Happy Halloween!

I had this whole cool costume planned out for Halloween - Katniss from The Hunger Games. I even bought a kickass mockingjay pin, and I had a black dress ready to be pasted with red and yellow feathers. (Trying to reconstruct the dress in Catching Fire). Well. Halloween kind of just...creeped up. I didn't even get to watch Nightmare Before Christmas. No Katniss for me. Maybe next year? (Sorry, Heather - did you still dress up? Send me pics, if so!) Have you guys ever dressed up as a book character? I've always wanted to be Elizabeth Bennet, just so I could have an excuse to wear one of those gorgeous old-fashion dresses. But it's doubtful, considering my lack of Halloween commitment.

But I did make homemade caramel apples (melting caramels and using fresh apples with chopped walnuts), chocolate and orange pumpkin cupcakes, and passed out candy in my jeans and hoody. Lame, right?

And I went to a haunted "house"! That's Halloween-spirity, right?. But, see, I have two big fears; I'm terrified of both dolls and aliens. Dreamcatchers ruined my life, and, you know, Chucky? Yikes. Well, the very first thing I saw when we pulled up to the haunted forest? An alien body. And that was just from waiting in line. There was a slaughter house (where a pig with a scythe chased me around asking me if I liked bacon - ME: NO I'M A VEGETARIAN! AAAH!), two people from psyche wards tried to give us hugs, and we were forced to crawl through very tight spaces. And, ew, we had to go over this bridge, and when I put my hand on the railing, it was covered in goop. Fake blood. That looked very real. Total ick factor.

The person I went with was telling me about another haunted house she went to where she was forced to lay down in a coffin so the caretaker could push her through to the other side. Really? I would have punched the sucker in the face and wiggled through myself.

Have you ever been stuck in a haunted house wishing you had an escape button? Every single time I go, I get that nervous, fearful gnawing in my stomach, but I've loved every haunted house I've been to. Why do you think people love being scared so much? It's kind of...weird.

Anyway. Happy Halloween! Did you dress up? Get sick on candy? Watch a favorite Halloween movie? Share!

Stone of Tears

Erica and I had created the Sword of Truth reading challenge a few months ago, which you can check out here. She's read the entire series probably a million times, but this is my first time making my way through it. I've only really gotten into fantasy this past year, so I hadn't heard of a lot of the leading fantasy authors. Terry Goodkind, apparently, is one of them. Who else am I missing?

After years of just reading realistic fiction, you know what I've found out? High fantasy is so mind-suckingly awesome that it makes you forget you even exist. If it's well-crafted and developed, it can take you to an entirely different world and leave you there until reality jolts you back. That's how Sword of Truth is for me.

I said in my review of the first book, Wizard's First Rule, that the writing was very mediocre. Either Terry Goodkind improved, or I just got used to his over-descriptive writing, because it didn't bother me as bad in book #2. Plot-wise, I think it was as consistently good as number 1, but it had more of a DANGER tag lurking. Like, seriously, Richard - how much shit can you get in?

With every good series, there's a cast of characters that feels like your family. You want to revisit them, and each new book let's you do that with a comfort akin to chocolate. It takes some pretty special characters for a reader to feel that way on Book 2 (but, then again, these books are really long). We have Richard, the Seeker, who basically pwns everyone into oblivion. And, in the show, he goes shirtless a lot, so WIN. There's Kahlan, who's the most kick-ass female heroine I've seen since Buffy. And then there's Zedd, who's an old, anorexic-looking, metaphorical fatass who throws fire at you. And that's just in Book 1. You've really got to love them.

Anyone who said they're participating in the challenge - how are you doing? What book are you on? (And it's not too late to sign up, for any of you who want to try it out!)

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Season 2 of Legend of the Seeker, the TV show based on the books, is airing on November 7th. I'll be watching! Will you?

Author Chat!

Courtney Sheinmel is the author of My So-Called Family and Positively.

First, let's talk about Positively. It's about a girl who was diagnosed with AIDS when she was 4 years old (alongside her mother). Here's a tag from Courtney's site. “When my mother died, I imagined God was thinking, ‘One down, and one to go.’”

My So-Called Family is about a teenager, Leah, who's the child of Donor 730. Through the internet, she finds out she has a half-sibling (another created from Donor 730's little soldiers), and she tries to secretly connect with her. The tag: “What does it mean to be related to someone anyway?”

Wendy Mass had this to say about Positively :
“Utterly enthralling, Positively tugs at your heartstrings from the first page and doesn’t let go. Courtney Sheinmel has created such a believable character in thirteen-year-old Emmy, that I didn’t want to leave her. This could be the most important book you read all year.”

Lauren Myracle says this about My-So-Called Family :
“This story rocks — it's warm, insightful, and utterly un-put-down-able.”

Courtney Sheinmel is going to be chatting with readers tonight (Monday) here at 8 pm eastern.* I'm bringing donuts, so you better be there! Come with questions and wit! :)

Starting with Courtney, there will once again be regularly scheduled author chats once a month (and, sometimes, twice.) If you're an author who would like to schedule a chat, feel free to email me!

I hope to see you tonight! You can check out Courtney's site here or follow her on Twitter (@courtneywrites)

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*7:00 central, 6 mountain, & 5 pacific, for all of you that don't know your timezones.

Bubble Comedy - Win Break by Hannah Moskowitz

The winner of Going Bovine? Alexa! Email me your address and I'll ship it off to yah.

So. Let's talk movies! In the comments from last week's Bubble Comedy, you guys recommended Jumanji (an old-time favorite), Transformers (I literally JUST watched the 2nd one, and I totally want a Bumblebee to drive me around), Taken (which is totally creepy and happens in real life!), Whip It (LOVE Ellen Page), Cashback (which I've never heard of, but is now on my Queue), and The Nanny Diaries (the book was really cute!)

And what books did all you commenters recommend? Impossible by Nancy Werlin. "It's about a curse based on the Ballad of Scarborough Fair.", says pepsivanilla, and it's "indescribably awesome". Curses? Folktales? I'm so there! Also, Jellicoe Road was rec'd by Sara & Jasmyn by Alex Bell rec'd by Lauren.

Thanks for all the recommendations, guys! Now, instead of more recs, I want to know what you all are reading RIGHT NOW. What book are you currently in the middle of? I'll post the titles up next week for everyone to see! I love spreading booklove.

Question Time!

Pepsivanilla asked..."Why are school buildings always so cold?" Good question, Ms. Vanilla. My personal opinion is that something very Heathers-esque happens in a lot of schools. Like, our old school had this janitor who apparently was killed in the auditorium. If you didn't kindly ask the wind if you could have a concert in there before you went on and sang your heart out, the lights would shut off and all kinds of ghostly stuff happened. There's a lot of weird, creepy things that could have happened in your school (it's probably been there for a long, long time, right?). So, there you have it. Ghosts! (Totally not because your school wants to save money on the heating bill.)

Lea asked..."Did you ever meet your favorite author?" Yes, but I just stared at her and her awesome cheetah-striped converse. Laurie Halse Anderson.

Molie asked..."What are the odds of breaking your leg if you trip over something and fall? Do you have greater odds of breaking your arm? Or more likely your head?"

Well, I have no idea, Molie. But I'm sure Jonah does. He's the main character of Break by Hannah Moskowitz, and it's the book I'm giving away in this week's Bubble Comedy.

Jonah is on a mission to break every bone in his body. Everyone knows that broken bones grow back stronger than they were before. And Jonah wants to be stronger—needs to be stronger—because everything around him is falling apart. Breaking, and then healing, is Jonah's only way to cope with the stresses of home, girls, and the world on his shoulders. This is the story of his self-destructive spiral, his rock-bottom moment, and how he finally learns to accept help and find true strength through recovery.

If you're new to the blog, here's how we play Bubble Comedy:

-You can comment as MANY times as you want, and each one gets you an entry. BUT you have to say something in your comment(s). You can't post something blank, or the same phrase over & over again. Spice it up, because I'm reading all of these. A lot of them are pretty dang amusing, actually. I'll usually post a topic for you guys to talk about, but anything is game!

-Every 100 comments equals a bookmark added to the prize. (And, authors/pubs, if you'd like to send some bookmarks for me to include for the winners, just email me. I have a decent bin right now, but I have a feeling they'll run out quickly, with these crazy commenters I love so much.)

*I can only send to U.S. addresses, so if you're foreign (and don't have anyone in the U.S. who can ship prizes to you), I'm sorry.

*Each contest will run for roughly a week, when winner(s) are announced and a new contest pops up.

*Ask me questions! I'll pick some to answer on the next post, and they open up more discussion for commenter's.

COOOOOMMMMEEEENNNNTTT!

Leave a Mark

Last year, we raised over $800 for First Book, an organization that provides low-income families with books. You can find out more about them here. Let's raise more this year!

We (meaning Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag and I) did this by creating Leave a Mark, auctioning off books marked up with notes by the authors themselves. We just started 2009's auctions, so head to the Leave a Mark blog to bid. 100% of the proceeds go to First Book! You can find more details on the blog, along with more instructions, etc. Right now we have up Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde (author of Chasing Windmills, Pay it Forward, and countless others). She wrote notes all throughout the book in her own hand, so it's not something you can buy in a store!

Please go bid, and follow the Leave a Mark blog so you can see what else pops up in the next couple months.

If you're an author interested in participating, we still have a few open spots we could put in for this year. Feel free to email me!

Required Reading?

This year, I've had my hands full, "busy" literally brimming over my fingers and spilling onto the floor.

Reading is much more cherished these last couple of months than it was over the lazy, hazy, dazy days of summer. I read The Naughty List a few days ago and it was pure bliss to sit back and read a good book.

But, even though I haven't been reviewing as much material, I have been reading. For English this year, we have to read Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and Hamlet. That's just this quarter; I don't even know what's up for Round Two.

I know a lot of people have strict beliefs on required reading, but personally, I love it. I love reading something by myself and coming to my own opinions, and then learning about others' and studying it deeply. I love learning facts about the author and the society they lived in (and, in turn, how that society affected the text.) Sure, I think there's a lot of over-analyzing in lit classes, and I think forcing books can lead to reading resentment later on, but I think reading deeply is something that's very important to learn.

So, the reason for this post:

What are you assigned to read this year, if you're in high school or college? Has anyone ever been assigned a YA book?

& How do you feel about required reading?

Stupid Cupid

I gave away my copy of Stupid Cupid last week, and I'm thinking the winner will be pretty dang happy. If you didn't win, you'll want to pick it up at it's release in December. Here's why.

It was cute. Really cute. It was funny. Really funny. It was clever. Really clever.

Honestly, think about it. A teenage girl playing Cupid in her high school, flitting around with a pink PDA and sending love-induced emails as arrows. Great, right? Right.

I liked that the main romance in the book involved the main character's best friend. I don't think I've ever read a YA romance that didn't include the MC gettin' some lovin', but Stupid Cupid did just that. It was refreshing, although I hope we see some more for Felicity in the sequels. I mean, how much can your torture your characters, Stapleton? The parent thing was evil*, if hilariously funny, and the drama she went through in the book is enough to make a soap star gasp - give Felicity some luuuurve!

I also liked Felicity's two best friends, who played a big part in the book. I love reading novels - series, especially - that have strong friendships, and this didn't lack.

This whole series has a lot of potential. It reminds me of a Jennifer Aniston movie, except not as predictable. I don't know what Felicity will be up to next, but I know it'll be something fun.

Oh! Oh! Oh! And the book takes place in Ohio, right around where I live. Rhonda put in a lot of OH references that I got. Now I know how you NYCers feel. Freakin' cool, I bet.

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*You'll find out what I'm talking about once you read it. Please don't picture your own parents in a similar situation. Please. You'll have to pay too much shrink money (which you could conveniently be using buying books!)

Bubble Comedy - Win Going Bovine!

Obviously, I haven't set an exact continuous day of the week for these contests. Some commenters have been asking, but the day changes. They pop up randomly, but there will be one once a week. So remember to check back, guys. I still have some unclaimed prizes.

Random.org picked number 1 (!) so Misty, you're the winner of Stupid Cupid! Email me your address. And, since there were 410 comments, you get 4 bookmarks!

This week I'm giving away Going Bovine. Summary snatched from Goodreads:

All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

Here are the awards/recommendations for this week -
Craziest Commenter - Shadowofwonder27! Again! No one can upstage her!
Movie Recommendations - Wrist Cutters (I LOVE this movie.) - rec'd by Sara
Book Recommendations - Twenty Boy Summer (seconded) - red' by Sunkissed

And, Bubbles, I am so sick of laws now! They're interesting, but I keep hearing the same ones repetitively. I want to see more movie / tv show / book recommendations. Can you guys leave 'em? I'll give you cookies!

And if any of you want to ask me questions, anything from books to movies to, well, anything, I'll answer some here.

Elnice asked "What's your favorite thing about fall?"

I absolutely love fall. Everything pumpkin starts to come out, like pumpkin spice coffee from Caribou and pumpkin cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting. Apple cider is a big fall thing, too. I love just sipping on some and watching the leaves turn red. Fall is a gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous time of year. And doesn't the air just smell crisper?

What about you guys? What's your favorite season and why? That's this weeks homework assignment, kiddos.

Get commentin'!

If you're new to the blog, here's how we play Bubble Comedy:

-You can comment as MANY times as you want, and each one gets you an entry. BUT you have to say something in your comment(s). You can't post something blank, or the same phrase over & over again. Spice it up, because I'm reading all of these. A lot of them are pretty dang amusing, actually. And if you want to give book or movie recommendations, go right on ahead. :)

-Every 100 comments equals a bookmark added to the prize. (And, authors/pubs, if you'd like to send some bookmarks for me to include for the winners, just email me. I have a decent bin right now, but I have a feeling they'll run out quickly, with these crazy commenters I love so much.)

*I can only send to U.S. addresses, so if you're foreign (and don't have anyone in the U.S. who can ship prizes to you), I'm sorry.

*Each contest will run for roughly a week, when winner(s) are announced and a new contest pops up.

Magyk by Angie Sage

This might be categorized under MG, but I think YA readers will be able to enjoy it, too. The entire series - of which this is the first book of - details the Wizard family Heap. With seven children, it's a big family. The main focus in the first book is the daughter Silas Heap (the father) found in the woods and adopted as his own, finding soon after that his newborn son, Septimus Heap, had died.

Now, their once beautiful and magical land is being overthrown by dark forces and they must flee to save their daughter, who happens to be the Princess of their land. It's a very folktale-y book. There are talking rats, ghosts, bugs with swords, a GIANT snake, and a mud creature with spunk. I like when a book creates a new world and setting, and Magyk definitely did that.

While the story was interesting, the writing was lower grade than most of the YA I read, and it had a unique font style. Every time a spell was cast, they'd put it in big bold letters. Distracting, but kind of cool. I'd definitely recommend this one to MG fans, and to those of you who like a little magic on your fingertips. If you like folk tales or mythology, I think you'll be a fan of this one, too. It's not directly related in any way, but it has that kind of storytelling feel to it that I love.

I really liked the family aspect, too. I haven't read a real "family" book in a while; usually the main character is more preoccupied with friends/boyfriends/vampires. I love that, too, but it's nice to have some relative bonding. Every character in the Heap family was accounted for, and they were given space time in the book. Some you got to see more than others, so I'm eager to get to the sequel and hopefully find out more about the other siblings. The Heap family created a great atmosphere, and I'm really looking forward to joining them again.

Break by Hannah Moskowitz

Break has a veeeeeery unique plot. I'm a fan of the dark and edgy, and just reading the summary drove me into crazy book infatuation. Luckily, I snagged a copy at ALA.

Jonah's life is a heaping mess of family drama, but he deals with it. Although his brother is terribly sick, basically allergic to life, and his baby brother does nothing but cry, Jonah shoulders it and claims the responsibility. Except he has a teeny little issue; he has urges to break his bones. Everybody knows a broken bone grows back stronger, so Jonah wants to reroute his entire skeletal structure and make his bones adamantium-strong.

Jonah is, narrowed down, a subtle kind of crazy. In the beginning, when you're first introduced to him, he seems charming and funny. But as you get further into the book, you see more and more of his inner mind and you realize that something's really not right. And it's not like you can't still like him, because I did. I liked him even more, actually. There was just something in Jonah that was broken, and it showed and allowed you to sympathize. The only thing I disliked about him was the lack of connection he gave off. I loved Jonah as a character, but I didn't feel like I was fully able to relate with him, and he never really related to anyone in the book, either. He was his own isolated man.

His "best friend" Naomi struck me as a little less than sane, too. What kind of friend encourages their bestie to break their bones? No. way. I could maybe slightly understand his brother's actions (he knew about it, but didn't tell anyone) - at least he objected to it. But Naomi objected to him wanting to stop. Kind of effed up. But I really liked her character, that aside. I had a love-hate with a lot of these characters throughout the book. I really liked the relationship Jonah had with his "not girlfriend". It was real. A rocky, real relationship. I'm all for those. But they also annoyed me as a "not couple" - I wanted to slap 'em both, and I wanted to hug 'em both.

This was definitely what I describe as a "character book". While some books focus on the plot or the setting/world they create, this one came right down to the characters. Without them, it wouldn't be a good read. They make the book.

Overall, though, the spots I highlighted here and described as weaknesses were far outweighed by the strengths. Great plot, good characters, realistic pain (both emotionally and physically), and a definite memorability factor.

Hannah Moskowitz, what's next? I'm ready.

Bubble Comedy - Stupid Cupid Giveaway

Hello, Bubbles. How have you been? Last week, we got 300 comments (3 bookmarks) for the Skeleton Creek & Ghost in the Machine giveaway. Random.org chose #85, so Shadowofwonder47 is the winner! Email me your address!

I've decided to give awards to commenters. They won't always be the same awards each week, and you don't get anything but recognition. But it really is fun to read these comments, and I doubt any of you have had the chance to read all the hilarity and fun facts behind them. So, here you are.

Funniest Comment: I hate going to weddings. Old folks pinch you and say your next! They stopped it when I started doing it to them at funerals. - from The Book Pixie
Most Interesting Comment: In the Caribbean, there are oysters that can climb trees. - Shadowofwonder47
Most Comments: The Book Pixie
Book Recommendations: The Physik Book of Deliverance Dane (rec'd by WillowRaven)

For any of you who have won a book this past month, I'm shipping all the prizes next week. Sorry for the delay - I'll be making more regular trips to the P.O. from now on.

And now - onto this week's prize. Stupid Cupid by Rhonda Stapleton. This book releases on December 22nd (my birthday!), but I have an ARC for one of you lucky readers. Here's the summary I snatched from Goodreads:

Felicity's no ordinary teen matchmaker...she's a cupid!

Felicity Walker believes in true love. That's why she applies for a gig at the matchmaking company Cupid's Hollow. But when Felicity gets the job, she learns that she isn't just a matchmaker...she's a cupid! (There's more than one of them, you know.)

Armed with a hot pink, tricked-out PDA infused with the latest in cupid magic (love arrows shot through email), Felicity works to meet her quota of successful matches. But when she bends the rules of cupidity by matching her best friend Maya with three different boys at once, disaster strikes. Felicity needs to come up with a plan to set it all right, pronto, before she gets fired and before Maya ends up with her heart split in three.

I've already read it, and it's a really cute book; anyone who likes rocoms will definitely want to read this.

And, from now on, I'm giving homework assignments to all you Bubbles in Training. You obviously don't have to do them (as any comment equals an entry), but it's something fun to do if you don't know what to comment about. Name some celebrities (both a girl and a boy) who you think would make a good couple. Be a cupid! You can match-make as many pairs as you want, or none at all. I'll give an award to the best match next week.

If you're new to the blog, here's how we play Bubble Comedy:

-You can comment as MANY times as you want, and each one gets you an entry. BUT you have to say something in your comment(s). You can't post something blank, or the same phrase over & over again. Spice it up, because I'm reading all of these. A lot of them are pretty dang amusing, actually. And if you want to give book or movie recommendations, go right on ahead. :)

-Every 100 comments equals a bookmark added to the prize. (And, authors/pubs, if you'd like to send some bookmarks for me to include for the winners, just email me. I have a decent bin right now, but I have a feeling they'll run out quickly, with these crazy commenters I love so much.)

*I can only send to U.S. addresses, so if you're foreign (and don't have anyone in the U.S. who can ship prizes to you), I'm sorry.

*Contest will run for roughly a week, when winner(s) are announced and a new contest pops up.

So go comment til' you get carpel tunnel, folks!