Guess who's back? Back again? (It's us doing Odds & Ends, not Eminem, I'm sorry to say.) It would be ridiculously pointless for us to try to share fun news and links from the entire time we've been on O & E hiatus so everything that follows will be from the past week.

The biggest news of the past week is that Barnes & Noble CEO, William Lynch, resigned. Commentators seem to feel that this is a result of the failure of the Nook Media strategy, which Lynch headed up. I love the prices over at Amazon as much as the next reader but we need competition and I truly hope that however Barnes & Noble restructures their company or strategies in the coming months is effective. I am still mourning the loss of Borders. Speaking of the rise of digital media, Apple was found guilty of ebook price fixing this week in that case that has been going on for months and months. All the publishers involved in the case settled earlier and the damages Apple will be assessed have not yet been determined, but all parties will be forbidden from using any agency pricing agreements for two years. An Apple spokesperson said they will be appealing the decision.

Lots of film news this week. That virginal hunk  in Outlander by Diana Gabaldon has been cast for the television series, which is set to air 16 episodes on Starz in 2014. Sam Heughan will be playing Jamie Fraser and Gabaldon seems to be happy with that casting. The role of Claire is still up in the air but we'll keep you updated when that news is finalized. What do you think of the Jamie casting choice? We're happy he's at least Scottish. Also exciting is the news that Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone director Guillermo del Toro has commissioned Charlie Kaufman to write a screenplay to adapt the Kurt Vonnegut classic, Slaughterhouse-Five. By the way, if you haven't seen The Devil's Backbone and you like you be creeped out, go ahead and watch that movie alone in the dark and then come back and tell me if you kept your eyes open the whole time.  The Weinstein Company is making a film version of Lois Lowry's The Giver, with Jeff Bridges as the outgoing Receiver and the main character will be played by Aussie actor Brenton Thwaites. In other YA movie news, were you aware that they already made a movie of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak? I wasn't! It's coming out in November. Arguably this summer's biggest literary hit, Gone Girl, will be directed by David Fincher (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Se7en) and star Ben Affleck as Nick. Fun fact: We get several hits daily from people Googling "Did Nick kill Amy in Gone Girl?" And in lighter movie news, the first trailer for the rom-com Austenland, based on the novel of the same name by Shannon Hale, was released this week. Here it is:

It's this girl's opinion that it looks pretty cheesy but also fun and I really have no shame in admitting that I'll probably go see it. Will you? I think a lot of the demographic planning to see this movie will non-ironically enjoy this creepy Mr. Darcy statue that was erected in London's Hyde Park. Don't worry, it's glorious 12-feet of awkwardness will find a permanent home in Cheshire, where the movie was filmed. Let's all take a moment to realize that out there, somewhere in the world, someone got paid to go to work to make a huge molded Colin Firth. I wonder if he/she/they had brainstorming discussions about such heated topics as the length of his sideburns and just how low his v-neck peasant top should go. Speaking of hilarious jobs, Google has done all the muggles of the world a favor by adding Diagon Alley to its Street View. This next bit is absolutely unrelated to books, but did you know that if you zoom enough on Google Maps, you can see exactly which aisles are which at Home Depot?

All three of us Readventurers are newly fanatical about graphic novels so it makes us happy to report that comic and graphic novel sales are up 15% in the past year and remaining steady. This is so exciting because it will hopefully translate to more being published and a wider variety of stories. Amazon, of course, has jumped on the bandwagon by opening Jet City Comics, their own comics/graphic novel imprint, which will release comics from Neal Stephenson, George R.R. Martin, and Hugh Howey, among others. New to graphic novels but grew up in the 80s or 90s? Well, NBC Universal and Lion Forge Comics have teamed up to release graphic novel versions of several shows from that era--namely Saved by the Bell, Knight Rider, Punky Brewster, Miami Vice, and Airwolf--so that might be a good place to start. But seriously, if you need a recommendation for a graphic novel, just ask!  We've also read a huge number of short stories lately so we're excited to mention that the 2013 PEN Literary Awards shortlists were announced this week. I hope to get my hands on each of the nominated shorts:

A group called Geeks OUT is calling for people to boycott Ender's Game, which comes out on November 1st. The reasoning, it will come as no surprise to find out, is author Orson Scott Card's notorious and public anti-gay stance. Card issued a public statement on the matter, saying,

LOL, my sides. First, potential boycotters don't care whether the political issues are in the book or in the movie, they care whether millions of people will go consume a product whose profits will go into the pockets of a person who actively advocates against their civil rights. Secondly, very few issues are ever "moot," and I love the idea that OSC claims that all is said and done on the matter. Remember when every single Supreme Court decision was still 100% valid and never reinterpreted? Yeah, neither do I. But very well then, I guess we can take that to mean that spending even one dollar of his future earnings on any campaign, lobby, etc. that would try to overturn the ruling won't be happening since the issue is moot and doing so would be pointless. By the by, here is Lionsgate's public statement on the matter.

Here's a few extra notable links from the week:

• A New York school district sent home an error-riddled summer reading list.
• An Indian author was given a 1.7 million dollar advance in 1993. He’s being asked to give it back after not producing the book.
• A new Humble Bundle of ebooks was released! You can buy it here, and it includes works from authors including Lois McMaster Bujold, Cory Doctorow, and Peter S. Beagle, who did an AMA on Reddit to promote it. 
•  A rare collection of over 10,000 African American historical books, films, etc. was thrown out in Highland Park, Michigan.  The books were found and people are now protesting the school board.

Okay, I'll admit it: At least half of the author events I go to are for authors whose work I have yet to read. However,  I doubt anyone has a problem with this (except maybe my friends who have read said works and are annoyed I haven't yet) since I fill a seat for the bookstore, buy stuff most of the time for the author and the bookstore, and take rambly notes and pictures and videos for you, the lovely people of the internet. In this case, though I have not read any of her books I am very familiar with the author in question, Kate Elliott, from her online presence. I've read a significant amount of articles, blog posts, and commentaries she's written on a number of topics and I follow her on Twitter. (her handle is @KateElliottSFF) I find her to be extremely intelligent and well spoken (er, written) so I was curious to see what she would be like in person. After an introduction by a University Bookstore employee, Elliott started the event off by reading from one of the two works in progress she has going. I am really sad I didn't video this particular one because I was basically rapt for the entirety of the excerpt. The author mentioned that some members of the audience (and therefore maybe also some readers of this blog post) might be familiar with aspects of the work but as a new fan, I wasn't. It will be the beginning of an adult epic fantasy trilogy for Orbit but sadly, not out until 2014. (or maybe 2015?) Either way, I will definitely be reading it. The only thing I have written in my notes from the first reading is that the protagonist, Sarai, sounds a little bit like a few other fantasy heroines I've enjoyed--Katsa, Yelena, Ismae, etc.--but the series will be an adult one.  The portion she read was about the primary character, who seemed to be a non-marriage material woman for one reason or another having to do with magic, going exploring up a nearby peak. I loved the atmospheric feel of her grappling up a cliffside to document the changes in a series of carvings/artwork that she and a relative have been tracking. There were people riding huge birds, exciting descriptions of the surrounding area and history, and a particularly compelling interaction with another woman on the peak who makes Sarai forget she even ventured out that afternoon. It sounds like the protagonist of this story will be a smart, scrappy woman who goes on many adventures and seriously, I can't wait to read it. The tentative title of the first work is The Black Wolves.

The other project Elliott is working on is a YA trilogy for Little Brown Books for Young Readers. She said the quick sell for that one is that it is, "Little Women meets Count of Monte Cristo in a fantasy world inspired by Greco-Roman Egypt." There are so many things that interest me here. Let's make a list:

1. Laurie.
2. Edmond Dantès.
3. Sisters.
4. Prison breaks.
5. How much I loathe Amy March.
6. Why is Little Women the only instance I've ever heard of people saying "Marmee"?
7. How in the world can Little Women & Count of Monte Cristo be combined in a fantasy world? I can't wait for this.
8. Maybe one of the characters will be a writer like Jo?
9. If there is, please don't have her marry an old German dude.

Moving on, here is a video of Elliott reading an excerpt from the first book in that series.  It is tentatively titled Mask and slated for release in 2015. Sorry for the heads and the quality, but I was on my iPhone in the second row:

The first audience question was where the author got her inspiration for the Spiritwalker Trilogy, the conclusion of which was the reason for the tour--Cold Steel, which was released in late June. Elliott said that when her children were in high school, they asked if she wanted to world-build with them and the group just went wild with it. Originally the trilogy was not meant to be set in an alternate history but it just turned out that way. Another reader commented that she loves Elliott's handling of relationships and how they feel grounded and very real. The author said that she loves world building, in fact is a "world building dork," but that she wants readers to really be invested in characters and what happens to them and the best way to do that is not through world building, but instead through interactions. An author can tell us as much as she wants but we really do not get to know characters until they interact with each other and we can concentrate on the connectedness of it all. Speaking of characters, a few members of Elliott's extended family were in the audience and the author admitted to fashioning a few minor characters in the Spiritwalker books after two of her nieces. How fun it must be to be immortalized in a book!

The next question was basically an inquiry as to whether each progressive book an author writes gets easier to finish. Elliott said no. Some aspects of writing she feels she has improved at, namely recognizing how to structure a book, how scenes work, how to spot the need for x or y, how to frame plots, etc. She knows that she likes to do a quick intro in her series books so readers can recall what happened earlier in the storyline, but she does not recap too much and the series books are meant to be read in order. But along with the things she has learned and feels more confident about, she says the other side of the coin is that she is now much more adept at spotting flaws in her work. Whereas her favorite part of writing used to be the first draft and she was less excited about the editing, she's found that her opinion has changed and it is now quite the opposite.

At this point, the author spoke a bit about her first experience writing YA, after an audience member prompted a discussion. Elliott said it's been great and she was happy that when she turned in the manuscript to her editor, the aspects the editor was most excited about were also what Elliott cares most about, which was important...since the manuscript was a "mere 120,000 words." One thing Elliott knew was that she wanted to write strong women's roles. She mentioned a post she wrote for SF Signal called "The Omniscient Breasts", about the portrayal of female characters from the male point of view in sci fi and fantasy. Evidently, one commenter went on about how there aren't many positive portrayals of female characters out and about doing amazing things in books set in certain historical periods because the fact of the matter is that a miniscule number of women actually strayed far from the home and did anything interesting. They just got married, pregnant, did housework, and then died. (I just went to double check that comment and yes, that's what it says) The point of this mention is that because of that online conversation, she decided to write a compelling short story that is about a woman who does not stray far from home and does exactly those "boring" things. Boom, right? It's available in the Jonathan Strahan-edited anthology, Fearsome Journeys. So when it came to writing a YA novel, she wanted to have strong female characters and in this case, she ended up writing four sisters. Elliott said she started her draft in third person but the story felt lifeless. First person, past tense just didn't feel right either. First person, present tense is very popular nowadays, especially in young adult novels, but she always thought it felt wrong and she never really enjoyed reading or writing in that style. In this case, though, it worked and she can see the sense of immediacy that particular narration style lends to a book, especially a YA novel.

One reader said that Kate Elliott writes great characters but that unlike most authors, it seems to the audience member that Elliott almost enjoys writing side characters (not villains) that people sort of love to hate, and that it does not bother the author when readers dislike them. Elliott says that's probably accurate. She tries to make her main characters sympathetic but some of the secondary characters, "are like [her] on [her] bad days. Sometimes they just come out obnoxious."

The last question of the event was from yours truly. I am always curious what books other readers, bloggers, and authors recommend. The author said her all-time favorite series is the Deverry Cycle by Katharine Kerr. If you think it might sound interesting to you, she and Aiden Moher over at A Dribble of Ink recently did a readalong starting with the first book in the series, Daggerspell.

Her other recommendation, I'm sure Catie will be happy to hear (she's a big fan!), is the Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch. Elliott said she read the first three books in three consecutive days and that Aaronovitch has the right blend of humor and that he writes fantastic women characters. The bookstore host mentioned that future editions of that series will only be published in the UK. I don't have a secondary source to confirm that but I did just check on Amazon US and no results showed up for the fourth book in the series, Broken Homes, which will be released in the UK on July 25th.

You can find out more about Kate Elliott's writing on her blog, or follow her on Twitter @KateElliottSFF. For those of us who are Redditors (or if you are just interested and/or have a question for Kate!), she will be doing an AMA on Reddit on July 17th, 2013.

Last February (16 months ago), I wrote a post about all the books I have been meaning to read. In some cases, the books were newer releases I'd heard good things about. In others, I've owned to the books for over a decade and I like to imagine the characters inside of them as actors who've given up on the performance that will never come and instead spend their days tanning by the pool (or probably by the pond since most of these books are oldies) and their nights playing snooker and getting wasted on cocktails. I am 100% sure this daydream of mine is a result of my obsession with Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series, in which all of our books are constructed in the BookWorld from the sets down to the casting of actors. Because I love that series, I had no trouble at all catching up with the one book I was behind on and then the next one, which was published after my initial list post. Likewise, I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Eve and Roarke in J.D. Robb's In Death series. I am now adamant about listening to every installment, after plowing through six audiobooks to catch up in the last year and a half. The only problem with that series is that NORA ROBERTS IS TOO DAMN PROLIFIC AND EVERY TIME I CATCH UP THERE IS  A NEW RELEASE! YOU'RE KILLING ME, SMALLS! (FYI Thankless in Death comes out September 3rd.)

All told, I have finished 26 books from my list thus far. Here they are:

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (9/12)
2. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (1/13)
3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (6/12)
4. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (6/12)
5. The Twits by Roald Dahl (5/12)
6. The Witches by Roald Dahl(3/12)
7. Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt (5/12)
8. One of Our Thursdays Is Missing by Jasper Fforde (8/12)
9. The Woman Who Died A Lot by Jasper Fforde (2/13)
10. Deadline by Mira Grant (3/13)
11. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand (8/12)
12. Boundless by Cynthia Hand (3/13)
13. Indulgence in Death  by J.D. Robb(6/12)
14. Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb(5/12)
15. New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb (6/12)
16. Celebrity in Death by J.D. Robb (7/12)
17. Delusion in Death by J.D. Robb (12/12)
18. Calculated in Death by J.D. Robb (5/13)
19. Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (2/13)
20. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (4/13)
21. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (6/13)
22. Beekeeping for Beginners (Short Story) by Laurie R. King (9/12)
23. All-Of-A-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (2/13)
24. Being Billy by Phil Earle (2/13)
25. The Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger (1/13)
26. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (6/13)

Not too shabby but still a bit embarrassing. Several other bloggers were inspired by my list and made lists of their own but I'm not going to link to them because they all seem/ed to be far more successful than I was thus far and this is the part of the internet where I can pretend I kick ass even when I am just meh at something...like completing this list of books to read. Lately (read: since about two months into this challenge until now), I've been thinking about revisiting this list and amending it. I think it would be better for fickle ol' me to have a list, yes, but a list that has some fluidity to it. Therefore, I am going to nix these 26 off the list as well as about 20-30 more that I have an inkling I will never want to get to in the time period and those I don't want to read anymore at all. Also, I think it was optimistic (read: delusional) of me to include long series to finish. Sometimes series go horribly wrong midway (Anita Blake, Sookie Stackhouse, & the Undead series, anyone?) and I need at least the first book in a series to see whether it will be a good fit so I have deleted the remaining books in series that are new to me and only left on the first books.

In terms of new categories of books I want to add onto my list, I have done some serious thinking about this. I have been having a really hard time keeping up with blogging lately but I do love doing it and I especially love doing some of our feature posts. For that reason, I want to include a few books that I really want to compare to their movie counterparts, so here goes:

1. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde
4. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth
5. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
6. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
7. Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I chose most of these because they are movies I have seen so many times that I know them nearly by heart. Several of them I have read before but want to read anew to compare them to their respective movie/s. This is particularly true for Little Women because I signed up for Classics Retold, a feature coming up in September hosted by Alyssa at Books Take You Places, Alison at The Cheap Reader, and a few other bloggers in which tons of different bloggers tackle all the versions (book, movie, tv show, etc.) of a classic and compare the retellings. I've chosen Little Women for that event and I'm excited to get started on all of it. What are your favorite books that have been made into movies? I have so, so many that I don't even know where to begin.

My next new category is books I've bought or my friends have bought for me that I have not gotten around to, but instead of the ones I included last time (that had been sitting on my shelves for ages), I am picking only the books I acquired in the last few months:

9. Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre
10. Friday Brown by Vikki Wakefield
11. Pivot Point by Kasie West
12. Golden by Jessi Kirby
13. A Brief History of Montmoray by Michelle Cooper
14. The Amber Amulet by Craig Silvey
15. Wildlife by Fiona Wood
16. The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
17. Girl, Defective by Simmone Howell
18. All This Could End by Steph Bowe
19. A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty
20. The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint
21. The ZigZag Effect by Lili Wilkinson

And a few arcs (of the many) that I really want to read:

22. Vortex by S.J. Kincaid
23. Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier
24. Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
25. 15 Days Without A Head by Dave Cousins
26. The 39 Deaths of Adam Strand by Gregory Galloway
27. The 100 by Kass Morgan
28. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
29. Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce

A lot of my recent reading time has been taken up by graphic novels, and I am hoping to keep that up for years to come. Though I have quickly plowed through a lot of the "must reads" in that area, there are a bunch that I want to get to so I can be more well-read in that format. I don't think I can consider myself any sort of superior recommender of graphic novels until I've completed these ones I haven't crossed off yet:

30. The Watchmen by Alan Moore
31.  Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughan (read the first, at least 1 more)
32. The Transmetropolitan series by Warren Ellis (at least 1)
33. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
34. Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
35. The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman (at least 1)

While perusing my shelves, I found a lot of books I bought with the intention of reading them because I loved something else I read by that author. With that in mind, here are a few additions to the list that are around because I love the author (for one reason or another):

36. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
37. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
38. Hold Still by Nina LaCour
39. Stories of My Life and Others by Ted Chiang
40. The Musician's Daughter by Susanne Dunlap

That's 40 new additions, so here are the former list items I am keeping, in hopes that I will get to them. All told, I am back up to a few more than 110 so I can keep my arbitrarily made up challenge title of '110+ Books I Have Every Intention of Reading Next':

1. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
2. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
3. Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning
4. Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
5. All The King's Men by Robert Penn
6. Animal Farm by George Orwell
7. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
8. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
9. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
10. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
11. 1984 by George Orwell
12. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
13. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
14. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin
15. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
16. Earthseed by Pamela Sargent
17. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
18. Green Rider by Kristen Britain
19. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
20. Matilda by Roald Dahl
    
21. The BFG by Roald Dahl
22. Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
23. The Boy by Roald Dahl
24. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
25. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator by Roald Dahl
26. Going Solo by Roald Dahl
27. Danny and the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
28. George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl
29. The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl
30. Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
31. The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye
32. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs
33. Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre
    
34. Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre
    
35. Killbox by Ann Aguirre
    
36. Aftermath by Ann Aguirre
    
37. Endgame by Ann Aguirre
    
38. Blackout by Mira Grant
39. The Hidden Star by M.K. Hobson
40. The Likeness by Tana French
    
41. Faithful Place by Tana French
42. Broken Harbour by Tana French
43. Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
44. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
45. Soulless by Gail Carriger
46. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
47. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
48. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgalov
49. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
50. Madapple by Christina Meldrum
51. Between Shades of Gray by Rita Sepetys
52. Kristin Lavransdattar by Sigrid Undset
53. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
54. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
55. The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge
56. The Reapers Are the Angels by Alden Bell
57. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
58. The Taste of a Man by Slavenka Drakulic
59. The Stand by Stephen King
60. Chime by Franny Billingsley
61. Burn Bright by Marianne de Pierres
62. The Raging Quiet by Sherryl Jordan
63. How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr
64. Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
65. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
66. Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
67. Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
68. Blindness by Jose Saramago
69. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
70. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
71. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
72. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
73. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

So, what do you think? Did you start your original list after me and then LEAVE ME IN YOUR DUST? (*cough*BONNIE*cough*) Are you still working on a list of your own? If so, leave me a link in the comments and I'll swing by and harass you about it every once in a while. Feel free to do the same for me. Or maybe start a list of your own and link me to that! I LOVE lists, especially goal lists of books to read.

Can you believe it?  We made it back here in less than six months! Sure, it still took us two months but we are going to call it a victory. It turns out that a little short fiction may have been just what we all needed.  After starting this challenge, we all ended up diving into various short stories and collections so look out for more of that in the future!  For now, we are playing another round of She Made Me Do It with each other, featuring more short stories, graphic novels, and novellas.

Here's what happened with last month's recommendations...

Tatiana read: Everything but The Gorgon in the Gully.

Verdict: Like Flannery, I ended up reading Rash's entire collection, and it's good, with stories set in different times, with different tones. It's not surprising, however, that I didn't necessarily like the same stories Catie did. Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven broke my heart as well (drugs are BAD, people!). But I thought A Servant of History was a lot of fun too, and a nice reprieve from other dark stories.

As for Mo Willems' books, I pretty much read every book of his that my library had, including gems like Time to Pee! I think they are great fun for kids and I will definitely read them again and again, once my boy is old enough to understand them. Willems' are kids' book of the best quality. After reading a bunch of baby books already, I am sure of it.

I will read The Gorgon in the Gully one day, when it miraculously lands on my doorstep:)

I can't really rate everything I've read for this challenge individually. Let's say, they all got at least 3.5 stars from me. Most 4 and up. Thanks, Catie!

Catie read:  Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster

Verdict:  Here I am feeling like the slacker of The Readventurer, because I only read one (ONE) of the fabulous picks Flannery chose for me.  And they were all so short!  I have no option but to hang my head in shame.  Oh, and I should also probably mention that the one I read actually served double duty because it was, coincidentally, the selection for my book club this month.  So I’m also kind of a cheater.  Nevertheless!  I really did enjoy Daddy Long Legs.  Yes, it really does remind me quite a bit of my beloved Anne of Green Gables.  In some ways, I actually (gasp!) liked it even more.  Judy is practical and resourceful and scrappy in a way that dreamy Anne never could be.  And while they both share a seemingly interminable optimism, Judy’s feels darker and more realistic next to Anne’s dreams of golden pavilions and starry nights.  Anne had to come down to Earth to find her true love in the simple, reliable boy next door.  But for Judy, finding love requires expanding her dreams and hopes out of her small world.  However, there’s still the small (read: gigantic, unsurpassable) matter of the love interest.  No one, and I mean NO ONE, could ever surpass Gilbert Blythe for me.  So really, when compared to the Anne books, this series doesn’t stand a chance. 

I did end up reading the second book in the series (Dear Enemy) as well.  It was pretty charming, but there were just enough references to eugenics and the hiding away of disabled children to make me uncomfortable.  If that sounds like something that would make you uncomfortable too, I’d suggest stopping after number one.  Overall, this was another awesome edition of SMMDI.  I give Daddy Long Legs a solid 4 stars.

Flannery read: All three, as well as Nothing Gold Can Stay (one of Catie's recommendations to Tatiana).

Verdict: I had a great time reading all of these, and I am a huge, huge fan of these short recommendations. The first one I went for was Ethel & Ernest, as it was the first hold to show up at my library. The author wrote the short, illustrated book about his parents and their romance. I loved that he was able to capture simple living and a somewhat small-scale approach to life without it feeling at all insulting. My grandparents lived similar sorts of lives (or at least that was the appearance they gave a growing me) and it made me miss them and the stories they'd tell. Briggs' parents fell in love and together they experienced a lot of technological advancements as well as hard times during rationing and WWII. The book only takes about twenty minutes to read and I recommend it to anyone new to graphic novels/illustrated stories and anyone who wants to just smile at the story of a relationship.

Next, I listened to Nothing Gold Can Stay by Ron Rash, which was recommended to Tatiana in this SMMDI. Good thing I don't pay attention to what is recommended to who because I absolutely loved listening to this collection of stories. Each one begins as a regular story but has some sort of twisty ending. I had to rewind several of the endings to make sure I was getting the full weight of what was happening. I am definitely a Ron Rash fan after listening to this audiobook. I read another of his stories last week in an anthology and I now plan to read everything he's written.

It took a while for my hold on The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate to come in, but when it did I read it immediately. Firstly, it is always amazing to me when an author whose work I am reading lives in my general vicinity. I can't help wondering if I might've walked by them or seen them somewhere. This is especially true when the words they've written are lovely, as this story by Ted Chiang definitely is. Merchant is a sort of time-twisty sci fi fairy tale. I wasn't sure what I was going to get but I was very happy with how original Chiang's tale felt--sort of the middle east meets Replay by Ken Grimwood.

The last stories I went through were the two by Truman Capote. I was a bit underwhelmed by Capote's painting of Marilyn Monroe as a constantly cussing, insecure actress rather than the bombshell most of us know her as. I still liked the story but I think it lacked the depth and interest that, say, my other assigned story, Handcarved Coffins, had. Coffins is based on a true crime serial killer story. While I was riveted by the story, I have to admit that the lack of closure was frustrating. Also, this story would be an amazing episode of a television show or a movie.

When all was said and done, I rate them as:
Ethel & Ernest: 4/5
Nothing Gold Can Stay: 4.5/5
Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate: 4/5
A Beautiful Child: 3/5
Handcarved Coffins: 4/5

The Shining Girls
Author: Lauren Beukes
Publication Date: 6/4/2013
Publisher: Mulholland Books
[Goodreads|Amazon]

Blurb: THE GIRL WHO WOULDN'T DIE HUNTS THE KILLER WHO SHOULDN'T EXIST.

The future is not as loud as war, but it is relentless. It has a terrible fury all its own."

Harper Curtis is a killer who stepped out of the past. Kirby Mazrachi is the girl who was never meant to have a future.

Kirby is the last shining girl, one of the bright young women, burning with potential, whose lives Harper is destined to snuff out after he stumbles on a House in Depression-era Chicago that opens on to other times.

At the urging of the House, Harper inserts himself into the lives of the shining girls, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He's the ultimate hunter, vanishing into another time after each murder, untraceable-until one of his victims survives.

Determined to bring her would-be killer to justice, Kirby joins the Chicago Sun-Times to work with the ex-homicide reporter, Dan Velasquez, who covered her case. Soon Kirby finds herself closing in on the impossible truth . . .

THE SHINING GIRLS is a masterful twist on the serial killer tale: a violent quantum leap featuring a memorable and appealing heroine in pursuit of a deadly criminal.

Review:

Reading The Shining Girls was like reading Gone Girl all over again. Here I was, expecting an entertaining genre fiction romp, and instead I got a literary, undoubtedly well-written but mostly boring novel that underutilized its exciting premise.

Sorry to say, but The Shining Girls is just not nearly as entertaining as its blurb leads you to believe. A time-traveling serial killer and the thrilling chase after him lead by his only surviving victim and her journalist friend? Give me some of that!

BUT. Eh. It would have been a better story if time travel, one of my most favorite things in science fiction, wasn't only a gimmick in this story, which is doubly sad because Lauren Beukes is such a skilled science fiction writer. I also would have been better if the mystery and thrill and suspense actually ever materialized. Basically, the whole plot concept here is an excuse to write about these "shining girls," who, in my understanding, are some special women of their own time who are unlike other, regular, women; are pioneers in what they do, so to speak. I might be wrong though. One of the killer's victims is a welder, another - a lesbian architect in a misogynistic 50s firm, and yet another - a social worker. Strong, admirable women? Yes. "Shining"? I don't really know. The shininess of Kirby, our heroine, a regular student with a messed-up family life, is especially unclear. Same applies to several other victims. Not that these girls are not interesting, they are. But why the killer is attracted to them, and why he suddenly needs to kill them, the moment he steps into the time-transporting House, is never fully explained. Time travel in this book is used only to give the author an opportunity to address some women's issues in various decades of the 20th century, and nothing particularly time-twisty ever happens. There are hardly any mind- and time-bending tricks that usually make science fiction about time travel so thrilling. Instead, the serial killer could have been murdering his victims in any period in history. It made little difference as far as the investigation is concerned. What a waste.

I heard a lot that this book will be the BIG book of the summer. It wasn't for me, but maybe it will be for others? The Shining Girls is being promoted as mashup of The Time Traveler's Wife and The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, and in this case the comparison seems apt in the way that time travel is a gimmick (as it was in the former title) and the main character is a damaged girl who finds help via a journalist (as in the latter). However, there is a bit of too much of The Wife's irrelevant time traveling and meandering pace in The Shining Girls and too little of The Girl's kick-assery and investigating for my taste.

However, I would still strongly recommend Beukes' Zoo City.

3/5 stars

Ever since the FTC  announced their disclosure regulations, I have been cracking myself up by thinking about how I could approach 100% disclosure for every book I read and review positively. (since everything on the internet is true and I read a few posts saying the FTC doesn't care if you disclose for negative reviews) So before I say anything positive about Queen & Commander, you should know that, among other things, I met the author from a Craiglist post I made about starting a book club a few years ago, I ate some frozen yogurt with her a few weeks ago, she got me into White Collar, she gave me an e-copy of the book to read and maybe review, and we have had multiple conversations about Teen Wolf fanfiction. Oh, and I'm pretty sure she is on the other side of the lake in Seattle making a list of ways to murder me since I promised to post a review and this interview weeks ago and my inability to write anything prevented me from doing it. But I'm doing it now! *shakes fist to the sky* So here's the deal: Today, I will post the interview I did with Janine and include two giveaways--one that she is running with the other winners of the Ippy Award for sci-fi/fantasy/horror ebooks (for a KINDLE! and also their books and other book-related ish) and one for a paperback of the book (US only) and 3 e-copies (Int'l).  Tomorrow, come hell or high water, I will post a review of this book. For now, I will post the blurb and tell you that I really enjoyed it (like 3.5-4/5), I read it in one sitting, and that it involves space and adventure.

Queen & Commander (Hive Queen Saga, #1)
Author: Janine A. Southard
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: 3/8/13
Source: Provided by Author
[Goodreads | Amazon]

Blurb (GR): On a world where high school test scores determine your future, six students rebel. They’ll outrun society as fast as their questionably obtained spaceship will take them.

Rhiannon doesn’t technically cheat the Test. She’s smarter than the computers that administer it, and she uses that to her advantage. She emerges from Test Day with the most prestigious future career possible: Hive Queen.

Gwyn & Victor are madly in love, but their Test results will tear them apart. Good thing Rhiannon is Gwyn’s best friend. Rhiannon can fix this. Queens can do anything.

Gavin is the wild card. Raised off-planet, he can’t wait to leave again... and he’s heard of an empty ship in orbit. The Ceridwen’s Cauldron.

Both Luciano and Alan fit in the system. They don’t need to leave. Only their devotion to Rhiannon spurs them to join the Cauldron’s crew.

Spaceships. Blackmail. Anywhere but here.

Interview with the Author:

1. How long have you been writing? Did you always know you wanted to write as a career? 

I’ve been writing forever.  I started a million novels on my parents’ computers in grade school. I wrote short stories in the back of my essay bluebooks during exams.

In high school, I tried selling my stories and didn’t get very far. That was when I decided to be an editor instead. My very first editorial internship, I learned two things:

1) I’m pretty awesome as an editor

2) Some fairly mediocre stuff gets published (and, in fact, should get published)

Once I started aiming for mediocre, writing seemed much less daunting. And, with the practice, I got a heck of a lot better. (I’d like to think I’m good or even great now. Not mediocre anymore.)

Anyway, I still wasn’t writing as a career, until a few years ago. Well, I was writing marketing copy and company newsletters, but not narrative fiction. I only went full-time on that when three things happened:

1) My unemployment benefits ended (hey it’s a recession), so I could decide whether it was worth hunting for any job in my field or whether I should spend time writing.

2) I got married, and my spouse’s paycheck was good enough that I could have the starving artist’s career without having to endure the starving part (which, let me tell you, makes for a much lower barrier of entry).

3) I got paid for creative writing, and that validated my skills. I’ve been contracting for videogames and selling short stories in niche markets.

2. What inspired you to integrate Wales and Welsh language into Queen & Commander? Do you have any connections with that area? 

It started when I named the spaceship, the Ceridwen’s Cauldron. (Great symbolism for coming of age and learning about the world.) Then there’s what I wanted to change the name of the spaceship to: the Manawyddan’s Mousetrap. (Symbolism for when you have to stop turning the other cheek, but in a peaceful way.) Eventually, the ship name will change. I thought it’d happen in Queen & Commander, but now it’s looking like it’ll be in book 3.

Anyway, I had this background in Medieval Romance Literature of the Otherworld from my university days. So I was hip to how I wanted to name my ship. But that didn’t necessarily have to tie in to the whole world yet. It could’ve been a company policy. Or my main character could’ve had a thing for The Mabinogion.

But then the coincidences started piling up. I did my research for my FTL (“faster than light”) drive, and the scientist whose work I wanted to use was Miguel Alcubierre. (Wikipedia on his theories here.) And it turned out that he’d done his graduate work at the University of Wales, Cardiff. (I keep thinking he was an Aberystwyth man, and I keep being wrong.)

Once that happened, I knew I had to Welsh-ify my details. And it was perfect! What other society would be so separatist as to try to keep their own colonial planet culturally pure... and then make up details to include? (I love the current Welsh culture champions who backfill their own versions of druidry, etc., and work hard to make sure that people understand the essential Welshness of their constructs. They care. They’re sincere. And it’s a beautiful thing.)

So they were the perfect group to perform an experiment in standardized testing and societal restructuring and make it stick.

As far as a personal connection to Wales, umm. Well. My UK copyeditor is Welsh (much to my relief) and I went there on vacation once. But I’m learning a bit of the language now and very much enjoy all the research I get to do for this series.

3. Do you have the entire story arc/s planned out for the series or are you innovating as you write? 

I have the important parts of the next two Hive Queen books planned out already. The details, though, I’m filling in before drafting each book. (For example, I first thought book two was going to be a frontier planet sheep-stealing thing. It isn’t. It’s on the space station where book one ends. But the important story arc bits—not telling: spoilers!—are the same from my original concept to the finished version.)

4. What's your usual writing atmosphere and schedule like? Do you have a routine? 

I tend to do my actual draft writing in cafes. I find it near-impossible to write at home with all the distractions. So my routine is something like: buy a spicy mocha, read my notes while drinking said mocha, get through at least one scene before buying something else.

When I’m not working a full-time contract, I’ll meet up with other local writers 2-3 times per week, as well, which creates an atmosphere of enforced creativity.

When I’m plotting or editing, I can be anywhere. And I tend to do my promo work (like this interview) and my administrative stuff (e.g., accounting spreadsheets, ebook programming) at home... where I don’t feel guilty about taking a break for a bit.

5. I was very interested in the idea of hives and finding out as a teenager that you may live a life of service and devotion to another, though I can see parallels to the organization of earlier times, particularly monarchical societies with knights, ladies in waiting, etc. Where did this idea come from? 

Initially it came from the way I observed guys in college all circle around one girl as the center of their social circle. Then I married that observation to historical courtier circles (especially the intrigue around Queen Elizabeth I*) and (I admit) a teenage love of the anime/manga Fushigi Yuugi** which was about teenage girls as the focal points of 7-person groups.

* Queen Elizabeth I in fiction – Ink and Steel by Elizabeth Bear
** Fushigi Yuugi by Yuu Watase – note that I’ve never read this in English translation

6. What kinds of stories and books do you like to read? Any particular reason why you went with science fiction for your debut novel? 

I love space opera. (For those unfamiliar with the term “space opera” tends to refer to stories in the far future with spaceships and space colonies, but where the emphasis is on interpersonal relationships and epic worldbuilding rather than science itself.) Largely, this is for the inherent optimism.

I mean, the story itself might be about something really depressing. Say, unending war (The Forever War by Joe Haldeman) or unethical cloning (Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold). But in order to get to the really depressing subject matter, humanity had to continue and progress. Western society as we know it had to improve and make its way out among the stars! The depressing subject is just a setback on a long upward trend.

So, it was kind of obvious that I’d write something in the space opera genre to start. It’s my own kind of optimism: I’m going to be successful. Heck, this is the first book in a series! If that’s not optimism, what is?

7. As someone who has created what I consider to be a very professional self-published book, what has been your favorite part of that process thus far? Are there any aspects of self-publishing you do not particularly enjoy? 

My favorite part, hands down, is the editorial control. I mean, here I have a YA novel with multiple POVs on a spaceship. A literary agent or publishing house right now would tell you that “ensemble isn’t in right now” and “spaceships are so passé” and “shouldn’t there be a romance in a YA novel?”.

And they’d be right, as far as sales to the largest market go, I’m sure. But everything is cyclic. And, darn it, I wanted to write (and would love to read) some non-romance ensemble YA!

As for what I don’t like, there are two things that spring to mind:

1) Details – I’m not a detail person. But I make my own ebooks (HTML and CSS) and layout my own print editions and track all my expenses for tax purposes.

2) Uncertainty – In the end, I don’t have that editorial validation. No one said, “Oh! I love your manuscript and I’m picking it up for my young adult line of [major publishing house].” When I make a giant change, there’s no one to say, “You’ve gone too far with that Welsh stuff.” It’s nerve-wracking.

8. If you could hand sell your book to a YA sci fi reader in a few sentences, what would be your pitch? 

It’s a young adult space opera story with an ensemble cast. If you used to read the tie-in Star Trek novels about junior ensigns, this will totally be your thing. Also, there’s a whole bunch of really dark undertones that you can think to pieces... or ignore in favor of the action adventure part. Plus: teenagers being smart even though they have no life experience. You’ll love it.

9. What are some of your favorite young adult books? Is there a story you wish you would've written or a writer whose work your particularly admire? 

My favorite young adult books tend to live on the younger side of young adult. I’m a huge fan of pretty much anything by Gordon Korman. (Most recently of his, I’ve read Son of the Mob which reminds me a lot of Son of Interflux --oh, also by Korman! And the middle grade Schooled.) I also love Alanna by Tamora Pierce , Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater, Whip It by Shauna Cross , and Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst.

10. What's next for you? How much work do you have left on the series? Any other story ideas buzzing around your brain? 

Queen & Commander has two planned sequels with their major plot arcs all worked out. There may or may not be books four and beyond, but I haven’t started thinking about those yet. I HAVE started planning out a few alternate-universe novellas in the Hive Queen universe. (For instance, the  alternate version of book three—in the world where Rhiannon Tested as a Perceiver instead of a Queen—is a murder mystery.)

I’m also reworking a novella which I refer to “The Menaechmus Twins in space with shapeshifting cats,” which is a comedy-romance of mistaken identities in a far future where humanity is not alone in the universe.

And probably next year I’ll either finish or scrap a contemporary YA/MG novel, Kimiko’s Metal Life, about a teenager who joins a heavy metal bar band (mostly of 40-60 year old men who ride Harley Davidson motorcycles on the weekend) to use her classical music skills in a fun way. There are thrift store costumes, unhappy bartenders who look the other way at her nonexistent ID, and heartwarming moments when her mom becomes her biggest fan.

Thanks for answering my questions, Janine!

GIVEAWAYS:

Janine has teamed up with the other Ippy Award winners in her category to run a fantastic giveaway for  Kindle Paperwhite, tons of books and ebooks, and other book-related prizes. There's a free entry but you can gain extra entries by adding all three award-winners to your Goodreads shelves, buying a copy (they are $4.95 or less and one is currently free!), following on Facebook and Twitter, etc. For more details on the books, the prizes, and the giveaway, please visit this site.  The other giveaway is being run by me. I will buy a paperback copy of the book for one lucky reader in US/Canada (maybe I'll even get it personalized!) Three international (or US) readers will win an e-copy of the book. Good luck!


BOTH GIVEAWAYS HAVE ENDED. THE WINNERS FOR OURS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY EMAIL. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOUR OF YOU!

2013 has been a rough reading and blogging year for the Readventurers thus far. One terrific example of this problem is our last She Made Me Do It challenge, which took us (well, to be fair, me (Flann), Catie, and Maja from Nocturnal Library) SIX MONTHS to complete and close out. Our perfect solution is to make our challenge this time to be one easily completed. So, for this edition of She Made Me Do It we are challenging each other to read recommendations that are all under 200 pages in length. Many of our picks are far shorter than that; some even just a few pages long. We are all hoping to be hugely successful this time around. Let us know what we should each pick in the comments section.

Nothing Gold Can Stay by Ron Rash

What it's about: Characters spanning a huge time frame (Civil War era to present day) from the American South deal with the fleeting nature of life and their crumbling hopes.

Why I think she'll like it:  I was introduced to Ron Rash through another installment of SMMDI, so it's only fitting that I should pay it forward in the same venue.  I recently listened to the audio version of this collection and loved it even more than Rash's full-length novel, Serena.  The audio version is just over four hours and has an incredible cast of narrators, but she doesn't need to listen to the whole thing.  I particularly think she'd enjoy the title story, Nothing Gold Can Stay, about two childhood friends whose lives have changed since they discovered prescription drugs, Where The Map Ends because it has a great twist ending, Those Who Are Dead Are Only Now Forgiven because it broke my heart with how inevitable the conclusion felt, and Cherokee because it kept me at the very edge of my seat and gave me exactly what I was hoping for, only to make me realize just how awful and limited that hope was.  

The Gorgon In The Gully by Melina Marchetta

What it's about: Young Danny Griggs (Jonah's little brother!) struggles with overwhelming fear, especially for the horrible Gorgon which lives in the gully behind the play yard of his school.  When he kicks a soccer ball into the Gully's lair, will he have the bravery to go after it?

Why I think she'll like it: This is the only Melina Marchetta novel that Tatiana has not read yet.  Enough said.  Bonus - I will mail it to her myself since I know it is hard to find.

A Mo Willems Sampler 
(To be obtained at the library as separate books...unfortunately the "Mo Willems Sampler" is not a real product...yet.)

What they're about: Thoughtful, clever, and hilarious stories for kids that grown-ups won't mind having to read over and over and over (AND OVER) again.

Why I think she'll like them:  As a new mom, Tatiana might enjoy discovering some wonderful children's book authors, and Mo Willems is one of the best.  I recently ordered a bunch of the Elephant and Piggie books for my five year old daughter and couldn't help reading them all myself before giving them to her.  His stories are entertaining for all ages and while they sometimes have a lot of emotion and heart, they're never overly preachy or didactic.  Mo Willems always writes to children and for children and never down to children.  My favorites are:
Hooray For Amanda And Her Alligator - about a little girl and her favorite stuffed alligator toy.
The Elephant and Piggie Series - about an Elephant and a Pig who are best friends.
The Knuffle Bunny Series - about a little girl who chronically loses her favorite toy (the series spans her life from babyhood to adulthood and my husband can't read the end of the last book without getting all emotional).
The Pigeon Series - about a pigeon who always wants what he can't have (great for younger kids and toddlers).

Tatiana's Verdict: Well, next time I am at the library, Mo Willems' books are definitely going into my bag. It is so true, it's been a pleasure to discover children's writers. Who knew that 20-page books with pictures in them could be so interesting? I am hoping Willems will become one of my faves too. Nothing needs to be said about Melina Marchetta's book, I've been waiting to read it for ages. Ron Rash's collection might be a challenge. There is a bunch of people waiting for it at the library, fingers crossed, it won't take me months to get it. I am confident though, at least one of Catie's recommendations I will be able to finish this year, to add to my count of, what?, six full-length books read in 2013:)

Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote

What it's about: Short works (fiction and non-fiction) by one of the best American writers who never fully realized his potential (IMO).

Why I think she'll like it: I am cheating here a little bit. This collection is more than 200 pages long, but I wouldn't want Flannery to read it all, it is not even in quality. However, a couple of titles here are sure to catch her attention. Knowing that Flannery likes biographical non-fiction, a conversational portrait of Marylin Monroe "A Beautiful Child" should be of interest to her. "Handcarved Coffins" is a true crime story, and I think she will like it as well. As for the rest of the collection, short stories can be easily skipped, while some other conversational portraits are great too, but it's up to Flann if she wants to read more. I am only "assigning" these two:)

The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate by Ted Chiang

What it's about: A Middle East-flavored fairy-tale/time-travel story.

Why I think she'll like it: Well, I recommend Ted Chiang as often as I can (still waiting for Catie to read him, too). He is a SF author who writes cleverly and elegantly. This story is the most accessible of his. Flannery loves SF and time travel, plus, the story has a certain fairy-tale element to it that she, who enjoyed Fables so much, will appreciate. It is also available as an audio podcast for free here and can be easily found in iTunes. 

Ethel & Ernest by Raymond Briggs

What it's about: A lovely story of life of the author's working class parents.

Why I think she'll like it: While I don't think this graphic novel is the best ever, I think Flannery will be pleased by this charming, funny life story. It'll be a nice departure from her more beloved action-packed comics.

Flannery's verdict: I am going to read all three of these. Overall, I'm ecstatic that all three of us agreed to challenge each other with short books this time around because reading something that someone else is recommending can suck the enjoyment out of a book. This isn't because the book or the rec is bad but just because it isn't what I'm in the mood for. (I am very fickle) I had not heard of any of these picks before this moment and that excites me even more. I can almost feel Tatiana's enthusiasm for Ted Chiang in her paragraph on that book so there is no way I can skip it, but I must admit that she also hit on two of my 2013 hot spots with her other two picks -- biographical nonfiction and graphic novels. I put all three on hold and cannot wait to knock them all out. If I had access to them at this moment, I feel like I could read all three today.

Catie's Verdict:  Wow, I want to read all three of these!  I will probably at least start all three of them and see what happens.  I've been so fickle and distracted lately that almost nothing is able to hold my interest, but I think Flannery has done an excellent job with her picks.  I'm going to start with Daddy Long-Legs because I am indeed in a romance mood which is a rare thing for me and so I feel compelled to indulge it while it's here.  Flannery also knows that I love Isaac Asimov though, so that one will probably be a must.

So what do you think? Have any short recommendations for us?

In December, we started a She Made Me Do It challenge with Maja from The Nocturnal Library. Life got in the way for all three of us, as it does, but as of last week we were all able to read at least one of the challenge books. We are happy to finally close out the challenge and concentrate on the laundry list of other reading goals each of us has. We'll probably start another challenge in the next few weeks, and hopefully it won't take us over five months to complete it next time. Here's a recap of who read what and how we felt about the experience this time around...

Flannery read: Lucid and Virtuosity, and tried Discount Armageddon.

Verdict: I was so sure I was going to love Lucid. At the onset of the book and through probably about the first third or so, I was insanely curious what was going on. If anyone is unfamiliar, the book switches back and forth between Maggie, a budding young actress in Manhattan and Sloane, a typical teenage girl in Mystic, Connecticut. Each night, when they go to sleep, they dream of each other's lives, but which one is real? Both? Neither? I think the book just dragged on too long before getting to its point, but I did like the narrative style, the sense of humor and random references, and the idea behind the book. It was a 3-3.5/5 for me. I attempted to read Discount Armageddon but could not get into it on my initial try. There was nothing specifically off-putting to me besides the cheesy outfit on the cover (which actually makes sense in the book), so I will definitely try it again. Virtuosity I read in one sitting. I loved reading about Carmen and her mad violin skillz. It was also a 3.5-star read for me. Thanks for the challenges, Maja! I definitely needed the shove to read these ones.

Maja read: Holier Than Thou.

Verdict: I had a bit more difficulty with the books Flannery recommended, but not because she doesn’t know me well (trust me, she does, she even knows how to pronounce my name and doesn’t hesitate to spread that knowledge to unsuspecting mutual acquaintances), but due to a series of unfortunate events. My sudden love for fantasy made me decide to read Alanna first, so I went ahead and downloaded the audio, only to realize that I loathe the narrator. The poor book didn’t stand a chance. I then picked up Never Let Me Go from my library, but my sister was visiting at the time and she convinced me I wouldn’t like it. We rarely agree about books and I don’t usually take her advice or recommendations, but in this case, her lack of enthusiasm was contagious. In the end, Holier than Thou couldn’t be avoided any longer. I finished it just last night and liked it enough to give it 4.5 stars, although it accomplished exactly what I’ve been trying to avoid: it left me feeling melancholic, restless and a little bit sad. I will eventually read Alanna too because I’m certain I’ll like it, but I won’t be going back to that audio.

Thank you, Flann! Please don’t hit me anymore.

Catie read: The Stranger.

Verdict: I’ve had The Stranger on my shelf unread for an embarrassing number of years.  It’s one of those books that I have because I picked it up at some library book sale with every intention of reading it and then of course didn’t…possibly because of the intimidating “snooty intelligent book” waves which emanate from it or possibly because when it comes to books, I just get sidetracked easily, like a toddler at a petting zoo.  Regardless, I was thrilled when Maja finally gave me a real excuse to force myself to read this book.  Back when we started this challenge, I pulled it off my shelf and promptly started it, fully intending to finish within a week or two.  And then I chronically found an excuse not to read it for the next five months.  I’m sure you all know how that goes.  BUT, I am happy to report that I finally found my way back to good old Camus and finished this thing a couple of weeks ago.  And I loved it!  I mean, I always knew that I would.  Back in college I practically handed around my copy of The Plague to every friend I had (I was a really exciting person back then, obviously).  What got to me the most about The Stranger was that, despite its cool and disconnected tone, the simmering waves of grief and loneliness and rage were so palpable to me.  Actually, in that way it really reminds me a bit of Holier Than Thou (which I’m so happy that Maja enjoyed).  It’s also completely depressing to consider how quickly we humans will judge one of our own for acting in any way "abnormal", but you all know how I love depressing books.  So thank you, Maja for finally making me revisit Camus.  Now, which member of my playgroup wants to borrow it first?  Anyone?  Bueller?  

Maja read: Eon.

Verdict: I should start by saying that I fell madly in love with fantasy just a few months back. It started with Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, continued with Kristin Cashore’s books, and I haven’t been able to stop myself since. I should also say that, when it comes to fantasy recommendations, there is no one in this world I trust more than Catie. Out of the three books she chose for me, I picked up Eon first simply because I already owned a copy. To say that it wasn’t what I expected would be an understatement. For some reason, I assumed it would be more middle grade than young adult, and I assumed Eon(a) would be an admirable character, but neither was correct. While I didn’t adore the book like I adored Seraphina, I ordered the second one as soon as I finished reading, and it’s been taunting me from my shelf ever since. However, every time I look at it with its 600 intimidating pages, my reading schedule starts growling at me. I guess I’ll just have to wait for another challenge.

I will definitely read the other two books as well as soon as I find the time. Thanks, Catie!

I know there are a several book blogging memes about acquiring books. In My Mailbox, Showcase Sunday, and Stacking the Shelves are a few that readily come to mind. Here at The Readventurer, we are way, way too lazy to commit to a weekly post on anything. I do, however, want to post a few times a year about a few acquisitions I make to my ever expanding bookshelves so I am going to call the series…wait for it…My Ever Expanding Bookshelf. I know, original, right? Maybe I can harass the other two into doing the same, though my powers of persuasion seem to be minimal these days. Also, I am going to leave a lot of books I purchased for myself and many I received as advanced reader copies out of this post. Why? Because it’s my post and I can do whatever I want!

I am kind of addicted to entering giveaways. I usually go through phases where I will completely binge on giveaways and spend about a half hour per day entering things. Don’t worry too much about my sanity, it is usually while I am catching up on the DVR. I try to enter all the giveaways my friends are hosting, not only because I can be snarky (some might even say annoying) in the giveaway forms, (My name, you ask? ‘IT’S ME, YOUR FRIEND FLANN! PICK ME RAFFLECOPTER, PICK ME!’) but also because I like to support them in everything they do. And boy am I lucky. From blogger giveaways, I recently won All This Could End by Steph Bowe, signed copies of Slammed and Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover, The Kassa Gambit by M.C. Planck, arcs of TransAtlantic by Colum McCann and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag, a signed copy of The Evolution of Mara Dyer, and Grave Mercy and Dark Triumph by R.L. LaFevers. From publisher giveaways I won School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins, Crewel by Gennifer Albin, and an arc of Our Song by Jordana Friebourg.

My coup de grace was when I happened to be on Twitter and saw people tweeting about Epic Reads’ Wednesday Tea Time, which I’d never heard of. I clicked over to watch it and they were having an “arc party” and one lucky winner would win every arc they were talking about. I think you see where this is going. Here are the ones I received in my box of awesome:

I know, right? I am one lucky lady. I mailed three of the arcs off to blogger buddies of mine after I took the picture because I am not caught up on some series and they were very excited to read and review them. It would be jerky of me not to help my friends out! Because I sent a Twitter friend of mine the Kasie West arc, she kindly mailed me her arc of Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier, which I have been looking forward to since I read Shadowfall last…fall.

Here are ways I find giveaways, in case you are wondering:

1)      On Twitter, I search “signed copy,” “win a copy,” “book giveaway,” “blog tour,” “blog hop” etc.
2)      I read through all the post headings in my Google Reader/Bloglovin’ and find ones that might have a giveaway. (Listen, I also read regular posts, I'm not a jerk, but I'm specifically talking about how I find giveaways to enter. I don't unfollow people after giveaways are over, either, unless they clog up my Twitter feeds.)
3)      I go through the giveaways lists on I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and often make my way through the giveaway hop lists. (this is huge time suck, though)
4)      I sometimes google the Twitter search terms I mentioned and add a filter for the past few days
5)      I ‘liked’ most of the publishers I read on Facebook and Twitter, as often they will run promotions through their websites and Facebooks and mention them on those platforms.
6)      I subscribed to Shelf Awareness (for Readers and Pro), Publishers Weekly, and Tor.com e-newsletters, which sometimes have giveaways in them.
7)      I attend many, many book events and often, if there is a publishing rep there (and sometimes even where there isn’t!), there is a giveaway or a few, especially if it is a multi-author tour.
8)      I regularly check publisher websites, which often run giveaways.
9)      I can’t think of any more line items at this moment.
10)   Which is a shame because everyone knows you need 10 line items to make a list.

The biggest time investment in obtaining books is making friends and maintaining friendships. Barf. Who needs friends, amiright? All those months (years!) of feigning interest netted me two books this week: Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre (from Maja!) and Wildlife by Fiona Wood (from Nomes, with candy!). Huzzah! And though I know most of you know I am kidding, just let it be known that I am joking about feigning interest. It is probably a little sick how interested I am in the lives of my friends. The only other books I want to mention are Blackout by Mira Grant, which I found in perfect condition at Half Price Books for $4 the other day, The Witness by Nora Roberts, which I undercover bought at Costco when my mom asked me to go there to pick up some stuff for her (Muahahaha!), and a remaindered copy of Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt that I found at Third Place Books when I went to see R.L. LaFevers. That one made me insanely happy as I read an e-arc and did not have a hardcover copy.

I read Grave Mercy a few months back, when I was a panelists for The Cybils. At the time, I think I was just saturated with YA sci fi and fantasy books and I needed something to be bang! flash! zing! with uniqueness, solid writing, great appeal, and tons of other criteria. I thought the book was fun and readable but not as earth-shattering as some of my blogging buddies and Goodreads friends thought it was, though it's quite a mixed bag when it comes to reviews from reader friends of mine. I still wonder if I would've liked Grave Mercy more if I'd read it at a different time, especially because it is sometimes very hard to remember details of every book I read when I am on a binge. I remember quite a bit about Grave Mercy and I was/am still very excited to read book two in the series, so much so that I followed the entire blog tour for Dark Triumph and entered all the giveaways so I could (hopefully) score copies. I think Maggie from Young Adult Anonymous would probably tell you that it is a foregone conclusion that I would win a set, since I seem to be insanely lucky these days, but I did win a paperback of Grave Mercy and hardcover of Dark Triumph. There is a point to bringing this up: I bought another paperback of Grave Mercy at the event I am currently crappily recapping and had it personalized so I will be giving away the paperback I won at the end of this post.  Back to regularly scheduled programming.

Robin/R.L. LaFevers is a bit of a badass, in my opinion. She is totally matter-of-fact and seemed completely at ease with her audience and what she was going to talk about. I felt under-informed at the onset because I did not realize she also wrote two middle grade series, the Theodosia Throckmorton series and the Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist series. She said her audiences can often be quite a mixed bag and thus seemed a bit relieved that the present audience seemed to be completely comprised of the target audience for the His Fair Assassin series. After writing for younger readers, she was itching to write something darker and on a bigger scale. She said that she has always loved Arthurian stories, Mary Stewart novels (particularly The Hollow Hills and The Crystal Cave), and the merging of history and fantasy.

An audience member asked how important historical accuracy is to her, LaFevers says she favors "historical fantasy." Most of the time, she feels beholden to stay pretty true to historical events but some truths are probably best left out of young adult novels, like perhaps early teenagers being married to 35 year old men, etc. Another questioner asked the author to elaborate a bit about the magic system in place in the series. LaFevers said that the "magic" (if you can call it that, she says it is more mystical than magical) is caused by birth trauma to certain children and their connection to the god of death. One reason she wanted to include nuns was because she wanted there to be a moral aspect to the story. Also, she knew that there are folklore stories about being "marked for death." If forced to pin down the historical accuracy of her work, LaFevers says that about 80% is true history, 10% is history she's taken liberties with, and 10% is completely made up.

To pick the names for her characters, the author said she pored over historical records. Quite unsurprisingly there were many, many common names which kept recurring (e.g. Elizabeth) but she did not want to use those, nor did she want to use any "silly" names like Mildred or Gwyneth. Ismae is a deviation from the name Esme and means dismay. Her last name, Rienne, is a play on the French word rien, which means 'nothing.'

Both books had their challenges in the writing process but LaFevers said that Grave Mercy was probably easier to write since she had the luxury of time while working on it. Dark Triumph had a deadline and Sybella's story is much darker than Ismae's--she said she had gray clouds over her for months.  Grave Mercy actually started in third person but LaFevers says she kept losing Ismae into the shadows she is so good at hiding in so she had to switch the perspective. She wrote SEVENTEEN drafts of Grave Mercy and the original manuscript was 500 pages. Dark Triumph, comparatively, took only seven drafts, which compared to the many authors I've seen on tour before who have answered this question, is still a large amount. LaFevers says she likes to do many rewrites--each time she focuses on something different and she prints each draft in a different color.

A lot of people ask her how she came up with the series. She said that after that idea of assassin nuns came to her, she was looking for an excuse to set a book in the Middle Ages. During that era, a majority of people were very young.(she is not certain why but it could be many factors-plagues, war, life expectancy, etc.)  People started “adult” life much earlier, sometimes being married at 10-12 (“not that [she’s] advocating that!”) and leading battles at 18-19. At this point, LaFevers talked a bit about the possibility that the prevalence of war and the tumultuous time period of the Middle Ages could have been a direct result of so many young people being in charge of countries, armies, etc. After all, just look at Joffrey in Game of Thrones and imagine people like him and Sansa Stark in charge of decision-making. (I’d really rather not, thanks!)

From the idea and the time period, she knew she wanted to incorporate old gods/goddesses into the belief system, which really was not far-fetched, as it was common practice back then. The idea of girls going to a convent as an escape was also based on factual history. Though the idea may be a bit scary to imagine, many young women saw convent life as a life of relative freedom. Much of the history in the series is based on fact, a lot of it concentrating on Anne of Brittany, whose father, the Duke of Brittany, promised his daughter’s hand in marriage to several different people (6-7 suitors, it is said) in exchange for military support, after which point the Duke died and left general confusion. A later question revealed that the whole council was based on real events and that Anne was betrayed in the same way. The story element of illegitimate children living with full-blooded children in the same palace was also based on real events. The area of Brittany also has rich folklore which LaFevers wanted to include, including Ankoù, who personified death, Celtic druidesses, and stories about the night rowers who would hear knocks on their doors in the middle of the night and then go to row the souls of the dead across the water.

Besides history, LaFevers wanted to write about love. She found a real love herself and she sees so much YA that includes unhealthy relationships so it was important to her to include a real, healthy relationship but also to incorporate the ideas of love of country and duty. In addition, it was important to show that being a teenager is hard, so it is at least in part about one girl’s struggle. When she first started writing Grave Mercy and Ismae got to the convent, Sybella (the protagonist from Dark Triumph) seemed half crazy and she threatened to take over every scene. The author said she had to “take her aside” and explain that she would be the center of her own book, and now she is. Dark Triumph is darker than the author thought it would be, but the character came to her as a whole and she felt she had to stay true to her. Sybella has been through a lot in her life and, in real life, a lot of people do not make it through these trials. Some people heal, but not many victims become the hero. The fact that Sybella ends up with Beast, was never intended to be a spoiler, according to R.L. LaFevers. Actually, he was supposed to die in the narrative but LaFevers just couldn’t do it; he was perfect for Sybella. He could deal with her dark past because he had his own darkness, having seen war. The author really likes the fact that though he is a soldier, Beast is gentle.

An audience member asked how much time LaFevers spends on research. It took her seven years to write Grave Mercy. She was working on other contracted work and considered the book to be her own “private sandbox” that she could play around in. She Googled everything and the luxury of time allowed her to add more layers to the story. When she is writing, she will often get on a roll and leave blank spots where there are holes in her research, such as [They eat breakfast. What did people eat for breakfast back then?] and then moving on to keep the creative juices flowing without interruption. Those holes are easily filled with a few minutes of Googling.

The third book, Mortal Heart, will be about Annith. LaFevers says Annith is pissed off about her place in life and why everyone around her is getting to do all sorts of things while she is stuck at the convent. In Mortal Heart, the author says Annith will find out the answers to all her questions and we, as readers, will have lots of questions about the abbots/abbesses answered as well.

Sadly, LaFevers has yet to make it to France herself. She said if the books do well enough, she would love to go, but for now she has to make do with coffee table books and Google to find information about the region. I hope she eventually gets to see the region that inspired her series!

Because I bought a copy of Grave Mercy for the author to sign for me, then subsequently won a copy, I’m giving a paperback copy away to one reader from US/Canada. Just leave your name and email in the Google form and I’ll let random.org pick a winner one week from today. (Open until 5/18 at midnight, PST)

CONTEST OVER: The winner is Roselyn from Bookmarked Pages! Congrats!