Author of IF WE WERE A MOVIE and SPARKS FLY
After receiving offer a 100 entries into this giveaway a random winner has been chosen and the winner is … Erin Ellis. Congratulations! Please email me your address at toborroworbuy@gmail.com so I can send you all these amazing books and goodies.
Thank you to Kieran Scott, Katie Sise, Susan Ee, Elizabeth Eulberg, and Maria V. Snyder for contributing to this amazing giveaway and thank you to all who participated. This was a great first giveaway and I can’t wait to do it again.
I’m the type of person that needs to know what the book is about before I start reading it. I like to read the back or the flap and get a gist of what’s the book about. However, I know people that will pick a book solely because the cover looks interesting and that’s cool too. Plus, in general, I’ll bypass a book if I’m not pulled in by the cover right away. Working in publishing I’ve since learned there are art design teams specifically to make covers for this very reason, which I think is pretty cool.
So, does the cover really influence your book choice or does it not bother you at all? I’m pretty sure I know how this poll will go but who knows? Maybe I’ll be surprised.
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you reread books?
With an overwhelming majority of 90% the answer is a resounding yes and I’d have to agree. Happy rereading!
For my Man Crush Mondays and Woman Crush Wednesdays I try to make them more diverse because I honestly hate the lack of color on my blog, especially since I, myself, am a person of color.
That being said it’s difficult to find characters that are in fact POCs. I’ve recognized this problem in literature before but it becomes abundantly clear when you’re actively look for people of color in your favorite books and can’t find them.
When i first realized this problem my first thought was, “I need to read more diverse books.” Now, this is a fair thought and in the future I will make more of an effort to diversify my reading. But then I had another thought: “Maybe there just needs to be more diverse books.”
I’m not writing this blog post with any stats to back my claims but just on my own general experience the lack of diversity in books, fiction specifically, is sub par at best. And the books that do have a POC they’re almost never the main character. Instead they’re the secondary character. They’re the best friend, the enemy, occasionally the love interest, and sometimes just someone whose name appears once as if to complete some diversity requirement.
As someone who mainly reads young adult fiction I find this lack of color disappointing at best, a serious problem at worst.
From Tumblr: #WeNeedDiverseBooks because I grew up thinking brown men couldn’t be anything more than a sidekick pic.twitter.com/UrPMBcxjo4
— Aisha Saeed (@aishacs) May 2, 2014
Why is it so hard for me to find a teen book that has a person of color as the main character? And why is it when I do it’s not in the “Teen Fiction” section but instead in “African-American Literature,” or “Asian American Novels,” or “Hispanic Books”? Why is it that as soon as it’s written by an author that not’s white it can’t be classified as just a book but as something specialized that needs it’s own section and should be segregated from other books?
If I write a book about a girl dying with cancer who falls with a boy who also has cancer will it be put in a different section than The Fault In Our Stars just because I’m black? And one could argue that it’s good we have our own section. That it makes our books stand out but it shouldn’t be that way because by separating books like that it inherently makes readers think that “those books” are something different. Something foreign. Something not to be read by someone other than of that race.
Therefore when we do have diverse books it’s hard for them to get the same acclaim and sell as many books as books with white protagonists because only people of color are reading books by people of color and that’s just wrong.
This being said I encourage you all to diversify your reading. Read outside of your comfort zone and show your support for more diverse books by tweeting your thoughts on the subject with the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks. There’s also a Tumblr page dedicated to the cause and it’s not only about color/race but also about getting more books that discuss disabilities and the LGBTQ community as well. It’s a great movement and you should be a part of it.
Cooper Cartwright is the hottest landlord a woman could ask for, which makes Heather Wells, the protagonist of the Heather Wells Mysteries, the luckiest woman alive.
Cooper owns the brownstone that Heather is renting, now that she’s no longer a pop star and single since she and Cooper’s little brother broke up. Cooper’s also a private investigator and wants nothing to do with his famous brother and his star studded lifestyle, which makes him the perfect match for Heather.
Cooper, of course, is super attractive but not in a pretty boy way. He’s a tough and self-made man who rejects the rich, privileged lifestyle he grew up in (not that he doesn’t benefit from it, of course, but he doesn’t flaunt it either). He’s a really chill guy who cares about and respects Heather for who she is not what size she wears.
This post has now made me want to reread the whole Heather Wells series because honestly it’s been too long and I love Cooper and Heather respectively. If you haven’t read this series yet it’s one of Meg Cabot’s best and you should definitely check it out.
“As you pointed out, I should have left well enough alone. But… well, it’s not in my nature. Let’s face it, though: It’s not in your nature, either, Heather. That’s why we make such a perfect pair. We’re lucky to have found each other. I feel sorry sometimes for people like your mom. Maybe her problem isn’t that she’s a dirty, no good, whatever-you-were-going-to-call-her. It’s that she was never lucky enough to find her soul mate, like we were.” – The Bride Wore Size 12
Have you ever wanted to win books? How about signed copies of books? Or signed book marks? Or free tattoos? Well, it’s a good thing you’re here because I have the perfect giveaway for you. The Ultimate YA Giveaway is now live!
I wanted to make a video because I’m super excited about this but unfortunately it’s pretty late and I promised I would post this tonight and I’m a woman of my word. A video may still come later so look at for that. Until then here’s the details of the giveaway.
Here’s what you would win:
And that’s it (but isn’t that so much???). The way to enter is down below and the contest will end next Sunday. After that I’ll send the lucky winner their prize. Good luck to you all and may the odds be ever in your favor!
I also want to thank Kieran Scott, Maria V. Snyder, Elizabeth Eulberg, Katie Sise, and Susan Ee for their wonderful contributions to this giveaway. I wouldn’t be able to do this without them so if you haven’t checked out their books yet do yourself a favor and check them out. They’re great authors and also great people.
Unfortunately the widget for the giveaway won’t appear here in the blog post so click the link to enter! Working on getting this fixed. Sorry about that.
I really enjoy rereading some books. Especially if it’s been a long time since I read it and I don’t remember specifics about the book I love going back and reading it again. However, I know there are some people that are a once and done type of reader and that’s fine too.
So which are you. Only one good read or do you enjoy the occasionally reread? Vote in the poll and comment below whey you like rereading or not.
Results of last week’s poll:
YA or Adult Novels?
Although winning by only 10% more than just YA, both was the winner. I guess most of us just can’t choose.
I’m a big fan of both young adult and adult novels. Even so, I often tend to lean towards young adult. Maybe it’s because I am one or maybe it’s because I just truly prefer them. Either way I love both types of novels but I want to know if you have a preference. Vote in the poll below and let me know in the comments why you’re more of a YA fan or a strictly adult novels person.
Results of last week’s poll:
How do you prefer to read?
With 60% of the votes, paperbacks were the winner. Paperbacks or the perfect books because you can fold them over and bend them any which way while still having the comfort of holding an actual book in your hands. It’s a win-win.
Synopsis from Amazon:
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know…
Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare’s ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.
I’m hooked. I didn’t want to be hooked because I don’t have time to be hooked on another series but here I am hooked.
Clary Fray is a great protagonist. I won’t go into much detail about why I think so highly of her here because I did that yesterday. What I will say is I loved her and Jace’s chemistry. Jace is sarcastic and cocky from the start. He knows he’s good looking and a great Shadowhunter and he’s proud. I really want them to be together but … well I won’t spoil it for you. What I will say is it’s not over until I finish the last book.
Moving on, the other characters were also spectacular. Clary’s best friend, Simon, is adorkable, Isabelle and Alec, the Lightwood siblings and basically Jace’s family, are very different but also similar in an interesting way. I like Isabelle’s tough girl attitude and I really like Alec and his whole story line. I’m excited to see where that goes in the next books.
The adults are also great and have their own crazy back stories. Hodge, Alec, Isabelle, and Jace’s guardian, is basically the chill godfather who loves his garden and herbs. Kind of like a hippie but can also take you out if you try anything. Luke, Clary’s godfather type figure, is a boss. Period. I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll leave it that. I’m just a really big fan of Luke. Clary’s mom isn’t really relevant but from what we learn about her I wasn’t a fan. To be fair she’s not in the majority of the book so I really can’t pass judgement. Even so, I could do with less of her.
As for the plot I was never bored. There’s an air of mystery to the novel as well as some plot twists (some expected, some not). Overall, as the first book in The Mortal Instruments series, Cassandra Clare did a really good job of laying the foundation for this world without it being boring. Well done. I can’t wait to find out what happens next.
Borrow or Buy: This was a tough call and I went back and forth on it. On the one hand I really did enjoy this book. On the other hand I just couldn’t imagine actually buying it. It was good but it just wasn’t that good.
Favorite Line:
“Don’t.” Clary raised a warning hand. “I’m not really in the mood right now.”
“That’s got to be the first time a girl’s ever said that to me,” Jace mused.”
Stars:
Other Reviews
*This book is part of my POPSUGAR 2015 Reading Challenge*
Synopsis from Amazon:
The Carrie Diaries is the coming-of-age story of one of the most iconic characters of our generation.
Before Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw was a small-town girl who knew she wanted more. She’s ready for real life to start, but first she must navigate her senior year of high school. Up until now, Carrie and her friends have been inseparable. Then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture, and a friend’s betrayal makes her question everything.
With an unforgettable cast of characters, The Carrie Diaries is the story of how a regular girl learns to think for herself and evolves into a sharp, insightful writer. Through adventures both audacious and poignant, we’ll see what brings Carrie to her beloved New York City, where her new life begins.
Don’t let the borrow stamp fool you, this was actually a really good book. It was funny and witty and I’m excited to read the next one. However, I just can’t see myself rereading this book. Here’s why.
Carrie, although she is smart, funny, and quirky, her naivety is annoying. Her obsessive love for Sebastian is infuriating and although I’m usually all for putting others before yourself, Carrie wasn’t really selfless as much as she was a push over. All I wanted from Carrie during this book was stand up for herself and I think we get more of that towards the end but throughout the book I was constantly frustrated because I could tell what was happening but Carrie was in deep denial.
Even so, I did like this book. I think I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I watched Sex and the City beforehand but I thought it was well written and well thought out and it was interesting seeing where Carrie Bradshaw got her start. I can’t wait to find out what happens next (although I guess I kind of already do but you know what I mean).
Borrow or Buy: Borrow. I liked it a lot but I didn’t love it.
Favorite Line:
“What if I’m a princess on another planet? And no one on this planet knows it?”
Stars:
Other Reviews
Hardcover, paperback, Kindle, Nook, iPad, audio. There’s so many ways to read a book these days it’s hard to keep track. Even so, people almost always have a preference. Some like to have an actual book, others prefer the connivence of e-books, and there are those who rather listen to their books. Where do you fall on the spectrum? Comment below why your way of reading is the best way or why you can’t choose just one way to read.
Results of last week’s poll:
Do you have to finish every book you read?
This one was close but with 60% most of you said you have to finish every book you read. I applaud those of you that do. I am not one of them.
Zakiya N. Jamal 