Review - It's All Your Fault

It’s All Your Fault by Paul Rudnick

3 out of 5 gnomes

?????? =  What I felt a whole lot while reading this book. Is this satire? Because it sure reads like satire...

I was not sure what to feel while reading. I just know I wondered what exactly is going on here a lot.

Who talks like this?!?!?!?

Characters felt more like jokes than people. Not realistic at all even if the book was trying to be some kind of satire. I actually thought the author was trying to pull a whole Fight Club scenario at more than one point in the story.

There was some great humor though I guess I thought there was just going to be more to everything.

Get Up Offa That Slump - Day 10 - The Positives of Blogging

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

The Positives of Blogging

* Getting your opinions and feelings actually written down. Even if it feels like nobody is reading or commenting sometimes, it really does feel good to actually type everything out.

* Interacting with people from all over the world. It’s always really interesting to talk to a wide variety of people on Twitter or look at stats and see where all the pageviews are from.

* Finding people that love to read just as much as I do is awesome, because it's always so much fun to fangirl over books.

* Discovering a myriad of new authors and books.

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 9 - Tell Us Your Ways

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

My Ways are really not mysterious or anything: 

Google Drive is pretty much where I do all of my blogging, it’s just so much easier then typing directly on Blogger.

I write what I want to write.

I used to post seven days a week but have since gone down to mostly Monday - Friday posts (much less stress this way.)

I try really hard not to compare myself to everybody else because that can only make you crazy.

The best thing I've found lately is how to see all of the highlights on my kindle from any computer. You just go to https://kindle.amazon.com/your_highlights and sign in. This is great for quotes or seeing your notes and copying them over to a different document.

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 8 - Idea Board

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

Idea Board

Fictional Feature - My Life as a Fictional Librarian (started this feature, I really like it.)

Have more contests.

See if anyone wants to do any dual reviews (where we both review the same book.)

Do more posts about why I love certain characters or series.

Fictional Feature - My Life as a Fictional Librarian

I first thought of this post during Day 3 of the Get Up Offa That Slump: a blogging extravaganza. I’m now going to have it as maybe a weekly feature here.

My Life as a Fictional Librarian

All was pretty normal until things started to get a little bit fictional. I know sounds like a tagline for a bad romantic comedy or action movie, but believe me this is no normal library.

I had of course heard of special libraries but this was a special squared kind of library.

The Beginning: I was just out of college and needed a job ASAP. The problem is though they tell you that all these librarians are gearing up to retire, they never do. I had been on more than a couple of interviews and still nothing. One day while perusing the internet I saw one of those ads that just pop up it said:

Are you teeming with a plethora of potential? Do you get along with all sorts of people and personalities? Are you patient as well as good at teaching computer skill? If these all pertain to you then apply today to the Thaddeus Molehill Learning Library.

After so much failure I thought, hey why not try this out. After I sent my application in things started to get interesting fast...

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 7 - Pitch a Book/Series

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

I think we were only supposed to pitch a book but I’ve gone ahead and have three series here that I think deserve a whole lot of love. I especially need everybody to read these books so they can rant and rave about them too:

What I Think: Action and a fast pace will grab you right away. The story, character, and humor will keep you rushing back for more. These are characters that you’ll truly find yourself caring about and wanting to know all about their lives.

Why you should read ASAP: Do you like things that are awesome? Do you enjoy actually Laughing out Loud in real life a lot? Do you enjoy characters and relationships that continue to grow? Do you like surprising surprises and twisty twists? Then check out this series ASAP.

What I Think: I adore this series, it’s always so fun and weird (in a good way.) It’s one of those books where you just have to smile while reading it. This series is full of great characters and humor. The whole family aspect is what makes it even more interesting.

Why you should read ASAP: It’s a paranormal book with something new. Ciel is an adaptor aka she can change her aura to look/essentially be anybody man or woman.

What I Think: This series is just a blast to read. The characters, mythology, and town itself make for some really compelling reading.  Reading about a town where it’s always Halloween will make you smile. There is also just about every supernatural creature/mythology included in the series.

Why you should read ASAP: The mythology and fun that is had with it make these must read books. Paranormal romance which is both fun to read and surprising is definitely a plus . You will find characters to love and want to know absolutely everything about this town.

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 6 - Reenact/Read a Scene

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

Check out my reading here (aka I couldn't get Blogger to upload my video... :) )

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7cFm37Gk87YT0VJcnpTQmt5WHc/view?usp=sharing

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 5 - Mad Libs

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

Used a Mad Libs Generator found here

Took a paragraph from Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Adjective -

Plural Noun -

Noun -

Verb -

Color -

Plural Noun -

Name -

Noun -

Same Name -

Noun -

Exclamation -

The most [adjective] thing was the talk from the [plural noun]. Nobody can buy a [noun] without [verb]ing. Sophie sat in her alcove and stitched and heard that the Mayor never would eat [color] [plural noun], and that Wizard [name]’s castle had moved round to the cliffs again, really that [noun], whisper, whisper, whisper.... The voices always dropped low when they talked of Wizard [same name], but Sophie gathered that he had caught a [noun] down the valley last month. “[exclamation]!”

Here’s what I got when I filled in the blanks:

The most special thing was the talk from the crows. Nobody can buy a robot without gossiping. Sophie sat in her alcove and stitched and heard that the Mayor never would eat silver cats, and that Wizard Bob’s castle had moved round to the cliffs again, really that ball, whisper, whisper, whisper.... The voices always dropped low when they talked of Wizard Bob, but Sophie gathered that he had caught a bear down the valley last month. “Arggh!”

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 4 - Don't Post That Venting Review/Bash That Book

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

Today's goal is to write a venting review/bash a book but without naming the title.

Dear **@!$%&%!*&@#,

You, you, you know what you did…

You foul, wretched truly mess of a book. You made me start thinking of trilogies as a dirty word/something to fear.

Wherefore art thou great characters and story that I loved in thee first book??? Huh, huh, if you were a person I would want to fight you or you know take you to court for the time I wasted reading you.

Why, why did you have to go and break my heart like that. I’m afraid that we can’t be friends anymore.

Choices, choices, choices. This book had me going WTF WTF were you thinking multiple times while reading.

The truth is hard to hear of course but well, it’s also pretty darn stupid too...

You the hero of the story seemed nigh invulnerable but your final fate was infuriating. I thought I could foresee greatness in you but alas I don't think loathe is a strong enough word to use to talk about my feelings for you.

Unsincerely Yours,

Bibliognome

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 3 - If You Were a Fictional Character

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

Today I picked the topic of If I was a fictional character, I went with it and made myself a Fictional Librarian.

What My Day Would Be Like as a Fictional Librarian

All was pretty normal until things started to get a little bit fictional. I know sounds like a tagline for a bad romantic comedy or action movie, but believe me this is no normal library.

I had of course heard of special libraries but this was a special squared kind of library.

Here’s what happens on a “normal” day:

9:30 - 10:00 a.m. - Tracking down Kronos key, sometimes it takes five minutes sometimes the little key runs faster or hides better than normal. I can’t officially start until I track him down and input my id while having him turned into the timeclock.

10:00 - noon - Check in the mail/books returned for the day. You would be surprised how many of our patrons of the vampire and fae persuasion love books that are about vampires or fairies. They adore laughing at all the inaccuracies.

Noon - 1:00 p.m. - Where I eat an undecidedly non-magical sandwich and think about how weird my life has become.

1:00 - 3:00 p.m. - Special Project to train Clowns, not clowns mind you but Clowns with a capital C. Believe me, there are no humans under these Clown’s makeup. I’ve also made headway in convincing many of them not to sharpen their teeth.

4:00 - 6:00 - Reference work. This is always a doozy because it can be anything from helping a tiny forest sprite reach a book on a shelf to having to help a literal sorceress figure out how to best list the ingredients for her spells using Excel… (let’s just say that magic folk are not big fans of computers...)

6:00 - Sneak up on the enchanted Kronos key so I can clock out. Then slowly walk outside and just imagine what tomorrow will bring.

Get Up Offa That Slump Day 2: Inspirational, Badass, and Strong Women in Fiction

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.
Today I'm going to talk about my favorite Badass Women in Fiction. All these women star in or are characters in some truly great books/ series.

Seraphina is awesome in this book (the sequel didn’t really live up to my expectations.) She's a strong character who must hide who she is because the world would not at all understand.  Being different takes a tremendous toll out of her but she does have one love in life, music. She's a tad bit prickly/grumpy at times but when she plays or sings music everyone stops to listen.

Hermione Granger is both strong and a badass throughout the series. I mean imagine not knowing anything about magic to being pretty much the best witch in her age group

Justine Jones is not your typical kick butt action heroine but as the story progresses she finds herself letting go of her hypochondria related fears.  Plus the last book was awesome. :)

Katherine "Kitty" Katt is a heroine that kicks butt and always has a plan. I adore this character because she actually has a sense of humor and loves music. This series continues to be exciting and you never know what’s going to happen next.

Sabriel is a really epic heroine.  This series is really fantasy at its best with the mixing of life, death, the real world, and a magical world.

Mackenzie Bishop is a really great kick-butt character.  Her character is truly complex and will have you rooting for her to succeed.

Mustang/Virginia is the epitome of a strong/smart women who also happens to kick a whole bunch of butt. She's a politician as well as a fighter which makes for some very interesting situations.

Meg is such a unique character. She’s essentially a blank slate at first but works hard to figure out who she is and what she wants to do. The world building and characters including Meg are top notch and will have you wanting to know everything about them.

Juliette especially by the end of the series is such an awesome character. Her growth over the entire series is really a great read.

Cassidy is another one of Bishop’s characters that I adore. She’s not traditionally strong according to the rules of this world but she can make all the difference to these people that need her.

This series has a plethora of badass/strong ladies but Jaenelle Angelline is the strongest woman that this world has ever seen. The series takes you on an intense crazy ride but she is the heart of the series and does indeed kick some serious butt.

Review - Marked in Flesh

Marked in Flesh by Anne Bishop

* Received from NetGalley for review.

5/5 gnomes

This series continues to be impressive. Bishop is a real master of world building. The universes she builds feel very authentic.

This book has so much going on and really felt like the last book in a series. I really now can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.

The tension between humans and the others is at an all time high. You know something very bad is going to happen, you just don’t know when. Then everything kind of goes crazy all at once.

Letters and notes are used well here. They show just how interconnected everything is.

I really love the many different points of view presented here. It’s so easy to get invested in each part of the story and characters.

Simon and Meg continue to have an extremely interesting/unconventional relationship. Can’t wait to see what it means for the world of the Others.

Everything with the Elders was surprising and added another dimension to the story. The wild really showed itself here.

The ending was pretty life changing for this world. Now I’m wondering who the big bad is going to be for the last book.

Check out this series if you love strong world building and engaging characters.

Day 1 - An Interview With Yourself

Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf put together this great sounding blogging extravaganza and I’ve decided to take part.

Here’s my interview with myself:

What is your name?

Becky

Where do you work?

An Academic Library, I’m a full-time Library Assistant.

How long have you been blogging?

Since August 2010.

What is your favorite color?

Purple

Bibliognome: What is your favorite thing to eat?

Enchiladas

Bibliognome: What word is your favorite to say or write?

Plethora or myriad.

Bibliognome: If you had a gnome character, what would you name them?  

Thaddeus Molehill

If a book was really alive/could talk and everything which one would you never talk to again after reading?

Allegiant (for so many reasons...)

What author is a must buy for you/ do you enjoy reading the most?  

There are so many now but if I had to narrow it down to five it would be:

Anne Bishop
Stephanie Perkins

J.K. Rowling

Tahereh Mafi

Gini Koch

Quick Questions:

Zombie or vampire?  

Zombie

Pop or soda?

Pop

Silver or gold?

Silver

Starbursts or Skittles?

Skittles

Pen or pencil?

Pen

Dystopia or utopia?

Utopia if it would be something like Star Trek, dystopia if it would be a kind of problem I could handle.