All The Books: April 30, 2012

All credit for this feature goes to the lovely Jordyn of Ten Cent Notes; I just happened to love the idea and I hope she won't mind if I borrow it to fill in my Mondays. As you can probably see from her post, All The Books is meant to be a round-up of any book news/excitement over the past week. Since this is the beginning of a new week (and tomorrow, a new month! Five months down, getting closer to the Apocalypse...) I figure that I'll be talking about whatever's happened between last Monday and this one.

Ready? Here we go...

Current Reads

 I've been working my way through both Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones for the past few days - yes, two books at the same time; don't be jealous, I'm cool like that. 

I was reluctant to start on CA because I felt like it was a bit of a "cult read" - fanfiction and 'ships' and not being able to be proud of the fact that you are the only person in the room that adores that author (really, I am SUCH a book snob sometimes). However, now that I've forced past my own assumptions and gotten into the story, I'm kind of enjoying it. It's one of those reads where you don't have to think too much - and it's steampunk.

Alright, I'll spare you the "why steampunk is the greatest" lecture.

Enchanted Glass, to me, breaks away from what I've normally thought of as a DWJ-style title. Well, if I had to compare it to anything else I've read before, I'd say that it's something like Witch Week - more than one point of view and a bit closer to our world than usual. Not that I'm not enjoying it. We lost a wonderful world-builder last year, and every time I read one of her stories, I feel the loss even more.

Speaking of Diana Wynne Jones, I've watched Howl's Moving Castle twice already since I checked it out on Saturday (which makes it about a gazillion times that I've seen it now). I simply cannot get tired of this movie, or the book for that matter! It's like the one time that I can actually give kudos to a director for making the story just as good, or even better.

To me, it's definitely the sign of being the best when you can make every still look just like a beautiful painting. And I definitely consider Studio Ghibli to be the best. <3

 

Also, Howl Pendragon is one of my favorite leading men. Even if he can be a coward. And vain. And overdramatic. Those are the most entertaining kind of people, no?

...What else?

I just finished my e-galley of Cat Girl's Day Off by Kimberly Pauley (Lee and Low Books; via NetGalley). It was that light, funny sort of read that you really appreciate around this time of year - end of school exams and all that fun stuff (not). It pretty much centers around a girl who, in a family of powerful Talents (not superpowers - be sure to distinguish that), has the ability to talk to cats.

Yes. Cats.

That actually would be a talent my family would appreciate; the neighborhood cats are constantly prowling around our bird feeder and it drives my dad NUTS.

Anyway, really good book, and (hopefully) the review will be up soon. I really need to up my pace with this stuff. Don't even ask me about my currently daily word count.

New Discoveries

 (Thanks to First Page Panda - so far, browsing their previous title spotlights has turned up some real interesting titles I hadn't even considered!)

Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby

Running away to join a circus? For real? If I wasn't already wooed by this, I'd totally be lured in by the fact that none other than Laini Taylor blurbed this. As in, the same Laini Taylor that I would love to blurb any of my stuff in the future. I just love her way with words.

Alien Invasion and Other Inconveniences by Brian Yansky

There aren't enough aliens in YA. I'm glad that there seems to be a recent movement to change that. Especially hostile aliens. Those are the best kind.

 Also, I'm so eager to get my hands on The Vicious Deep and Masque of the Red Death - the first because it's about mermaids (my latest obsession), and the second because it's based off Poe and man, when I was in middle school I used to love Poe's short stories. I was a bit of an odd child, as you can probably tell.

Up Next

 We have an interview from Hilary Weisman Graham (author of Reunited!) - learn a little more about this rocking author sometime this week. (I'm not pinning an exact day because chances are my inner rebel will kick in and make me forget it.)

The next reads I have lined up are Death Watch by Ari Berk (which I've been looking forward to for a while), Going Bovine by Libba Bray and Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. Yes, I get to (re)read it before BEA! What would book bloggers do without NetGalley?

Speaking of BEA, it's all I've had on the brain for the past month! I am so excited and so scatter-brained and so worried that I won't be properly prepared. It doesn't help that, right now at least, it seems like I'll only get to go one day, so I have to pick between either Tuesday or Wednesday, and every time I decide on one, I find another awesome event going down on the other day that I simply MUST see.

Oy. I'm not meant for all this anxiety.

Anyways, hope you guys are all having an awesome Monday! How did your weekend go?

Make Way for the Middle-Grades! (1)

Since Thursday is my school librarian hat-wearing day (and no, I don't mean that literally), I thought it'd be nice if I started a meme based around the unsung hero of genres. As I said before, I am a sucker for a good middle-grade - after all, isn't it in the children's section that you'll find Narnia? And Hogwarts? And the eye candy sort of titles, the titles that you know would've made you plop right down in the middle of the aisle and start making pages as a kid.

Because that's what we all are at heart when we read YA and MG books. We're children*, still tumbling face-first into another grand adventure.

*Figuratively. Kaye will not be held responsible for ripped jumpers (or being caught in a jumper that you've outgrown centuries ago), owwies or boo-boos of any sort, and paper cuts. You are as old as you believe, but let's keep that belief to a sane level, yeah?

Cold Cereal 
Adam Rex
Balzer + Bray, 2012

Cold Cereal Facts 

Serving size   1 chapter     Number of servings   40

Primary human characters - 3 

Scottish Play Doe, aka Scott  - possible changeling 

Erno Utz - genius 

Emily Utz - supergenius 

Magical creatures - at least 3 

Mick Leprechaun (or Clurichaun)
Harvey Pooka (rabbit-man)
Biggs indeterminate origin (hairy, large) 

Evil organizations 1 

Goodco Cereal Company - Purveyor of breakfast foods aspiring to world domination 

Adventure 75%
Diabolical Schemes 40%
Danger 57%
Legend 20%
Magic 68%
Humor 93%
Puzzles 35%
Mystery 49%

Not a significant source of vampires.

May contain nuts.

Daily values based on individual interest. Reader's estimation of value may be higher or lower, depending on your tolerance for this sort of thing.

My ten-year-old brother actually recommended this title to me. After I recovered from the shock - and teensy bit of bruised pride (hey, who's the book blogger here?) - I decided to give it a fair try.

This fair try might have or have not been biased by blurbs from certain authors of Immense Size and Great Admiration - Jonathan Stroud, Eoin Colfer and Bruce Coville, oh my!

I'm like 50% done with it (perhaps a bit premature to start the promo parade, but, hey, you don't have to eat the whole sandwich to know how it tastes) and believe me, I know I'm going to fill the cavities afterward. Adam Rex plays up all the mystery that surrounds the inner workings of a cereal company (along with caricaturing some familiar characters...hey, Lucky, is that you?) - myths you've probably already had a taste of mixed with some shady corporate intrigue, and coming together with just the right pinch of humor.

Hey. It's a book based around cereal. I can use food allusions if I want to.

If that isn't enough to get you to give this a closer look:

[Scott] steered toward the local park, down the storm drain shortcut he'd discovered yesterday, dodging broken glass and a man with a rabbit head, up the embankment...and was that a man with a rabbit head? Scott braked hard...The rabbit-man stopped, too, and looked back. His tweed pants and white dress shirt were creased and dirty. His necktie was askew. His rabbit head was a rabbit head.

"Hey! Kid! Thtop! Thtay there!" In an instant, he had a five-foot-tall rabbit-man all up in his face.

"You've got to help me! They're coming! I don't want to go back! I don't want to go back!"

When [Scott] finally inhaled, he smelled sweater and cookies.

"You're not real," he said softly, closing his eyes. "You're imaginary."

And sure enough, when Scott opened his eyes, the rabbit-man was gone.

Well, that's not the end of it (I had to pinch myself really hard to keep from adding more, and more, and more because gah, that isn't even the half of it). Really, I am so bad at giving teasers.

So I've given you a taste. You think you want more?

Take it home and have it for breakfast. "There's a little bit of magic in every box."

TBR Intervention: Juliet by Anne Fortier

Hosted by

Books4Juliet, Whatever You Can Still Betray & Refracted Light

The goal of this challenge is to help each other (fellow readers and bloggers) manage our enormous and constantly growing TBR (To-Be-Read) List. The rules are simple and everyone is encouraged to participate. It does not force you to commit to more than what you can manage to read in a week or so, but participants are encouraged to read at least one book within a week. You are free to choose the book you want to read and commit to this challenge. You may post your entry every Saturday, at the frequency of your choice–EVERY WEEK or EVERY TWO WEEKS. However, we will sponsor this event regularly every Saturday.

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Link to review if available.

Well, I finally got around to reading Eon by Alison Goodman - a book that was actually added to my list a while ago, but I kept dilly-dallying over because of its similarities (at least in character aspects) to the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce, which I have a love-hate relationship with...very long story.

Anyway, surprisingly, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would, despite cringing at character deaths and eunuchs and gender-bending. A bit dry on Japanese culture aspects the author promised, but beggars can't be choosers. Maybe it helped that Eona was completely different from Alanna, despite the whole "hiding your identity to find your destiny" aspect of it. Even if she was a bit clueless at times, I could feel for her and what she went through. I ended the book wanting to know what happened to her afterward - basically, I cared whether she lived or died, which is something that quite rarely happens recently.

There wasn't really a love interest to look forward to - but then again, there's always the next book. ;)

2. Post a book you want to read and already own. Pick something that's been sitting on the shelf too long - six months or longer. 

Hm. Six months or longer. I do have a copy of Juliet by Anne Fortier from Random Buzzers that's just lying there, but that's only been a month or so. Does that count? But seriously, I should pick it up. 

Also, I also have to review that copy of Birthmarked Dani was kind enough to gift me with this summer. See? I haven't forgotten. Not really.

In the library crate, I managed to snag Fox and Phoenix  by Beth Bernobich (thanks to my lovely YA librarian who went ahead and surprised me by giving me the copy first!), Glimmerglass by Jenna Black and Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev - all three of which were major "must get - someday" items on my TBR list.


So yes. There's my over-share for this weekend.