIFIpTIp9TDfgqOJTdLZgvgYnrMtTCShxSYje7VokPc1raCXqF9FpH5qLHzJAQUmtf8v13scniF4XCTZYhp7cTxwAYgbOEaAz0UgTm49iWoUmZd9XLFO_udUXNFT4vqw/s400/readthemallthon-badge07-flame.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Cinnabar Gym: A Book With A Red Cover </b></div>
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<i>Cinnabar Island is famous for red earth and Fire-type Pokemon. For this challenge, read a book with a red cover. Complete this challenge to win a <b>Volcano Badge</b>. </i></div>
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This one could have also qualified for the Thunderous Hype challenge, but I just picked up <a href="http://amzn.to/2bbJNpV" target="_blank">Ruby Red</a> by Kerstin Gier, which features a very red cover.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8d1bfZXs7ZcawayC38zYb2YxxHEmcLZuDiiWdMnsR8j5gsgdrNuaOrsTHzO3yGYWfN3zqVPAPlxQtDFca9FBEDBKKLHsphdMA29u5aMOyMU6pU381Eyj2E-JP73ci_JpRNMAXVA/s1600/readthemallthon-badge08-earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8d1bfZXs7ZcawayC38zYb2YxxHEmcLZuDiiWdMnsR8j5gsgdrNuaOrsTHzO3yGYWfN3zqVPAPlxQtDFca9FBEDBKKLHsphdMA29u5aMOyMU6pU381Eyj2E-JP73ci_JpRNMAXVA/s400/readthemallthon-badge08-earth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Viridian Gym: A Book With Post-Apocalyptic Setting </b></div>
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<i>The final gym is home to a Team Rocket Leader (OK, if it’s been out 10+ years you can’t cry spoilers) and Ground-type Pokemon. For this challenge, read a book featuring a ruined, post-apocalyptic Earth. Finish this to win yourself an <b>Earth Badge</b>. </i></div>
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I don't read a lot of dystopian, so I struggled with this one. But I think I will be going with <a href="http://amzn.to/2bbBZmx" target="_blank">Uglies</a> by Scott Westerfeld.<br />
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So that's my plan so far. I suppose it's possible this list might change as I go along, but that's my plan so far. Who knows if I will make it to the end, but I'm going to try!<br />
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In addition to earning badges, you have the option of doing the extra fun of evolving a pokemon. You earn CP points to evolve your pokemon by finishing books. I'm starting with Eevee, because it's been my favorite Pokemon forever. So cute!<br />
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Not really a smart choice from a point perspective, but I figure my chances of being in the top points wise are pretty limited, so I'm just doing it for fun. <br />
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If you'd like to join the challenge yourself, make sure you check out <a href="https://readatmidnight.com/2016/07/25/pokemon-indigo-league-readthemallthon-sign-up/" target="_blank">Read At Midnight</a>'s post for all the details. Happy reading!Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-57424277713886791582016-08-19T06:36:00.002-07:002016-08-19T06:36:39.311-07:00Summer Book Trek wrap upWell, this post is overdue since the Summer Book Trek ended on July 31st, but I figured it deserved a bit of a wrap up anyway. Mostly because I am planning my next reading challenge already. :)<br />
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I did pretty good for the Trek, finishing a total of 10 books. I also won 3 books. Yay! The books I finished were:<br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/2b9aEAj" target="_blank">Super Daisy!</a>
by Jennifer Griffith<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2b9bqgt" target="_blank">The Duke's Undoing</a>
by G.G. Vandagriff<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2b9aTva" target="_blank">Samara: A Kilenya Romance</a>
by Andrea Pearson<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2byT5sy" target="_blank">Midian, A Kilenya Romance</a>
by Andrea Pearson<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2bsy31N" target="_blank">Dmitri: A Kilenya Adventure</a>by Andrea Pearson<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2brfH2k" target="_blank">Rise of the Wolf</a>
by Jennifer A. Nielsen<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2b4PIrV" target="_blank">Spirit Animals : Tales of the Great Beasts</a>
by Brandon Mull<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2b4QsNM" target="_blank">Wild Born</a>
by Brandon Mull<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2blXRuU" target="_blank">And Something Blue</a>
by Paige Timothy<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/2byUlfk" target="_blank">The Witching Moon</a>
by Janelle Daniels
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You can see my sign up post to <a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2016/07/summer-book-trek-2016.html" target="_blank">see how this finished list differed here</a>. <br />
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Mom did pretty good too, finishing (I think) 3 books, which was good considering she started as late as she did. <a href="http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com/2016/07/summer-book-trek-2016-moms-list.html" target="_blank">Although she didn't end up finishing either of the books she planned on at first</a>. She also won 2 books! <br />
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So now it's onto the next thing. Look for a post about my new challenge coming up in the next couple days. And hopefully some reviews too, when I can get a chance to finish writing them!Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-66182252958138123902016-07-18T19:03:00.002-07:002016-07-18T19:03:28.292-07:00Summer Book Trek 2016: Mom's list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, Mom decided to join me on the <a href="http://bit.ly/1GZuwPE" target="_blank">Summer Book Trek</a> hosted by New LDS Fiction this month. It's never too late to join, so if you'd like to join us and win some great prizes (I've already won 2 books!) you can <a href="http://bit.ly/1GZuwPE" target="_blank">head over to the host site and check out all the rules</a>. <br />
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Since July is a little half over, Mom is starting with a small list and will add to it or change it later as the month goes on. <br />
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Marie F's list:<br />
The Widowers Wife by Prudence Bice<br />
Meet Your Match by Stephanie FowersAlyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-11545179648460288792016-07-01T19:14:00.001-07:002016-07-01T19:55:00.083-07:00Summer Book Trek 2016Well, here I am again after a long break. My reading has kind of suffered lately, although I have been reading, just not as much as I have in the past. Mostly this has been because cross stitch has taken over as the preferred hobby in my life (<a href="http://brownieschair.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">which you can follow my adventures in that field on my other blog if you're interested</a>.) On top of that, some ongoing health issues and a crazy few months at work and I just lately haven't been reading as much. Which is something my Goodreads Reading Challenge button delightfully informs me of every time I log in, that I'm 8 books behind schedule so far this year. <br />
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Anyway, that brings me to the reason for this post, the <a href="http://bit.ly/1GZuwPE" target="_blank">Summer Book Trek</a>. I found this on a Facebook page I follow that features new releases by LDS authors (writers who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Being LDS myself, I love me some LDS writers, and I thought what better way to jump start my reading than with a challenge? It runs the whole month of July and you earn points for reading and reviewing books written by LDS writers. <br />
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The idea is to start by setting up a goal of what books you'll read throughout the challenge. I'm really horrible at lists like that, because I almost always end up changing them later. But, I do know there are a few books that I definitely will be getting to in this challenge. <br />
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First of, I know I will be reading Across the Ages by RaShelle Workman, The Duke's Undoing by GG Vandagriff, and Super Daisy by Jennifer Griffith. Why do I know I'll get to those three specifically? Well, they're all Kindle loans I accepted this week knowing this challenge was coming up, so I have a limited amount of time to read them before they are returned to the owner. <br />
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Beyond that, I would like to get to a few books I've had on my to read list for awhile that are by some of my favorite LDS authors. And since Middle Grade and YA books are kind of my thing, there's a lot of those on the possibility list. Right now I'm considering the two Spirit Animals books by Brandon Mull, the new Princess in Black books by Shannon Hale, Wings by Aprilynne Pike, Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George, Rise of the Wolf by Jennifer Neilson, or The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry. <br />
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Of course, I also like sweet clean romances, which fit this challenge to a T, and I have tons of them I've bought for free or close to free for my Kindle that qualify for this challenge. So I may eventually mix it up a bit. But right now, I'm excited to get started and see how far I can get!<br />
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You can <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/3165154?shelf=summer-book-trek" target="_blank">check out my Goodreads shelf</a> I created for this challenge to see what all my options are. And yeah, there's no way I'm going to read every one of these during July. There's over 100 options after all. Guess I'll have plenty of backups for the challenge next year!<br />
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If you'd like to join up for yourself, check out the Summer Book Trek page at this link: <a href="http://bit.ly/1GZuwPE" style="background: 0px 0px rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; color: #9c205f; font-family: Lato; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21.4286px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.5s;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1GZuwPE</a>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-62368703259949491972015-02-03T12:59:00.001-08:002015-02-03T12:59:16.602-08:00Top Ten Tuesday: Winners I Haven't ReadBeing the second day in the month, that means it's time for another question from Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the Broke and the Bookish.<br />
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Today's question is: <b>Top Ten Books I Can't Believe I Haven't/Want To Read From X Genre</b><br />
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Well, seeing as my "to be read" pile is thousands of books long, and I will probably never ever finish them all before I die, I wasn't sure how I wanted to spin this one at first. But then I remembered the ALA awards for children's an YA lit came out this week (the Printz, Morris, Newbery, Caldecott, etc.). So in honor of that, I decided to look up past winners/honorable mentions from the past few years and list the top ten books I can't believe I haven't read yet from those awards. These are books that I have intended to read before knowing they won awards, not because they were winners. <br />
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So here they are in no particular order:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzyLELqgIRP1042EHjUbJOJt_1rRxOCaOsnX-Nq0A89BCeCMqZ1mk7LyppSYlVNhi03uaT0Y-gjU6lWvqlLu_sOHFhf6GuFt1dQ3RJaTyXaycu53p0qcuGM3o6uGWa5lfgmpGNQ/s1600/22529360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzyLELqgIRP1042EHjUbJOJt_1rRxOCaOsnX-Nq0A89BCeCMqZ1mk7LyppSYlVNhi03uaT0Y-gjU6lWvqlLu_sOHFhf6GuFt1dQ3RJaTyXaycu53p0qcuGM3o6uGWa5lfgmpGNQ/s1600/22529360.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599900734/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1599900734&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=QTMRIECOYTUE3CNA">Princess Academy</a></i> by Shannon Hale (Newbery Honor, 2006) - With as much as I absolutely love Shannon Hale, I have no idea why I haven't picked this one up yet. I know pretty much I would love it, and I even own Book 2 as well, but I have never read either of them yet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1q4bGbDRp73L_winSJuQCp_d_9iJACh5vct7h3fnQtmyFFJ-WP0TqU-c9WAjFdUHFgwYw4_QWONt22scapHe2QU_DYO80TPsiOLojieTPdEUrRYb0NYwQ5T5-Mcg-expDAvqOA/s1600/64481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1q4bGbDRp73L_winSJuQCp_d_9iJACh5vct7h3fnQtmyFFJ-WP0TqU-c9WAjFdUHFgwYw4_QWONt22scapHe2QU_DYO80TPsiOLojieTPdEUrRYb0NYwQ5T5-Mcg-expDAvqOA/s1600/64481.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152053107/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0152053107&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=3ASYSBHMTKRDODQB">A Northern Light</a></i> by Jennifer Donnelly (Printz Honor, 2004) - I've read one other book by Jennifer Donnelly and didn't really like it at all, which is why it's slightly surprising that the premise of this one has always appealed to me so much.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-aAxHXysuKJ8ng5xSVw06-nVfW7jSiHOGNcNCHPpy1ZxmHi_5W7HY7bJZtIoWUq_3CwoU7nfBlB7j6QpfIIeCSEhpBKqVczaCVcvpZbWJ7eIjhE1-1cZLBaNG3r9PhVMP10VSw/s1600/6304335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp-aAxHXysuKJ8ng5xSVw06-nVfW7jSiHOGNcNCHPpy1ZxmHi_5W7HY7bJZtIoWUq_3CwoU7nfBlB7j6QpfIIeCSEhpBKqVczaCVcvpZbWJ7eIjhE1-1cZLBaNG3r9PhVMP10VSw/s1600/6304335.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316077038/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0316077038&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=33BKEZOWB5X4IAPC">Beautiful Creatures</a></i> by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Morris Finalist, 2010) - Lots of hype about these books. Still have never picked them up, even though they do sound interesting to me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajOTH17WmWqSPRhCs33eDB7M0psKsQ3KySpAtRbr4WT6xMFpSqFeDDSzrY00dP2H7IulHhv11E2aLW8NtnerN0i5EJ63jYr0d52AFMZ_GH3lGXFPvZjR9cekW1jMz6frit66kzA/s1600/1743390.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajOTH17WmWqSPRhCs33eDB7M0psKsQ3KySpAtRbr4WT6xMFpSqFeDDSzrY00dP2H7IulHhv11E2aLW8NtnerN0i5EJ63jYr0d52AFMZ_GH3lGXFPvZjR9cekW1jMz6frit66kzA/s1600/1743390.jpg" height="200" width="130" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0439895774/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0439895774&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=BKX3GAMB22AF72C2">A Curse Dark As Gold</a></i> by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Morris Winner, 2009) - This one is a fairy tale retelling I've had on my to-read list for ages. I blame my ever expanding bookshelves for hiding it away from me in the back as the reason I've never read it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3jmhg5yJ4eyj_DXfrftou5KtrhUwmPXVUxktp6Gl98oQp67yFzzWx8Ku-0Oba2-Ch9t7FZIUKNyWqbkAW7j-WK5KSpVqESV3dGSk6eNsqcf5FzDPusNS1UdQAazHGv8VKE7IYw/s1600/10429092.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe3jmhg5yJ4eyj_DXfrftou5KtrhUwmPXVUxktp6Gl98oQp67yFzzWx8Ku-0Oba2-Ch9t7FZIUKNyWqbkAW7j-WK5KSpVqESV3dGSk6eNsqcf5FzDPusNS1UdQAazHGv8VKE7IYw/s1600/10429092.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006202650X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=006202650X&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=PHVCILMZZRMS4CDA">The Girl of Fire and Thorns</a></i> by Rae Carson (Morris Finalist, 2012) - This book interested me from the very moment that I heard about it. I think I haven't picked it up yet because I haven't gotten my hands on the third one yet, and I have this weird thing about not starting a series until I have several of the books in case there are cliffhangers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdy5filhi125WMZA-6SBpqVivgDfRdkldLO65mrSV9Zj3fQaT5uIHvbL3KNj8cH9wluPZ5nZi2Q63iPsef684_Mgbp00RABmqBU54JbO0TYBLrwR1iix8a3V9tYeZ5coYZpHyMQ/s1600/207798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFdy5filhi125WMZA-6SBpqVivgDfRdkldLO65mrSV9Zj3fQaT5uIHvbL3KNj8cH9wluPZ5nZi2Q63iPsef684_Mgbp00RABmqBU54JbO0TYBLrwR1iix8a3V9tYeZ5coYZpHyMQ/s1600/207798.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385735952/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385735952&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=PLK6RPODPXQKKN22">Hattie Big Sky</a></i> by Kirby Larson (Newbery Honor, 2007) - I've gone back and forth on this book for many years now. I keep checking it out from the library and never actually getting around to reading it before I have to return it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6d1u-rztP0mBfwJdn-hJi-BBcv-7JC-IxCWJa4c_0JyfyVCcaG9-_DF2bhAqHOSzuGHs-ybawiu8GFGGOgHpiRCdEdvWjnppHfUaGkdyzVQxY0BCMVRsMbxi-CTS76jxvn1jMQ/s1600/19549841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw6d1u-rztP0mBfwJdn-hJi-BBcv-7JC-IxCWJa4c_0JyfyVCcaG9-_DF2bhAqHOSzuGHs-ybawiu8GFGGOgHpiRCdEdvWjnppHfUaGkdyzVQxY0BCMVRsMbxi-CTS76jxvn1jMQ/s1600/19549841.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375866221/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0375866221&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=ABOKCKYHK7DEL33X">Seraphina</a></i> by Rachel Hartman (Morris Winner, 2013) - Another book I've wanted to read since before it came out and I read what it was about. Usually the books I like never get shortlisted for awards, so I was surprised that it won both this and the Cybils award in 2013 for its category. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCjZ3AvzqC1_uByJkchMoc-z_LbRR6TuGV6vxXGXRgKgYwvI0L4e_BYZbGhwTBPRzf-rtx2JKCZHnlOUkP5kNaY2JVswSqM2ZwIoC1Ts1zJgUu4mgHFNHlCZAMhMkoZPm4u3ITQ/s1600/13642661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKCjZ3AvzqC1_uByJkchMoc-z_LbRR6TuGV6vxXGXRgKgYwvI0L4e_BYZbGhwTBPRzf-rtx2JKCZHnlOUkP5kNaY2JVswSqM2ZwIoC1Ts1zJgUu4mgHFNHlCZAMhMkoZPm4u3ITQ/s1600/13642661.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385741472/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0385741472&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=ZXNU52BP4RHZXBEY">Belle Epoque</a></i> by Elizabeth Ross (Morris Finalist, 2014) - One of the only books from this year's awards that I feel a need to read right away. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLYof0BSR_uOIbM6dNjfmkCMQwFu-0sdRfr57RvAMcJbmyP_zFc1Do2Gl_JptUL0CuFcMxBbVT6rWyuBVSBxLyYE-6ybKIs2syDOSCmZWu2IT25R_NG7FdJibhWJhcsZvhFHu9A/s1600/2213661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLYof0BSR_uOIbM6dNjfmkCMQwFu-0sdRfr57RvAMcJbmyP_zFc1Do2Gl_JptUL0CuFcMxBbVT6rWyuBVSBxLyYE-6ybKIs2syDOSCmZWu2IT25R_NG7FdJibhWJhcsZvhFHu9A/s1600/2213661.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060530944/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0060530944&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=OQLX4MOLDBUZLORP">The Graveyard Book</a></i> by Neil Gaiman (Newbery Winner, 2009) - This is the one book I'm a bit torn about on this list, because I have actually read a bit of it for when I was on the Fantasy/Sc-Fi committee for the Cybils in 2009. I actually didn't like it that much, but it's gotten so much hype I figured maybe I need to give it a second chance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkdqa8FLImlEsiRxXkGagrQDWN9oaxQ7AI1p2RY1A5hEwzxXqPho_F6lcxUGsK5-DyDcfFka_v7FoRsQDy7sP_M0x-fgd6PEBz9EM18CbradfMe7IDh7F4i98Av5Qa4phXfWD8w/s1600/3236307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAkdqa8FLImlEsiRxXkGagrQDWN9oaxQ7AI1p2RY1A5hEwzxXqPho_F6lcxUGsK5-DyDcfFka_v7FoRsQDy7sP_M0x-fgd6PEBz9EM18CbradfMe7IDh7F4i98Av5Qa4phXfWD8w/s1600/3236307.jpg" height="200" width="131" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0547258305/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0547258305&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=SDIGGX7TG62FNP5Z">Graceling</a></i> by Kristin Cashore (Morris Finalist, 2009) - This one I'm not entirely sure if it belongs on this list either. Mostly because I have read about 1/3 of it right before Christmas, and I LOVED it, I just haven't had the time to finish it yet (and I have temporarily lost my copy...). But since I haven't read it in its entirety yet, I figured it deserved a place on the list. <br />
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With the list being done, I think there is one interesting trend that popped up while I was going through these books. I really haven't read most of the winners, and I'm not planning on reading a lot of them. That's because I find that most of the time the bestseller, popular, and "literary" books that win awards don't really appeal to me. Some exceptions come to mind (I found Harry Potter worth the hype, for instance) but these are the titles that really stood out to me because I was interested in many of these books before knowing they were on the lists. Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-14175394620848701472015-01-28T13:03:00.000-08:002015-01-28T13:03:00.291-08:00Waiting on Wednesday: BeastkeeperSo in my renewed determination to keep up with my blogging, I am back today with a Waiting on Wednesday post. Yay!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZUPohTru-gV-RY4Mb4gguG7_nSyUbKcsRYLlTh-KJ7E3AyvsPWSiPBYl1vI6_osLQavsht7OpOwDBCan8tZIMCpRNNwZDLAbHMFUv7DcQXKccNHUH9gxdc_OzVL1EaosVB2UEQ/s1600/21469082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZUPohTru-gV-RY4Mb4gguG7_nSyUbKcsRYLlTh-KJ7E3AyvsPWSiPBYl1vI6_osLQavsht7OpOwDBCan8tZIMCpRNNwZDLAbHMFUv7DcQXKccNHUH9gxdc_OzVL1EaosVB2UEQ/s1600/21469082.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805099808/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0805099808&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=RHQAVSOAXTTETZ4M">Beastkeeper </a></i> by Cat Hellisen<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><u>About the Book</u></b> (copy from Goodreads.com): "Sarah has always been on the move. Her mother hates the cold, so every few months her parents pack their bags and drag her off after the sun. She’s grown up lonely and longing for magic. She doesn’t know that it’s magic her parents are running from. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
When Sarah's mother walks out on their family, all the strange old magic they have tried to hide from comes rising into their mundane world. Her father begins to change into something wild and beastly, but before his transformation is complete, he takes Sarah to her grandparents—people she has never met, didn’t even know were still alive. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Deep in the forest, in a crumbling ruin of a castle, Sarah begins to untangle the layers of curses affecting her family bloodlines, until she discovers that the curse has carried over to her, too. The day she falls in love for the first time, Sarah will transform into a beast...unless she can figure out a way to break the curse forever."</blockquote>
So unless you couldn't tell from the description, I'm pretty sure this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. And you know I love fairy tale retellings. But I like the way this one has scrambled it around a bit with the girl turning into the beast. Sounds like it will be good. :)<br />
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You don't have to wait too long to read <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805099808/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0805099808&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=RHQAVSOAXTTETZ4M">Beastkeeper</a></i>, since it will be released on February 3, 2015. <br />
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<span class=" PIN_1372858849532_hazClick" id="freeText16707129501436603444">Currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805099808/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0805099808&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=RHQAVSOAXTTETZ4M" target="_blank">Hardcover</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LRWK3DE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00LRWK3DE&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=FAYEAC2OB45MTMSE" target="_blank">Kindle</a></span><br />
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Add to your <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21469082-beastkeeper" target="_blank">Goodreads shelf</a></span><br />
<span id="freeText15634217277692724069">Check availability on <a href="http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php?n=7&r_by=Greycat133">Paperbackswap.com</a></span>Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-1478360306602743552015-01-27T12:50:00.002-08:002015-01-27T12:50:39.905-08:00Top Ten Tuesday: Book ClubsHello blog readers!<br />
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I know I’ve been a bit absent lately. Still struggling to find internet access. But my goal is to work myself towards more active participation over here. Thanks to all of you who’ve stuck through these ups and downs with me over the last few months. And welcome to any new readers too. :)<br />
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Anyway, moving on to today’s post. In addition to getting back to regular posts, I just discovered this way cool weekly event called Top Ten Tuesdays hosted over at <a href="http://www.brokeandbookish.com/" target="_blank">The Broke and Bookish</a>. They post a book related question each Tuesday, and participants have the chance to come up with a list of 10 books that answer that question.<br />
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Sounds like fun. So although I don’t know how often I’ll participate, I thought it would be fun to do so today anyway. Today’s question is: <b>Ten Books I'd Love to Read With My Book Club/If I Had A Book Club.</b><br />
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Interesting question for me, since for the first time ever in my life, I actually am a member of a book club. I found out in November that a group of ladies from my church do participate in a monthly book club and they invited me to join. Of course, that being said, most of the books we’ve read so far totally aren’t my thing. But since we take turns choosing books, this is actually something that I’ve thought about (for when my turn comes around).<br />
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When choosing a book for book club, I think it’s better to choose something that you’ve already read, since that way there’s no surprises content-wise that you can’t warn people about before they start the book. As a result, I’ve approached this question narrowing it down to books I’ve already read.<br />
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So here’s 10 books I’d like to read with my book club (in no particular order):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQ9q0ewVj-QrwkcqaNCfePDQcT9bFvfQzZDbi66ssigjBcXW9yKC4pn2dpyXMPtlkqwFpr4CqN5BtPRuZBkk7_99QFdG4p_sG2bJqg3EfGHxkSJ6AA3GcodswWNzxHzmitrmhpw/s1600/248483.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTQ9q0ewVj-QrwkcqaNCfePDQcT9bFvfQzZDbi66ssigjBcXW9yKC4pn2dpyXMPtlkqwFpr4CqN5BtPRuZBkk7_99QFdG4p_sG2bJqg3EfGHxkSJ6AA3GcodswWNzxHzmitrmhpw/s1600/248483.jpg" height="200" width="138" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1596912863/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1596912863&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=5CHIJJ2OUNRAMRYU">Austenland: A Novel</a></i> by Shannon Hale - Normally I don’t like adult contemporary romance, but I picked this one up because it’s Shannon Hale and Jane Austen mixed together, what could go wrong? And I loved it. This is a book that everyone who I’ve ever passed it onto has liked. And the movie isn’t bad either, even though it doesn’t follow the book exactly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-5cHi_HUw_te4EROjwag0Jghf-yORXKYxtqcvOzA57gB-rvs8-n736cIiDH-OvSCU1ZFGxOoh_UA62VZF4c0_iyU0QKYp8I_l8-gkjk3xFD8s9k5y-kGWJ6cH6dvW19WV-Ajbg/s1600/1656001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-5cHi_HUw_te4EROjwag0Jghf-yORXKYxtqcvOzA57gB-rvs8-n736cIiDH-OvSCU1ZFGxOoh_UA62VZF4c0_iyU0QKYp8I_l8-gkjk3xFD8s9k5y-kGWJ6cH6dvW19WV-Ajbg/s1600/1656001.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E2RG7KO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00E2RG7KO&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=JLVXHU3ODJAKUER3">The Host</a></i> by Stephenie Meyer - Okay, I know full well I’m going to catch flack for this one because Stephenie Meyer has kind of become a cliché name due to the Twilight books. And yes, I enjoyed the Twilight books. Never a big fan of them, but they were fun to read the one time. However, I really liked her book The Host (her adult book) a lot more. But most of the people I talk to won’t give it a try because of how they feel about Twilight etc. So I wish more people would try this one so I could discuss it with them.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlqcauvcRfa3C2ltJ4-bkk5ZmwAcfzaq3xaTcpn9r2cHB2PgEJtmuak0ejjpA6QTsG1wkmWV_ZU4PUZ7WbdCP4-8IiougCHEII-WrdTYYMlK-oUGxQH1ic0uF0cRzizHAl4fA-Q/s1600/3761750.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlqcauvcRfa3C2ltJ4-bkk5ZmwAcfzaq3xaTcpn9r2cHB2PgEJtmuak0ejjpA6QTsG1wkmWV_ZU4PUZ7WbdCP4-8IiougCHEII-WrdTYYMlK-oUGxQH1ic0uF0cRzizHAl4fA-Q/s1600/3761750.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1602861579/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1602861579&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=E2QMLGOIAXMZTDDA">We Bought a Zoo</a></i> - Also a cute movie. Although the movie is pretty much nothing like the book. The actual book is a non-fiction memoir about the opening of Dartmouth Zoological Park in England. It’s a little slow to start because there is a lot of background information to slog through before you get to the specific anecdotes about owning/refurbishing a zoo, which is why those I’ve shared it with have had a hard time with it in the past. But I love re-reading this one, because the stories are quite funny if you can get through the background information, and it’s wonderful to think that they all actually happened to someone somewhere. Definitely an escape book for me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0p-qso5YMUvLcrWXNysts5BCgBI2JGKEw094Suph4xhfaKRLbsUQK7BtN2jbd0_-hTuWLF4xVaHZbjr2LVfwkHR8p5QsNo0siTZ9nQuMBbIBN4ZW5TBqnP7iyXMlEvbf8ubtOA/s1600/9874196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK0p-qso5YMUvLcrWXNysts5BCgBI2JGKEw094Suph4xhfaKRLbsUQK7BtN2jbd0_-hTuWLF4xVaHZbjr2LVfwkHR8p5QsNo0siTZ9nQuMBbIBN4ZW5TBqnP7iyXMlEvbf8ubtOA/s1600/9874196.jpg" height="200" width="141" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597802123/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1597802123&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=TANPPDUI6BTUS7EY">Agatha H. and the Airship City</a></i> by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio - This one is a little weird, because I actually read the graphic novel version of it first. But knowing it might be hard to entice people to read graphic novels if they’re not used to it, there’s also a book version which pretty much follows the comic word for word. If you like steampunk, this is a great series for you. And a good introduction to the idea of steampunk if you’re not familiar with it already. I love the characters and the mystery of the whole plot of this series.<br />
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So here’s where I get into trouble. My book club is made up of adults, and although we have read one YA book since I’ve joined (Graceling by Kristin Cashore, which was excellent, by the way, and I don’t know why it took me so long to read it) but most of the books I read are YA ones. So the above four are my “adult” choices. But if I could, I would share these YA/Kid titles with my book club too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DnBOKD6Q7G_wEXRIQ621-_9Gzlkm7SWdvHvU_clzG1hNIdrHG-HSel3r8wbFNOTBTxvXkvup-7FeCfDR7N5mWS_WggMWkKSq7ZzxbIPcnhdosqSBieEJhtSviM1BwxLaRNoj3Q/s1600/150739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DnBOKD6Q7G_wEXRIQ621-_9Gzlkm7SWdvHvU_clzG1hNIdrHG-HSel3r8wbFNOTBTxvXkvup-7FeCfDR7N5mWS_WggMWkKSq7ZzxbIPcnhdosqSBieEJhtSviM1BwxLaRNoj3Q/s1600/150739.jpg" height="200" width="128" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/015204566X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=015204566X&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=UYQC4X2FETXHFKMA">Dealing with Dragons</a></i> by Patricia C. Wrede - This one lands firmly in the “kid” category, but it has been one of my favorite books since childhood. Who wouldn’t want to share one of their favorites with others? No brainier for this list.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXN9xpZLcvf4eTwz7DCfw993qo1AowSdmi0mfrcV5nyIhzO79UgX3rI0n3NAuktFlabODmONr6QCG-I-PGaRMWRgriY-6EsrPaKJons0h5JQCmDFGYF8yVXZG2XlnPFRzjoLfcw/s1600/13316328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwXN9xpZLcvf4eTwz7DCfw993qo1AowSdmi0mfrcV5nyIhzO79UgX3rI0n3NAuktFlabODmONr6QCG-I-PGaRMWRgriY-6EsrPaKJons0h5JQCmDFGYF8yVXZG2XlnPFRzjoLfcw/s1600/13316328.jpg" height="200" width="133" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544104714/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0544104714&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=E3PGOPT4VYIDUX4P">The Last Dragonslayer</a></i> by Jasper Fforde - Fforde normal writes adult novels, so although this book is marketed as YA (probably because the main character is 16) I think it’s very translatable to adult readers. I love the inventiveness of the world created in this one, as well as the spunky main character, and I enjoyed the sequel a lot too. Hopefully I will be able to get my hands on the third one soon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YNohM7_ygBr9D83Z3lwk2HpQyYfBxysA0-xdxRm9l2k7vjZueusjT1oeZrfbr7sDrx_9pk6DS-NTRal60VLjAmqndmWVkh9TqADIb1O2fMXT1OQ2dbQV9LvTps276aJhk0VlDw/s1600/8306745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YNohM7_ygBr9D83Z3lwk2HpQyYfBxysA0-xdxRm9l2k7vjZueusjT1oeZrfbr7sDrx_9pk6DS-NTRal60VLjAmqndmWVkh9TqADIb1O2fMXT1OQ2dbQV9LvTps276aJhk0VlDw/s1600/8306745.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416997938/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1416997938&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=2FWG3MUDPVC6K3UJ">A World Without Heroes (Beyonders)</a></i> by Brandon Mull - I love pretty much everything Brandon Mull does, but I think the Beyonders series grapples with more larger and complex issues than his Candy Shop War and Fablehaven series do. I’ve always been disappointed that this one is billed as middle grade level, as I really think it would appeal more to YA readers because of its complexity, and I think most teens won’t give it a chance because it’s usually shelved in the kids section. I think this one could spark lots of great discussion with a book club.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPz6OnuPpBpX1J3jzea3bhtZmfTV31d_N5BJRqZ_m7DrGSmVDJDuwXepXyz0KMTLRiVEQU4lOZG65PeB_LSyFW_IX7sD1ka4sj3yLInc-Svb2DxyRLnB_sOeYvSlGcqUbwpDk4w/s1600/6574102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmPz6OnuPpBpX1J3jzea3bhtZmfTV31d_N5BJRqZ_m7DrGSmVDJDuwXepXyz0KMTLRiVEQU4lOZG65PeB_LSyFW_IX7sD1ka4sj3yLInc-Svb2DxyRLnB_sOeYvSlGcqUbwpDk4w/s1600/6574102.jpg" height="200" width="132" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423116615/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1423116615&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=QURLNT6V2B7DRMRJ">Heist Society</a></i> by Ally Carter - Again, I love pretty much everything Ally Carter does, but Heist Society has a special place in my heart among her books. I don’t know why this particular one resonated with me so much, but it is another one of those books that everyone I recommend it to loves. I even got my brother to read it (and its two sequels) and he doesn’t read “girl books”. So that’s a success story right there.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpiaW1zFNwHZAvYufZ-uBKWpgCk6Lrufp_Pa6_sE8fXp9YpBlvYaxbr_eRUFnURAELCknfhiy3O-QeRRXElLyYS-t39zyZTS2h2fNZBKPTNZlY0flBzSngNJHCg1mSOSP-j0uyw/s1600/39963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnpiaW1zFNwHZAvYufZ-uBKWpgCk6Lrufp_Pa6_sE8fXp9YpBlvYaxbr_eRUFnURAELCknfhiy3O-QeRRXElLyYS-t39zyZTS2h2fNZBKPTNZlY0flBzSngNJHCg1mSOSP-j0uyw/s1600/39963.jpg" height="200" width="142" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142401102/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0142401102&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=UDQAD7ZZGJPCK7SH">A Long Way From Chicago</a></i> by Richard Peck - I think this one is considered a “modern children’s classic”. I picked it up because it was required reading for my YA lit class in college. Even though it’s a relatively short children’s book, the merit of this one is definitely high. It’s a great collection of connected short stories about growing up during the years of the Great Depression. Seriously, if you haven’t read this one yet, you should.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTk2H5mg7xulilmnEZMmCT5NZ0VSHNHM77pYu1ELcZ30q2y4b39pxsu32OTFA_ZsLUI8L7eRHpJyI5tO8Q5a0EG_Yrz9MyXVRWuoQTqPpn6YKD5EW8JSriFSLMeqDuolf-X7FV7w/s1600/38709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTk2H5mg7xulilmnEZMmCT5NZ0VSHNHM77pYu1ELcZ30q2y4b39pxsu32OTFA_ZsLUI8L7eRHpJyI5tO8Q5a0EG_Yrz9MyXVRWuoQTqPpn6YKD5EW8JSriFSLMeqDuolf-X7FV7w/s1600/38709.jpg" height="200" width="137" /></a></div>
<i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440414806/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0440414806&linkCode=as2&tag=theshagla-20&linkId=ATJ4GSYLG4BGPRQW">Holes</a></i> by Louis Sachar - If you haven’t read Holes yet, you need to. End of story. Yes, it’s a kid’s book, but it’s great anyway. Like Harry Potter. I’m serious, go read if you haven’t. Now.
Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-54970948386292753692015-01-08T06:52:00.000-08:002015-01-08T06:52:14.977-08:00Happy 2015Hello everyone! Hope you had a great Christmas, New Year, and you're getting back into the swing of things. <br />
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I got a cold for Christmas (yay) so I've been trying to get over that, which has slowed me down a bit. Add in the complete lack of internet access at our new house out at the farm, and I am behind in blogging a bit. But hopefully things will settle down with me by the end of the month. <br />
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In the meantime, I am totally late in announcing it, but if you haven't already, <a href="http://www.cybils.com/2015/01/the-2014-finalists.html" target="_blank">check out the Cybils finalists for 201</a>4. I'm always relieved when Cybils Round 1 is over, since now it's the judges problem to hash out which of the awesome books gets the ultimate spot. I don't want that kind of power. :)Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-56800620333055149002014-12-25T06:48:00.000-08:002014-12-26T07:30:56.408-08:00Merry ChristmasMerry Christmas to all of those who celebrate. I've been super busy leading up to the holidays, but now that Cybils season is over, things should be quieting down soon. Look for new reviews to come soon!<br />
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<br />Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-36485063474004053302014-12-04T13:49:00.001-08:002014-12-04T13:49:39.107-08:00Reverting back to Blogger ProfileJust wanted to give any readers who are following me using Google+ a heads up, that I'm reverting back to my old Blogger profile. This is mainly because I don't have many followers on Google+ and my stats seemed to have dropped significantly since enabling it this summer. Also, it bugs me that I cannot receive replies to my comments with the Google+ platform. <br />
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Perhaps some day in the future I will enable it again, but for now, it's gone. You can still +1 my pages/posts using the buttons at the bottom of each post if you would like to share my posts that way. <br />
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Thanks for the continued support everyone!Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-49460695880619155532014-11-17T17:28:00.000-08:002014-11-17T17:28:05.977-08:00Your funny for the day...I'm busy sorting through Cybils books this week (and getting ready to move, again, although only across town this time) so I haven't had time to finish up the multiple reviews I've started lately, but I did come across this and it made me smile, so I had to share. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLknZtSrAMjHvCl3JAtfrDcdscahehlUK902OjES7rabVE6hgtFuPnuI5_C4W4kCXZZunTXpfqTNwS8zhvtF4qXSwhafAd-ZSMWYSvi3dhFdJHPmhNnZvnvKlXOfB-CtJ3vi5J_g/s1600/8570a04348537f851cad44b6119985a8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLknZtSrAMjHvCl3JAtfrDcdscahehlUK902OjES7rabVE6hgtFuPnuI5_C4W4kCXZZunTXpfqTNwS8zhvtF4qXSwhafAd-ZSMWYSvi3dhFdJHPmhNnZvnvKlXOfB-CtJ3vi5J_g/s1600/8570a04348537f851cad44b6119985a8.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-13406846671275788372014-10-02T07:27:00.003-07:002014-10-02T07:27:41.517-07:00Cybils 2014 Nominations OpenYesterday was October 1st, which for me means the beginning of another long Cybils season (not that I'm complaining :) The Cybils are one of my favorite things to participate in each year, and I always love serving on the judging panel. <br />
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However, we need your help in the meantime. Now is the time to go and nominate all those wonderful kids and YA books you read this past year so that we can know the best of the best books to evaluate. <br />
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<a href="http://www.cybils.com/2014/10/and-go-2014-cybils-nominations-are-open.html" target="_blank">All the details are over at the Cybils site</a>. Nominate away! Nominations last until October 15th. Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33739204.post-82283612868381179752014-09-20T18:25:00.000-07:002014-09-20T18:25:14.316-07:00Time for Cybils 2014Well, I've known about this for about a week now, but since it's been officially announced, I'm happy to share that I've once again been chosen to participate in the Cybils Awards. <br />
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If you're new to the blog, then you may have never heard of the Cybils before. It's the Children's and Young Adult Literary Blogger Awards. It's a grassroots award that started back in 2006, in an attempt to balance book awards for kids and teens book between the literary merit of the Newberry and Printz awards to a popularity contest award. Thus, this is the first award that considers winners based on both literary accomplishment and "kid appeal". <br />
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I'll be back to joining the graphic novel committee this year, and I'm glad to see some new and familiar faces. I wasn't sure I would be able to participate this year due to an anticipated fuzzy schedule around the holidays this year, but I'm glad that things have settled down enough that I can participate. <br />
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The fun for the Cybils starts October 1st, and you can find out more about them <a href="http://www.cybils.com/" target="_blank">by visiting their website</a>. Alyssa Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17493806120430252745noreply@blogger.com2