Books Talked About:
Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur
Faith, Hope and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
I'm in the process of uploading three videos for my blog, Sing Me To Sleep, in which I take a 50 questions about me quiz! So check for that over there either later tonight or tomorrow morning!
Books talked about in the video:
The Debs: Love, Lies, and Texas Dips by Susan McBride (Book Two in The Debs series)
The Sorceress by Michael Scott (Book Three in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
It's Not You, It's Me by Kerry Cohen Hoffman
China: Land of Dragons and Emperors by Adeline Yen Mah
Links go to the books' Barnes and Noble page.
My second favorite place to read in my room is the vintage chair I got at a thrift store (for fifteen dollars!). It's incredibly comfy so I love to sink into the chair and lose myself in a good book. Though I must admit that it is a little itchy which is why the blanket is there. Disney Princesses blanket!
My number one favorite place to read in my room happens to be my bed! It may not be the most comfortable bed in the world but it's fun to lay down with my dog and read.
Sometimes after I eat breakfast I'll sit at the kitchen table and read for about a half an hour. My mom usually comes in and gets mad at me for sitting there and doing nothing.
The couch is so comfortable so inbetween commercials I'll read, or if I'm up late at night and can't sleep I usually lay down here with a book.
My mom just cleaned out the small section of woods behind my house and put a wicker bench there, so I've been out there a couple of times to read since then and I'm loving it. It's very secluded and quiet.
Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia ThompsonSummary:
Using the skills you've learned so far in Introduction to Psychology, please write a brief self-assessment describing how things are going in your freshman year.
Presenting Concerns:
The Patient, Leigh Nolan (that would be me), has just started her first year at Stiles College. She has decided to major in psychology (even though her parents would rather she study Tarot cards, not Rorschach blots).
Patient has always been very good at helping her friends with their problems, but when it comes to solving her own...not so much.
Patient has a tendency to overanalyze things, particularly when the opposite sex is involved. Like why doesn't Andrew, her boyfriend of over a year, ever invite her to spend the night? Or why can't she commit to taking the next step in their relationship? And why does his roommate Nathan dislike her so much? More importantly, why did Nathan have a starring role in a much-more-than-friendly dream?
Aggravating factors include hyper-competitive fellow psych majors, a professor who's badly in need of her own psychoanalysis, and mentoring a middle-school-aged girl who thinks Patient is, in a word, naive.
Diagnosis:
Psych Major Syndrome
I also found out about this one from Kristi's (The Story Siren) Books to Pine For post, it amazes me how she can find such cute books. I think it sounds incredibly adorable and the cover is really cute as well.
One Lonely Degree by C.K. Kelly Martin
What’s this city girl’s worst nightmare? Summer camp.
Laney Parker's a city girl through and through. For her, summertime means stepping out of her itchy gray school uniform and into a season of tanning at rooftop swimming pools, sidewalk dining in the Meatpacking District, and—as soon as the parents leave for the Hamptons—parties at her classmates’ apartments.
But this summer Laney’s mother has her own plan for Laney—Camp Timber Tops—and faster than a girl can pack her eye cream, she’s shipped off.
Now, splattered with tie-dye fallout, stripped of her cell, and going through Diet Coke withdrawals, Laney is barely hanging on. But when she realizes her summer crush is untouchably uncrushable in the real world, she has to start asking herself some serious questions. Can camp cool possibly translate to cool cool?
Sleepaway camp might just turn this city girl’s world upside down.
No cover for this one folks!
As some of you may know already, I had the pleasure of meeting up with two other book bloggers, Vania and Shalonda, and going to Terra Elan McVoy's release party for Pure (which was reviewed). Not only did we get to meet her, we actually were able to do a collaborative interview as well!Without further ado the interview! Ha, that rhymed.
S: Purity rings seem to be making a comeback thanks to publicity by the Jonas Brothers and Jordan Sparks. Why do you think Pure is relevant to today's teenagers?
I think Pure is relevant to today’s teenagers because it’s all about being a teenager. This is a book about purity rings, sure (which, as you point out, are widely popular), but it’s also about friendship, faith, first love, and most especially that deliciously horrible time in life when, for the first time, you’re having to make choices that separate you from your friends, your parents, your teachers and mentors: when you begin defining yourself as an individual.
S: What kind of research did you do to ensure that the story would relate to the situations that teens currently face?
I work with teenagers at the bookstore I manage, Little Shop of Stories, and talking to those girls in book group every month, listening to their conversations—all this helped me with the book. I also did research on purity rings of course: reading several articles and seeing what different ring sites were like. I also had some really great advisers who were in high school at the time and who helped me navigate things like cell phone rules and how fast information spreads during the course of a school day. They were essential!
I think anything that opens up thoughtful dialogue about sexuality is ultimately a good thing. As for those who wear them, I really can’t generalize. Each of the girls in Pure have their own individual reasons for wearing their rings, which I’m sure is the case for those who wear them for real, too.
K: If you were in Tabitha's position how would you have reacted to Cara's confession?
Well, Tabitha and I are very similar in that we are both really concerned about our friends. I have had girlfriends tell me things I didn’t necessarily agree with or do things I didn’t want them to do in the past, but when it comes down to brass tacks my friend is my friend, and I have to stick by her through whatever it is she’s going through.
Title: Cracked Up To BeSummary:
Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t so perfect anymore. She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn’t something she can say out loud. It isn’t even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her.
Review:
Wow, I’d heard some really good things about Cracked Up To Be but never did I expect this. When I read the summary I wasn’t too psyched about reading it because it sounded like most things I’ve read that weren’t even half as good as this was. You know what I’m talking about, the perfect girl that falls from grace because of something incredibly stupid and now everyone alienates her. But see, that doesn’t even begin to describe the complication that is Parker Fadley’s life.
First off, Parker didn’t fall from grace, she jumped and you never really understand what brought all of this on until you reach the end of the book. Man, it was not something I expected. Of course, I was horrified because I can’t understand her thinking on the whole event, but I think that was the point. Even to the reader Park Fadley is complication we don’t get because she doesn’t even know who she is.
With that said, she was also one of the best characters that I’ve read in the longest time. Her sarcasm and sense of humor had me laughing out loud countless times. Even if she was a mess she was the kind of person I’d want to be best friends with. I mean, I wish I could come up with such witty remarks like she does at the drop of a hat.
Courtney Summers has created a book that all people can connect with on some level. I will definitely be coming back to this one sometime in the future.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Good luck everyone!
How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan GibsonThis one sounds so adorable! I can't wait to read it!
Without Sin by J. Tomas
Sixteen-year-old Jacob Smithson has a temper. He's picked on because he likes boys, and fighting gets him kicked out of public school. As a last resort, his parents place him in St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Boarding School for Boys.
At his first mass at St. Thomas he sees Avery Dendritch, a senior who serves as altar boy during the service. When they meet, the attraction between them is hard to deny. The two become fast friends, and as the school year progresses, their friendship deepens until Jacob feels he's found a place where he belongs.
But the other students gossip about their growing relationship. Avery can ignore them; Jacob can't. As the rumors and slurs start up again, can he curb his temper, or will his fighting get him expelled from St. Thomas, too?
After reading What They Always Tell Us I'm very interested in reading another book like it, so I'm kind of excited for this one.
Cathy's Book by Sean Stewart and Jordan WeismanThings weren't so peachy in Cathy's life before Victor broke up with her. Her father died unexpectedly, she's failing school, and her best friend is mad at her. But now things have suddenly gone from bad to very, very, very, bad. Take Victor, for instance. Sure he looks like he's around Cathy's age, or at least young enough not to make her mother freak out, but what if he's older than he appears? Like maybe 200 years older. And what does the death of Victor's co-worker, the strange mark that appeared on Cathy's arm, and the surreal behavior of several Chinese elders have to do with it?
Cathy's Key by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman
Winter Wood by Steve Augarde
The Other Half of Life by Kim Ablon WhitneyA heartbreaking novel based on the true story of a World War II voyage.
Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott
Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic by Suzanne Weyn
Stargazer by Claudia Gray
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender
Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway (Paperback Version)
Heartbreak River by Tricia Mills
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King
Goody Bag!
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