Weekly Recap

I got something SUPER EPIC, but I can't take a photo--and this is one of those books that NEEDS a photo. Well, photos. So next week.

In other news EEEP! DONE WITH SCHOOL! Except for this week of exams which sucks. But. Still.

September Girls by Bennett Madison
Introducing...me!
Development and Genres
General Fiction
Ethics and Non Fiction
Keeping it Real and Young Adult

Armchair BEA: Keeping it Real and Young Adult

How do I grow an audience? Honestly, I want to say that I post consistently and that they're recent books or soon to be released.

But the secret lies in giveaways half the time. Or, rather, the giveaways are lures, but it's the consistency that's the hook.
Giveaway Hops guys. Always go with the Giveaway Hops!

And how do I keep blogging fun? By knowing that I'm helping a favorite author help spread the word, or helping out a friend. And getting to recommend books? That's absolutely the best. I love it when someone tells me they bought a book because of my review. And my negative reviews? I hate reading bad books and, no matter how guilty I feel, I'll post my review and hope that I help someone find a better book instead of this.
Plus, the people are definitely a giant help. Twitter is my <3

As for YA? I read YA because it's so easy to connect to the characters as a teen myself. But I know I'm going to keep reading it. It has the perfect amount of romance, of action, of characters, of everything. And the books I think should be on every kid's shelf?

MG
ANY BOOK BY SHARON CREECH
The Percy Jackson Series!
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger!
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Neilson

YA
THE IRON FEY SERIES
Splintered by A.G. Howard
Venom by Fiona Paul
If I Lie by Cory Jackson
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Stolen by Lucy Christopher

And ermm...yeah. YA list is WAY longer than MG list.

Armchair BEA: Ethics and Non-fiction

Ethics of blogging? Oh my, that's a big one.
As bloggers, we have to understand that these are our opinions first of all. If you liked it, don't ATTACK someone who didn't. I mean, I jokingly say that I hate them but I don't attack them. But have I seen it? YES. Honestly, I didn't think I'd have to address this!

And plagiarism. We work HARD on our reviews. Don't you DARE copy others' hard work and claim it as your own--it isn't. So what if it's hard for you? WE have issues too. WE have personal lives. We don't write reviews so that you can use it and call it your own. We do it to help others find the books they want and help people discover their new favorites. My friends have been plagiarized--as far as I know I haven't. But it's still absolutely horrible.

Don't diss an author or the publisher in your review. Don't say stuff like "The editors must've been BLIND if they couldn't see the horribleness of ___" No. You didn't like the book--so don't blame the authors. The author probably did his or her best. Don't bring them down because of it. If you have negative feelings towards a publisher, don't talk about it publicly unless they actually WRONGED you. Seriously?

While this isn't "Blogger Ethics" I have to address it. Haters. Ignore them. They're beneath you. Haters gonna hate. But we don't need to hate them in return. They're not worth anything if they try to bring people down, and they need a life if they have the TIME to. Our blogs are OURS. It has, quite obviously, OUR opinions. You want to argue over some political nonsense? Go somewhere else. We talk BOOKS.

As for non-fiction, I don't read it. Maybe I should--but which ones? I would love recs.

But not biographies. I don't want to read about someone's accomplishments--I want to make my own and not feel insignificant about them. X)

Armchair BEA: General Fiction--Life Changing Books

SO. Life changing books? LET'S DO THIS.

When I was little, maybe 5 or 6, my teacher read this to the class.

And that was it. I was suddenly loving books. (Strangely, I NEVER read the Magic Tree House Series and the ones I did read? I remember thinking they were too easy and too boring and too short. I was a strange kid. I also researched killer mermaids.) But I never really read anything BUT Boxcar Children until I discovered:

her. Nancy Drew. 

The Nancy Drew books took me 1.5 years to completely read (since I was also into Sailor Moon at the time. Seriously. WEIRD KID.) I read all of them. the yellow books, the comics, the ones with the elementary Nancy Drew, the others--all of them. Every. Single. One.

You know, I used to go to my school library every day before school and for 15 minutes after school. So maybe that's why I became such close friends with my librarian when she urged me to read this.

And...I loved it. It was wonderful, it was real, it made my little 9 year old self think and it was the first time I truly loved a character. So I read more and more of Sharon Creech's books. She was my first favorite author. Even the author of Nancy Drew couldn't compare in my little eyes. 

I read Ruby Holler first of course. 

Then Chasing Redbird. 

Then Hate that Cat. Love That Dog. 

Absolutely Normal Chaos (which absolutely SCANDALIZED me with it's kissing scene at the end. But I may have read that part over and over, glancing over my shoulder guiltily. WHAT. It was an adorable scene!) 

Heartbeat.

Replay

The Wanderer

I never could finish Walk Two Moons though! But I even read her picture book. A Fine, Fine School. 

And I absolutely adored all these books. They were beautiful, wonderful, absolutely stunning. They were heartbreaking. But out of all of these, none touched me like Heartbeat. I forget what it was that made me love it so much--but I do remember reading it over and over, clutching it as I walked to school. It was...hopeful. And I think that was OFFICIALLY when my love for books started.

But that's not where the story ends. I was still hesitant to read any fantasy and my mom told me to read only award winning books. But then again, librarian to the rescue. I visited her and asked her for recommendations. And what did she say? That I already read most of her recommended books. But on her desk, there was a ripped up book, completely torn, half taped up. She was fixing it. But I could still see the cover. And it looked like this.

Yep. The PJO series was my librarian's sidekick.

I was intrigued. Why were they running? Why the fog? Was that an EYE? And I asked to borrow it. She said to come back the next day--so I did. And even though I'd never read the series before, even though this was just the second book, I snatched it and devoured it. And then went back to get books one and three. And read them out of order--but I still understood everything!

So yes. Rick Riordan definitely made a humongous change in my life. But what sparked my YA addiction? None other than this series. 

But that's a story for next time. 

Armchair BEA: Development and Genres

Ah. My development as a blogger. Now THAT is something to talk about. I mean, my first post was unbelievably, ridiculously, horrible and cringe worthy. My first review was ranty, had poor grammar, and reused the same word several times. I don't even want to LOOK at them.

Now my reviews still aren't "professional" but they're...better I think. And honestly, sometimes I hate calling them reviews. Can I just call them my opinions? Because that's what they are right?

And my online presence has SO grown lol! Now I'm on twitter and FB 24/7 connecting, stalking, posting about random things...it's actually really scary when you think about how much I looked at social media with contempt. Ugh. I would like to slap past me! Social Media is EVERYTHING now! And I'm a lot more outspoken on the internet actually...so if I said I was the quiet one in class, WOULD YOU BELIEVE ME?

Probably not. It's been almost a year and a half, and the best year ever.

As for genre...
My favorite?
Contemporary, Thriller, and High Fantasy. And Historical Fiction.

Okay. So maybe I should say Favorites. I CAN'T CHOOSE JUST ONE!
Contemporary books usually make me giggle even when I feel depressed, or they make me sob like an absolute baby and rip my heart out. Obviously I'm into self inflicted emotional pain.
Thrillers absolutely kill me and have me clutching a door frame at a twist. Or they have me looking furtively over my shoulder. Because I'm paranoid like that.
High Fantasy takes you to another world and worldbuilding is almost always my favorite part of a book. Poor worldbuilding? Unless the other parts are absolutely amazing, POOR BOOK.
Historical Fiction takes you to another world too--except one that existed. And that, my friends, is always something magical.

AND here's my priority (wrong word, but I hope you know what I mean) list when I read.

1. Worldbuilding
2. Originality 
3. Main Characters
4. Plot
5. Romance/Love Interests
6. Minor Characters

And as for books I absolutely have to recommend?

My Favorites List
My ABSOLUTE Favorites list

Armchair BEA: Icebreaker

Eep! SO excited to participate in Armchair BEA again! Last year was a bit of a fail for me actually lol! But with my BFF off at BEA (well, on Thursday and Saturday) I WILL BE SLOWLY WITHERING HERE. Or not. Since there's Armchair BEA. I also answered one extra question?

1.Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location. Feel free to share pictures. 

It is cockroach season. 
Of course, that means this is Texas.

2.What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013? 

I, MY FRIENDS, am currently reading Book of Broken Hearts, Burning Sky, and Truly Madly Deadly. Favorite book of the year? HOW CAN I PICK BETWEEN SOME QUIET PLACE AND IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS? I can't. 

3. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 

Ummm...I started my blog at 11?

4. Which is your favorite post that you have written that you want everyone to read? 

Well, it's an interview I did on my BFF's blog. Okay, well, 2. Apparently I went super crazy

First one: http://eileenlisblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/blogger-interview-fiction-freak.html

Second one: http://eileenlisblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/blogger-follow-up-interview-fiction.html

5. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 

Totally A.G. Howard of ze Splintered. Like, seriously? SHE'S THE NICEST PERSON EVER AND she's just amazing! Plus Splintered was my favorite read of 2012. So DUH.

Character? Ash from Iron Fey. Always. Completely. <3

6.What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 

My favorite part of the blogosphere? Absolutely the people. They're the absolute best, they totally understand the stress of blogging sometimes, they're my partners in fangirling, and they're just amazing. Bookish people are also the craziest--and that always counts for something! 

Link me up to your posts! I promise to stalk comment!