Contest Monday: Win a Copy of Once Dead

I hope everyone had a fantastic Mother's Day. My mom sure got pampered. I slaved away all day in the kitchen. :-) But now that it's Monday, that means it's time to give away a free book! This week's prize is an ARC of Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison, due out on May 26th. So you can get it early!

About the Book (From the author's website): "Madison's prom was killer—literally. For some reason she's been targeted by a dark reaper—yeah, that kind of reaper—intent on getting rid of her, body and soul. But before the reaper could finish the job, Madison was able to snag his strange, glowing amulet and get away.

Now she's stuck on Earth—dead but not gone. Somehow the amulet gives her the illusion of a body, allowing her to toe the line between life and death. She still doesn't know why the dark reaper is after her, but she's not about to just sit around and let fate take its course.

With a little ingenuity, some light-bending, and the help of a light reaper (one of the good guys! Maybe . . . ), her cute crush, and oh yeah, her guardian angel, Madison's ready to take control of her own destiny once and for all, before it takes control of her.

Well, if she believed in that stuff."

How to Enter: To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post. Or, if you can't leave a comment, send an email to shadyglade (AT) mail (DOT) com with the subject line "Once Dead Contest" and include your name, your email address, and the correct subject line.

How to earn Extra Entries:

1. Post about the contest on your blog or website. Post a link in the comments, or email the link to me.
2. Become a follower of this Blog (post a comment to let me know).
3. Come up with and post your own Contest Monday (post a comment with the link).

Rules: The contest is open until Monday, May 18th, 2009. Everyone in the US and Canada is eligible, even if you've won a contest in the past. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. One free entry per person allowed. See above for instructions to earn extra contest entries. Questions? Post a comment or email and ask.

And don't forget the all the other things we got going on in the world of contests! The contest for Wings is open until Thursay (since I posted it late), and the winner will be announced this Friday. And this week is your last chance to enter theDesign a Contest Monday banner contest. And last, but certainly not least, there's a new poll over in the sidebar to vote on.

Good luck to everyone! I'll announce the contest winner of this book on Tuesday, May 19th. Look for an announcement on Friday for past week's winner.

Once Dead, Twice Shy will be released on May 26th, but you can pre-order your copy from Amazon.com right now:

Some Thoughts on Contests

So I've been kicking around a few ideas lately about contests. Would you like to see more of them? Here's some ideas:

1. Contest Monday- I think I'll be keeping this one. It's my normal contest staple.

2. Contest Roundups- Would you like to see lists of contests featured here? I know a lot of blogs (and I do mean a lot) feature lots and lots of constantly updated book contest lists. So I haven't really pointed out many of those contests myself. But would you like to see more of those lists.

And here's a few I've been considering adding:

3. Random Commenting Giveaway- Once a month I'd pick a random winner out of a someone who commented on the site.

4. A "books to buy" monthly contest- This is similar to what The Compulsive Reader currently does, or like the recent Willow contest. I'll have a list of books each month, and if you send proof you bought one you are entered for a prize for that month.

So what do you think? And here's another question while I've got your attention: Would you like to see prizes other than books? If so, comment with some examples (I'm not that creative...).

I'll even make it easy for you to weigh in. Check the right sidebar for a poll and vote. Choose as many as you'd like.

As always, questions, comments, ideas, concerns are welcome. Post a comment below!

A Change of Focus

So it probably sounds like I've been complaining a lot lately. I promise I'm not this negative all the time! It has been hard with the move, being sick, and my computer crash, and I notice a lot of my posts over the past two weeks have started with some sort of negative thought.

I'm going to try and change that today. Today, I will post about 5 things I'm grateful for, despite all the nasty and inconvenient things I've had lately. After all, life is always hard, but it's about how you look at it.

5 Things I'm Grateful For Right Now:

1. Family- My family is great. I don't think I could have done this without their help and support. In a time when everything (and I do mean everything) is changing in my life they are my one support.

2. Pets- My two cats to be specific. Nothing relieves a little bit of stress like a purring kitty curled up on the foot of your bed.

3. Books- Talk about escapist behavior! I don't have to focus on my own problems when I can read about someone else's. :-)

4. Internet- I probably depend too much on the internet. I'll be the first to admit that I'm wayyyyyyy to addicted to checking my email. But even though my internet is only working part of the time, at least I have it when it does work!

5. Good health- Despite a few sniffles here and there, and some allergy woes, I am in fairly good health. I don't have cancer or a tumor, and I'm doing much better than my brother, who has a broken toe.

See? I feel better already. So what are you thankful for this week?

Winner of Contest Monday: Generation Dead

Just as I think my life is settling down, my internet connection dies. Oh well. It's time to get back on track. So after two weeks of anticipation, it's time to pick a winner! So without further ado, congratulations to:

Genevieve

You're a winner! Email me with your mailing address and I'll get your copy of Generation Dead in the mail to you ASAP. Everyone else, don't forget to enter this week's Contest Monday for another chance to win. And for those of you who didn't win this time, you can order your own copy of Generation Dead from Amazon.com:

People's Choice Voting Open

Ack! I can't believe I forgot to post this! This is one of the horrible, horrible things that happens when you move. You forget all sorts of things, and lose all sorts of emails!

Now that nominations are closed, it's time to cast your votes for the People's Choice YA Book Blog Awards. Here's a little more about the words from Hey, Teenager of the Year, the award's founder:

"The People's Choice YA Book blog awards is about recognising all book bloggers for their effort, and showing our appreciation to bloggers we admire. Every book blogger makes a huge effort on their blogs, and I hope you are all giving yourselves a pat on the back. Once you're done with that, vote! Voting is open until May 15th."

So go vote! Yes you. Go now.

Contest Monday: Win a Copy of Wings

Whew! So we're in the new house and finally got the internet connected today. Ugh. I never want to move again...

But I digress. So here's this week's Contest Monday post, even though it's a day late. Sorry! But you'll have extra time to enter (details below). This week's prize is an ARC of Wings by Aprilynne Pike (just released today!).

About the Book (From the author's website): "Pike's Wings is the first of four books about a seemingly ordinary girl named Laurel who discovers she is a faerie sent among humans to guard the gateway to Avalon. When Laurel is thrust into the midst of a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls, she's torn between a human and a faerie love, as well as her loyalties to each world. In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever."

How to Enter: To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post. Or, if you can't leave a comment, send an email to shadyglade (AT) mail (DOT) com with the subject line "Wings Contest" and include your name, your email address, and the correct subject line.

How to earn Extra Entries:

1. Post about the contest on your blog or website. Post a link in the comments, or email the link to me.
2. Become a follower of this Blog (post a comment to let me know).
3. Come up with and post your own Contest Monday (post a comment with the link).

Rules: The contest is open until Thursday, May 14th, 2009. Everyone in the US and Canada is eligible, even if you've won a contest in the past. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. One free entry per person allowed. See above for instructions to earn extra contest entries. Questions? Post a comment or email and ask.

And don't forget the Design a Contest Monday banner contest. Entries are due by May 15th, so you've still got plenty of time to enter!

Good luck to everyone! I'll announce the contest winner on Friday, May 15th. Look for an announcement in two days to find out who won last week's contest.

Wings is also available for order from Amazon.com:

A Monday Update

I've tried hanging on to this blog like normal for as long as I could... but I don't think I can anymore. Come here, lemme tell you a secret. I'm moving right now! I have been for about a week. Despite the fact that I should be packing now, I've been trying to post something most days.

But I'm technically supposed to be out in three days. So things might be a little dead around here in the next few. Maybe not. I'm not sure yet. Depends a lot on when my internet gets disconnected.

Meanwhile, you now have another week to enter to win a copy of this week's Contest Monday prize. From my recent poll I gather you prefer to have a new contest every week, but I really do have to push this one back.

So wish me luck! My bed gets moved today...

Wow!

I got a large response from my post asking for help with a Contest Monday banner. I can't possibly pick just one, so we're going to turn this into a contest, and you get to help me!

So here's the low down. If you want to enter, email your design(s) for a Contest Monday banner to me at shadyglade AT mail DOT com. As soon as I get everyone's designs, I'll post them up on the website and we'll have a vote to pick one. The winner will get their banner displayed every Monday for the new Contest Monday posts, ending adoration from me, and pick their own free book from my very, very large stack of books I have lying around. Everyone who enters will get four extra entries into the Contest Monday post of their choice.

So here's a few rules:

1. If you've already emailed me, please comment again so I know you're still interested in participating. Some of my emails got eaten, and I want to be able to respond to you personally!
2. If you haven't emailed me, post a comment (or send an email) to let me know you want to participate. This contest is open to international participants too!
3. You can submit up to three different designs per person.
4. The only requirements are that the words "Contest Monday" must appear somewhere on the graphic. Any text beyond that is up to you!
5. The entry part of the contest is open from now to Friday, May 15. That should give you plenty of time to enter! Email me your designs by then to be eligible.

I think that covers everything. If you have questions, post 'em below. Thanks and good luck!

This is Why I Blog...

Well, one of the reasons anyway.

I got this fantastic email the other day. I hope they don't mind me sharing it with all of you. If you do mind, let me know (you know who you are).

"Hi Alyssa,
I wanted to thank you for the recommendations you post on your book blog. I purchased The Amaranth Enchantment and The King's Rose after you recommended them. I also purchased Princess Ben. My 15-year-old daughter read 2 out of 3 within 24 hours. She really enjoyed them and asked me to pre-order a Kiss in Time for her. Thanks for all the reading you do and the information you put out."

I can't express how extremely touched I am when I get notes like these. They make all the difference in the world. This happened to come when I was having a really bad day, and saying it cheered me up magnificently would be an understatement.

I love to read, and I hope that what I post here helps encourage that love in others. I jump for joy when I hear stories like these. So thank you, everyone who reads this blog. It is a labor of love, and I certainly don't think I could keep going without the support and comments I get from you every week.

Okay, I'm done being sappy now. You can get on with your day. :-)

I Need Help...

...From someone who's good at creating graphics. I'd like to do a Contest Monday banner, but when it comes to creating graphics, I'm not very talented.

So maybe one of you, dear readers, could help me out? Anyone who's interested in creating a Contest Monday banner for the blog, email me at shadyglade (AT) mail.com.

Not only will you get seemingly endless praise and recognition on this blog, but I'll also give you a prize of your choice from my LARGE stack of free books. If I get more than one entry, we'll make a contest out of it. If you have ideas for a graphic (but don't want to make one) go ahead and comment below. Even ideas are appreciated.

So here's my last desperate plea: HELP!

Waiting On Wednesday: 4.22.09

So I had an interesting post about Waiting on Wednesday last week that sparked some discussion. Essentially, I tried to explain why you've probably already heard of most of the books I feature. But I think this is one you might not have heard of. At least I haven't seen anyone do it yet!

Cathy's Ring by by Sean Stewart & Jordan Weisman

*SPOLIER WARNING* If you haven't read Cathy's Book, the following description may have a tiny spoiler in it. Your choice. Choose wisely...

About the Book (from Amazon.com): "Cathy cannot manage to find more than a few days to relax in her hectic (and mortal) life—she barely has time to put the mystery surrounding her father to rest before she finds herself targeted by a group of Ancestor Lu’s professional killers!

Recognizing she is a serious threat to everyone in her life, Cathy makes plans to leave town. But her friends, Emma, Pete, Victor, and, surprisingly, Jun, unite to convince Cathy that they must finish Lu once and for all to have any chance at peace—mortal or immortal. In order to defeat Lu, the friends must come together in a way they never have before.

Meanwhile—unbeknownst to Cathy—Victor has made the ultimate sacrifice hoping it will bring him closer to a normal relationship with Cathy. But when Victor is seriously wounded and Cathy finds herself attracted to another mortal with similar feelings for her, Cathy’s world turns upside down and she is forced to make a decision about her future with Victor, while his life hangs by a thread. What will Cathy decide, and how will their epic battle with Lu play out? Find out in the newest adventure-packed installment of the Cathy story!"
*End Tiny Spoiler*

So I just finished Cathy's Key, which is the book that comes right before this one (yeah, yeah, I know it came out almost a year ago...). I really enjoy this series, though for the life of me I can't explain why. Either way, I'm looking forward to reading this one soon.

Cathy's Ring with be released on May 4th, and is currently available for pre-order from Amazon.com:

Winner of Contest Monday: Reality Check

After two weeks of anticipation, it's time to pick a winner! So without further ado, congratulations to:

Nora (wishonstars13)

You're a winner! Email me with your mailing address and I'll get your copy of Reality Check in the mail to you ASAP.

Everyone else, don't forget to enter this week's Contest Monday for a chance to win a brand new book, one that you voted for!

And for those of you who didn't win this time, you can pre-order your own copy of Reality Check from Amazon.com:

Contest Monday: Win a Copy of Generation Dead

Welcome to a very special edition of Contest Monday! Those of you who are regulars around here will remember the poll I posted asking you to choose the next Contest Monday prize. Well, the votes are in, and the winner has been chosen! This week's prize, with 27% percent of the vote, is a brand new hardback copy of Generation Dead by Daniel Waters.

About the Book (From Amazon.com): "Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He's strong and silent...and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn't want them.

The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the "differently biotic." But the students don't want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn't breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the "living impaired" from the people who want them to disappear--for good.

When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?"

Generation Dead is a 2008 Fantasy/Sci Fi Cybils nominee!

How to Enter: To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post. Or, if you can't leave a comment, send an email to shadyglade (AT) mail (DOT) com with the subject line "Generation Dead Contest" and include your name, your email address, and the correct subject line.

How to earn Extra Entries:

1. Post about the contest on your blog or website. Post a link in the comments, or email the link to me.
2. Become a follower of this Blog (post a comment to let me know).
3. Come up with and post your own Contest Monday (post a comment with the link).

Rules: The contest is open until Monday, April 27th, 2009 when the new contest will be posted. Everyone in the US and Canada is eligible, even if you've won a contest in the past. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. One free entry per person allowed. See above for instructions to earn extra contest entries. Questions? Post a comment or email and ask.

Good luck to everyone! I'll announce the contest winner on Tuesday, April 28th. Look for an announcement tomorrow to find out who won last week's contest.

One more thing. You may have noticed a new poll over in the sidebar (--->). I'm wondering if it would be better to extend all Contest Monday entries by two weeks, so more people have a chance to enter. So weigh in and let your voice be heard!

Generation Dead is also available for order from Amazon.com:

Vote for the People's Choice Blog Awards

This is what I love about having a book blog. Getting emails like the one I just got from Hey, Teenager of the Year about the new People's Choice YA Book Blog Awards. It's time to show some blog love!

Nominations are now open. Here's the quick rundown of the categories:

Best Interviewer: That blogger who asks authors all the tough questions
Best Reviewer: Whose reviews are almost better than the books?
Best Newcomer: A new, fabulous YA book blogger (Six months blogging or less).

The Golden Book Blog Award: This award is for the long-time blogger who deserves recognition for their commitment to making a star blog. The blogs that inspired you to start book blogging, the pioneers of YA book blog land. They know who they are.

Rules:
You can nominate for one category, or you can nominate for all four. You cannot nominate more than four times, and you can’t nominate yourself. You can nominate someone who has already been nominated, though.

Nominations are open until the end of April. If there are more than ten nominees in each category, the most popular will be up for the awards. From there, I’ll make up polls – this is a people’s choice award. Head over to the contest post to nominate your favorite blogs.

From the comments already, it looks like The Story Siren is the running for the Golden Book Blog Award. That would be such a cool award. So what are you waiting for? Get nominating!

Poll Almost Over!

You have 13 hours (as of this post) left to vote in the current poll in the sidebar (over there --->). This is your chance to choose your Contest Monday prize for tomorrow (April 20th) so let your voice be heard.

This is also your last chance to change your vote. Based on the current results, the top contendors are Generation Dead, Touch, Moonstone, and Eon: Dragoneye Reborn.

So who will it be? Find out here tomorrow!

How I Choose My Waiting on Wednesday Posts

While I was drafting my Waiting on Wednesday post yesterday, I started to think about the process which I go through to pick my Wednesday features. No idea if this will be of any interest to any of you, but it seems as though Thursdays are my rambling days. Haha. So the process goes something like this:

I spend wayyyyyy to much time on Amazon looking at upcoming releases. As soon as I hear about a book that interests me, it goes on my wish list. I organize them by release date, and when drafting my posts I simply choose the next one on the list.

Many of the posts you see here probably feature books you've heard about already. But Waiting on Wednesday posts are a way to help me keep track of the books on my wish list, which is why I feature them anyway. I also don't like doing posts too far in advance, because then I forget when the book comes out. Which is why you usually won't find books here more than one month before the release date.

One more note I thought mention. I tend to pick books that I don't have a copy of. There have been a few posts I've planned and then I received an ARC of the book in the mail. It's not that I don't want to feature these books anymore, but I figure they will get their spotlight in a review after I finish them.

Anyway, that's it for the rambling this week.

Waiting on Wednesday: 4.15.09

So I'm posting this a little late in the day, but I was trying to finish my taxes. Procrastinator, I know. But let's change the subject to something more fun: books! Today's post is about:

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

About the Book (from Amazon.com): "Talia fell under a spell . . . . Jack broke the curse.
I was told to beware the accursed spindle, but it was so enchanting, so hypnotic. . . .
I was looking for a little adventure the day I ditched my tour group. But finding a comatose town, with a hot-looking chick asleep in it, was so not what I had in mind.
I awakened in the same place but in another time—to a stranger's soft kiss.
I couldn't help kissing her. Sometimes you just have to kiss someone. I didn't know this would happen.
Now I am in dire trouble because my father, the king, says I have brought ruin upon our country. I have no choice but to run away with this commoner!
Now I'm stuck with a bratty princess and a trunk full of her jewels. . . . The good news: My parents will freak!
Think you have dating issues? Try locking lips with a snoozing stunner who turns out to be 316 years old. Can a kiss transcend all—even time?"

Yeah, three reasons I want this now. 1. Retold fairytale, a given. 2. Sleeping Beauty is probably my favorite fairy tale. 3. Okay, I know I gush about covers a lot, but look at it! Isn't it pretty. I want that dress! And in all honesty, I've heard great things about Alix Flinn. I've been dying to get my hands on a copy of Beastly for ages. The storyline kind of reminds be of Enchantment by Orson Scott Card, which is another book you should check out.

A Kiss in Time will be released soon (April 28th) and is available for pre-order on Amazon.com:

More Contest Monday Love

In addition to my Contest Monday post, here's a few more "Contest Monday" entries you might be interested in.

Katie is giving away a SIGNED copy of The Shape of Water by Anne Spollen. Head over to her blog to enter soon, as it ends tomorrow (April 15th).

Kathleen Elizabeth is giving away a copy of Mira, Mirror. This one has been on my to-read pile for a while, but it looks REALLY good. Ends April 20th at noon.

So ahead and check those out. I think it would be fun to get a whole bunch of bloggers giving away stuff on Mondays. Books, bookmarks, cards, anything! Oh, and if you have ideas for things you'd like to see given away by me (other than books, since I've got plenty of ideas for that!) leave me a comment.

Here's to Contest Monday!

Contest Monday Extended

I hope everyone had a marvelous Easter. I'm currently trying to recover from the sugar overload...

In anticipation of our special edition of Contest Monday next week (starting April 20th), I'm extending last week's contest for another week. If you haven't already, head over to the original post and enter to win a copy of Peter Abrahams' Reality Check.

And if you haven't already, make sure you vote in the poll over in the sidebar (---->). You can learn more about the poll here.

Happy Monday!

Blog Awards

So now that I'm feeling better I have a few awards I got to catch up on.

First up is the Zombie Chicken Award:The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all...

Thanks to Robin_Titan for the award! Well, I certainly don't wan't to tempt the wrath of zombie chickens. So I choose:
1. Becky's Book Reviews
2. Disney on the Brain (Yes, he's my brother. But I really would face zombies to read his stuff...)
3. Unshelved
4. Raucous Royals
5. Squeetus (Shannon Hale's blog)

Next up is the Splash Award:
The Splash Award is given to alluring, amusing, bewitching, impressive & inspiring blogs. The Rules:
1) Put the logo on your blog/post.
2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.
3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4) Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.
5) Remember to link to the person from whom your received your Splash award.
6) Have F~U~N

Isn't it a beautiful award? Thank you to Wrighty for nominating me! And I splash The Story Siren. I figure the theme is right up her alley. :-) She inspires me to keep up with this blog as much as I can. Now if I could just figure out how to work in time to write more reviews...

Thank you again everyone! I'm truly touched.

New Poll

Some of you may have noticed the new poll over there (---->) in the sidebar. I figured it deserved a little explanation.

For the Contest Monday in two weeks (starts April 20th) I'm doing something a little different. Rather than picking a prize from the pile of books I have sitting around, I'm going to let you in on the process.

Use the poll to vote for the book YOU want to see as a prize on April 20th. Think of it as a peek onto my prize bookshelf. :-) So go vote!

Here's the list of books again, in case you want to learn more:
Touch by Francine Prose (ARC)
Hancock Park by Isabel Kaplan (ARC)
The Real Real by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (ARC)
Moonstone by Marilee Brothers
Totally Fabulous by Michelle Radford (ARC)
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman (ARC)

Waiting on Wednesday: 4.8.09

I can't believe I forgot this one! Where is my head these days?

Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce.

About the Book (from Amazon.com): "Beka Cooper is finally a Dog—a full-fledged member of the Provost’s Guard, dedicated to keeping peace in Corus’s streets. But there’s unrest in Tortall’s capital. Counterfeit coins are turning up in shops all over the city, and merchants are raising prices to cover their losses. The Dogs discover that gamblers are bringing the counterfeit money from Port Caynn. In Port Caynn, Beka delves deep into the gambling world, where she meets a charming banking clerk named Dale Rowan. Beka thinks she may be falling for Rowan, but she won’t let anything—or anyone—jeopardize her mission. As she heads north to an abandoned silver mine, it won’t be enough for Beka be her usual “terrier” self. She’ll have to learn from Achoo to sniff out the criminals—to be a Bloodhound. . ."

Love, love, love Tamora Pierce. Again, I can't believe I forgot to post about this one. I thought I had featured it ages ago.

Bloodhound will be released on April 14th, and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com (at a really good price, I might add):

Winner of Contest Monday: Diamond of Darkhold

The winner of a brand new copy of a The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember is:

Bingo
You're having a good day! Email me with your mailing address and I'll get your copy of The Diamond of Darkhold in the mail to you ASAP.

Everyone else, don't forget to enter this week's Contest Monday for a chance to win a brand new book.

And for those of you who didn't win this time, you can order your own copy of The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember from Amazon.com:

Contest Monday: Win a Copy of Reality Check

Still have that nasty cough (and a viscious sore throat) but nothing will stop Contest Monday! Well, usually anyways. This week's prize is for an ARC of Peter Abrahams' Reality Check.

About the Book (From Amazon.com): "QB of the varsity football team. Passing grades in all his classes. Dating the hottest—and smartest—girl at school. Summer job paying more than minimum wage. Things in Cody's world seem to be going pretty well. Until, that is, his girlfriend, Clea, is sent off to boarding school across the country, and a torn ACL ends his high school football career. But bad things come in threes—or in Cody's case, sixes and twelves—and the worst is yet to come. While limping through town one day, Cody sees a newspaper heading: "Local Girl Missing." Clea, now his ex, has disappeared from her boarding school in Vermont, and the only clue is a letter she sent to Cody the morning of her disappearance. With that as his guide, Cody sets out to find out what happened. Once in Vermont, he unearths the town's secrets—and finds out that football isn't the only thing he's good at. Reality Check is another edge-of-your-seat suspense novel by the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author of Down the Rabbit Hole."

Reality Check won't be released until April 28th, so this is your chance to get it early!

How to Enter: To enter the contest, simply leave a comment on this post. Or, if you can't leave a comment, send an email to shadyglade (AT) mail (DOT) com with the subject line "Reality Check Contest" and include your name, your email address, and the correct subject line.

How to earn Extra Entries:

1. Post about the contest on your blog or website. Post a link in the comments, or email the link to me.


2. Become a follower of this Blog (post a comment to let me know).


3. Come up with and post your own Contest Monday (post a comment with the link).

Rules: The contest is open until Monday, April 13th, 2009 when the new contest will be posted. Everyone in the US and Canada is eligible, even if you've won a contest in the past. The winner will be chosen by a random number generator. One free entry per person allowed. See above for instructions to earn extra contest entries. Questions? Post a comment or email and ask.

Good luck to everyone! I'll announce the contest winner on Tuesday, April 14th. Look for an announcement tomorrow to find out who won last week's contest.

Reality Check
will be released on April 28th, but you can pre-order your copy from Amazon.com:

March's Search Terms

I've been seeing this types of posts around lately, most recently from Natasha over at Maw Books Blog. I did one of these posts wayyyy back in 2007, and I thought it might be fun to pick up the tradition again. I'm getting a lot more traffic now, and I have a better tracking software (Google Analytics) so I might make this a monthly thing. Mine certainly isn't as interesting as Natasha (she gets some weird stuff, but I think there's a few interesting things. So now, although we are almost a week into April, here's what my blog stats and searches were for March:

March Search Terms

First, I want to thank Steph Su and her blog, since that was the biggest traffic source I had from another blog. Most of my traffic comes from search engines, but way to go Steph Su! She sent an incredible 73 people over here last month. Amazing! Thank you so much Steph Su! (Sorry, that was a lot of exclamation points...)

Reviews and such
riding universe gaby triana review- No review here, sorry. You probably came across my Contest Monday post though.
bad review of fever 1793- Bad as in bad writing? Or bad as in someone didn't like it. Either way, I don't think my review of 1793 qualifies.

Bookish things
what to read after twilight romance?- I get a lot of these types of questions. I was surprised that they needed to add the word "romance" to their search
shady glade contest monday-Yeah! I'm famous! Well... sort of anyway
dr seuss story starters- Are you trying to be the next Dr. Seuss? Or figure out what he used to write stories?
"i love to read" - Congrats! I love to read too.
disney fairies book mother dove egg broke- *Spoiler* Yes, the egg broke. But it was fixed eventually. *End Spoilers* You're looking for Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg
dragon keeper by carole wilkinson chapters summary- no idea why this showed up. I've never read this book! A summary might be nice...
sequel 3 of shabanu - It's called The House of Djinn. I came out last april
susan fletcher alphabet of dreams synopsis-Ummm.... okay?
ya literature quiz game- That sounds fun! I wanna play!

Everything else
and me there subject to your charms- This is from "All I Need" by Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband!
rumpelstiltskin crafts- How about minature spinning wheels? No ideas for you, sorry.
i'm prilla tinkerbell- That's wonderful! I would prefer to be Rani myself.
me has cheezburger- Actually it's I Can Has Cheezburger
ruby in the smoke free watch- You could try YouTube...
swedish chef, beaker, animal habanera- It's a funny video. You can find that one on YouTube.

Huh? ('Nuff Said)
quotes about shady people
miss glade
aerobic instructors tv glade
coppy riding
what is glade in the snow

And lastly, my intention was the post the most visited posts on my blog in March. But in looking over the list, they are the same 5 or 6 posts I always see on this list. So I'm going to make that a seperate post. "The posts that wouldn't die" or something like that...

So what brought people to your blog last month?

Now I'm Sick... Again!

Look at the time stamp on this post. No person should be normally up at this hour. But I seem have to developed a chest cold. Nasty cough, pounding headache, small fever, and a majorly sore throat (from all the coughing, I think). This is the second time I've been majorly sick in four months. And normally I never get sick! You may remember I had the stomach flu at the end of December, right in the middle of Cybils deliberations. That was an experience.

So I'm going to go curl up back in bed and hope I can get some sleep without coughing up one of my lungs. See you around as soon as I'm better...

Top Teen Books

How am I doing so far for more content? Haha. Anyway, I'm trying to catch up on posts I've wanted to share from other blogs for awhile and noticed this meme that's been going around. I'm not sure where it started, but I copied it from Teen Book Review. So here goes:

The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Instructions:
Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your “X”s at the bottom
Share with your friends!

Like Jocelyn, I'm going to skip the “books I plan on reading” part. The books I plan on reading would fill a very large room, so you can see that plans never quite make it to reality.

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams # (But the sequels weren't so great)
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor
12. Forever / Judy Blume
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares X
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot X
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus X (Ugh! This made the list? Is there a symbol for books we hate?)
19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card X
20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer X (Read all but the most recent)
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins X
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman X
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman (Does seeing the movie count?)
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X (About that "books I hate" symbol...?)
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse X
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee X
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry X
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry X
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick X
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer # (of course)
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini X
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman X
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling #
80. Holes / Louis Sachar #
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang X
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak

Only 20 read. Apparently, although I do a lot of teen reading, I do read books that are considered "top teen books". Another reason I didn't fill in the "planning on reading" section is there are more of these books that I am planning on never reading. I find I have the opposite taste of many critics. If everyone loves I usually think "meh". Same with movies. Not always true, but when they compile a list like this I usually am at odds.

So which ones have you read?

Reading in Themes

I was thinking about my reading habits the other day, and I realized I do something which is (in my eyes anyway) a bit unusual.

You see, I seem to read in themes. I get on a kick for a certain type of book and I read everything I can find in that genre for several weeks. For example, right now I'm on a history kick. Not historical fiction, but history. I've got all sorts of history books stacked up beside my bed, waiting to be read.

But it doesn't just go with genre. Sometimes I have a kick for a certain author, once I spent three weeks reading nothing but books about animation, another time I only reread books I'd already read.

Am I the only one who does this? Maybe I'm just weird...

Waiting on Wednesday: 4.1.09

Despite the theme of this day, I can assure you this is not an April Fool's Joke. I am very much anticipating this book.

Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede

From Amazon.com: "Eff was born a thirteenth child. Her twin brother, Lan, is the seventh son of a seventh son. This means he's supposed to possess amazing talent -- and she's supposed to bring only bad things to her family and her town. Undeterred, her family moves to the frontier, where her father will be a professor of magic at a school perilously close to the magical divide that separates settlers from the beasts of the wild.

With wit and wonder, Patricia Wrede creates an alternate history of westward expansion that will delight fans of both J. K. Rowling and Laura Ingalls Wilder. "

I love Patricia C. Wrede. Her Enchanted Forest Chronicles were the books that made me like fantasy so much. So it's pretty much a given I'll be waiting for this one. And it looks like it might be a series too. Yay!

I've also noticed they are re-releasing Snow White and Rose Red for a YA audience. I think that is quite interesting, since the book was originally marketed towards adults. By the way, if anyone wants to trade a mint paperback of the original printing for a copy of the new one, email me and let me know. What can I say? I'm weird enough to care that I have the YA version. :-)

Thirteenth Child will be offically released on April 15th (lots coming out that day...and taxes are due too) and you can currently pre-order your copy from Amazon.com (I suggest you do):