Follow Friday (12)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme where bloggers follower other blogger in the hope of increasing your follower count, hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee.

This week's question:

Which book genre do you avoid at all costs and why?

 

Faeries. There! I said it!

 

I simply cannot get into a novel that revolves around the Fae mythology. I have tried and tried. I have read The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, Wondrous Strange by Lelie Livingston, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, and several others. I quit every one about 1/3 of the way in.

 

I love paranormal romance. Give me vampires, werewolves, angels, dragons, and anything else under the paranormal sun and I'll be great. For some reason, I cannot get in faeries in books. I have no idea why - I enjoy faeries. Tinkerbell is my hero, but something about them in novel form doesn't work for me.

 

What about you? Leave me a link to your FF, and make sure you tell me if you follow me so I can return the favor!

Follow Friday (11)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme where bloggers follower other blogger in the hope of increasing your follower count, hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee.

This weeks question:

What's the craziest thing you've ever done to get your hands on any particular book?

As of now that would be the midnight release of Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. I went to my local Barnes and Noble for that, accompanied by my friend who was eight months pregnant with her first child at the time. We camped out in the children's section for three hours, giggling over books for babies and kids she wanted to get for her baby.

 

But give me a few months and I'll let you know if I did anything crazy at BookExpo America for a book. Although I suppose traveling to New York City for a three day book-fest would be considered crazy by some.

 

What have YOU done for a book?

Follow Friday (10)

Follow Friday is a weekly meme where bloggers follower other blogger in the hope of increasing your follower count, hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee.

This weeks question:

Go count the number of unread books sitting on your shelf. How many?

Let's see ... 1, 2, 3 ... 32!

But you did just say shelf, right? We're not counting the two six-foot high stacks I have in the corner of my room? Or the three under-the-bed boxes? Or the other bookshelves I have holding all my ARCs? What about my Nook? Does that count?

Because then I'm gonna need a calculator. And possibly a therapist.

Follow Friday (9)

 Question of the Week:When you're done reading a book, what do you do with it? (Keep it, give it away, donate it, sell it swap it...?) 

I'm a notorious book hoarder. It's not just books I've read, but I buy books the way people buy groceries. The running joke in my family is that my room is going to fall through into the living room below me one day. In the past hardly ever got rid of books.

I've gotten better about it now. I donated a bunch of books (several boxes of children's books and adult titles that were simply collecting dust) to a couple different organizations. Since I started blogging I've made a conscious effort to swap more books. It's a great way the meet fellow bloggers and grab titles I might have missed.

I seldom lend out my books, especially the ones I know I want to keep. I've had several books ruined by family and friends. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I want my books in pristine condition. I lent a box-set series to a friend of mine and when I got them back, all the spines were broken, the box was torn, and some of the pages were dog-eared. I was furious.

When I first started getting ARCs, I got kind of insane and decided I had to keep them all since they were special. I have thankfully moved on from that. Now I swap them out when I'm done and only allow myself one shelf on my bookshelf to house ARCs.

Of course that plan will be blown out of the water when I go to BEA, but for now I'm good! ;)

Follow Friday (8)

Question: Keeping with the Spirit of Giving this season, what book do you think EVERYONE should read and if you could, you would buy it for all of your family and friends?

Such a fun question ... I think if I had to pick one book (and I'll keep it a 2011 release) it would have to be...

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

I simply fell head over heels in love with this book. I got a chance to read it before it was released via Netgalley, and then I immediately bought it when it was released and since then I've read it two more times this year. Words cannot express my love for this book. It's got one of the best YA romances I've ever read.

Check out my review here: http://theirishbanana.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-spellbound-by-cara-lynn-shultz.html

I cannot wait for SPELLCASTER (Book #2) to be released this March!!!

Follow Friday (7)

Question: It's Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. so we want to know what you are Thankful for - blogging related of course! Who has helped you out along the way? What books are you thankful for reading?

I could list 100 books that have inspired me to start this blog or to start my own novel. And there are books that have made me laugh out loud and bawl my eyes out. But this time around I'd rather focus on those fellow bloggers who, whether they knew it or not, help motivate and educate me.

Ashley @ The Book Labyrinth - She was one of the first people to truly help me, and I cannot thank her enough. She has been a sounding board, a cheerleader, and a constant inspiration. I first met this incredible chick at Livejournal and she initially got me interested in blogging. She has never hesitated to email me back when I have asked her a question - no matter how crazy it might have been.

Julia @ Rex Robot Reviews - I swear this girl is my book soulmate. What started as a simple book swap has blossomed into, what I consider, a solid friendship. I love texting her about what new books I have snagged, trading with her, and gushing about our favorite topic - Book Expo America (BEA). We both realize we're crazy, but revel in the comdradery of our insanity. It's quite fun and I adore her.

Mariah @ FarEscape Reviews - I have known this girl for years, and while she's knew to the blogging world herself, she has been a huge supporter of mine. Whether it's about writing, blogging, or the every day craziness, I can call this girl about anything and know she's on my side. In the early stages of this blog, I must have asked her opinion on EVERYTHING and she never once told me to, "Shut up!" even though I probably annoyed her to no end. Everyone should have a friend that backs them up no matter what, and I'm truly blessed and thankful to be able to count her in that category.

Kristi @ The Story Siren - I have never met nor talked to Kristi, but I think we can all agree she has a huge influence on the blogging community. I constantly used her blogger tips when I was getting started. Everything from post content to how to request an ARC is listed on her site. I love that she takes the time to help out everyone else and wants to see them succeed.

Follow Friday (7)

Q. Today's Question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read! Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.

Unfortunately for you guys, I just woke up, so... But I am currently reading Everneath by Brodi Ashton. Let me just say that the story totally lives up to that stunning cover.

Follow Friday (6)

Q. What book that hasn't been turned into a movie (yet) would you most like to see make it to the big screen, and who would you like cast as your favorite character?

This is actually something I have thought about frequently (some might say obsessively). I would rather see standalones on the big screen rather than series' because I feel a two hour movie cannot adequately depict an entire series. A series need to be serialized in a TV show for maximum effect (i.e. The Vampire Diaries).

But I digress. So, books I would like to see as movies ... Shut Out by Kody Keplinger I think would be awesome. I recently read and reviewed The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle. That would make a good, dramatic movie. I could see Demi Lovato tackling that role.

I'm gonna cheat a bit and say which of my favorite series I think would make killer TV shows:

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

All three have stellar casts with interweaving storylines that could easily be dissected into an hour-long show on a weekly basis.

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Q. Do you have a favorite series that you read over and over again? Tell us a bit about it and why you keep on revisiting it?
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer is a series I can't seem to help rereading. I can read my favorite parts over and over. I even got selfish enough that I have a hardback set for myself and a paperback set to loan out. I honestly don't know why I'm so drawn to these books.

The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead is another one that I have read several times. I love, love, love those books. They are so well planned out and the characters are so multi-dimensional. I could read them forever. One of the reasons I haven't read Bloodlines (even though it's sitting on my shelf) is because I'm terrified it won't live up to the original series.

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Q. It's that pesky magic book fairy again! She has another wish: What imaginary book world would you like to make a reality?
Is it weird that I immediately think of dystopians? Like Divergent or The Hunger Games or Eve? I know it's twisted that my dream world would be a world where something is fatally flawed, but to me, that's fascinating. So maybe I'd love this world if I could just ... visit? Maybe pop in and then return to my nice, comfy, non-apocalyptic world?

Or maybe something just more Sci-Fi heavy, like Across the Universe by Beth Revis or Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan? I could handle living on a huge spaceship (OK, maybe this is simply my Farscape and Firefly addictions being realized).

Follow Friday (3)

    


Q. Have you ever wanted a villain to win at the end of a story? If so, which one?

I don't know that they were villains, but I couldn't help but hope Lochan and Maya somehow made it work in Tabitha Suzuma's Forbidden. As a brother and sister in love, it was so wrong, but something about them was just kinda ... perfect. Sigh. I'm still torn about this one.

 

Follow Friday (2)

Q. If you could write yourself a part in a book, what book would it be and what role would you play in that book?

I'm sure this will be a popular answer, but I would either want to be one of the Nightshade wolves or a Guardian in the Vampire Academy series.

I am completely enamored with both series, and if I'm going to play any part it'll have to have a supernatural edge to it. I love both shifters (how cool would it be to become another species for a little while?!) and the Guardians (because that would be seriously kick ass).

But, for an old school answer? I'm still on a bit of a Sweet Valley High kick. And I'd totally steal Ken Matthews for myself. Just sayin'.

Follow Friday (1)

Q. How has your reading habits changed since you were a teen? or If you are still a teen what new genres are you in love with currently?

I read a lot of Young Adult in high school. The Sweet Valley High series, a ton of Ann Rinaldi, The Babysitter's Club series, and more others than I can remember. Slowly I began to see how juvenile these books were, even though I loved the age group. As I became an adult, my focus started shifting onto what I thought were more "adult" novels.

I forced myself to read Anne Rice because my friends were. Or Mary Higgins Clark and Stephen King. It seemed the bigger the book, the more adult it simply had to be. I found I disliked the strong language and found the raunchy sex scenes, well, raunchy and distasteful. I switched to Christian fiction (no language and no sex, but some awesome romance). There I fell in love with Tracie Peterson, Lori Wick, Dee Henderson, and Terri Blackstock amongst many others. I read Christian fiction (and still do, to a degree) for years until I was looking around a local B&N and spied the cover of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.

It literally gave me pause seeing that racy cover on (what the sign above claimed to be) a young adult novel. I remembered the strict PG rating that had been slapped on YA novels when I was a teen, and bought the book on a whim and was hooked on the genre all over. That was three years ago, and I never looked back.