Escape from YA Week + Giveaway [closed]
Hello there!
Welcome to the Escape from YA, hosted by Nicci over at Paper Dreams.
This event is dedicated to spreading the love for books that are not Young Adult.
I have decided to focus on adult short stories and short story collections.
This week I will read stories from the following collections:
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender
Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Anyone can participate in Escape from YA!
Head on over to Paper Dreams to learn how!
I’d love to see what other types of books y’all are interested in!
And how about a little giveaway to get things going?
Some rules:
-Must be over 13 years old. If you are under 18, you must have parent/guardian permission.
-Giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to you. Check here.
-Giveaway ends on October 8, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST.
-Two winners will be chosen by random.org.
-You contact information provided on the form counts as your entry.
-You are not required to follow me to enter this giveaway, but it is appreciated.
I will send an email to each winner after the giveaway ends.
The winners must respond within 72 hours or a new winner will be chosen.
Now, what do you get?
I’m offering two of you your choice of one of the following short story collections.
(Click on a title below to find a summary at Goodreads.)
Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender
Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED
Good luck everyone!
Thanks for stopping by!
Come back for more Escape from YA goodness later this week!
Remember to visit Paper Dreams to see who else is participating,
and what other giveaways are going on!
Follow Friday (001)
Q. How has your reading habits changed since you were a teen?
Well, this is an interesting question. I didn’t really know what I liked when I was a teenager. I pretty much just read whatever titles happened to fall in my line of sight, and I liked them all. I read Catcher in the Rye in seventh grade just because I’d heard it’s supposed to be good. I loved it, of course, even though I didn’t really get a lot of the adult themes at the time. I read The Alienist by Caleb Carr on a friend’s recommendation and that turned out to be good for the budding writer in me. I also read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy because it stuck in my brain. Don’t remember how I heard of it, but glad I picked it up. So I was pretty scattered.
I’m also willing to admit that I used to read a lot of fanfiction. Yes, it’s true. But you know what? I don’t regret it. I read all sorts of stories, whether they were humor or drama or action or whatever else. And to be honest a lot of the fanfiction I read was in a fandom that had high caliber writing. We’re talking Jaida Jones, here. Now that is some good stuff, if I may say so.
But now… interestingly enough, I’m into the YA scene. I do still read adult books as well (love Neil Gaiman), but I seem to have gravitated toward YA. One of my graduate professors is puzzled as to why this is. As if there might be something wrong with me. I don’t think there is. I just happen to think a lot of the cool fantasy is in the YA section. That’s another thing: over the years I’ve come to realize I’m a fantasy fan at heart. I still like other genres, but it’s fantasy that really gets me excited. Which is funny because the fanfiction I used to read didn’t have fantasy elements.
So that’s my first Follow Friday! FF is hosted by Parajunkee’s View and Alison Can Read. I thought it would be fun to post my answer to this week’s question. I’m looking forward to the future questions.
And, yes, don’t fret. Giveaway this weekend for sure! Keep your eyes peeled!
In My Mailbox, forthwith known as Beg, Borrow, and Steal (001)
So I’ve been visiting quite a few of the amazing blogs out there that already cover books and reading (and a bit of writing), and I am ever so humbled. But I will use my growing knowledge to make my blog stronger! Grr! I noticed there are some neat weekly memes with creative ways to keep the attention on books. One that I really like is the In My Mailbox meme, hosted by The Story Siren, which showcases the books recently acquired through libraries, stores, or other means.
I really like the concept because, really, my eyes are too big for… my eyes (just go with it) and I often horde more books than I can read in a reasonable amount of time. I am not exaggerating in my description, I really am a slow reader. But I get too excited about so many titles, or I have to go on the holds list and then the books are delivered while I’m in the middle of reading other things, or I see books on sale and can’t resist the opportunity to pad my collection for less… You know how it goes. Some of these poor books collect dust for quite a while. And they deserve to see the light of day. Or be seen by it. Something.
Anyhow, I think I should get onto the books, shouldn’t I? Just a quick explanation of why I’ve decided to go with the “Beg, Borrow, & Steal” theme: Despite all the reasons why I shouldn’t take on anymore books… I do. I just love them. I love to get them any way I can. There isn’t any actual stealing going on, but given the generosity of strangers, sometimes I feel like a thief! I think that’s quite enough exposition. Here be the goods from the past week!
Begged:
Books I bought either because they were priced well, I had a coupon, or because I was absolutely desperate to have them.
Or some combination of the above.
eBooks:
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Spellbound: The Awakening of Aislin Collins by Margeaux Laurent
The Hunt by Jan Neuharth
Paper Books:
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Borrowed:
Final copies checked out from different libraries or ARCs on loan from my co-worker, The Children’s Librarian.
Final Copies:
Angel Burn by L. A. Weatherly
Hereafter by Tara Hudson
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
ARCs:
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Dead Is the New Black by Marlene Perez
Steals:
Free books or ARCs (and/or swag) won from contests or received for review.
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Release Date: 08/02/2011
Thanks to Caster Girls & Boys for the ARC and the bookmark!
Well. That is quite a bit of reading that needs to be done. Gee, I wonder who’s going to do it… *looks around*
That’s it for today! I’ve been signing up for giveaway hops and one of them starts this Friday! I’ll have goodies for readers into the YA scene (my kindred!) and I’ll also have other kinds of books as well (also my kindred!). I also have an announcement on Friday. And, of course, I’ll by writing up about my nook adventures in the meantime. Adieu!
Dipping my toe into the water: an introduction.
Well, I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a blog about being a graduate student for a couple of months. I know there are so many blogs out there that are pretty much writing about writing, but I’m hoping my academic experiences, library shenanigans, and book reviews will keep things interesting around here. I was also partially inspired by the Clarion Write-A-Thon to create a blog to track my my writing throughout the summer.
I started a new novel on Sunday (five days ago), and I intend to finish it in the coming months. I know I am capable of writing 50,000 words in three weeks if I am inspired, so here’s hoping that kind of inspiration magically appears again. At the very least, I’m aiming for an average of five pages a day. It’s doable. Rough, but doable.
There is another novel I started in December 2010. I’m a couple hundred pages into it, but stopped working on it when school got started again after the winter break. I’ve submitted excerpts to workshops and have gotten some very insightful comments, some of which I will use to inspire blog posts. This novel also needs to be completed before the summer ends. Mostly because I’m not sure which of the two is going to become my thesis. But more on my thesis woes in another post.
When I’m not going on about writing and graduate school experiences, I’m pretty sure my main source material will be my vow to read at least one book each week until school starts up again. I’m currently more than halfway through book the first, and I’m really enjoying it, so I’m excited to write my first review as soon as I finish it. I’ve never really written a full-fledged book review before, so I’m very eager to try on this new genre of writing.
One thing you have to know about me before we proceed: I may be in a MFA program, but I write fantasy stories. The level of fantasy varies. One of my screenplays is about stage magicians and the other was described by someone as “Inception meets The NeverEnding Story meets Tron.” Some stories of mine feature angels and ghosts, a couple of novels are epic fantasies. You can imagine what I like to read. A lot of it lately has been YA fantasy, because that’s what tickles my imagination. But, sure, I like adult stories, too. I love Neil Gaiman, Aimee Bender, and Tim Pratt. I also like Caleb Carr, Banana Yoshimoto, and James Baldwin. I’ve got great book recs from my professors, and I’m always open to more.
So don’t expect drivel from me, but don’t expect me to quote Kafka either.
Well, it’s quite late (or early) here, and I’ve got a graduation ceremony to attend tomorrow. I’ll end by posting an article on the contention over the privatization of libraries here in CA. It’s a very concerning issue, and may require a whole post in the future. We’ll see.
Thank you for reading. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
