The Book Addict Attends Dark Days of the Supernatural Tour

Who: Veronica Rossi, Tahereh Mafi, and Ellen Schreiber
Where: Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona
When: 4pm on January 14, 2012 (but I was there at 2:45pm so I got a really great seat!)

When I first saw this event was coming to one of my favorite bookstores near my house--I really wanted to go.  I have not read their books (yet!) but they are all on my TBR pile or wish list.  Now after listening to them, I want to read their books even more.

Here are some highlights that I collected that have prompted me to move their books up my TBR pile:
1) Ellen Schreiber's interest in werewolves started with her love of American Werewolf in London from high school.  Her favorite part of the werewolf story is the transformation--and that interest became a big part of her focus in her new series:

2) While Tahereh Mafi did not do a lot of research on mental health and mental illness as she was writing Juliet's story.  She was inspired by her striking understanding of how loneliness affects people, particularly during the years covered in YA literature.  She feels that it is a feeling that many people experience at different time in their lives.  Those feelings are what she drew on in her very realistic (according to the audience member who asked the question) depiction in her book:

3) Veronica Rossi started out as an oil painter and working artist.  Her creative focus changed after she had a child.  She could not spend 8-10 hours closed off in her studio working on a canvas--and she did not like to leave her painting and return to finish it later.  Then she discovered writing as a creative outlet:


I am so glad that I went to this event--and encourage each of you to look for these opportunities around your house.  Later this month, I am hoping to attend YALLAPALOOZA!

I also had a brainstorm just before the start of the event--I started an author notebook.  It is a place where I can write down notes of what the author's say at these events when I attend.  Then I will have notes that I can refer back to about the characters and stories after I read the books for myself.  And I closed the entry from this event with the signatures of the three authors! 

As soon as I left the event, I called my friend to tell her about it.  This friend has been trying to convince me of positive attributes of the blank notebooks, so she was thrilled to hear that I now have my own notebook that I am so excited about.  She made me promise I would tell you all about this new (to me) use for the blank notebook:

The Book Addict Reviews: Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Genre: Young Adult, Poetry, Family Life, Social Issues
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Borrowed from the library. 

In A Nutshell:
Every time I start one of Ellen Hopkins' novels I know I am in for quite a ride.  Crank was no exception.  Because the topic is so heavy, it is hard to say I loved it--but I am glad I read it and cannot wait to read more!

Review:
Ellen Hopkins' novels are always hard for me to read and review.  Her style is so different from any other author I have read.  Her poetry allows her to get to the heart of the matter, to get inside the head and heart of her characters without having to be concerned about grammar and sentence structure.  It feels very raw, very emotional, and very real.

But her stories are not light-hearted or easy to read.  She addresses issues such as addiction and rape head on.  While I appreciate her honest and open handling of these issues, it is not always easy to read. 

I think what scared me the most when I read most when I read Crank was how quickly and how completely the monster took over Kristina/Bree's life.  We get glimpses of her life before--and it seemed fairly normal.  But suddenly she met the monster and it ended up taking over her life.  As a parent, I find myself asking what could I do to stop this situation from happening to my daughter?

We get mentions that Kristina was struggling with Bree before she ever went to her dad's house, but that is one thing that we did not learn more about as Kristina/Bree fell deeper and deeper into the grasp of the monster.  I am hoping that in the next installment we can learn more about that struggle--how did it start and does she eventually conquer it?

Recommendations:
I already have the next book on reserve at the library!

This book allows me to see what other authors thoughts were on both Crank and Glass.  I cannot wait to be able to read it!

The Book Addict Reviews: Touch of Power (Healer) by Maria V. Snyder

Genre: Fantasy
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 stars
Won this book in a giveaway on Jen's page.

In A Nutshell:
I loved this book and I love this author.  Everything I have read by her has been wonderful--and I want nothing more than to read everything by her that I have not read yet!

Review:
Once again, when I read the description of one of Maria V. Snyder's books and thought "umm, I am not so sure about that one."  It seemed a little gruesome for my taste.  Avry has a gift--a gift that will allow her to heal the only person who may be able to end the war and save Fifteen Realms.  But using her gift will come at a price--if she heals him she will not survive herself. 

The story is compelling and emotional.  For the last 20 pages, I honestly had to wipe tears from my eyes.  But that is only because Maria V. Snyder is a master of bringing her characters to life and making me (as the reader) care about them.  They are not necessarily easy-to-love main characters, but it does not matter because in the end despite their faults I do love them.  I do want to see them happy.  With the same token, her villains are complex and interesting.  Sometimes I question whether I am supposed to love the guy or hate the guy--it is not necessarily easy or clear cut until the end and sometimes not even then because she leaves me hanging, intrigued and wanting more.

The world created in Touch of Power is interesting but still very mysterious.  There are rules, politics, magical abilities, and a history that has not been fully explained.  In some ways I find that frustrating, but mostly I am intrigued.  I cannot wait for the next book in the series so I can learn more and have more opportunity to lust after Kerrick!

Recommendations:
On my TBR pile and I really do need to get it out!!

Series In Review: Study Series by Maria V. Snyder

Series are a tricky thing. I have series that I love as a whole, but an individual book within the series did not impress me.  So I am not always sure that reviewing the individual books is fair to the author's vision. However, I do not want to postpone all of my reviews of the books within a series until the end. With those thoughts in mind I decided to start Series In Review. In these postings, I will be looking at more than one book in the series or if possible the entire series at one time.
_____________________________________________________
**This review may contain spoilers for some of the books in the series**


Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy,
Books Released in Series: Poison Study, Magic Study, & Fire Study
Supplemental Short Stories: Website
Author Info: Website | Goodreads
Rating: 4 Stars
Books picked up in Paperbackswap games.

In A Nutshell:
This series enchanted me. The world created by Maria V. Snyder inspired me to believe in magic, in love, and in destiny. The characters were interesting. I was left guessing who was good and who was not until the end of each novel. The stories were enthralling. I could not put these books down once I started them. I have loaned my books to a number of friends, and each of them has been as impressed as I with this series.

Review:
Yelena is given a choice. She committed a murder which means she faces an execution as required by the laws of Ixia. Or she can have a reprieve and serve as the food taster for the Commander to ensure that he is not poisoned. This reprieve comes with its own strings. In particular, she is given a poison that will kill her unless she takes the antidote daily.

This story opens the series, but the story continues to chronicle Yelena’s adventures to learn and understand her magical gifts. For that training, she must leave everything she knows and loves and travel to the land of her birth. Yelena’s training however will be very different from the norm. Her talents are unique within the magical community. For some people, that uniqueness inspires fear, anger, and hatred. But Yelena must use her unique gifts to save everyone from a crazy plan that would destroy everything that the citizens of Ixia and Sitia hold dear.

I found myself drawn to the characters of Yelena and Valek from the very beginning. I was rooting for them, hoping there would be a way for them to be together. The time they spent together was a highlight for me throughout the series. Whenever they had to separate, I read with anticipation to see them together again.

Maria V. Snyder created an interesting world where magic is honored in one country but feared and despised in another country. Yelena is stuck in the middle. Her heart, her memories, and in many ways her life is in Ixia but her magic is outlawed there. Hher family and her magical training are in Sitia; but her love is not welcome there. She has to figure out for herself where her place really is; where will she be happiest?

Poison Study is by far my favorite book in the series. The chemistry between Yelena and Valek is endearing. I agree with some of the reviews that I have read that claimed that Fire Study is the least enchanting of the series. There was one point in the Fire Study where I literally said aloud “you have to be kidding me!” I was so frustrated with the number of road blocks being put in their path—they could not catch a break at all. In the end, however, I was glad I read Fire Study. I wanted to see how Yelena and Valek’s story ended, but after so many road blocks I was very glad to see it finally come to the end.

Recommendations:
I recently won this book in a giveaway on Jen's site--and I could not wait to read it!

TBR Intervention (4)

Last Week's Intervention

I finished both of these books from my goals last week:



My review for The Truth About Forever is already up and the review for Touch of Power will be up next week!

I am halfway done with Crank by Ellen Hopkins.  I may have it done by the end of the day (which would technically mean I am 100% successful on this week's intervention).  But even if it takes me until tomorrow I am happy with the results of this week's intervention.

This Week's Intervention

I had this book listed on a previous TRB intervention but due to some technical difficulties I was not able to finish it. This week I will finish it!


Summary:
The murder investigation Detective Inspector Harriet Ware is heading takes her into an unsuspected world where publishers wearily fend off a spate of unwanted manuscripts. Her suspects include would-be authors who live as much in the plots they are weaving as in the mundane world they actually inhabit. ‘Crime Fiction for Beginners’ is five novels in one with an unexpected twist at the end.

My buddy, Jen, sent me the following book--which I am so excited about because I have heard so many great things about John Green.

Summary:
Before.  Miles "Pudge" Halter is done with his safe life at home.  His whole existence has been one big nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" (Francois Rabelais, poet) even more.  HE heads off to the sometimes crazy, possibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe.  Because down the hall is Alaska Young.  The gorgeous, clever, funny, sexy, self-destructive, screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alaska Young, who is an event unto herself.  She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After.  Nothing is ever the same.

And of course I have to work at least one audiobook--but the one I have picked this time may take me more than a week but I am so excited because I have been wanting to read more of the classics and this series in particular.

Summary (copied from Goodreads):
Frodo Baggins knew the Ringwraiths were searching for him - and the Ring of Power he bore that would enable Sauron to destroy all that was good in Middle-earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam to carry the Ring to where it could be detroyed - in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom.

So what are you planning to read this week?

Follow Friday (10)

Question of the Week: Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

I wish my books were sitting neatly on a shelf.  They are in piles and in boxes.  But if I had to make a guess, I would say that I have at least 100 books.

This is a big part of the reason I have set the TBR Intervention as one of my big new years resolutions for 2012.  I want to get some of the books I have on hand cleared out (maybe then I can justify buying more books?)

I would also like to finally finish some of the series that I have started, that I liked, but that I have not been able finish:







Do you have any series that you started and liked but have not finished the books that are out?  If you have read the series above, which one would you recommend I finish first?