Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

A Continuous Book Review and Vocabulary Assignment

March 25

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My Stack of Books Going into the Weekend, Planned Giveaways, and Currently Reading

by Ann-Katrina

Typically Iâ€™d do a recent arrivals post for each of the books, but this past week has been very good to me in the book department, so Iâ€™m just going to do up a collective post and then publish book notes/teasers as I read through each title. :D Sound good? Hooray!

The Dead-Tossed Waves Cover Last year I read, and reviewed, The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Although I didnâ€™t care too much for Maryâ€™s character, I did enjoy the intrigue and the world created.

When I was in my local Borders wishing them a heartrending farewell (sniff, sniff) I found The Dead-Tossed Waves on sale and I couldnâ€™t resist. The reason I even waited so long was because I knew this book probably wouldnâ€™t tell me anything I wanted to know about the Sisterhood.

Then I got to thinking, hey, I could be wrong. Maybe itâ€™s going to be connected somehow and it will be like a slow reveal of how the zombie apocalypse in their world came to be. So I grabbed it and itâ€™s officially in my TBR stack.

Animorphs The Invasion CoverAnimorphs The Visitors Cover Then there are the wonderful elves as Scholastic who somehow seem to read my mind and send me books I start drooling over the moment I open up the package. Animorphs!! With lenticular covers! (Yes, Iâ€™m easily amused.) I remember reading K. A. Applegate way back in the day, so receiving these books made me smile–okay, I also did a snoopy dance, too.

Behind the Gates Cover I also received a promising dystopian urban sci-fi novel called Behind the Gates (Tomorrow Girls Book 1) by Eva Gray. When I read the back cover, I was curious, but shrugged. Then I read the actual release and thought, hey, this could be good.Â  And then I read the first chapter and thought, I need to move this up the TBR pile.

But let us not forget about the Simon & Schuster elves who also seem to have these amazing mind-reading powers and sent me books that made me pause and say, hmmm.

Stay Cover Deb Caletti is a brand-new-to-me author, but when I read the back cover for Stay, I knew Iâ€™d be in for an emotional ride. It may even hit a little close to home. Must start mental preparations now.

Between Here and Forever Cover The other book was Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott. This will be my third official Elizabeth Scott book.

The first one I read was The Unwritten Rule, which was fun and light and touching. It was filled with teen angst and drama and discovering oneself. Basically, I enjoyed it and itâ€™s a great way to pass a lazy afternoon.

Then I just recently finished Living Dead Girl andâ€¦wordsâ€¦I donâ€™t have any. I was not prepared at all for what laid between the virtual covers of that book (I read the ebook*). When I realized how jarring a read it was, I wanted to stop so I could set my head on straight, but I couldnâ€™t because if I did and went to sleep, I would have nightmares. Finishing wasnâ€™t any better. (Donâ€™t get me wrong, itâ€™s not a bad big, the subject matter is justâ€¦again, words fail me.)

The differences between those two books was vast, but it gave me a whole new respect for Ms. Scott. Sheâ€™s an automatic must-read author for me now and having finished the first chapter of Between Here and Forever, I know to be prepared for a roller-coaster of emotions.

So, to sum up, hereâ€™s what I received this week laid out in a neat list:

I canâ€™t believe itâ€™s almost the end of March and I havenâ€™t done a single giveaway yet. I must rectify that. In fact, I think Iâ€™m going to overcompensate for my lack of contests.

Warm Bodies Cover Coming up next month Iâ€™ll be holding a giveaway for Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (oh my goodness am I excited about this one–and crossing my fingers that Mr. Marion will do a guest blog) thanks to the wonderful Mellony at Simon & Schuster.

Radiance CoverIâ€™ll also be giving away my soft cover copy of Radiance by Alyson Noel. One thing I love about this book is the deckle edge paper. Definitely a nice touch, not to mention a good read.

Abandon Cover On the list of books up for giveaway is my ARC for Abandon by Meg Cabot. I have so much to talk about with that book, but Iâ€™m holding off until the official release next month. Until then, you can check out my scant book notes on the recent arrivals post.

Finally, Iâ€™ll officially be announcing my comment rewards. What are comment rewards? Well, a while ago I mentioned an idea of rewarding those who visit my blog by selecting a random commenter whenever comment milestones are reached. The commenter can then select a book from the comment rewards bookshelf.

Any comment, past or present, is game. Commenters just need to use a valid email address when commenting (no, I will not spam you or subscribe you to any mailing list and such) and are over the age of 13 (privacy thing–in case you win). Comment rewards will be open internationally.

Beastly Cover To close up, since this post is now becoming rather unwieldy, after watching a recent preview for the movie Beastly, and seeing that it was based on a book by Alex Flinn, I trotted my happy behind over to the library website and (thank goodness a copy was available) downloaded the ebook. Iâ€™m just over halfway finished and have mixed feelings.

On one hand, I love the tweak on the classic story, but on the other Iâ€™m not loving the lack of a nod to Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, or even Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, though a number of other fairytale creators (Hans Christian Andersen, The Brothers Grimm) and fairytale characters receive such nods (unless, of course, the Madamesâ€™ nods are through all the discussion of French literature–but maybe there will be a more discernable one in later chapters).

Also Iâ€™m not entirely thrilled with some of the character development and proseâ€”sometimes it feels as though sheâ€™s talking down to her audience. But Iâ€™ll save that for an actual review though.

For now, I shall leave you to enjoy your weekend. Have fun, be safe, and donâ€™t forget to read a book or two.

Comments on My Stack of Books Going into the Weekend, Planned Giveaways, and Currently Reading

  1. # Belle wrote on March 26, 2011 at 4:26 pm:

    Nice stash of books! I want to read Abandon!!

  2. # Maja wrote on March 28, 2011 at 1:13 pm:

    Oh my god, I’m so glad I found you! :D I can’t wait to read the new Meg Cabot book, I’ve read almost all her works and loved them all. Warm Bodies seem like a great read.

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