First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #2

When I was little, my dad used to tell me, "Will, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick you friend's nose." This seemed like a reasonably astute observation to me when I was eight, but it turns out to be incorrect on a few levels. To begin with, you cannot possibly pick your friends, or else I never would have ended up with Tiny Cooper. Tiny Cooper is not the world's gayest person, and he is not the world's largest person, but I believe he may be the...

Review: On The Count Of Tree by Maureen Johnson

On the Count of Three by Maureen Johnson Genres: Young adult, glbt, romance, contemporary, realistic fiction What happens when your two best friends fall in love...with each other? "Their friendship went so far back, it bordered on the Biblical -- in the beginning, there was Nina and Avery and Mel." So says high school senior Nina Bermudez about herself and her two best friends, nicknamed "The Bermudez Triangle" by a jealous wannabe back on Nina's eleventh birthday. But the threesome...

Stacking The Shelves #3

I bought two YA books from Fully Booked this week. First, I bought Will Grayson, Will Grayson last Thursday and swore that was all I was getting this week. Then I was out yesterday and passed by Fully Booked and... bought Paper Towns. Because it was on sale. So much for that id...

What's Next? #2

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love. Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . . But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere. Cath’s...

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros #1

On the Count of Three by Maureen Johnson The host stood at his podium under the pink-and-yellow neon arch and surveyed the three girls who had just come through the door. Avery Dekker stepped forward and gave him a huge smile.  "Bermudez," she said. "Two o'clock birthday party." He looked Avery over, taking in her fishing hat and her For Good Luck, Rub My Belly T-shirt. His eyes passed to the two girls standing behind her. First they settled on the petite, pale redhead in a denim skirt...

Review: Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski

Review: Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski Genres: Young adult, romance, contemporary, chick lit, realistic fiction Summary: 2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house - parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have. If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her...

DIY: Corner Bookmarks... An Attempt

I attempted to make a corner bookmark. It's not perfect but it will do for now. I got the template from here... and then covered the edges with washi tape because it is so hard to cut straight! Planning to make some more for practice and hopefully get better at it....

Stacking The Shelves #2

I only got one new book this week... and like the books from last week, it's brand new. I promise to only get secondhand books following this week. I promise... or I'll try my best. Or I'll start using my kindle again. Because, well, I really have to start saving up. On the Count of Three by Maureen Johnson - I have been wanting to buy a Maureen Johnson book ever since I was introduced to her writing in Let It Snow. I went on a whim and bought this one (also known as the Bermudez triangle)....

What's Next? #1

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami Kafka on the Shore, a tour de force of metaphysical reality, is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom. Lost...

Stacking The Shelves #1

I'm doing my first Stacking The Shelves post! I've seen numerous other blogs doing it, and I always thought it would be fun. It should also serve as a reminder that I've got books that need to be read... since I have such a bad habit of hoarding books. This week I bought two books. It's been a while since I bought brand new books from Fully Booked, instead of from second hand stores. We got our 13th month pay so I decided to treat myself. ;) Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by...

Review: Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle

Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle  Genres: Young adult, romance, short stories, holiday  Summary: An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve  buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train and sets off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with...

Review: The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen  Genres: Romance, magical realism, chick lit, fantasy, mystery, contemporary Summary: It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather and once the finest home in Walls of Water, North Carolina—has stood for years as a monument to misfortune and scandal. Willa has lately learned...