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Showing posts with label end of summer read-a-thon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label end of summer read-a-thon. Show all posts

August 14, 2013

End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Wrap Up and Winners


The read-a-thon is now over and I don't know about you guys, but I had a blast! Even though I didn't read as much as I intended to, (I was busy working and dealing with family) I enjoyed seeing what everyone was reading and all the updates. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed hosting. Thank you Lisa from Turning Pages for being an awesome co-host and for coming up with all those awesome challenges!

August 12, 2013

End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Elizabeth Norris Interview + Giveaway


Today Elizabeth Norris (author of Unraveling and Unbreakable) is here to answer a few questions about her writing and her summer! If you haven't checked out her books yet, I suggest you run to the bookstore (right after reading this post of course) and pick up her duology.

End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Challenge #4


The final day of the read-a-thon! I can't believe it's really almost over. This is the final challenge so make sure you give it your all!

Rules:

-You must be taking part in the read-a-thon to be taking part in this challenge.
-Try to guess each author by the four given clues.
-Once you believe you have the answers, you must fill out the form.
 -Have fun and continue reading!

August 11, 2013

End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Challenge #3


Is everyone ready for challenge #3? This one's tough but lots of fun! 

Rules:

-You must be taking part in the read-a-thon to be taking part in this challenge.
-Try to guess each story by the five given clues!
-Once you believe you have the answers, you must fill out the form.
-Please be sure to include the title and author of each book!
-Have fun and continue reading!

Challenge: 

Book #1 
Airplane crash. Published May 24 2011. Beauty. Comedy. Cover: Lipsticks.

Book #2 
Ember Miller. Published January 31 2012. Literature and media considered immoral. Compliant? Cover: Broken City.

Book #3
Echo. Published July 31 2012. Not meant to be together. Noah. Cover: Kiss.

Book #4
Love Triangle. Published November 30 2010. Cassia. Powerful government. Cover: Green bubble.

Book #5

Demigod powers. Published May 31 2011. Hallucinations. Helen. Cover: Ocean.


End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Bloggers Tell All + Giveaway!


We've all made it to the third day of this read-a-thon and I'm excited to introduce some AWESOME bloggers that took the time to tell us what they read this summer and what they would recommend hands down. I trust them when it comes to the books they like, so I know I'll be picking up some of these. Their links are below their posts so if you like what you read, go check out their own blogs!

Judith's Summer Reading:
Second Chance Summer The Distance Between Us Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
The best book I've read this summer - by far - is Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, a beautiful story about endings and beginnings, the best and worst of times. I read it on vacation and drowned my tears in the pool. Yes, it's a tearjerker, but it's also very beautiful and definitely a book I would recommend to everyone. If you're not in the mood to cry, you should pick up The Distance Between Us by Kasie West, a light and fun contemporary with witty dialogue and adorable romance. It made me laugh out loud, which is always a good sign. I'm not someone who reads by season, so summer also contained a high fantasy for me: I finally picked up Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. If you like badass heroines and epic battles and have not read this book... you're missing out!
Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass, #2) All Our Yesterdays The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1)
After loving Throne of Glass, I'm insanely excited to pick up the upcoming sequel, Crown of Midnight. But before that, I will be reading All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill and The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, both of which I was fortunate enough to get an eARC of. I have no idea if they are any good, but I've heard amazing things about all three of these books. And if I don't like them, I might just pick up my second ever Sarah Dessen for a summer feeling. :)

-Judith at Paper Riot

Mel's Summer Reading

Hello everybody! I’m happy and excited that Audris asked me to write a little post on her blog. I’m going to talk about some of the books I loved the most this summer.

I’m a huge fan of fairytales and retellings, so it might be no surprise that I’m going to include some of them: The first two are Wildwood dancing and Heart’s blood from one of my favorite authors, Juliet Marillier. I was re-reading this books for a review and I loved them just as much as the other times. The first one is a retelling based loosely on The frog prince and The seven dancing princesses. The second one is about my favorite story ever: beauty and the beast, with a fun paranormal twist. If you like great characters with distinct voices, a magical writing-style and interesting plots, I highly recommend Marillier.
Wildwood Dancing (Wildwood, #1) Heart's Blood (Whistling Tor, #1)
The next book was a surprise for me. I hardly read contemporary books, but after some positive reviews and recommendations I decided to give it a shot. I wasn’t disappointed. This book is dark, gritty and gripping, yet filled with hope. I really liked the struggle from the MC and the side-characters completed the book. If you want a contemporary with depth and development, this is the one to read.
If You Find Me
I don’t read many novella’s, because I find them expensive for what you get. I did made an exception here, but it’s Sarah J. Maas. I fell in love with Throne of glass and Celaena (not to mention Team Chaol!) and I wanted to know more about her. These novella’s were worth their money. The novella’s are written in order of time. So when you end the first one, you continue in the second one. It almost felt like reading another book about Celaena’s past and the last story is just heartbreaking.
The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (Throne of Glass, #0.1)The Assassin and the Desert (Throne of Glass, #0.2)The Assassin and the Underworld (Throne of Glass, #0.3)The Assassin and the Empire (Throne of Glass, #0.4)
If you haven’t started this series yet, go try it! It’s an adult series with paranormal creatures, steampunk elements, a kick-ass, witty MC and the writing-style has a hilarious undertone. I’m talking about Parasol Protectorate from Gail Carriger. I’ve read the first book Soullless a while ago and I flew through these two books this summer. There is always a mystery and the MC tries to fix it. She is so funny.
Changeless (Parasol Protectorate, #2) Blameless (Parasol Protectorate, #3)
Last but not least, I’ll include a dystopian book. This one will be published on October 29th, but I have to tell you about it. Being a microbiologist-to-be, I absolutely loved this book. The medical background is stunning without having information dumps. I think it’s easy to follow. If you have an obsession with biological aspects in a book like me, you definitely need to keep an eye on this one! It’s about parasites (a tapeworm to be precise) who are done being controlled by us. There were some very tense situations.
Parasite (Parasitology, #1)
Thanks for having me Audris and I hope there are some interesting recommendations for you guys! Let me know in the comments if you’ve read one of these books or if you are planning to read one soon. Bye!
Rachel's Summer Reading:
Thousand Words Dangerous Girls Five Summers 
Overall, this was a pretty good summer for reading for me. I read a lot of very good books, but there were definitely a few that stood out. My favorites that I've read so far this summer are Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown, Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, Five Summers by Una LaMarche, and When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney. If you're looking for a fun summery book, I would go with Five Summers. If you're looking for something on the more emotional/intense side, I'd recommend When You Were Here. It's a very sad story, but it's also infused with lots of hope. 
When You Were Here
The three books I'm hoping to read before the summer is done are The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle, Since You Asked by Maureen Goo, and Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff.
The Infinite Moment of Us Since You Asked Boy Nobody

____________

Thank you guys for taking the time to share the reading part of your summer with us!

Giveaway:
Today's giveaway is special. I will personally provide a book of your choice from any of the books mentioned in this post. If it hasn't come out yet, I will pre order it for the winner. 
If the winner lives outside of the US, then they can choose a book from here that's available from The Book Depository (as long as it's up to $15).


a Rafflecopter giveaway

August 10, 2013

End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Updates!


So, yesterday was the first day of this read-a-thon and I feel like I rocked it! Hopefully you guys are doing as well. This is where I'll be updating everything daily.

Day #1
I had some pretty big distractions. Mainly, WORK. I went to work at 7:30 and got out at 4:00 and then had to run a few errands but when I finally got home I sat down to read The Vincent Boys. I started it at midnight but fell asleep 10 pages in. So I kept reading and finished it off. I fell asleep for a few hours in between, so I technically finished it today, but that's okay. I also listened to City of a Thousand Dolls on audiobook at work and got a little more than halfway through that. I'll include it in the page count once I finish it because I'm not exactly sure how much I've listened to so far.

Update #1
What I'm Reading: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
Books I Read: The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines
Total Number of Books I've Finished: 1
Number of Pages Read: 259
Audiobook: City of a Thousand Dolls- Listened to 4/7 CDs
Relevant Gif of the day:
image

Day 2:
Yesterday was not a good reading day. I had to go visit family and that was distraction enough plus I had only gotten 3 hours of sleep the day before. I managed to start reading Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan and got to page 85. Let me tell you right now, this book will probably go in my favorites shelf. It has every element of my type of book, but I'll get more into that when I review it.

Update #2
What I'm Reading: Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan (still reading this)
Books I've Read: The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines
Total Number of Books I've Finished: 1
Total Number of Pages Read: 344
Relevant Gif of the day
image

What have you guys read so far? Any favorites? Share in the comments and keep reading!

End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Challenge #2!

Today's the second day, that means it's time for the second challenge. Hopefully you guys are enjoying what we've had so far! I know a lot of you have been reading loads, so whenever you guys can take a little break, check out the challenge below!

Rules:

-You must be taking part in the read-a-thon to be taking part in this challenge.
-Try to guess each scrambled title!
-Once you believe you have the answers, you must fill out the form.
-Have fun and continue reading!

Challenge:

Title #1

nderu eth verne yks

Title #2 (This might be a hard one!)

eth ryioablbtip of elirsmca

Title #3

hwsirpes ta iormeons

Title #4

het okbo ehift

Title #5

ierdcn


End of Summer Read-a-Thon: April Henry and Teri Hall's Summer Reading + Giveaway


It's the second day of the read-a-thon and I'm so excited to have, not one, but TWO awesome authors here to talk about how their summer reading has been, Teri Hall, author of The Line series, and April Henry, author of Girl, Stolen, The Night She Disappeared and The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die. I've read both of their works and they are both gripping, fast reads. They'd be perfect for a read-a-thon, in case you're still searching for your next book.

Teri Hall's Summer Reading :
The Road A Gift Upon the Shore The Cage


I’m looking forward to reading—or should I say rereading—The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. I read it every couple of years and each time I take something new away. It’s a dark, dark read, but it packs a lot of punch! 

It’s been a summer of rereading for me, really. I just reread A Gift Upon the Shore, by M.K. Wren (one of my favorites—so much in this book about human nature and so many things to think about), and The Cage, by Audrey Schulman (one of the best books I’ve read in terms of scene—the author really puts you right there!) I’m looking forward to reading Schulman’s new one, Three Weeks in December.

April Henry's Summer Reading:
Born of Illusion (Born of Illusion, #1) The Theory of Everything Life After Life 

This summer I read a bunch of both teen and adult books, including Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O’Farrell, Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie, You Are One of Them by Elliott Holt, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, Born of Illusion by Teri Brown, Perry’s Killer Playlist by Joe Schreiber, Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  My favorite book so far is Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life.  I’ve lost track of how many people I’ve recommended it to.  

I read three YA books which I also reviewed for the Oregonian:  A Matter of Days by Amber Kizer, In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters, and The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna. 


Still on my bedside table are The Fifth Wave by Richard Yancey and Divergent by Veronica Roth. A few years ago, I was teaching at a week-long writer’s workshop with the woman who was the editor for Divergent.  I remember how much she raved about that book.  It’s been amazing to watch its success - and I realized I had better read it before the movie came out. As for The Fifth Wave, it sounds just like the kind of page-turner I love. 

Giveaway:
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
Today's giveaway is a copy of The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry!
Must be 13 years of age or older
Giveaway ends Monday, August 12th at midnight
Winner will be announced 8/13/13



a Rafflecopter giveaway

August 9, 2013

End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Challenge #1!

Challenge #1:

Rules-

-You must be taking part in the read-a-thon to be taking part in this challenge.
-Try to guess each scrambled cover!
-Once you believe you have the answers, you must fill out the form.
-Make sure to include both the title and author of the book!
-Have fun and continue reading!


    


End of Summer Read-a-Thon: Interview and Giveaway with Eileen Cook



The End of Summer Read-a-Thon is finally here! If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so here. You have until tonight (Friday) at midnight. For the first day of the read-a-thon I'm so happy to have Eileen Cook, author of The Almost Truth, Unraveling Isobel and The Education of Hailey Kendrick. If you guys are looking for a quick mystery to read on a rainy day, I highly suggest Unraveling Isobel. I had the chance to ask her a few questions and here are her answers!


Your Writing:

The Almost Truth1. What has been your favorite character to write out of all your books?

Oooh, hard question.  I like all of them. The most honest answer is that I love the main character of the book I am writing at that time the most.  It's only fair we're spending all of our time together.  When I'm writing a book I spend hours in the head of that character so they get the favorite nod.  That means that right now it's a girl called Kalah.  You haven't met her yet, but I think (hope) you'll love her. 

2. You have a middle grade series out already, but do you have any plans to write a young adult series? (If you do? Can you tell us what genre it would be?)

You must be psychic!  I am working on a YA series that right now is called Vanished (but the title may change).  The series will be three books long and I would describe it as a thriller.  Sort of a Gone Girl meets Pretty Little Liars.  The main character, Kalah, is so much fun to write. I almost feel bad about all the difficult situations I keep putting her into. 

Unraveling Isobel3. Unraveling Isobel is a fantastic mystery and I devoured it in a day, how different was writing a book with a paranormal spin compared to your other more contemporary books?

I'm so glad you liked the book.   I find that some books come to me with the idea first and I have to figure out which character would be best for the story. Other books, like Unraveling Isobel, started with the character.  I had a very clear idea of who she was and then I had to figure out what type of story would best push her to her limits. I enjoyed doing the paranormal parts of the story, it was fun trying to figure out if I could scare myself. 





Your Summer:

Eileen Cook1. What was your favorite memory of this summer?

There is an off leash park not far from our house right on the beach.  We've had great weather so I've loved taking my dog Cairo down there. He runs around like crazy and does his best to find some dead stinky thing to rub in and I like sitting there soaking up the view. It's a win-win situation for both of us.  I find my best summer memories are usually small things, sitting on a patio with friends or reading in the sunshine. 

2. Hopefully you've read some great books this summer. Out of all the books you read, which is the one book you would push on everyone if you could?

Criminal An Abundance of Katherines

Can I really only pick one? Terra Elan McVoy's  Criminal was really good- I'd encourage people to read that one. It's the kind of book you want to talk about with someone once you finish it. .   I was also behind the times, so I just read John Green's An Abundance of Katherines and I think pretty much everything he writes is genius.  

3. Summer always goes by so fast! What do you still hope to read in the final weeks of summer?

The Silent Wife This Song Will Save Your Life Fangirl

My to be read list is about a mile and a half high.  I need a much longer summer!  Some books I am looking forward to include:  The Silent Wife (an adult thriller),  The Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales,  and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (but it doesn't come out until early September.)

________________

Thanks again for being on here! Hopefully you guys are as excited for Eileen's new young adult series as I am! It seems right up my alley, being a thriller and all. I'm also excited for Fangirl and This Song Will Save Your Life. Eileen was nice enough to offer a signed copy of any of her recent books.

Giveaway:
Must be 13 years of age or older
Giveaway ends Monday, August 12th at midnight
Winner will be announced 8/13/13


a Rafflecopter giveaway