Saturday, May 31, 2014

Armchair BEA - Wrapping Up the Week

It's been an awesome week and I've had a ton of fun. Thanks to everybody that's checked out Bibliognome. I love this event every year because I get to meet so many awesome people and see what everybody else thinks about the crazy world of book blogging and books in general.

Here are all my posts from this week:


Friday, May 30, 2014

Armchair BEA Day 5 - Topic of Choice: Check out Bibliognome/Story Time

Topic of Choice
"Today is the day to talk about something that you feel we have missed or that you want to spend a little extra time chatting about. Ideas include, but are not limited to: a genre that does not fit into those featured earlier this week; logistics, such as blogging resources, procedures, or advice; or something completely fun with book to movie adaptations or favorite blogging games, features, memes, events, and/or activities. It’s your freebie day to choose what you like!"

I love Armchair BEA because I get to meet so many new people and see a lot of new material and blogs. Here's hoping you've all had a great time too and that you've liked learning more about me and Bibliognome. Since we get to choose the topic today, I would like to write a story with everybody. 

Story Time:

You can go here and add to the old story or add to the new story in this post.


Rules

1.) Only write 1 to 2 sentences
2.) Keep it clean
3.) Have fun and spread the word so the story grows



Great, now there was maniacal laughter drifting down the hallway. This was the last thing she needed after the crazy day she’d just had.  Why couldn’t things just go back to normal?

Thursday, May 29, 2014

(Closed winner will be posted Saturday) Armchair BEA Day 4 - Giveaway: Write a book haiku (Open to US and International)

Giveaways
"One of the favorite days of past years is our day of giveaways! You host the giveaway on your own site and link it up here for all our participants to come and visit. Don’t forget to give Armchair BEA a little love when advertising, but you can choose your own guidelines and deadlines."

Win $20 to The Book Depository by writing a Book Haiku


- Whatever you choose will be sent from the  The Book Depository and the contest is international as long as you live in a country that the Book Depository ships to.


Haikus should be about your favorite book or book characters.


Example of Book Haiku:

Not the Oz you knew
This time Dorothy is the witch
Dorothy needs to die.

- Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Rules:                                 
1.) Haikus must be in 5-7-5 form.
2.) Write your haiku along with your name email address in the comments.  If you don't want to leave your email address leave your Twitter, or Facebook details.  Just make sure I'm able to contact you to let you know that you've won                  .
3.) You don't have to follow the blog to win, but feel free to follow if you like what you see and leave any comments on reviews or posts that you find interesting.  :)
4.) The contest will run from May 29-June 5th.  

*  Winner will be chosen by me and Tiny Reverse Vampire.  The winner will be posted on June 6th.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Armchair BEA Day 3 - Novellas/Short Stories

Novellas/Short Stories

"Now it is time to give a little love to those little stories in your life. Share your love for your favorite shorts of any form. What is a short story or novella that doesn’t get the attention that it deserves? Recommend to readers what shorts you would recommend they start with. How about listing some short story anthologies based upon genres or authors?"

If you love short stories/novellas you should check out these stories:

Grimm’s fairy tales is a great group of short stories to start with especially if you’ve never read them all. They are dark/twisty and the ends of a lot of them may just surprise you. These stories are pretty timeless too.



If you loved the Nightshade series you have to read the novella Aftermath by Andrea Cremer. If you’ve read Bloodrose this novella might just make the ending of that book hurt a lot less.



What Mario Scietto Says
illustration by GREGORY MANCHESS
What Mario Scietto Says by Emmy Laybourne

This is an awesome story that goes right into the 3rd book in the trilogy Monument 14: Savage Drift. It explains how Josie got to be where she is and yes it does make a later part of the book even sadder.



If you love Gini Koch’s Alien series then you have to check out the short story in this magazine. It’s all about how Reader meets Paul Gower and the other ACs.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Armchair BEA Day 2 - Author Interactions

Topic of the Day: Author Interactions:

"Let’s talk interacting with authors IRL (in real life) or online. This is your opportunity to talk about your favorite author readings that you have attended. Or, you can feature your favorite author fan moment (i.e., an author sent you a tweet or commented on your blog). Maybe you even want to share how your interactions have changed since becoming a blogger or share your own tips that you have learned along the way when interacting with authors as a blogger."


I love meeting authors in real life even though I’m always terrified of making a fool of myself. I try to talk normally but I know I’ve said some pretty weird stuff. My most awkward moment was probably at a signing that included Gayle Forman, Rainbow Rowell, and Stephanie Perkins. It was a long line to see Perkins but I knew I had to get my books signed (because I've adored everything she's written) so when I get to the front the first thing I think I said was Hi and then I said, “Here have a tiny card.” (I was giving all the authors my tiny blog business cards.) My sister Tiny Reverse Vampire was there too (I call her the PR person for Bibliognome) and we couldn’t stop laughing about that after the event was over.

It’s always a thrill meeting authors in person because they really are like celebrities to me and I just can’t believe they’re really there. One of the best signings I’ve been to was with Andrea Cremer. Not a lot of people were at Cremer’s signing because it was at a weird time of day but me, my sister and like the 6 or 7 other people there got to ask all the questions we wanted and I got absolutely everything I brought signed.

It’s also extremely cool to live in the same hometown as Rainbow Rowell because as you can see from the picture here I’ve been to pretty much all of her signings. She's also a really fun author to see in person. 

As for tips on interacting with authors I guess I would say just try to remain calm and be yourself. :)

Monday, May 26, 2014

Armchair BEA Day 1 - Introduction

Hello everybody, welcome to Bibliognome and welcome to another year of Armchair BEA. Today is Introduction day so here we go:


1.) Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Where in the world are you blogging from?

My name’s Becky B. I’ve been blogging since August 16, 2010. I got into blogging because as my first post says:
“Why the name Bibliognome, well I like gnomes and I like books so I combined the two.  Since starting a full time job as a Library Assistant I've been reading a lot more.  I've always enjoyed reading but now I want to try my hand at reviewing. Feel free to tell me what you like and tell me what you hate. I'm always up for a good discussion.”

I’ve always loved reading and after discovering Twitter and the giant book blogging community there I knew I had to be a part of it.
I’m blogging from Omaha, NE which has had a surprising amount of cool author events.


2.) Describe your blog in just one sentence. Then, list your social details -- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. -- so we can connect more online.

Bibliognome is an eclectic blog chock full of book related goodness and a dash of my personal life/whatever I think is awesome.
Where to Find Bibliognome:
Twitter: @GeckyBoz
* I did have a Facebook account for Bibliognome but the blog got marked as a security risk for some reason and now I can’t post anything so let’s just say me and Facebook aren’t on good terms because I keep emailing them and they do nothing...


3.) What genre do you read the most? I love to read because ___________________ .


I read mostly YA with a mix of Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy and whatever else looks interesting. I love to read because reading can make you essentially feel all of the feelings. Reading can make you laugh, cry, smile, and really think about the world around you/what the future might just look like.


4.) What was your favorite book read last year? What’s your favorite book so far this year?

I can’t pick just one but a couple of favorites I read last year were Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Written in Red by Anne Bishop, and Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan.

My favorite books so far this year are Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi, and Monument 14: Savage Drift by Emmy Laybourne.

5.)  What book would you love to see as a movie?

I would jump for joy if any of Anne Bishop’s books became a movie. I just love everything about the world and characters that she writes and any of her books would make for some truly epic movies.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Top 5 Sundays - Movies You're Dying to Watch in 2014!

This feature was thought up by the awesome Larissa & Friends’ Bookish Life
Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.
2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.
3 - Feel free to use the Features image
4 - After you've finished your post, add your link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.

5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)    

Movies You're Dying to Watch in 2014!

I haven't read any of the comics or anything but I love the look of this movie and being set in space is pretty awesome too. It also looks like it's going to be pretty darn funny too.

Tom Cruise may be a crazy guy but I pretty much love any movie that he's in and the concept of this movie looks really good.


This looks like the perfect character for Jolie to play and I can't wait to see where this movie takes the character.

Though this looks like it'll be a crazy look at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles I know I'll end up seeing it because they were some of my favorite cartoon characters.

This movie looks hilarious and I've loved every other movie that I've seen McCarthy in.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Question of the Day - What do you plan to read if you have a 3 day weekend?

Do you plan to read something new or re-read a book that you love?

I think I'm going to be doing a little bit of both. :)



Friday, May 23, 2014

Weekend Read - End Times

This looks like it'll be quite an interesting read. Books where the world might actually be ending are intriguing and since this one seems to have a sense of humor too, I can't wait to read it.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Review - Take Me On

Take Me On by Katie McGarry

* ARC provided by NetGalley for review

4 gnomes out of 5 gnomes

First of all this is yet another crazy addictive read by McGarry. I started and finished this book in one day, I just couldn’t stop reading. The drama is just so good and let’s just say that the Young family is indeed very messed up.

I really like West’s character but man West is just a really weird name but once you get over that you’ll find an interesting/complicated guy. It’s great seeing a different side of West compared to the last book where he didn’t come off so well.

Haley is another complicated character and I really didn’t know what to think of her at first. Her and West though probably have the most interesting first meeting of the series.

The part that felt off with this book was the timing of it compared to the rest of the books. With everything that happens this book is pretty much happening at the same time as Crash Into You so the timing of parts just felt a bit off to me.

Both Haley and West have not the greatest living situations going on and things do escalate from bad to worse throughout the story.

There is so much going on and you get some good glimpses at some of the other characters too especially Abby. There’s a big secret revealed and well a lot of fighting. If you have read the other books in the series then you’re going to like this book too.

Overall I liked this book and can’t wait to see what McGarry writes next.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

"Waiting On" Wednesday - Hungry

"Waiting On"  Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on... 

Hungry by H. A. Swain

* Book will be released June 3, 2014

Check out the description from Barnes & Noble

"In Thalia’s world, there is no more food and no need for food, as everyone takes medication to ward off hunger. Her parents both work for the company that developed the drugs society consumes to quell any food cravings, and they live a life of privilege as a result. When Thalia meets a boy who is part of an underground movement to bring food back, she realizes that there is an entire world outside her own. She also starts to feel hunger, and so does the boy. Are the meds no longer working?

Together, they set out to find the only thing that will quell their hunger: real food. It’s a journey that will change everything Thalia thought she knew. But can a "privy" like her ever truly be part of a revolution?"

Now this looks like a book that has an interesting concept going on. The futuristic concept of not having to eat actual food has always intrigued me and made me wonder what it could mean for the future. I personally though am hoping for a more Star Trek like future with replicators that can make any type of food. Either way I’m looking forward to seeing where this story goes.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Sentence Sneak Peek - Take Me On

Take Me On by Katie McGarry

* ARC provided by NetGalley for review
* Read from an ARC so some of the sentences might be off because my NetGalley copy had no chapters.
* Spoilers are highlighted like so: :)

“A DOOR SQUEAKS OPEN at the far end of the barren hallway and the clicking of high heels echoes off the row of metal post-office boxes.”

“I ASK WHY MORE THAN I SHOULD, some days I regret the decisions I make and most mornings I wake up on edge.”

“AN HOUR BUS RIDE to my uncle’s, forty minutes waiting for Dad’s prescription and, as I walk out of the pharmacy, I still haven’t thought of a witty enough comeback for when Jax looks at me from across the dinner table and mouths John’s last word to me: “Runner.”

“JESUS CHRIST!”

“MY LUNGS BURN and my arms and legs pump quickly.”

“SON OF A BITCH.”

“Please be breathing!”

“I’M LATE.”

“I THINK YOU’RE DEAD.”

“EVERY BREATH TASTES OF DUST, spilled gasoline and oil.”

“THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT of the hospital has that slasher-movie quiet to it.”

“HALEY WILLIAMS CHOOSES, once again, another form.”

“FROM ACROSS THE COUNTER, the secretary slides my schedule to me.”

“GOD HATES ME.”

“I DROP INTO A SEAT at an empty table in the back and a dishwater-blonde slithers into the chair beside me.”

“I’VE SUCCESSFULLY AVOIDED MATT since this morning and I’m betting that the refuge of the cafeteria will save me from him for at least twenty more minutes.”

“I ASSESS THE GUY in front of me: my height, my build, my problem.”

“I’M SECOND BUS RUN.”

I’M USED TO PEOPLE TALKING, saying words aloud to prove they know more than me, that they’re better than me.”

“WEST IS HOMELESS.”

“A FEW BLOCKS UP FROM HALEY, I lean on the glass of the pawn-shop display counter and count the wad of cash the street-hustler-owner of the joint just gave me.”

“DINNER’S DONE.”

“AN INSANITY LEAKS into my brain that makes deciphering reality from fantasy impossible.”

“WITH MY HANDS SHOVED in my jeans pocket and my nose buried in the collar of my father’s old army sweatshirt, I run to keep up with Jax and Kaden.”

“DAMN, THIS SCHOOL is crowded and if I didn’t have a pretend girlfriend, I could definitely work this place.”

“MY LEGS ARE JELL-O.”

“WHY ARE WE SITTING HERE?”

“MY GRANDFATHER THINKS he’s being crafty, but the old man is obvious.”

“HALEY RAKES A HAND through her hair, then grips it at the base of her neck like she’s going to tear it out.”

“MY BREATH CATCHES when I step out of the locker room.”

“THE THOUGHT HITS ME as I’m halfway up the trellis that this is the first time I’ve snuck into a girl’s room and oddly enough, it isn’t to hook up.”

“MY MOUTH GOES DRY.”

“THE SUN DOESN’T RISE for another hour and Haley’s alarm went off twenty minutes ago.”

“IT’S EIGHT AT NIGHT and West is late.”

“I’VE NEVER SLAPPED A WOMAN, but the pain that slashed across Haley’s face earlier this evening when I told her I was going home...”

“TALK ABOUT A NIGHTMARE come true.”

“IN THE CAFETERIA, Haley drops into the seat across from me and immediately pops a French fry into her mouth.”

“I’M LATE WALKING OUT the door of the pizzeria and West will be more than happy to throw it in my face after I gave him a hard time a few weeks back.”

“KEEP YOUR GUARD UP!”

“WE LEFT JOHN WHILE HE WAS in the middle of a particularly eloquent cursing rant.”

“HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE PAINT sets that have multiple colors?”

“THE DOOR TO THE BATHROOM RATTLES, followed by three knocks.”

“I FINISHED THE LAST ITEM on my thin to-do list for Denny a half hour ago, but for the fourth time today, I sweep the stockroom.”

MATT HAS A GIRL draped on his arm.”

“I SLAM THE SUV’S DOOR and stalk to where Haley sits on the curb, but I keep my eyes glued on Matt.”

“MY FINGERS TRACE THE SPLIT of my lips as I stare at the sprawling house from the passenger side of West’s SUV.”

“WE DIDN’T REACH MY BEDROOM.”

“I FOUGHT IN A COMPETITION where I was overmatched.”

“DID SHE JUST SAY…?”

“WEST AND I HAVE BEEN OFFICIALLY together for a week.”

“HALEY BOLTS AND I MUTTER a curse as I shove the car into Park and chase after her.”

“NOTHING IS EVER EASY.”

“ON THE FLOOR, I TIGHTEN the screw, then test the half door attached to the wall that, it theory, keeps people from behind the bar.”

“MY MOUTH DRIES OUT and a weird pressure compresses my throat, almost as if a ghost cups my neck and squeezes.”

“WITH ABBY’S WORDS FRESH on my mind and Haley’s decision to be made, I head straight to the gym.”

“JOHN’S FINGERS WRAP around my biceps and I freak.”

“FRESH OUT OF THE SHOWER and in a borrowed purple sweater and jeans from Rachel’s room, Haley twirls the fettuccine Alfredo I heated for her onto the fork and slides it into her mouth.”

“WEST’S STATEMENT IS LIKE a front kick to the gut.”

“I STARE AT THE REPORT CARD I received in first period.”

“THE CUTTING OF VEGETABLES turns into a rote movement.”

“THE PRINCIPAL SUSPENDED ME for the rest of the day because I slammed Matt into a wall.

“I STEP OUT OF THE BACK DOOR with a full trash bag in hand and stare up at the rolling gray clouds.”

“A BLUISH LIGHT GLOWS from Rachel’s bed and I freeze in her doorway.”

“AT SCHOOL, I STAND UNDER the overhang and watch the parking lot.”

“I CHANGED INTO JEANS and a T-shirt before driving to the bar.”

“THE SKIES FINALLY OPENED UP and erupted in rain.”

“IT’S CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT and I slam the back door to the kitchen.”

“JAX SHINES THE FLASHLIGHT on me and I raise my hand up to keep from becoming blinded.”

“I LIE IN BED AND BLUR MY VISION so that the ceilingfan blades merge into one.”

“MY UNCLE WAITS FOR US on the stoop.”

“GIVE HER THE CHOICE.”

“I FOLD THE BLANKET JOHN gave me last night and leave it on the pillow in the corner of the gym.”

“WITH ABBY RIDING SHOTGUN, I weave through the streets of the industrial park at sixty miles per hour and slam on the brakes when we reach the last warehouse.”

“IT’S OUR SECOND DAY on the road and we’re taking it slow to California because John’s car constantly threatens to spontaneously combust.”

“TWO DAYS AND LIFE has returned to normal.”

“WATER BEATS AGAINST the tub as Dad starts the shower.”

“EVEN THOUGH I TALKED TO JOHN on the phone and told him I’m still competing next Saturday and would appreciate his help, I’m apprehensive as I walk into the gym.”

“I HAVE NEVER ENVIED anyone in my life like I envy Maggie.”

“I STRADDLE A CHAIR as John wraps the yellow strip of material across my hand.”

“MY HEART POUNDS SO HARD I have no doubt people can see it past my skin.”

“KNEES, WEST!”

“KICK SERIES!”

“JAX ENTERS THE SMALL ROOM wearing a shit-eating grin.”

“THE BELL RINGS and both Mrs. Collins and I turn our heads to watch the flood of students fill the student parking lot.”

“HOLDING ON TO HER ELBOWS, Haley toes a rotted piece of floorboard in the corner of the living room.”