Merry Wanderer of the Night [Search results for d books] 

Everyone, help me welcome Sierra to the blog today! She has an absolutely wonderful memory to share with everyone today! Help me make her feel welcome!

My name is Sierra, and I blog on Yearning_To_Read. I've been blogging for almost a year now; I started Yearning To Read back in June 2010. It has been an amazing experience, and I feel so priveleged to be a part of a project like this. My blog first started out as a way to review good books (okay, and some bad, too) and have fun with it. Now it has turned into much more: I write about vintage books that I buy, poems, and quotes that I love; and in January I added something new: giveaways, so far my favorite aspect of blogging. I love giving books: What a great way to do it!

About me: I'm a 17-year-old senior in highschool and I've been homeschooled since preschool. I LOVE it. LOVE LOVE LOVE. It has allowed me to study everything that I would study in a public school, but it also gives me a greater freedom to focus on what I love: literature, writing, foreign language, and Photography. It has been a journey, full of adventures. AND... my mom is the best teacher.:) I live in San Diego, CA, which is one of the best places to live. Someday I hope to travel to new ends of the world, but I want to always have a home to come back to in San Diego. I've beed a reading maniac since I was 7, and I've been writing novels (yes, novels) since I was 8. Not that they were any good, of course, but it's the thought that counts, right? I still write all the time... the stories come and come and come relentlessly. I hope to someday be a published author. It's been my goal for 9 years and counting — I'd say that's pretty promising!

And now, for my memory.

It was Easter Sunday, 2008, after church. It's funny, how some days start as one thing, with you having a goal for the day, an idea of what it's going to look like. And then, it all changes. Drastically. Funny what books can do to you in a day.

The day before, I had picked up Inkheart. I'd bought it a while before, with its published companion Inkspell. I'd heard it was good from a friend; the movie was coming out; I had a giftcard. How could I lose?
But anyway, back to the story:

I remember lunch at our house, with our friends. I brought Inkheart to the table with me and had it under my leg. (This is the first time I remember doing this.) Between bites, I'd reach down and feel the cover, the grooves and bumps on it which were (and still are) Meggie's fingers, the gold coins from Treasure Island, the lizzard from the desert, the castle from the fairytales. I wanted to read it; I wanted to be captured in the story and transported.
After lunch, I helped clean up a bit, but I was itching. Itching for the story beyond the covers. The second I was free, I ran upstairs and into my room, where I stayed. I opened the book. And read.

For 6 hours.

Now, let's get something straight here: I'm not a fast reader. I got a total of about 250 pages done in those six hours. I took two breaks. But the rest of the time, I was hooked. I remember it vividly, the first time I read that journey and was immersed. I remember starting by sitting on my bed; that soon got stuffy and uncomfortable, after so much food. Then I sat between my desk and my footboard, legs up, book on my knees. That, too, eventually became uncomfortable. My legs cramped and it was getting hot in the room. (Or was that Dustfinger's fire, leaping out of the pages to catch me?) Then I went outside to the patio, where I read some more. I sat on a reclining chair and my body soaked up the spring sunshine and fresh air — and all the while my mind was soaking up the intense story that isInkheart. My mind was lost in a fantastic world that becomes a part of the reader.

I finished Inkheart two days later. Then, I started Inkspell.

In no way was I prepared for what lay on those pages, in that ink. I'd experienced a ride with Inkheart — but with Inkspell... I don't know. Something was different. Mentally, emotionally. It played with my emotions like Dustfinger plays with his fire, like Mo plays with his words.
In the end... let's just say that not very many other books make me sob. (I am a usual crier, yes, but not a usual sobber.) If a book gets me so emotionally that I cry really hard, it usually ends up on my favorites shelf. It means more to me than most books because it moved me more. It was just so when I finished Inkspell. I was sitting on the couch (I think it was the Thursday after Easter Sunday) and my sister was sitting across from me, reading one of the Madeleine L'Engle books. And as I lay there, reading the last few chapters, sniffling and wiping tears away and burying my head in my arms, she kept staring at me strangely, wondering what the heck could have changed my emotions so drastically.

(Are you wanting to know as well? I advise you read the book. 'Twill be worth it, I promise.)

And that is my memory. My vivid, lovely memory. I remember all the emotions, the sights and smells. In fact, the smell of the Inkbooks are still some of my favorites to date. Oh, and did I read Inkdeath ? Yes, yes I did. I remember longing for it, and when it came in the mail I was proud to know that I was one of the first people to ever hold it in my hands. And I LOVED the book.

This memory is particularly special to me, for a few reasons. Not only were these some of the very first books that I became emotionally attached to, but they were also some of the first fantasy books I'd ever read. They got me hooked on the genre, and they are still an example of what great fantasy is. Since that week I've read Inkheart 3 times total, Inkspell twice total (and the end several times — it makes me cry every single time), and Inkdeath once. Each time I read the first two, those memories come back, swiftly and vividly. It's strange — the books that talk about books catching memories between their pages are the books that have caught the most memories for me.

And they are memories I will always cherish and will never forget.

Thank you so much Sierra, for sharing your memories with us! This sounds like an incredibly important read for you. I remember these life changing reading experiences in my own life, and am so happy that you shared yours with us!

Readers, remember that if you would like to be a Memory Monday guest, in my blog for more information!

So remember how I went on a book buying ban in March and everything went swimmingly? And then I bought quite a few books right after it but felt guilt free about the whole thing? Well in the last week I somehow managed to obtain 18 new books. Which is a lot and now I feel guilty and stressed about it. For awhile I've been trying to read thicker books in order to get another shelf of "read" books on my shelves but the length of most of these books is daunting for me. I've also been in a reading funk, which isn't helping. On Friday I picked up Juliet, Naked

because it was short and I knew I'd be pulled in right away since I love Nick Hornby. I ended up finishing the book yesterday and that is when I realized it. Short books.

After I finished Juliet, Naked I went to my bookshelves and pulled all the books that looked to be about 200 pages or less. I found eighteen books which comes out to about 2500 pages total. My goal is to read about 80 pages a day and finish all of these books in the month of May. 80 pages a day, that is totally doable. And in one month I can clear off a huge chunk of books sitting on my shelves. Another great thing about this is the selection of books. It's pretty evenly spread between books I've just gotten and books I've had for quite awhile. It's also pretty even between fiction and nonfiction, classic versus modern and so on.

Short books are great because they don't seem like a huge commitment. If I get fifty pages into a short book and I don't like it then I can put it down knowing I read at least a quarter of the book. Amazingly, I often put off reading short books because I think they'll be better for a week when I have a lot going on or when I'm doing a readathon. Short books are great for those things--but I never try to read them when I have a lot going on. I also buy short books a lot because I think there is no way I won't read it if it's only 150 pages. Obviously all of these assumptions are a little sketchy since ten percent of the books I own are of the short variety.

Anyone want to join me?

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to give Briana at The Book Pixie a shout-out. She sent me Capote in Kansas during April for Random Acts of Kindness. I'm looking forward to reading it around Halloween as it is a ghost story! If you haven't checked out Random Acts of Kindness you definitely should. I've really enjoyed sending others books and getting books in return.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Background on my guest reviewer: John is my 9 year old son. After several years of reading problems due to his ADD, John was a very reluctant reader. Reading was always difficult for him and whenever he was asked to read, he would get upset and shut down. Then one day, I happened to discover the Horrid Henry books. They hadn't been released in the States yet, but I believe I found an excerpt online. I showed it to John, who showed a bit of reluctance at first. Then I read the few pages aloud to him. And he was instantly drawn in to Horrid Henry's world! Ok, now back to John's review!

This is my review of Horrid Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb

. Horrid Henry is rude, impolite, and thinks that the pranks he pulls are funny. He thinks only of himself. Henry has a little brother named Perfect Peter. Peter is perfect. He is very polite and isn't selfish.

Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb

is made up of four stories. I'm going to tell you about my favorite story:Henry Reads a Book.

Horrid Henry's class is going to have a reading competition. Whoever reads the most books wins a trip to a brand new amusement park. Henry gets excited when he hears this and asks if comic books count. His teacher, Miss Battle-Axe shouts "NO!" I don't understand why comic books don't count; they are books afterall! Oh, and they also have to write a book report for every book they read.

Henry plans to start reading as soon as he gets home. Instead, he reads comics (not allowed!), watches TV and plays a computer game. Suddenly, it is the end of the competition and Henry hasn't read one SINGLE book! He tries to steal Perfect Peter's books from him but can't. He goes to his room and thinks he can just write down the names of all the books in his room, but remembers he has to write a report for all the books he reads. Miss Battle-Axe would recognize the books and would know that Henry didn't read them. So he makes up the titles of books and adds them to his list.

The next day at school, the winner is announced. It is Clever Clare! She read 28 books! Henry is so mad! Then, Miss Battle Axe notices that Clare accidentally wrote one book down twice! There is now a tie between Clever Clare and Horrid Henry, so they both win tickets. The tickets are to Book World (this doesn't sound like a very exciting amusement park to me, Mom, but you'd probably like it!). The story ends with Henry screaming "ARRRGGGHH!!" So, even though Henry wins the tickets, he sort of also learns a lesson about lying about the books he read. The prize is one that Clare will like because she loves books, but it's punishment for Henry because he doesn't like to read.

I then asked John why he liked the Horrid Henry books:

I like the Horrid Henry books because it has nice people in it as well as Horrid Henry. It reminds me of me and my little brother, Justin. (I ask, which character are you in the book? His response: I am Perfect Peter and Justin is Horrid Henry. I always act polite, and Justin is not.) I like the Horrid Henry books because they are chapter books that are easy to read. They make me laugh! And Horrid Henry does do some mean things, but at the end of each story he usually learns his lesson! I want to read the rest of the Horrid Henry books and hope my library at school will get them. I think my friends will like them too. Besides Henry and Peter, there are some other characters with funny names like Moody Margaret, Rude Ralph, and Beefy Bart. I think the names are funny but it's good because they also describe that person!

I just want to wrap up by reiterating what John said about why the Horrid Henry books are so fabulous. Children are drawn to Horrid Henry because he is bad, but don't think that the Horrid Henry books promote or encourage bad behavior. They don't..Horrid Henry in some manner does get punished or suffer repercussions for his actions. In addition, the illustrations are humorous and at a level that early readers can comprehend. I found that while my son loves to read these to himself, they are best experienced if read aloud!

To learn more about the other Horrid Henry books, please visit Horrid Henry's Facebook page! Thank you to Sourcebooks for providing John copies of the Horrid Henry books!

I really do like The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday feature. I don't participate terribly often, but I am a devoted rereader and just couldn't pass this one up. I'm also terribly guilty of rereading just my favorite parts of books again, but this list is going to be specifically for those books that demand to be read as a whole unit. Hopefully, I'll be able to stop at ten... : P

#1- Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls: Normally, the order in these types of posts is more a matter of which order I thought of the books than an actual number one thing. But this book — DEFINITELY belongs on my number one spot. My teacher read this book to my class in 4th grade & I had to leave the class because my 'allergies' were acting up. I have read it (no lie) over 50 times since then and every time I read it, it's a new and wonderful experience. Oh ya. And, I sob every single time I read this book. When I was a kid — I legitimately thought that I was going to go to the Ozark Mountains and retrieve the ax and lantern that Billy left there. It was that real to me. (And honestly — a small part of me is still pretty sure that if I looked hard enough, I'd find it...)

#2 — Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: If any of you are surprised to see this book on my list — I don't think we can be friends any more... No seriously. If you don't know how much I obsessively love this book, then I have failed you as a friend. It's one of the most complex, captivating and compelling books I've ever read. This is a book that slips inside your soul and makes your heart weep. I don't think it is possible for another book to surpass this one in my mind.

#3 — The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart: One of the smartest, wittiest books I've ever read. Seriously guys — I want to be Frankie, but I definitely get that I will never be that cool...

#4 — The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling: I'm pretty sure these books will be on a lot of lists. I've read the first books SO many times. I always read all the previously published books to prep for a new release, and sometimes, during the long waits between books, I'd read them all again anyway. But, I haven't read any of them since the release of the 7th and I've only read it once. No doubt there is much I missed in my desperate race to know how it all would end. These books were a huge part of growing up for me. I literally grew up with Harry (read the first book at 11, the last at 18) and it's a series I will love forever.

#5 — Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson: Everyone talks about Speak and while I absolutely and wholeheartedly love and recommend that one as well (and really need to reread it too) I feel that Twisted is often overlooked, and let me tell you — that's a shame. It's one of the most honest and authentic teenage boy POVs I've ever read, especially coming from a female author. I connected to Tyler, felt his pain and hurt right along with him. But when he starts to learn who he really is, and step up to it — Whoa man. Seriously — Love this one.

#6 — The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak: I really enjoyed this book and there was so much to it that really struck me. The narration by Death is one of the most unique and heartrending I've ever come across. But I didn't connect to it quite the way I had expected (oddly enough, the part that I felt the most disconnected to was actually the theft of the books) but I want to revisit it, because there is so much to this story to love. Amazing book, and I'd love to go back to it, and see if it's even better on the reread.

#7 — Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl: I wasn't very interested in science fiction when I was younger, pretty well convinced that it was lame and boring and so not for me. Who needs aliens. Seriously. I read this book because it was on the Newbery Honor list and it totally changed my perspective on Science Fiction. I loved this book, connected with it, really felt it, and I so want to go back and read it again to try and recapture that.

#8 — The Novels of a Kingdom by Cynthia Voigt: These four books (Jackaroo, On Fortunes Wheel, The Wings of a Falcon & Elske) are each amazing on their own (and can be read as standalone) but reading them together, realizing the connections and living these stories is something that I miss. These are a strange genre to pin down too. I think of them as fantasy, but there is nothing magical about them. They feel magical and have a Feudal/Medieval setting. I don't know what else to call them, but I can't really get over how much I truly do love and miss these books! (Honorable mention — The Tillerman Saga. Changed my life, these books did. I LOVE them)

#9 — Daughter of the Flames by Zoe Marriott: Dude. This book is awesome. It was the first time that I can remember reading a villain that truly confused me. Seriously awesome stuff. And, the action, the writing, the setting, the characters — all of it. LOVE! Zoe is pretty brave with a lot that she does in this novel, but it's truly a gripping, compelling and strong story. I loved it so much, that I totally talked to a stranger on a bus in Washington DC about this one. (A stranger who was knitting plastic grocery sacks, no less...) LOVE this book.

#10 — A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb: I don't read many ghost stories, and paranormal isn't really my favorite genre, but this is one that kept me up all night reading. I intended to read the first 1-3 pages of this and about three other books before bed, because I couldn't decide what to take to work with me, since I had a minimum of an hour commute, both ways. It was late & I needed to get my bag for tomorrow reading, so I read the first few pages, and then needed to finish the chapter, but then, just one more. Well, one more is okay. I might as well read to page 50. Oh, have to finish this chapter. One more and so on and so forth until I was finished. LOVE.

Note- This intentionally doesn't include any of the books I've read since I began blogging. There's just too many, so these are all books it's been close to 2 years (or longer) since I read. I'm serious when I say I'm a devoted rereader. It's been so long since I've really been able to just sit and reread like I really want to and I miss that. I think, that once I get through some of the books clamoring for immediate attention, I'm going to start rereading again and spend a lot more time with these books I just love and want to see again.:)

For the second day of Book Blogger Appreciation Week I was paired with Melody of Melody's Reading Corner to do an interview swap. Melody's blog is new to me but I'm excited to start reading it more regularly! Here are Melody's answers to my questions.

Ash: Do you like to eat or drink anything while you read?
Melody: While I’d love to munch on snacks (my favourite snack is chips!) and drink green tea while reading, I try not to do so whenever I can as there is the risk of dirtying my books.

Ash: We've read a few of the same books this year and I noticed some of them were YA titles. Why do you think adults are attracted to reading young adult books? What attracts you to them?
Melody: There was once a bookstore assistant who asked me why I read YA books when I should be reading adult theme books. Her question had sparked some thoughts in me then and I remember telling her this: “I enjoy reading books. Books, to me are a great escapism and also another channel where I can broaden my horizons. I believe we have things to learn and think about from any books, no matter if it is a literary fiction or a children’s book. Also, I find some YA books cover important topics and contain some wonderful messages and I like it that they create awareness and make young adults think.”
I am not sure about other readers, but I do think my above reply are just some of the few reasons why adults would pick up YA books and read them.

Ash: I noticed in your review guidelines you said you do not read nonfiction or memoir. What turns you away from those genres?
Melody: I used to read non-fiction and memoirs some years back, but they have all taken a back seat since the day I started my blog and reading so many wonderful reviews on fictions. I have a huge TBR pile due to that and thus my current main focus is on them. I will still read a non-fiction or memoir from time to time, but that will have to depend if the topic interests me or not.

Ash: You've been blogging for a long time! About four years it looks like. How has the blogging world changed since you started and how have you changed as a blogger? What do you recommend other bloggers do to create such great longevity?
Melody: I started blogging in July 2006, and at that time I was not aware of the book blogging community. I started my blog because I think it is an excellent place where I can record the books I read and how I felt about them without misplacing it like a journal. At that time, I didn’t even care if anyone read it until I received my very first comment from a fellow blogger. It then made me realise that there are people who read my blog and from there onwards, I strive to work hard on my writing. And as for the rest, as they say, is history.

Besides the above, I have to say being a blogger has definitely widen my reading horizons as there are so many wonderful bookbloggers and recommendations out there, waiting for my exploration! It is through reading these blogs that made me read out of my comfort zone, and I cannot imagine how many books I have missed during my pre-blogging days! That said, it is always better to be late than never, right?

As for ways for creating longevity for blogs, I don’t have any good recommendations except that to blog whatever you like and also to take some time in visiting and commenting on other blogs. After all what other ways to start a friendship other than saying hello and reading a new book blog you have visited? That said, I need to remind myself to comment as much as possible but sometimes, it sure is hard when you have about 250+ blogs to read and you can only read and comment so much in a day, but I will try to remedy that!

Ash: Is there any specific message you want your readers to take away from your blog?
Melody: Have fun and be yourself.


Ash: What are your three favorite books you've read in the past year?
Melody: Just three? That’s a hard one since I had read a few good books in the past year. Anyway, here are just a few which I loved (not in any order):

1) Ritual by Mo Hayder
2) Skin by Mo Hayder (Now can you tell I’m a huge fan of her?)
3) Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory
4) The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
5) The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
6) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
7) Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
8) The Lost Hours by Karen White
9) Stolen by Lucy Christopher
>10) The Ghost Writer by John Harwood

I could go on and on, but I think listing 10 books will suffice (after all I have added 7 books instead of listing only three to the list, haven’t I?).


Ash: Are you from a family of readers, or is reading something that sets you apart from other people in your family?
Melody: This is sad but true that I am the only reader in my family. My parents read the papers but rarely books, and as for my husband he mostly read books which are related to his work. My younger sister doesn’t have the interest of reading books, so that left only me. Though they are not as much as a voracious reader as I, they are supportive of my reading habits (read: buying books and occupying much of our room space) and I am thankful for that.


Ash: If you were to start a blog about anything besides books, what would it be?
Melody: I absolutely have no idea! Frankly speaking, I cannot think of anything else besides blogging about books and my reading. I don’t think anyone would want to read about my personal life anyway, haha.

You can read my answers to Melody's questions at her blog, Melody's Reading Corner!

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*Note: We are no longer regularly updating this list (as it is ginormous and time-consuming), but if you would like to be added, just send us an email with a link to one of your Weekly Geek posts. Thanks!

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Sarah at Behold, the thing that reads a lot

Sarah at Books and Other Miscellany

Sarah at GreenBeanTeenQueen

Sarah at Puss Reboots

Sarah at Small World Reads

Sari at The View from Sari's World

Serena at Savvy Verse and Wit

Shana at Literarily

Shannon at Confuzzled Books

Shannon at Just Another Musing

Sharonanne at Sharon Loves Books and Cats

Shelley at Chain Reader

Sher at A Novel Menagerie

Sherrie at Just Books

Sherry at Nite Swimming

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SmallWorld Reads

Softdrink (Jill) at Fizzy Thoughts

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Stephanie at Confessions of a Book-a-holic

Stephanie at The Written Word

Steven at Book Dads

Strumpet

Suey at It’s All About Books

Sunnymama

Susan at Black-Eyed Susan

Tammy at Tammy’s Book Nook

Tanabata at In Spring it is the Dawn

Tasses at Random Wonder

Tea at Living Life and Reading books

Ted at Bookeywookey

Teddy Rose at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Terri (teelgee) at Reading, Writing and Retirement

Terri B. at Tip of the Iceberg

Terry at Scrub-a-Dub-Tub

Tez Miller at Tez Says

That's the Book

The Abbot of Unreason

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Trish at Hey Lady!

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Un:bound

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Violette at The Mystery Bookshelf

Wendy at Caribousmom

Word Lily

Yati at Fiddle-de-dee’s not English

One Christmas while growing up, my parents gave my older sister a set of books for Christmas. She had them, which meant that I wanted them. But they weren't mine. (I'm still surprised at the number of times over the years that they have given a gift to one of us that would have been better suited for the other. Like the sewing machine... Seriously...) Anyway. I digress. So, I had to wait for the sister to either finish reading all nine books, or wait for her to get tired of them. I don't think she made it past the first few books before losing interest and then grudgingly allowed me to borrow them. (I'm pretty sure the parents were involved in pushing that...)

And let me tell you... I devoured those books. Seriously inhaled them. The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder was insanely loved by me. I cannot tell you how much I loved these books. There are nine of them, and I was reading them when I was probably about 7 or 8. Nine books. Big books too (at least for a kid that age) But I read them. And I loved them. I loved them so much that I thought they were the greatest books ever. I wanted to be Laura. For real... I begged my mom until she made me a bonnet and then I would run around outside, letting my bonnet flop off my head and stream behind me like Laura's did. (And really people, Laura was right! Bonnets are seriously annoying.)

I remember so many games played by myself that involved me being Laura in some way or another. I loved all of the books, but my very most favorite was These Happy Golden Years because that's when Almanzo proposes to Laura. It's been years since I've read these books, but I've never forgotten that scene. I even looked it up a while ago to make sure I was right, and I totally was. 'That would depend in the ring.' Sigh. It gave me butterflies. I don't even think I was 10 yet when reading this book but I remember thinking how amazing and romantic that scene was.

But then... Book the ninth. I remember starting it, so happy and eager to read about them after they had finally gotten married. But as I started reading, nothing felt right. The writing was different and even as a young kid, the narrative voice felt... off. Somehow awkward and stilted. I remember forcing myself to finish the book, because it was the end to this deeply beloved series but being incredibly disappointed in the final book. It wasn't until later that I learned that Laura had died before writing this book and her daughter (I think...) had compiled the notes she had left behind and written the final book for Laura. Made me feel pretty good that I'd picked up on the differences as a 9 year old.:)

I really want to go back and reread these books because of how much I loved them growing up, but at the same time, I'm very afraid to. I'm afraid that they won't live up to the pedestal I've placed them on in my memories. Maybe I'll wait until I have kids of my own and then try and read them together. I'd love to go back and see how many of the scenes I vividly remember from these books are the same as I remember them, or if they are even in these books (like Laura running through the rain so fast she managed to dodge the raindrops. Do you have any idea how many times I tried that?! I lived near Seattle, WA. We were no stranger to rain and I used to try, so hard to run fast enough to dodge the rain. But alas. I never managed it.)

Any of you have memories of reading about the many adventures of Laura on the prairie?

Complete List of the books:

Little House in the Big Woods
Little House on the Priarie
Farmer Boy
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years
The First Four Years

(Also, I hate the cover art with the real people on it... I loved the Garth Williams illustrated covers, even as a kid. They just fit the books so much better)

In most Memory Monday posts, I talk about a specific book or series that I remember strongly from childhood, although there have been a few posts devoted to authors as well. Today, I wanted to do something a little different.

I hope you've noticed that starting today, Jacinda at The Reading Housewives and I are hosting a summer long challenge devoted to reading books from the Newbery and Printz award lists. If you come back later today, I will have a post talking about what you can expect from me throughout the next three months in relation to the challenge, but I thought I'd also use my Memory Monday post to give some more love to the Newbery List.

The Newbery Award has been around since 1922, but I wasn't really aware of it until I was in college. Not specifically anyway. I had a vague idea of what it was, but nothing more than that. Then, I started noticing that an awful lot of the books I had read and loved as a kid had received either a Newbery Medal, or the Honor. It started me to thinking more about the Award and what it means to reading, and I pulled a complete list from ALA's website. I started going through the list, marking off those books I had previously read, looking up some of the books I hadn't and I decided that there was a lot of good to be discovered on this list and that I was going to read it. ALL.

So, here is a list of the Newbery books I especially loved as a kid (probably not complete, but forgive me... It's been a long time since I've read some of these) Seeing a book on this list does not count as their 'official' Memory Monday post. Some of these books or authors have already been spotlighted, some have plans for a spotlight in the future, and some, well, who knows.

* The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder — Oh man oh man oh man. My parents gave my older sister a boxed set of all nine Little House books for Christmas when I was around 7 or 8 and she wasn't terribly interested in them. But I ate them up. I devoured those books, and I wanted to be Laura. I used to play prairie in my backyard. Five of the nine books in this series were awarded honors in the 1930s & 40s.

* Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech — I read this book in (I think) 5th grade and I couldn't keep my excitement about it to myself. I went and asked my teacher for special permission to do an extra book report, complete with a diorama art project because I wanted everyone to know how wonderful this book really was. It also inspired a Sharon Creech binge and I've loved her ever since.

* The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley — I know I've mentioned these books before, but these books are the reason that I was willing to give the entire fantasy genre another chance. My friend bribed me to read them in 8th grade and I was completely blown away.

* Dicey's Song and A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt — These are books 2 and 3 in the Tillerman Sage and oh my goodness are these books powerful reads. The whole series is full of wonderfully real characters, full of pain and sorrow, hope, truth and trust. I've never met anyone else like Dicey, either in fiction or real life. She is one of the most fully drawn characters I think I've ever come across and every story that connects to theirs is powerful. These are the only two that made it on the list (a Medal and an honor, respectively but I believe that all of them easily deserved it)

* Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright — I never should have read this book, and it most certainly isn't a book I would have picked up on my own at that age. But, I had tried to buy a book through one of those Scholastic book orders and they ran out of the book that I had ordered. Rather than send us a refund, the book order sent replacement books they thought we would like. How they went from a book about the sinking of the Titanic (I was crazy obsessed) to a book about a girl on a farm, holding a pig on the cover is completely beyond me, but I read it, because I owned it, and figured, Might as well. But I didn't really expect much from it. But I read it over and over and although I still have that same copy, it's obvious looking at the book that it has been very well loved.

* Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine — This is one of the first books that introduced me to fairy tale retellings. This wasn't my fairy tale retelling, but it was incredibly influential in sparking my deep love for the genre, and it was (I think) the first I had read that took some serious liberties with the story, and deviated in an obvious and blatant way from the original. And I loved every second of it.

* Charlotte's Web by E.B. White — I shouldn't like this book. I'm not an animal person. Even as a kid, I never really wanted a pet and even when I was excited about an animal, the novelty worse off with astonishing speed and I was done. I also don't normally like reading books narrated by animals, especially when those animals think/talk/act like people do. But this book was wonderful. I read it over and over again and was just thrilled anew every time I read about the wonderful words in Charlotte's almost magical web.

So, these are some of my very favorite Newbery reads from childhood, and each of these was a large part of why I decided to read the list in its entirety. Do you have any old (or new) favorites from the list? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

Today's Memory Monday post is a bit different from the norm. Rather than taking a specific reading memory, in spirit of Just Contemporary month, I want to spotlight some Contemporary reads for kids that I think could really draw them in and introduce them to the awesomeness that is Contemporary Lit at a young age. And next week, I'm going to list some of my favorite older YA Contemps to pull in those more reluctant/hesitant older readers.:)

Many of these are books that I have mentioned before, some of them even have entire Memory Monday posts already (they are linked). But this is a reference-type list so that all these awesome Contemps for kids are in one place. (There are many more books that fully deserve to be on this list, but I had to have some limits...)

First is Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. This is an older book, and it's actually set even farther back than that. It's never specifically mentioned in a timeline, but I get the feeling that the book takes place somewhere between the 30s and 50s. So while it's not actually Contemporary, it is Realistic fiction and it's the book that changed what reading meant for me. This was the first book that really hit me and taught me that there was more to reading than just a fun story, or words on a page. I had always loved books, but this book is what really taught me what it means to read.

Willo Davis Roberts is another great writer who really appeals to kids. I devoured her books. She made me believe that I could be amazing. The young kids in her stories were always the heroes and the most frightfully amazing things happened to them. It sparked my imagination and I had wildly exciting day dreams and my barbies had the most interesting lives, partly because of these books. (My mom was also terrified that I'd manage to get myself kidnapped because I believed so strongly in these kids, and just knew that I could handle it myself). But she fanned my love of reading and I don't know any kids that don't love to hear about how much smarter kids are than adults... :)

The Babysitter's Club by Ann M. Martin is a series I inhaled. I used to check out 15-20 of these books at a time and have them all back to the library within two weeks, usually faster. They were exciting and real and I so wanted to have my own babysitters club, once I was old enough to babysit. (I started reading them in 2nd grade, so...) The girls in these stories weren't perfect. They lied, fought, made mistakes, and there were always consequences. But they learned from them within their short little stories and became better babysitters, better friends and better people because of them, and I know that some of the lessons I learned in these books helped shape the person I am.

Sharon Creech so totally deserves a place on this list as well. Her stories are about growing up, facing challenges, accepting new experiences and just learning from life. They are told with that frank honesty of a childhood with that raw emotion of true knowledge of life. I can't even begin to describe how strongly I loved Sharon Creech, and still do, actually. Hers are stories that never get old.

Although I didn't read as much of them as my peers did, Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary are both great Contemporary writers. Beverly with her Ramona series and Judy with those Fudge books speak to that younger kid and seem able to use an age appropriate writing style to justify and validate what these kids are going through before they really have the words to explain it themselves.

If the kid in your life is able to handle more mature topics in their stories, I cannot recommend Cynthia Voigt's Tillerman saga enough. I know that I have talked about these books before, but they were a hugely important part of my growing up and formative reading years. I think these books helped me to understand the difference between putting on a brave/false front and true strength. Dicey had to be strong for her siblings. She had to grow up faster than any child ever should and even though I was her age or younger when reading these books, I was so incredibly proud of her.

Maniac Magee by Jerri Spinelli has an element of myth or fantasy to it even though nothing magical or fantastical happens. But the title character of the story has that sort of impact on people, even though he's young. There is much that a kid can learn from this story, but it is also a wonderful story, wonderfully told that will appeal to all sorts of kids, interested in all sorts of reading.

Sonya Sones writes in free verse and, if I'm remembering right, she was my first verse novelist. Her books are geared more in the tween spot, I believe, for those who are no longer children, but still not quite into their teens (11-14 or so). Because of the verse, the books read quickly but the stories lose none of their emotion or depth because of the sparsity of the writing. An easy read for those reluctant to pick up a book but still phenomenal stories.

Shiloh and Hatchet are both well written stories that appeal to younger kids, boys especially. Shiloh is about loving a dog and learning to protect creatures weaker than ourselves (and it's a dog book where the dog doesn't die!!) and Hatchet is a story of wilderness survival and strength.

Betsy Byars writes some fun MG Contemporary and she was my 10 year old brothers very favorite author for a long time (his personal favorite was The Cybil War) and both Andrew Clements and Gordon Korman write some really fun stories as well (I especially loved No Talked and No More Dead Dogs respectively).

Rules by Cynthia Lord is about a young girl whose brother is autistic and she struggles with appearances a lot throughout the novel. But it's a wonderfully sweet story that I absolutely adored. Very deserving of its Newbery Honor.

E.L. Konigsburg writes some very real characters, even if they aren't in very real situations. Like the characters in her Mixed Up Files who end up running away from home and spending the night in a museum (among other things). But her books, especially The View from Saturday were amazing reading experiences for me.

I could go on and on. There are so many wonderful books out there, so much amazing Contemporary for kids. Do you have any favorites? Books that made you love Contemporary as a kid? Contemps that kids you know love? Let me know!! Leave a comment letting me know if you've read any of the books I've listed and/or if you know of any I've missed!

Once again, here is a link up of all the Contemporary happenings I've stumbled across in the past week on blogs other than Shanyn's and my own! There are some seriously awesome things happening around the blogosphere, so click through the list and check it out!

And since it is absolutely impossible for me to really be aware of all that is happening everywhere, if you have seen or posted anything Contemporary related, Let me know! I will either add it to this list, or include it in next week's post!

Awesome Reading Challenge: The Keeping It Real Contemporary YA Reading Challenge hosted by Kat @ I Write, I Read, I Review. And, there will be prizes!:)

REVIEWS:

Sarah @ The Storybound Girl — Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Candace @ Candace's Book Blog — Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler, Amplified by Tara Kelly, Vintage Veronica by Erica S. Perl, North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headly

L.L. @ The Story Girl — I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak

Katelyn @ Katelyn's Blog — The Pull of Gravity by Gae Polisner and My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

Melina @ Reading Vacation — Past Perfect by Lelia Sales and The Daughters Join the Party by Joanna Philbin (this is the third book in the series.)

Author Jessi Kirby — Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

Asheley @ Into the Hall of Books — We the Animals by Justin Torres

Samual @ Books for All Seasons — The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott

Danya @ A Tapestry of Words — Dear Bully by Various

Shannon @ Books Devoured — Looking for Alaska John Green and The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

The Busy Bibliophile — Artichoke's Heart by Suzanne Supplee

Anna @ Anna Reads — Bunheads by Sophie Flack

Raquel @ The Book Barbies — Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Page @ One Book at a Time — Lie by Caroline Bock

Emily @ Red House Books — Reasons to be Happy by Katrina Kittle

Giselle @ Xpresso Reads — dancergirl by Carol M. Tanzman, and Room by Emma Donoghue (probably more Adult than YA, but it is definitely a crossover book).

Somer @ A Bird's Eye View — Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Liz @ Consumed by Books — The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Nicci @ Paper Dreams — Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez (she also wrote a fun — Five Reasons to Read Virtuosity post!)

Julie @ A Tale of Many Reviews — The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Chris @ Between the Covers — Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Ginger @ Greads! — Amplified by Tara Kelly

Carrie @ Stalking the Bookshelves — Saving June by Hannah Harrington and The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen

Rowena @ The Book Scoop — My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

Mindi @ Books Complete Me — Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

Sarah @ YA Love — How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

Jennifer @ Novel Thoughts — Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Aubrey @ holes in my brain — How to Save a Life — Sara Zarr

Mary @ Anxirium — Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Lori @ Pure Imagination — Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Lisa @ The Garden of Books — Where She Went by Gayle Forman and Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

John @ Dreaming in Books — Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

Kelli @ I'd So Rather Be Reading — Going Too Far — Jennifer Echols

Princess Bookie — Past Perfect by Lelia Sales and Pure Red by Danielle Joseph

For the Love of Contemporary — His Eyes by Renee Carter

Tiffany @ Tiffany Reads — The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder and Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

Ashley @ Bookaholics Anonymous — Raw Blue by Kirsty Egar

Hannah @ Paperback Treasures — If I Tell by Janet Gurtler, Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson and Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott.

Bailey @ IB Book Blogging — Past Perfect by Lelia Sales

The Book Faerie — The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder (WARNING — This review DOES contain spoilers)

Jenny @ The Mimosa Stimulus — Amplified by Tara Kelly and Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

Sophia @ The Book Basement — If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen and The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Natalie @ Quirky Vintage — Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (not completely Contemporary, but mostly & amazing, so...)

Karen @ For What It's Worth — Where You Are by Tammara Webber

Lisa @ The Garden of Books — Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott (this is actually a short — What on Earth could I possibly say about this level of intensity — post)

AUTHORS:

The Nerd Girls @ Books to the Sky Interviewed Janet Gurtler! (And there is a giveaway!)

For the Love of Contemporary spotlighted Sarah Ockler!!!

Candace @ Candace's Book Blog interviewed Anne Pfeffer (and there is an international giveaway!) and she also interviewed Stasia Kehoe!

The Contemps blog spotlighted new author Josie Bloss and her novel Faking Faith.

Sam @ Books for all Seasons interviewed Melissa Kantor!

Liz @ Consumed by Books has a fun This or That Interview with Hannah Harrington!

Hannah @ Paperback Treasures has a guest post from Megan Bostic about the songs that inspired her book!

Melina @ Reading Vacation has a guest post from Joanna Philbin.

Kristi @ The Story Siren has a guest post from Catherine Ryan Hyde (with a giveaway)

DISCUSSION TOPICS

Allison @ The Allure of Books vlogged about her favorite YA Contemporary Books
Mandie Baxter: Why I Love Contemporary
Rowena @ The Book Scoop: Why I Love Contemporary
Author Carol Tanzman: Why I Write Contemporary YA
Bee @ Dreamcatcher's Lair: Her favorite Dark YA books. (Not all are Contemporary, but most of them are!)
Author Abbi Glines: Her 11 favorite Indie Contemporary YA Romances

Tough Stuff in Contemporary YA: (again, many of these were written as guest posts and I am only identifying the author of the post, not the host blog)

Rie @ Mission to Read
Bonnie @ A Backwards Story
Candace @ Candace's Book Blog
Jacinda @ Reading Housewives
Katelyn @ Katelyn's Blog
Cara @ Chasing Words
Mandie Baxter
Nicci @ Paper Dreams
Shannon @ Books Devoured
Ginger @ GReads!

Again — If you have seen or written a post talking about Contemporary YA or reviewing a book, LET ME KNOW!! I'd LOVE to include you in the link up AND I personally read and comment on all of them. (It takes a while, but I'm LOVING It!) So leave me a comment, shoot me an email or send me a tweet and I'll add you to my list!:)

This week's Booking Through Thursday is all of these questions!

1. Favorite childhood book?
Lily's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes was my favorite picture book. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery was my favorite chapter bok.

2. What are you reading right now?
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, The Best American Essays 2008, and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion.

4. Bad book habit?
Putting them down on the table with the spine up.

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
The Catcher in the Rye, About a Mountain by John D'Agata, Sleeping Naked is Green by Vanessa Farguharson, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

6. Do you have an e-reader?
Yes, I have a nook.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
Several, although lately I've been focusing more on one at a time.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
Oh yeah, I read a lot more and I'm more conscious about what I think while I'm reading.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far?)
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides.

11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
Not very often.

12. What is your reading comfort zone?
Genres I know I can count on like literary nonfiction, graphic novels, young adult series, and classics.

13. Can you read on the bus?
Yeah I do it all the time.

14. Favorite place to read?
Outside as long as I don't have the sun to my back.

15. What is your policy on book lending?
I'll lend to anyone I'm friends with.

16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
I used to but now I use bookmarks and sticky notes.

17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Often.

18. Not even with text books?
Still do it here.

19. What is your favorite language to read in?
English though I can read some French.

20. What makes you love a book?
Strong female characters, strong characters of any kind, detailed description but not flowery language.

21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I come away from a book thinking it either changed the way I look at something or helped me learn a lot about a subject or life.

22. Favorite genre?
Literary nonfiction.

23. Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?)
Current literary fiction.

24. Favorite biography?
Wild Child: Life with Jim Morrison by Linda Ashcroft.

25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
I've read fitness walking books and study books.

26. Favorite cookbook?
Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook.

27. Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

28. Favorite reading snack?
Popcorn or oranges.

29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. I think I expected too much from it.

30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
Depends on the critic. I usually agree with book reviews from the Believer. Bookmarks is more touch and go.

31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
I feel that I always give reasons for why I don't like a book so I don't mind giving negative reviews. I try to find something good even in books I dont like.

32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose?
Dutch.

33. Most intimidating book you’ve ever read?
Middlemarch by George Eliot.

34. Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin?
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

35. Favorite Poet?
Emily Dickinson.

36. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
I didn't have a library card until last week (I know, I know!) but including the university library I would say about 3 or 4.

37. How often have you returned book to the library unread?
Frequently when I was younger, which is why I didn't get a library card again until last week.

38. Favorite fictional character?
I have way too many! One I always remember fondly is Marcus in About a Boy by Nick Hornby.

39. Favorite fictional villain?
Lydia Gwilt from Armadale by Wilkie Collins.

40. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Some literary nonfiction and historical fiction.

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Three or four months probably.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Most recently I have been very challenged by Surviving Paradise. Not sure if I'll finish it or not.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Noise, other conversations, my own nagging thoughts.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Jane Eyre! The PBS version.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
I wasn't too fond of The Lightning Thief.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
Oh boy, no clue. Definitely upwards $150 dollars.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Not that often, surprisingly.

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Boring plot.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I like to keep them on shelves, but in no particular order.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I prefer to keep them.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Gone With the Wind, even though I said I'd read it by the end of the summer.

52. Name a book that made you angry.
I can name an essay that made me angry. Ticket to the Fair by David Foster Wallace.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
I wasn't sure if I'd like Candy Girl by Diablo Cody and really enjoyed it.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
The Luxe series.

Did any of my answers surprise you?

I am soincredibly excited to have Stephanie on my blog today! She is amazing. I read Ballads of Suburbia earlier this year and was completely blown away by the book and the stories within the story. Stephanie wrote such a raw and emotional book that I was consumed by it for days and now I talk about it all the time. (Wanna read my review? :) ) So, when I got the idea for Just Contemporary, I knew that I wanted to ask Stephanie to be a part of it and I made embarrassing noises she emailed me yes!:)

Here are some links to places where you can see more of Stephanie — Her website, her blog, Rookie an online magazine she writes for (and is crazy excited about, with good reason to be), and Twitter. And now — The Interview:

I've heard you mention before that Ballads of Suburbia is a deeply personal book, one that a lot of you went into writing. What was it like, to write a book like that? A book that used so much of you? Did that make it easier or harder to write that I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone?

It was definitely a lot harder to write than IWBYJR, though that book dealt with some pretty hefty things, too, so there were some scenes that were difficult, but all of Ballads was hard. I mean I guess writing the setting was easier because unlike with IWBYJR, I wasn't making it up, I was writing about the place I lived during the time I lived there, so it was all in my memory, but that was the only easy part about that book. Early on, I worried a lot that I didn't want to make it too autobiographical. Fortunately as soon as I stopped thinking about it and started really creating the characters, especially through their ballads, I was relieved to find that they were all fictional... Well, Kara has a lot in common with me, but her story is different. Then it was time for revisions and the main feedback I got from my editor on it was something like "get closer to Kara's emotions, get into her head and really let us feel what she's feeling." At first I was all mad, thinking, I did that! Kara's head was basically my head when I was a teenager. But then I reread it and realized I'd actually held back a lot during my first few drafts, not intentionally but because I didn't want to go back there. The things I dealt with as a teenager, primarily the depression and the self-injury affected me into my early twenties. I'd felt like I'd healed, but probably only about five years before I was working on Ballads, so I had those emotions locked up pretty carefully and I knew it would be scary to revisit them. I reread old journals and things I wrote about cutting to get into Kara's mindset. I actually got so scary close to her that I was exhausted both mentally and physically when I finished the revision. When I was a teenager I'd had an ulcer form from all the stress and that ulcer had healed in my mid-twenties, but started acting up again after I finished Ballads. It really was the hardest thing I've ever done, but as a result, it is also the thing I am most proud of.

Does I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone draw from your personal experiences the way that Ballads did?

Both books in a way are me looking at my own life and saying "What could have happened if... " With Ballads it was, "What could have happened if I did heroin more than once" because in real life I did it one time and it scared the shit out of me, so I sobered up completely for the rest of high school. With IWBYJR it was, "What would have happened if I actually could have learned to play the music I loved so much." If Kara from Ballads was the girl I was was, then Emily from IWBYJR is the girl I wanted to be. However, I actually have more in common with Louisa. Without giving the book away, I'll say that Louisa is carrying an awful secret that has to do with a guy she dated in high school, while I dated a guy who didn't do quite as bad things as this guy, he did some pretty bad things to me and while I didn't do what she did to the guy, I still came away from the situation, well to put it bluntly, really fucked up and I ran away in a manner of speaking for awhile, but not as long as Louisa did. Once again, with her I projected, "What would have happened if I never came to terms with that guy did to me... " I know that a lot of readers really don't like or relate to Louisa, but I actually feel for her because that could have been me. For the most part though, IWBYJR came from my love of punk rock, especially girl bands like Sleater-Kinney whose song "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone" I named the book after. I dreamed of a world where they would take over the mainstream rock airwaves.

Did you have a goal while writing either of these books? A specific message or meaning you hoped people would take away from the experience? Or were they just stories that needed telling?

They were just stories that needed telling. I honestly wrote both books because they were the books I needed as a teenager. I was a punk kid and I wanted there to be this big girl rock revolution, and would have loved reading about it, so I wrote it. On a more serious note, my friends and I were dealing with some pretty heavy stuff like the characters in Ballads, but in the mid-90s there weren't really YA books that dealt with that or if they did, they were all preachy and after-school special like. I just wanted to see someone like who survived so that I could draw strength from that. I wrote that story to give voice to teenage me and all the other teenagers like me who weren't seeing their stories out there.

Do you look back on either of these novels and see things you would like to change? Things you wish you would have done differently?

There is one minor character in IWBYJR that I wanted to kill off, but my agent told me not to. I still sort of wish I had. I can't really say more without spoilers. There are probably sentences or words here or there that I might change just because everyone grows as a writer (hopefully) so I might see a phrase as awkward or overwritten now that I didn't back then, but if I intentionally looked for that stuff it would make me crazy, so I don't. I am very proud of those books. I told the stories I wanted to tell. The only thing I wish is that I'd fought harder for them to be marketed more as YA. Sometimes they were in the adult sections of book stories and libraries and I want more teens to be able to find them.

I know the 'Bartender Book' is considered to be more Women's Fiction than YA, but is there crossover appeal? Are the people (specifically the teens) who enjoyed your previous novels likely to want to read the Bartender Book?

I must say that the Bartender Book isn't the actual title, I'm just being all secretive about that because I'm afraid of jinxing it, but yeah it is set a lot in a bar, so that and the fact that the main characters are 18 and 38 makes it "women's fiction" rather than YA, but like IWBYJR it is a mother/daughter story. The mother is in the story a lot more than Louisa was in IWBYJR because the chapters alternate, but the mother is actually a lot more like a teenager than the daughter. I actually tried to inject a bit more humor into it because I had to after writing a book like Ballads or that ulcer would come back for good, but it's not a "light" book by any means
It deals with a lot of the same issues as my other books though, like finding a home or place to fit in, coping with grief and life not turning out like how you thought it would be. I'm pitching it as "an edgier version of The Gilmore Girls." So if you liked that show and/or if you like my other books, I think you'll like this one. At least I hope so!

Any hints or ideas you can give us for what is in the works next?

The Bartender Book is only just going on submission, so I'm not deep into anything else yet. I have three ideas... No, two, I think I've successfully limited it down to two. They are both YA, so a YA project is definitely next. They are both the edgy, real-life type of stories that readers have come to expect from me, but both would have a paranormal/magical realism twist to them because I have always admired Francesca Lia Block and wanted to add some small element of strangeness to the very real contemporary issues that my characters are dealing with. Though I love reading paranormal and sci-fi books, I'm kind of afraid to dip more than my feet into those waters, but I feel like I should at least deep my feet in and challenge myself if that makes sense.

Other than the writing itself, what is the hardest part of being a writer.

Honestly there are a lot of hard parts. Waiting is hard. Things happen at a snail's pace in publishing. Rejection is super hard and so is reading really nasty reviews. I am not a thick-skinned person and that is why I would say hardest of all is the self-doubt and the worrying. Even though I have two books published, I worry that I am not good enough to get published again. I worry that I will never be successful enough as a writer to properly make ends meet and should get a more reliable job. I worry that I will run out of ideas or start to suck. I worry that deep down I really do suck, but have been managing to squeak by somehow. In short, there is a lot of self-doubt and worrying that goes along with writing for me. But I do my damnedest to push past it because I love telling stories, I don't know what I would do if I couldn't write.

Anything else you'd like to add or share with us?

I just want to thank you for having me and supporting contemporary fiction!

You are so welcome Stephanie and thank you so very much for being a part of this event! You are amazing and I for one am very grateful that you keep writing! Can't wait to read your next book!

And now — The giveaway! Because Stephanie is all kinds of awesome, she has donated a signed copy of either of her books, winners choice! How awesome is that?! Both are amazing and I'm so excited that you will have a chance to win!

To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter below! It's open US/CN only will end Dec 10 and there are chances for extra entries!! I promise, you don't want to miss this one! Here is the link to Rookie , the online magazine. Going there will get you extra giveaway entries!

Maybe something else good came out of Sleeping Naked is Green, or maybe this is something I've been thinking about for awhile and the book just got me thinking about actually doing something about it. I read. A lot. And I buy a lot of books, which means my paper use is astronomical. I mean really, I look around my house and I see it everywhere. So how do I reconcile the fact that I use all of this paper but still consider myself a green activist?

One way to think about it is that everyone has their vice. Some people have gas guzzlers, some people buy a lot of coffee at Starbucks and use the paper cups instead of bringing their own, and some people buy a lot of imported foods. I just happen to be a reader, and if it wasn't this it would be something else. But that doesn't mean there aren't things I can do to make my vice, say, my hobby, a little nicer on the environment. I have some ideas on how I can do this, and maybe you have some ideas too (I'd love to hear them!).

Here are few things I'm asking myself to do.
1. Simply buy less books. Only buy books you know you will read, no matter how discounted they are, what deal is going on, or how popular a book is. Do your research before you buy, and keep a list of books you hear about. If you continually return to that book as something you want to read then go for it.
2. Buy books used whenever possible, and if the book is unavailable in a local used bookstore but you still want to buy it, order it from a company that has green shipping like Better World Books. Used books are just fantastic. They're usually cheaper, they're better for the environment because it's recycling, and used bookstores are just fun to browse. I've also found that almost anything that is a year old or more can be found on Better World Books, which is a great organization. They have eco-friendly shipping and they help fund global literacy!
3. Use that library card. For books I want to read once, or I'm not sure I want to buy, I need to start using the library. There are so many books I have that I shouldn't have bought. I just read them once, I'm never going to look at them again, I just wanted to read the story and now I'm done. Why did I not use the library?
4. Sell, give away, or donate books that I am no longer using. I might try to give away some of my books on here, and then whatever is left I'll try to sell and donate the remainders. I'm just sick of some of these books taking up space in my house, and even if I don't get anything out of them (monetarily) I would still love to have that extra space and now I'm not wasting the book.
5. Walk or bike to the bookstore and library. If I'm able to obtain the book in Iowa City than it's best to get there without a car. If I do go to the bookstore in the car, then I need to put it with my other car errands/work.

What are some of your ideas for greening your reading?

I don't participate in the meme over at The Broke and the Bookish very often — it's pretty sporadic. But every so often, the topic is such that I must share. Today's topic is the Top Ten Books that Came Recommended. Basically, those books I never would have read without someone pushing it into my hands and demanding that I 'go'. To be honest, most of the books I read, especially before I started blogging, are books that I found for myself. But, there definitely are some books out there that I wouldn't have read without that extra little push. So — here they are.

1) Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta — Anyone who has followed me on Twitter for any length of time knows that I am almost obsessively in love with this book. It's one of those books that ruins you for anything else for a while, because nothing, and I mean nothing can match the brilliance that is this book. I read this book because it won the 2009 Printz Award. So, it's not really a recommendation, because it didn't come from a specific person, but I'm counting it, because I love it. With all my heart I love it, and I would never have known about it without that list.
(The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart gets an honorable mention for the exact same reason)

2) Pretend You Don't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark — I've talked about this one before, but my mom handed me this book when I was 11/12 because I wouldn't stop whining about needing something to read. I devoured it and went right back to my mom begging for more. I was in love with MHC for years. I've read all but her newest couple releases, and there is still something comforting about going back and reading those old favorites again.

3) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak — This is one that I probably would have picked up on my own without a recommendation, but it would have taken me a lot longer to learn about it, and to get it actually read. It was all over Goodreads for a long time, and it seemed like everyone I talked to on that site constantly raved about this book. I remember checking it out from the library at least three times, but never managing to get it read before it was came due again. I finally just sat down to read it, and it blew my mind away. I loved it. Thank you random Goodread friends.

4) Twilight by Stephenie Meyer — I don't care what all you haters say. In my experience, most of those who profess deep and undying hatred for this series were among the most ardent fans when it was 'cool' to like these books. This is not my normal read. When my friend recommended the book to me, I didn't even need to give her the 'look' before she was stumbling over her words, telling me why it wasn't as bad as it sounded. So, I read it. And I really enjoyed it. It's not some great piece of literary fiction. But it's never claimed to be. It's a teenage vampire love story for crying out loud! Read it to be entertained. Stephenie Meyer tells a great story, even if her characters would totally suck in real life. This is also the book that made me decide it was okay to give Paranormal fiction a chance. (still don't love it, but I enjoy it upon occasion)

5) The Hero and the Crown and The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley — This is another set I've mentioned before. I hated fantasy when I was younger. I thought I was 'above' the genre, and refused to read it. My friend in 8th grade bribed me to read these two books and I loved them. They changed the way I read.

6) Enchantment by Orson Scott Card — This is one of my older sister's very favorite books. (She actually talks about it in a guest post) It's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty set between ancient Ukranie/Russia and modern America. It's a powerful read and one that has become one of my favorite fairy tale retellings. It's amazing.

7) The Kite Runner- by Khaled Hosseini — This is another book that I saw mentioned on Goodreads all the time. Everyone who read it seemed moved by it, and I wanted to better understand what everyone was talking about. So I read it, and let me tell you — I didn't remember the last time that I had been so incredibly moved by a book. It broke my heart. And Hosseini's second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns just might be even better.

8) Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan — This is a series that was first recommended to my by my 15 year old brother. He loves this series, and has been trying to convince me to read it for a while now. Then, one of my groups on Goodreads read it as a group read, and I decided that I might as well read it. I wasn't expecting anything more than moderate enjoyment, but wow! I haven't been this caught up in a fantasy story like this in a long while. There were some inconsistencies and things in the story, but I was so caught up in the lives of these young characters that I didn't really care. It was such a fun read, and now I can't wait to continue the series!

9) The Book by M. Clifford — This is a by-choice self-published novel (as in, the author didn't seek and doesn't want an actual publishing contract) that I would never have heard of without Lori from The Next Best Book Blog. She reviewed this book, a dystopian novel about a society where the government has taken complete control of the written word by making printed books illegal (environmental hazard/damage) and put all literature into one e-reader, called 'The Book'. The main character accidentally learns that they are really censoring the books, removing 'undesireable' words, phrases, or pages **cough**newHuckFinntranslation**cough**. This is an especially scary dystopian novel, because it could really happen. I won a copy on Lori's blog and read straight through this one. It would have been a shame to have missed this.

10) A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb — This is a book that I didn't expect to like. I had heard a lot of people on Goodreads talk about it, and grabbed it from the library on a whim. (this is something I do regularly. I have over 300 books sitting in my bedroom right now that I could/should be reading, but I will go to the library fairly often and just walk up and down the aisles, grabbing books that look interesting. Some I read right away, some I never read at all...) Anyway... I grabbed a copy of this and brought it home, but didn't expect much. A few days later, I was getting ready for bed and needed to pick out my book for the next day. (I was living in Arlington, VA at the time, and worked in DC). I had an hour+ commute to and from work, and a book was a must. So, I grabbed a few library books from the piles in my room and decided that I would read the first few pages and take whatever book grabbed my attention. I started with this book and told myself I'd stop after 3 6 10 20 one more chapter just one more okay, one more maybe two more just one more just till this part is over. And then, suddenly, the book was done, it was way later than I should have been going to bed, and I still didn't have anything to read on my commute. This one was awesome!

So, there you have it. Those are my top ten books I'm so glad you forced me to read. What are yours?! I'd love to hear from you! Leave me a comment, so I can come check out your top lists and add some more books to my insanely large tbr pile!

There were always a lot of books at my house growing up and the books ranged from the youngest picture books to heavy adult books. My parents have a really pretty collection of leather bound books that I used to sit and just stare at.

There were a lot of picture books around my house and I used to simply love going through them and reading them. A lot I 'read' for the first time when I was far to you to recognize even basic words, but I loved them just the same. And when I learned to read for real and was able to figure out for myself where the stories went? Love.

One of the picture book 'series' that was frequently at my house, both because we owned a bunch and because we'd get them from the library were the Berenstain Bears books written by Stan and Jan Berenstain. I loved the stories of Brother and Sister.

It wasn't until I was much older that I started realizing the books were actually quite useful as teaching tools. Don't ask me how I missed it before, but with names like The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room, or The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies and The Berenstain Bears and Too Much TV the messages seem to me now to be kind of hard to miss. (And I will say that my parent's reaction to the 'gimmies' at the grocery store was much better. In the book, Mama & Papa end up buying a treat every time they go to the store, but only one. At my house, if you threw a giant fit in the grocery store, Mom would leave her full cart of groceries in the middle of the aisle, leave the store and you just knew you were SO busted. And I tell you what — it only ever had to happen once)

But I digress.

I remember reading The Berenstain Bears and the Sitter and thinking it was so ominous. This big mean lady come to watch the children. And I remember finishing the book and still finding the cover and the idea to be unpleasant, even though she really ends up being a nice woman. (As a related [ish] side note, I was really hard on babysitters...)

There are so many stories to read and so many adventures to have with these two cubs. There are stories for every occasion, every holiday and every... parenting crisis a person can think of and it just makes me happy to think of these books again. They remind me of being young, of sitting around and seeing books left lying on the floor (along with Mercer Meyer's Little Critter Books, but more on those later) and I have all kinds of fun memories of growing up tied to these books.

Anyone else remember reading these? And did you know you were being 'taught' when you were younger, or does that come as a surprise to you to?

In case you don't know me, I like to make up medical sounding names for my book obsessions. For example: P.A.B.D.. I'd now like to introduce Shiny Book Syndrome. This is usually accompanied by a book hording problem yet to be named.

So what is Shiny Book Syndrome? It is when a person only wants to read their newest book and leave piles of poor unread books on their shelves to collect dust.

What can you do to alleviate the symptoms?

My first suggestion would be to make a list of all the books you own. I use GoogleDocs. I start by creating a form and then can organize the spreadsheet to see what I have and if I've read it yet or not. (For more info on how to do this, go here).

After you know what you have, I'd suggest jumping in on some reading challenges to motivate you to read the books you already own. Here are some challenges designed just for that!

• Bottoms Up Reading Challenge hosted by Ellz Readz
  • read books from the bottom of your TBR pile
• A-Buck-A-Book Challenge hosted by DelGal’s Book Reviews
  • save a $1 for every book your read
• Buy One Book and Read It Challenge hosted by My Friend Amy
  • this seems backwards… me telling you to buy a book… the catch is you HAVE to read the book you buy

    

• Finish That Series Challenge in 2010 hosted by Royal Reviews
  • “This is an opportunity for you to finish all of those series that have been sitting on your book shelf looking at you.”
• Read It Again Challenge hosted by Twiga’s Books
  • re-reading old books can help with not purchasing new ones

    

• Read Your Own Books Challenge for 2010 hosted by MizB’s Reading Challenges
  • simple enough… read the books you own! (no rereads allowed)
• Reading From My Shelves Project in 2010 hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea
  • min of 20 books and you are asked to pass the books along when you’re done
• 2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge hosted by J. Kaye’s Book Blog
  • participants are encouraged to read from their libraries
• TBR Challenge for 2010 hosted by MizB’s Reading Challenges
  • “Pick 12 books – one for each month of the year – that you’ve been wanting to read (that have been on your “To Be Read” list) for 6 months or longer, but haven’t gotten around to.)”
  • also offered in a “lite” version : TBR Lite for 2010

Last week I announced a self-challenge I'm undertaking in the month of May. I'm reading books that are approximately 200 pages or less for the entire month. I'm happy to say that it's gone extremely well this week-- I've already finished four books! I read Missouri

and The Only Dance in Iowa: A History of Six-Player Girls' Basketball

, which I recently purchased, and Lonesome Traveler and Summer Rain

, which I've had on my shelves since high school. It was a double whammy for me because Summer Rain and Missouri are both books in translation, which helps me on my goal of reading ten books in translation for my Day Zero Challenge. All in all it was a successful week of reading. Have any of you started reading short books for this month? I'd love to hear about your progress or plans!

I have four days left of my semester. I've been a little slow with blogging lately so I'm looking forward to being in the swing of things again. I actually don't have too much work this week. I have a five page comic to finish today, a Renaissance poetry take home final to finish tomorrow, and an entrepreneurship exam on Thursday evening. Then I will be free of this semester! Next year will be the final year of my undergraduate career. It's going to be a weird one since I'm taking almost the minimum amount of semester hours and in the fall I'll only be in one English class. I'm pursuing certificates in nonprofit management and fundraising and philanthropy; next year most of my classes will be in those certificate programs.

And on a final note, I'd like to wish a happy mother's day to all the moms out there who read my blog. I'd also like to say happy mother's day to my own mother who always spoiled me with books, my Grandma Marilyn who taught me to read, and my Grandma Sheree who has always supported my love of reading. Best moms in the world!

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

This week at the Broke and Bookish we're talking about our top ten favorite book blogs. Since I was listed on their top ten I will definitely have to share the love! These are in no particular order.

1. The Broke and Bookish. I love the idea for this blog! It's great that they have multiple bloggers because each one has a different way of reviewing and reads different books. Lots of variety here!
2. Reading on a Rainy Day. Quite a few reviews of books dealing with India, which is different from other blogs out there. She really has eclectic taste and has reviewed some great books this year, including The Bell Jar which I love. I always come away with something I want to read.
3. 1330V. You can always count on this blog for really thoughtful posts about reading and great reviews on an assortment of books. Quite a few graphic novel reviews and lots of books I've never heard of before!
4. Sophisticated Dorkiness. A journalist and book lover blogs about mostly nonfiction. This is the only book review blog I can think of that focuses on nonfiction and that is part of the reason I love it. Since I found Sophisticated Dorkiness I have started to review more nonfiction myself because it's my favorite genre as well!
5. Sasha & the Silverfish. Sasha was one of the first blogs I read when I started blogging. Her posts are long but wonderful. It's like discussion in an English class, except you don't have to worry about getting a grade! Lots of great books here.
6. A Literary Odyssey. This blog attempts to read 250 classics and does multiple posts on quite a few of them. I like that about this blog because you get to hear so much more about her thoughts on a book than you would with just one post. With classics I think that works really well.
7. Drunk Literature. On a bit of a hiatus right now but still one of my favorite book blogs. Rebecca blogs about more than books, that includes art, music, and just what's she into at the moment. She has great taste!
8. A Guy's Moleskine Notebook. He reviews quite a few classics but also a lot of newer books so there is a lot of variety. The reviews are very thoughtful and specific, and he is great at starting discussions.
9. The Displaced English Major. Similarly to A Literary Odyssey this blog is trying to read a list of 100 books. I've been amazed at how patient she can be with books she doesn't really care for. She's read some fairly obscure titles so be sure to check out her thoughts!
10. Iris on Books. I didn't find Iris until this summer but it's quickly become one of my favorite book blogs. She reviews mostly literature and classics, but I really enjoy her posts about reading. She's funny too!

There are a lot more I'd like to list. Basically, check out any blog in my blogroll and know that I love what they do!

I was thinking about art this morning because I'm taking an art class next semester and I was driven to look at the art books I have under my coffee table and then write a post about the art books I own. To my surprise, I don't really own any art books. I have Hippie

, which is kind of an art book. I have several books about The Beatles with large photographs. Really the only art book I have is Masterpieces of Modern Architecture

, which isn't even mine, it belongs to my boyfriend. I also have my textbook from art history which has a ton of paintings in it, but they're very small and therefore not really what I think of when I say art book.

But why would I have a lot of art books? They're big. They're expensive. And most of the time they just end up on my coffee table where I look at them once in a blue moon. That being said, I've been perusing for art books this morning and have found some I think I'd like to have.

The 20th Century Art Book is part of a collection published by Phaidon. This collection has other books that span wider times periods and also a book on photography. All of these books look like great overviews and I think I would really enjoy have one or two just for the information and to learn about other artists.

50 Women Artists You Should Know this is the cheapest book I found about women artists (about $9 in paperback) and from the reviews I saw it looks like the authors provide a good amount of information for each artist. What really interested me in this book (besides the price) is that it includes a timeline of the artists, which I would find useful to see how he chain of influence might have worked. A more expensive book on women artists is Modern Women: Women Artists at The Museum of Modern Art

, which I'm also lusting after.

Georgia O'Keeffe: Abstraction (Whitney Museum of American Art)

is an example of a single artist book I think I would really enjoy. From the reviews I read this book appears to be extremely well made and durable with a lot of images. It also includes essays about O'Keefe and someone even commented in their review to say the writing was interesting, which isn't true in a lot of art books.

Do you have any art books? Which ones do you enjoy? If you don't have any do you think you would ever buy one?

I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

Hey guys!! Lindsi from Books, Sweets and Other Treats is here with me today! I'm so excited that Lindsi wanted to participate in my Memory Monday feature. She was one of the very first people I started talking to regularly on Twitter and I still laugh myself silly whenever I think of our first big conversation. 'Like the surprise inside.':)

Make sure you check out Lindsi's blog! I love it, hardcore. She reads awesome books, writes great reviews and also includes absolutely delicious recipes of all sorts of yumminess.:) Also, today I'm featured on her blog. Trading spotlights here.:) So make sure you stop by! Meet Lindsi here, get to know her style there! Here she is!!

Bio:

My name is Lindsi and my blog is called Books, Sweets and other Treats. I wanted to include two things I love in the title (books and sweets) and then treats is for anything else that doesn't fall under those two categories. I love baking and messing with the ingredients for a recipe. My problem? I end up making WAY more than I can eat and have to throw them out or give them away. I am currently attending two colleges and stretching myself thin. I'll graduate next summer and I CANNOT wait! I love animals and can't resist picking up strays. They need a good home too, right? I volunteer a lot at my local library. I am unofficially in charge of the YA section. They will ask me for recommendations and give my input on what books they should order. I enjoy baseball and going to Rangers games with friends. We recently went and sat in the "All You Can Eat" section. I thought my stomach would burst! Anyways, that's a little but about me!

Post:
When I was growing up, I wasn't surrounded by books. My parents thought they were a waste of time and an excuse to sit around and be lazy. This broke my heart because I loved reading and getting lost in a story. It was fun and exciting to read about something that wasn't real, but could capture my attention for hours. The books I had as a child were ones that I bought for myself. I saved my Tooth Fairy and birthday money to buy books whenever I had a chance. I remember saving up for a series one time, but for the life of me I cannot remember what it was called. I can tell you what all of the books were about, the different characters (not their names) and adventures, but I can't remember the author or the titles. It has been driving me crazy for years. I would read those books over and over again, and one day I came home and found them gone. My mom had thrown them out because they were tattered and worn. I'm not going to lie... I cried. It destroyed me when she did that. I hate it even more because I can't remember what they were so I can buy them now.

I guess I have my parents to thank for my unwavering love of books. They tried to tell me made up stories were pointless, but I was determined to prove them wrong. I read because it's something that I love to do. I'm glad that as a small child I was able to see how amazing reading could be. I'm also thankful that I can be stubborn;)

What do you say guys? Think we can help her track down this book series? I haven't had much luck, but she did give me a little more information about the series — Maybe one of you will recognize it!!
I remember her being in an all girls school. Occasionally, the boys were allowed over for a dinner or something. She would sit in her window and talk to the moon. I remember a cat (white I think). I remember her going something with her grandmother in one book. I remember her getting stuck in a cave in another book (I think there were indians in this one).
The covers usually depicted her and a scene from the book. I think I had six or seven of them.
If any of this sounds familiar, let us know!! I'd love to be able to help reunite Lindsi with a favorite childhood series!! And thank you again Lindsi for sharing your memories with us!!