TGIF at GReads! {5}: Best I've Read So Far

TGIF at GReads! is a weekly feature, created by GReads! to re-cap the week's posts and propose a question to followers.

The question for this week is:

Best I've Read So Far:

Which Top 3 books are the best you've read so far this year?

My number one is a complete no-brainer and was the book I thought of the second I saw today's topic.

1. Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent

Before I Wake is the sixth installment in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series and was by far my most anticipated book of this year and it did not disappoint one bit. It actually broke my heart so much, I still haven't been able to write my review for it - or pick up another book for that matter. It is so full of awesome, there are no words to ever do it justice. So, yes, this is definitely my favorite book of the year so far!

*****

2. Execution by Alexander Gordon Smith

Execution by Alexander Gordon Smith is the fifth and final book in his Escape from Furnace series. The US release is set for November, but since I couldn't wait that long, I read the UK version instead. This is another book I haven't been able to write my review for yet. I'm hoping to get it done sometime within the next two weeks though. This whole series was so intense, dark, disturbing, and just gut-wrenching at times, and this final book was no exception whatsoever.

*****

Now for my number three spot, I am torn between two books, but I am going to go with:

3. Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

I absolutely loved this book. It was so refreshingly different for me since I hadn't read anything about witches before. Braden is an incredible main character and slowly learning the truth about his past alongside him was an amazing experience. Of course, there is also Drew, who I just love, love, love. I actually just did my "Desperately Wanting Wednesday" post about its sequel Demon Eyes. October really can't get here fast enough.

*****

Since it can't hurt to add just one more book, I figured I might as well add a number four to my list.

4. Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I was a little bit wary about picking this one up since it was about aliens and I was afraid it would be something really over the top weird. As soon as I started Shadows, however, I was hooked and I really could have picked both Shadows and Obsidian as my number four.

*****

What about you? What are some of the best books you have read so far this year? I would love to hear from you!

Desperatly Wanting Wednesday: Second Series Salivations…

Desperately Wanting Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View where you can not only gush about future releases, but also about already released books you just haven't had a chance to pick up and/or read yet.

Today is all about second books in a series, and soon as I read that, I knew which book I would be blogging about - 

Scott Tracey's Demon Eyes.

Goodreads description:

Braden thought he had destroyed Lucien, a calculating demon trapped for centuries in a human body. But he's haunted by disturbing visions of the undead demon promising to return and a terrible warning: The feud between Belle Dam's two witch dynasties--ruled by Catherine Lansing and Braden's father--is about to get unimaginably worse.

As young girls start disappearing from town, Braden knows Lucien's diabolical scheme has been set in motion. Forced to explore the unknown powers of his witch eyes, Braden becomes the ultimate weapon in a deadly magical war.

 

It won't be released until October 8th of this year, but I am already super excited for it. I loved how different Witch Eyes was from almost anything I had read before. I am dying to find out what's happening with Braden, Drew, Trey, and everybody else. Also, I need to know whether or not we can trust Riley because I just don't have a clue what to make of her.

I am sure I will love this sequel at least as much as the first book, and I cannot wait to see what measures will be taken by either witch dynasty for the feud to end in their favor.

*****

What second books in a series are you waiting for? Feel free to leave a comment telling me all about them!

BIW Mini-Challenge: Participation Post

Today is finally the day Before I Wake releases. It is the sixth book in the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent and if you haven't already, you can get your copy at any of these places:

Amazon               Barnes & Noble               The Book Depository

Everybody who has been following my blog, knows how much I loved the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge, and how sad I was when it all ended. Well, Rachel from fiktshun, who hosted the SSRC, stayed true to her word and added an extra month for everybody to write a Before I Wake review or thoughts post.

Needless to say, I have to take to part in it. If you would like to join in as well, simply click on the beautiful button and it will take you to Rachel's post where you can find out everything you need to know.

Honestly, I could stare at this button all day long. Isn't it stunning? I think I'm in love...

I actually finished Before I Wake last night and there is no way I could write a review tonight. I am still trying piece my heart back together, but I am hoping to be able to get my thoughts in order by the end of the week or early next week.

*****

So, there you have it.

Come join the Before I Wake Mini-Reading Challenge!

I promise you will not regret it.

Stacking the Shelves {4} & My Reading Pile {8}

Before I get started on the awesome books I got this week, I want to take a moment to sincerely apologize to my followers.  Yesterday I realized with great shock and disbelief that I haven't posted in over a week and that is not OK. It has been a very strange week - I have been living a day behind (seriously, all day yesterday I thought it was Wednesday, and I spent today thinking it was only Thursday and didn't realize my mistake until the NHL Draft started on TSN) and if that wasn't enough to throw me off, it has also been an extremely hot week - and not the good kind of hot, if you know what I mean... Tonight's the first night the temperature is halfway decent.

In addition to all that, I was waiting on a book to get here and the longer the mail took, the more frustrated I got - I couldn't even pick up another book because my mind was fixated on this particular one. It finally arrived yesterday and I've been feeling like I've died and gone to heaven ever since I first touched it.

So, long story short, until yesterday I didn't feel like doing anything, I had lost "my spark" if you will, and let me tell you, that is no fun at all. I am going to try my very best and start posting more regularly again. Thank you so much for sticking by me! I appreciate it a whole lot!

*****

Enough with the rambling and on with the things you actually came here for.

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and as I am sharing what I received in the mail this week, I'm giving a big shout out to her.

First up is the book I had been waiting for all week:

A HUGE thank you to Rachel from fiktshun for hosting the incredible Soul Screamers Reading Challenge, and to Rachel Vincent for offering a signed, early copy of Before I Wake for a SSRC giveaway - which, as you might have guessed already, I was lucky enough to win. In all honesty, I still cannot believe I actually won it and that I am reading this precious book right now. I am only about halfway through, and it is so fantastic already! If only there were more hours in a day, so I could spend more time reading...

Another thank you to fiktshun for the amazing bookmarks of A Touch Mortal, A Touch Morbid, and Witch Eyes! They are all so pretty!

*****

Another book I got is a galley of Holding On To Zoe by George Ella Lyon which is set to be released on July 17th, 2012.

I failed miserably trying to remove the "Not Final Cover" sticker cleanly, but if you would like to see the finished cover, simply click on the book title above and it will take you to the Goodreads page. I received this book from MacMillan. They had mentioned this book on their twitter account (@MacKidsBooks) and I happened to tell them it sounded like a very interesting story (you all should definitely check it out). The next thing I know, they asked me for my address, so they could send me a copy. I was so perplexed - and still am, actually - but am really excited to find out the truth about Jules and her baby Zoe.

This week at the library

 

My local library was so awesome to me this week. A while ago, I had put in a "request to purchase" for Veronica Roth's Insurgent after Lisa - the lovely woman who does my little man's story time at the library - recommended I should do it. She has read Divergent too and really wants to know what's happening in the sequel as well. So, when I went to the library last weekend she came up to me all excited, saying that Insurgent was in the process of being put into the system, and since I was the one who put in the request, I would be the first to get it. When I went back to pick it up a few days later, Lisa was there again and she was all giddy and saying I should read it really, really fast because she was next in line for it. She is such a sweetheart and I love the fact I actually know a few of my librarians. Two of them have actually said that me and my little man are almost living at the library...ah, I wish... So, yes, another long story, but I am super thrilled to read Insurgent.

To my surprise, I also had Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers waiting for me. Last time I had checked online, it still said it was being acquired, but they seem to speed up the process when somebody puts the book on hold even before they actually have it - which is very useful to know, by the way. When I first saw that they were trying to get it, I immediately put my name down to have it, and no two weeks later...voila... I am so happy. Of course, it also means I will have to read these books super fast because I won't be able to keep them longer than three weeks since other people have put them on hold as well.

So, yes, this was an extremely happy and exciting book week for me!

My Reading Pile {8}

As I am sharing what I will be reading this week, I am giving credit to fiktshun who came up with this wonderful idea.

First up is of course Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent. I am hoping to finish it tomorrow or the day after and I can already feel that I will want to re-read it again right after, but I will try and force myself not to.

My second book for the week will be Insurgent by Veronica Roth. I already started it while I was waiting for Before I Wake to arrive, but I just couldn't concentrate on it. With my mind was set on Before I Wake, so I didn't want to continue with Insurgent because I was afraid my reading experience would get ruined. So, I am very ecstatic to get back to it sometime this week.

*****

Now you know what I got in the mail and what I will be reading this week. How about you? What goodies did you receive this week? Are there any particular books you would like to read this week? I would love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful reading week!!!

SSRC: Never To Sleep

This is oh so strange. I am really going through the motions right now. On the one hand, I am super ecstatic because I will get to read Before I Wake very, very soon - THANK YOU, FIKTSHUN!!! - and on the other hand, this is going to be my last post for the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge and thinking about that makes me really, really sad...

Though, I guess dwelling on won't make the inevitable go away, so here are my thoughts on re-reading Never To Sleep by Rachel Vincent.

Goodreads description:

Don't Close Your Eyes.

Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychiatric condition ruin high school for them both. Not after all the work she's put into cultivating the right look, and friends, and reputation. But then, Sophie sees something so frightening she lets out a blood-curdling scream—and finds herself stuck in a bizarre parallel world where nothing is safe and deadly creatures lurk just out of sight, waiting for her to close her eyes and sleep...forever.

Could this world be real? Or does insanity run in the family...?

Never To Sleep is the third Soul Screamers novella and takes place during the events of If I Die. I highly recommend to read Never To Sleep AFTER you have read If I Die since it contains one major spoiler.

The GR description pretty much sums the plot up, so I won't go into detail about it and just concentrate on my thoughts while re-reading it. I have never been Sophie's biggest fan, though I would never outright say I hate her either. She is the way she is because of the way she was brought up - she got spoiled, was very protected and left in the dark about a lot of things. She just doesn't know any better. I imagine it can't have been easy for her at school either with the things people kept saying about Kaylee. Obviously, they aren't true, but Sophie didn't know that because nobody would tell her anything. If she would have known, I am convinced she would have been different. At least, that's what I'm telling myself. She is definitely not being mean just for the sake of being mean.

In this novella, Sophie catches her first glimpse at what Kaylee has to deal with on a pretty much daily basis. Sophie doesn't know this, of course, and has her ever so delightful snarky comments/thoughts the whole time. It was so nice getting to know her a  little bit better and see how she really "ticks". Yes, she can still be superficial in some ways, but there is more to her than meets the eye - she does have a deeper side to her as well.

Then there is the introduction of a new character, Luca Tedesco, who is very charming, handsome, and definitely mysterious.  I am not sure whether he is on the good or the bad side, but I'm hoping for the first, because I think he could be really good for Sophie. The way they interacted was so great and it was nice to see a slightly different side to Sophie. There is one scene in particular, closer to the end, when he says something about her and Sophie seems genuinely surprised somebody could think of her that way. Everybody who has read this novella, probably knows what I"m talking about. I don't want to give it away because it really shows another side of Sophie and everybody should read that for themselves. Who knows, you might not even agree with me...

Either way, I am definitely looking forward to reading more about Luca - and Sophie. It will be very interesting to see how she is going to deal with everything in Before I Wake. 

Also, this novella opens up some major possibilities concerning someone who, I at least, thought they had gotten rid off forever. Now, I am not sure what will happen. To say I am extremely excited, would be a complete understatement.

My rating: 5 out 5 stars

My favorite quotes and passages:

So typically Sophie:

"[...]One freaky eyeless Netherworld guy in exchange for two normal, tragically beautiful people from our world?” 

Luca glanced back at me in surprise, and I rolled my eyes. 

“We’re about to be devoured by man-eating plants. Shouldn’t we at least acknowledge how attractive our respective bodies are before they’re digested from the inside out?”

*****

Sophie and Luca - Luca starts:

“But if there are bunnies here, you can bet they’ve got teeth like needles and an appetite for human flesh.” 

“Is that a joke? Please tell me you’re joking.” 

“I never joke about carnivorous bunnies.”

*****

Luca knows when to just outright say it as it is:

“No.” Luca frowned at me and his hand tightened around the doorknob. “This isn’t some stupid dance competition, Sophie. This is real life, and if you miss a step, you don’t get a bad score. You get dead. Like, bleeding, screaming, eaten-alive dead. Do you understand?”

 *****

Turns out, this might not be my last SSRC post after all. Rachel from fiktshun announced a few hours ago, there will an extra month for Before I Wake reviews/thoughts. I cannot even put into words how happy that makes me. One more month of SSRC and we also have another spoiler chat with author Rachel Vincent coming up. I couldn't be more ecstatic if I tried.

 

SSRC: If I Die

Is it really If I Die time already? Where have the past five months gone? The Soul Screamers Reading Challenge, 

hosted by the incredible Rachel over at fiktshun, is really coming to a close. 

It makes me sad on so many levels, but also incredibly excited as it means it is almost time for Before I Wake.

On the agenda for today's SSRC post are my re-reading thoughts on:

Goodreads description:

The entire school's talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck. Everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee's no ordinary high-school junior. She's a banshee—she screams when someone dies.

But the next scream might be for Kaylee.

Yeah—it's a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee's going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend's needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren't quite human, either.

But Kaylee's borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

This was my second time reading If I Die and it was just as intense and gut-wrenching as the first time around. Even though I knew what I was in for, my heart still ached for Kaylee until the very last page. I know it probably doesn't make sense but I think I even cried more the second time around. There was one conversation between Kaylee and Emma in particular, which had me balling like a little baby. Just thinking about it know, gets me all teary-eyed again...

In the fifth book of this series, Kaylee and her friends find themselves facing up against an incubus who would do anything to get what he wants. He only has eyes on his goal and doesn't care one bit who he is hurting on his way to achieving it. He is stone cold and one of the worst Netherworld creatures Kaylee has ever faced. He is no Avari but he is his own kind of evil which cannot be ignored.

One of my favorite things about this book was the fact we got to meet up with one of my favorite minor characters again. I had been wondering how they were doing and loved how Rachel Vincent reintegrated her into the story. I am also hoping we haven't seen the last of them yet.

I don't want to give anything away but the things that happen between our favorite heroine and a certain someone are too precious. There were a lot of parts I kept reading over and over before moving on, but theirs were probably my favorites out of all of them.

This might be the first time I'm openly admitting to it, but I love Sabine. Yes, she is infuriating. Yes, she doesn't shy away from scaring the bejesus out of Kaylee. Yes, she is brutally honest, but it's her honesty and her snarky and funny remarks that make her so likable for me. She is a character who doesn't play by anyone's rules but her own and I find that very refreshing.

There is so much going on in this story that there is never a dull or quiet moment ever. It's fast-paced and action-packed from the very beginning to the very end. No emotion is left untouched - it ranges from happiness to heartache to shock and utter disbelief, to anger and sadness and grief, to fury and more heartache and leaves you with a light at the end of the tunnel. Or maybe not... maybe it's not the end of the tunnel but the beginning of an abyss... Knowing what I know about Before I Wake, I am guessing it's the latter...

My rating 5 out of 5 stars

Of course, I could never leave you without some of my favorite quotes and passages.

Kaylee and Sabine - Sabine starts:

"You don't have any outstanding qualities, other than a gritty determination I can't help but relate to."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning, you tend to grow on people. Like some kind of persistent fungus."

*****

Kaylee's thought:

Was it possible to be haunted by a kiss?

I just love this one line...

*****

I took the liberty of leaving parts out of the passage in order to not spoil anything.

"[...] You're the brightest thing I've ever seen, [...]. You're this beautiful ball of fire spitting sparks out at the world, burning fiercely, holding back the dark by sheer will. And I always knew that if I reached out--if I tried to touch you--I'd get burned. [...] I'm not supposed to feel the fire. I'm not supposed to want it. But I do. [...] I want the fire. I want the heat, and the light, and I want the burn.[...]"

*****

"There's a good kind of crazy, [...]," [...] "It's the kind that makes you think about things that make your head hurt, because not thinking about them is the coward's way out. The kind that makes you touch people who bruise your soul, just because they need to be touched. This is the kind of crazy that lets you stare out into the darkness and rage at eternity, while it stares back at you, ready to swallow you whole."

*****

Tod, obviously - I am still giggling:

"I'm dead, not impotent. Nasty rumors like that must be quashed before they gain momentum. 

Feel free to emphasize how very functional I am."

*****

Sophie and Emma:

"Fashion intervention or suicide watch?"

"It's gonna be the scene of a homicide if you don't put bitchy on the back burner," Emma snapped, and I laughed out loud.

So did I!!! That's exactly why I love Emma so much!

*****

I have a ton more quotes picked out but these are some of my absolute favorites. One tear jerker moment is amongst my favorites too, but I can't possibly share it without spoiling something in the process - which is why I decided to leave it out.

I know it might surprise some of you how short this review/thoughts post is, but I really don't want to spoil anything in case somebody who hasn't read this book stumbles upon my words. This is just one of those books you have to discover for yourself without knowing too much ahead of time.

This book is pure magic and I wouldn't want to take that away from anyone. 

Read it and get lost on this unique journey.

Stacking the Shelves {3} & My Reading Pile {7}

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews and so I'm giving a shout out to her while sharing what I got in my mailbox this week.

I only received one book, but it is one I have been dying to read ever since finishing its prequel. Here is a picture of the beautiful ARC of Amy Plum's Until I Die.

Isn't it gorgeous??? I actually won this during @MTGReviews #2000follower twitter party and I still can't believe I was the lucky one to win this book. I am not at all embarrassed to admit I need my Jules fix asap, though I do still have a few books I want/have to read first. So, anyway, thank you so incredibly much, Jenna!!! If you want to check out her blog, you can find it right here.

My Reading Pile {7}

As I am sharing what I will be reading this week, I am giving credit to fiktshun who came up with this awesome idea.

With Armchair BEA keeping me so busy this last week, I hardly got any reading done. I am about 50 pages into Alexander Gordon Smith's Execution. Hopefully, I can finish it by Wednesday and then dive into Leah Clifford's A Touch Morbid. 

So, as you can see, my list hasn't changed from last week. I will have to squeeze in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers Novella Never To Sleep before June 14th though, since that is when the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge will end.

There you go, short and sweet. Now I'll have to see if I can't get my If I Die thoughts written down. Wish me luck!

*****

What have you received in the mail this week? Are there any books you would like to read this week? 

I would love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful reading week!!!

Wrappin' Up Armchair BEA 2012!

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

Today's post is all about

Wrappin' Up Armchair BEA 2012!

This was my first year participating in Armchair BEA, and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of it. I do have to admit though too, it was stressful at times. I had some trouble coming up with certain posts, but I worked through it and am very glad I did. I do feel exhausted today though - so much so, that I had to take an afternoon nap which, usually, never, ever happens.

Reading everybody's posts and finding new blogs to follow was my absolutely favorite, though I didn't get to comment as much as I would have liked. That being said, just because Armchair BEA is over, doesn't mean I can't still comment, right?! So, I'm hoping to be writing comments like crazy on as many blogs as I possibly can this weekend.

I can't forget the twitter parties!!! I was only able to attend one and a half parties, but they were awesome. It was so great to talk to so many different bloggers all at once. It got a little bit overwhelming at times when I couldn't follow the timeline fast enough, but it was all good. I especially enjoyed this aspect of Armchair BEA because I don't usually get to talk to other bloggers that much. I have a couple blogger friends who I talk to pretty regularly, but it's hard for me to make new "connections". Often times, I just stalk twitter forever, but never chime in myself because I'm worried I would bug someone. Also, I'm not really comfortable butting into someone else's conversation because it always makes me feel like an intruder of some sort. So, yes, that's why I loved joining the twitter parties. I could just talk to anyone and no-one would think I'd be disrupting anything. It was so much fun and I'm definitely hoping they'll be more of those. They help me come out of my shell a little bit.

It was a fantastic experience for me, but I think my hubs is pretty relieved it's over. Just last night he told me he would be happy once my "blogging stuff" is over because he was starting to feel a little bit neglected. Aww, I thought that was really sweet of him to say. It's mainly because I don't really have any time during the day to work on posts and such because of our little man. So, after he has gone to bed, my hubs and I usually spend some quality time together and then I go work on the blog. For some reason, this week was more stressful in real life than usual, and there wasn't much time left at the end of the day. Anyway, long story short, we didn't get as much of our usual "us-time" and so he is feeling a little bit lonely. I'm not even sure why I am telling you all this, but there you go. ;)

*****

Now to wrap this post up, I just want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the hosts, the publishers, authors, 

and all the bloggers who contributed to Armchair BEA and made it such an amazing experience.

I already know I will be joining the fun again next year.

Thank you all so very, very much!!!

Armchair BEA: The Future of Book Blogging/Ask the Experts

 

I cannot believe how fast the week has come and gone. It has been so much fun to join in all the blogger talk and I am already looking forward to doing it all over again next year!

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

It is Day 5 of Armchair BEA and today's topic is the following:

The Future of Book Blogging/Ask the Experts

If you have any burning questions for your fellow participants about book blogging, now is the time to ask.

I have only been blogging for five months, so I definitely still have a lot of questions. For right now, I'm pretty happy with the content of my posts, though I do know there is a LOT of room for improvements - which I am working on slowly.

My concerns at the moment are mainly about the look of my blog. I always worry if readers can read everything okay, or if my blog is maybe too dark. Also, I would love to play with my layout a little bit, but I have no idea where to start.

Are there any websites you like to go to for design advice - for the blog layout in general as well as for individual posts - which are fairly easy to understand? I'm not tech savvy at all when it comes to coding and all that.

One other thing I can't seem to figure out is how to add tracking to my blog, so I can check my stats a little bit better and more thoroughly. I tried adding the free Google one, but I can't, for the life of me, figure out where to place the code for it. Like I said, I'm not tech savvy whatsoever. ;)

I don't want to overdo it with tons and tons of questions, but I do have one more.

How do you link your facebook page to your blog - or is the other way around? I have tried it a few times, but I can't seem to make it work. Maybe I'm just too stupid to do it, haha. Honestly though, I would love to connect the two, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Well, I guess my questions aren't so much about actual "book blogging", so maybe I should add one more question. 

I'm sure everybody has times where they just don't feel like writing anything. How do you motivate yourself during those phases? What gets you out of a writing funk?

*****

Thank you so much in advance for answering my questions! I really, really appreciate how helpful and supportive this blogger community is. I am so proud to be a part of it!

Thank you all and I hope you all had as much fun and excitement as I had during this past Armchair BEA week!

Armchair BEA: Beyond the Blog

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

I can't believe it's already Day 4 of Armchair BEA. It has been so much fun reading everybody's posts and finding new amazing blogs to follow.

Today's Armchair BEA topic is:

Beyond the Blog

Have you done any freelance writing? 

Are you monetizing your blog and how so? 

How do you make connections outside the book blog community on the internet?

Since I haven't done any freelance writing and I am not making any money with my blog either, I had to think of something else to write. After asking around on twitter for a little bit, somebody said people like to read about personal things. Then Valerie from Stuck In Books left a comment on my post from yesterday, saying "Love that you have a little man!!!" which got me to thinking why not write a little bit about him.

He is my absolute pride and joy. His name is William and he will turn 4 at the end of September. He will also be starting Junior Kindergarten in September which is a teeny tiny bit scary for Mommy and Daddy, but so far William is all gang ho for it. He has known his numbers and alphabet for a while but we just recently started actually writing them. He is a little bit shaky but he can write his first name all by himself and doesn't even need me to tell him which letters come when anymore. You should see the look on his face whenever he does this - he is so proud, and so is Mommy.

He also loves to paint! This was the first picture he painted with paint brushes.

Another thing he loves are BOOKS! I am so ecstatic that he does and am hoping it will last for a long time. If it were up to him, we would be going to the library every single day and he would be taking 10 or 20 books easy - well, if I would let him. Since my old bones aren't what they used to be though, we usually settle for 6 to 8 books. Of course, all of these books have to be read every night - one book is never enough, no, no. If I'm "lucky", I get away with reading 3 or 4, but I only do that if I happen to be exhausted. I have actually been considering starting to review children's books since I'm reading them all the time anyway. I haven't decided on that yet, though, so we shall see what the future brings... 

Some of his favorite books are:

Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham as well as Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can you?

anything Curious George or Clifford the Big Red Dog

Our latest discoveries include:

 

Llama Llama Mad At Mama by Anna Dewdney (which is so utterly adorable, by the way)

 

If You Give A Moose Muffin by Laura Numeroff (and ALL the other books in this series) - He especially loves this one since he just won a little stuffed moose at a fair we went to. That little thing is s adorable!

Grumpy Bird &  

Boo Hoo Bird by Jeremy Tankard

William has an incredible memory - I think all kids his age are like sponges and just soak everything up, no matter what it is about. Sometimes when I'm busy making supper or something and all of a sudden it gets really quiet, I usually find him in his bedroom, reading books to his little stuffed animal buddies. He knows some of the stories word for word. Sometimes he makes up his own little stories and I love those even more than any book.

Well, okay, I think this is it. I'm not sure if this fits with today's topic or not, but I didn't know what else to write and my little man was my only inspiration tonight. I do hope I haven't bored anyone to death, though. I just love my little man more than anything else in the world! He makes everything worth while!

*****

Anyway, thank you so much for sticking around, guys! Have a great 4th day of Armchair BEA and don't forget the #ArmchairBEA twitter party at 8pm EST tonight!!!

Armchair BEA: Networking...In Real Life?!

Design credit: Emily of Emily's Reading Room

 

 Today's topic for Armchair BEA is:

Networking...In Real Life?!

We are supposed to share a positive "real life" experience and even though, I don't have any partnerships with local bookstores - we don't really have any - and haven't met any fellow book bloggers in person yet, I still felt like contributing to this topic.

My positive bookish experience is joining a book club at my local library. Having a little man I don't get to spend too much time solely around adults, so when I first heard there was a book club in the making, I had to sign up for it right away. There are no age restrictions which has positive as well as negative sides. We range from about 22 (I think) to 65 years in age and everybody's tastes are very different. Right now, it seems I am the only one who is into all things paranormal - whether YA or non-YA - while the majority of the others prefer non-fiction books. When I first saw the list of books planned for the first year, I was a little bit intimated since I hadn't heard of any of the books, apart from one. I have to say though, out of the first four books we have read, I thoroughly enjoyed three. They were books I probably would have never picked on my own and it's not because their subjects aren't interesting, but simply because they wouldn't have been on my radar with what I am usually reading.

So joining the book club has been very rewarding on many levels already. I get to discover new books from all kinds of genres, and I also get to interact with like-minded book lovers. Our last read was Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist (see my review here) and I was so surprised how far apart opinions were. One person outright hated it while I was on the other side of the spectrum and absolutely loved it. It was very interesting to hear everybody's thoughts and have a real face-to-face discussion which is not really possible in the blogosphere - not on that kind of level, anyway.

 

 

Another thing I love about it is that we got to meet author Anne Raina in our second meeting. She is from this area and co-wrote Clara's Rib with her sister Clara Raina Flannigan (see my review here). The book is about the many, many years Clara spent at a tuberculosis hospital in Ottawa, Canada. It is a very intense book and it was such an amazing experience to be able to talk to Anne about how she experienced her sister's illness and how it affected everybody in her family. I was completely mesmerized by this book and all the additional stories Anne Raina had to tell. This has definitely been one of the best book-related experiences yet for me.

*****

This shall conclude today's post, but I would love to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment, telling me about your book club or any other bookish experiences.