Top Ten: Best Bookish Memories

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.  

This week our list (brought to you by Randi) is Top Ten best bookish memories! 

1. Meeting Lois Lowry Last fall I got to meet Lois Lowry! Okay, so we didn't chat or anything, but I did hear her speak, which was pretty cool. And she answered a lot of questions from the crowd. And she signed all my Giver series books! I'm so nice that I also got Becky a signed copy of The Giver. ;)

2. The Little House Experience I looooved Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books as a child. I remember having a book giving details about some of the things talked about in the book, for example, BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES. And my mom and I made them. :) Great memory!

3. Sharing a love for Dean Koontz The first time I walked into my friend Rick's apartment (the Rick that is now my husband!), I noticed his bookshelves (as booklovers like us always do!). I was happy to see that he had quite a few Dean Koontz book as Koontz was one of my favorite authors in high school. Turns out he's a favorite of both of us & that was one of the first things I realized we had in common. :)

4. Yesterday I'm student teaching at a local high school (YAY!) and there was a student who had started reading Ashfall by Mike Mullin for his Silent Sustained Reading book. I mentioned to him that I really liked that book, especially since it takes place in our state (Iowa! Go Hawks!). He seemed shocked that I had read the same book he was reading! I told him there was a sequel - "REALLY?!" :) Last Friday he was nearing the end of the book, so I took in my copy of Ashen Winter, book 2, and told him he could borrow it. Yesterday he handed it back to me, this 400+ page book, and told me thank you, that he read the entire thing over the weekend! And when a student next to him challenged him about having read the whole book, he says "Yeah, I did! *blank* happens!" (Spoiler free) ;) Which just so happens in the last 50 pages or so, not that I doubted him! That was a great moment, knowing that I shared a book with a student and he loved it!

5. Book-stealing Mom We visit my in-laws in New England every year and Christmas 2011, I happened to take my copy of The Help with me on our visit. I sat it on the dining room table while we watched a football game and my mother-in-law picked it up to see what it was about...and got sucked in. She tried to give it back to me, but I told her I had brought plenty of other books so she should finish reading it. She loved it! Then I finished it & we got to chat about it. Then she called a few weeks later to tell me I just had to see the movie! This past Christmas, I took House Rules by Jodi Picoult and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green just for her to read because I thought she'd enjoy them. I love sharing books!

6. Being the Book Master My sister-in-law came to our family Christmas and immediately asked if I had any books she could borrow - yep, two huge bookshelves full! Though we differ a bit in our reading (I'm not big on straight romance of the adult variety), I handed off Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (which she read overnight and loved) and Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park. Again, book sharing is awesome!

7. Starting a book blog with my friend Becky! Of course! How could I leave this out?! Becky & I got our B.A. degrees in English together and thank goodness kept in touch afterwards. Now she's a soon-to-be librarian and I'm a pre-service English teacher. Who better to have a blog about books, right? :)

8. The Best Book Store Christmas in New Hampshire, so beautiful. Anyway, my friend Dave needed to hit up the used bookstore for some Christmas gifts...and of course I demanded to go, even though he and my husband knew we'd end up being there all afternoon. ;) This building was FULL of books. Everywhere. It was amaaazing. I gave the shopowner (a former teacher) my contact info in case he gets class sets of books since he has quite a few teacher customers. The first day, I walked out with 47 books for $58. The next day, we went back (hehehe) and I got the condensed (read: tiny print) copy of The Oxford English Dictionary for $2! The new set is $350+! 

9. Joining the Geeks Who Read Book Club! I have met so many other awesome book-lovers in this book club and it's great to have a regular place to discuss a book that we've selected each month. Even when I didn't particularly enjoy the book (Beautiful Creatures), it's still a great time. I have fun chatting with them even outside of our discussion meetings. :) And I have gotten a TON of awesome book recommendations!

Well, that's all I can think of at the moment, but I think they're some pretty great bookish memories, if I do say so myself! So what are YOUR best bookish memories? Link us up!

The Big Game's On Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up!

Well the Big Game's On Read-a-Thon is over, and overall I failed spectacularly on my reading goals! My first goal 1 was to finish

 A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, which I started awhile ago. I managed to read about 60 pages before my Superbowl Party guests showed up. I've realized this is not a book I can read in large chunks; it is just so intense and difficult to read due to the graphic and violent (and true!) content. I also read student papers, which is always fun and rewarding! 

Needless to say, I didn't even touch The Snow Child or The Diviners, but there's always another day! I had fun reading posts from the other participants and reading lots of tweets. :) Read-a-Thons are fun!! 

Also, while you're here check out our 100th Follower Celebration Giveaway! You can enter to win one of Becky or my favorite books! :)

Review (Randi): The Wrap-Up List

 Title: The Wrap-Up List
Author: Steven Arntson
Page Count: 240
Published: January 8th, 2013
Genre: fantasy (contemporary)
Audience: young adult
Source: library
Rating: 2 I would give this book an awkward hug before its Departure

Goodreads Summary: 

In this modern-day suburban town, one percent of all fatalities come about in the most peculiar way. Deaths—eight-foot-tall, silver-gray creatures—send a letter (“Dear So-and-So, your days are numbered”) to whomever is chosen for a departure, telling them to wrap up their lives and do the things they always wanted to do before they have to “depart.” When sixteen-year-old Gabriela receives her notice, she is, of course devastated. Will she kiss her crush Sylvester before it’s too late?

Friendship, first love, and fantasy artfully mesh in this magically realistic world that ultimately celebrates life.

My thoughts: 

I was really excited to read this story because, HELLO, Deaths send 1% of the population letters telling them to wrap up their lives before they depart? Sounds totally cool, right? In theory, I love this book. In reality, I was disappointed. At 230-odd pages, this book felt like it was missing A LOT. There is no real back-story about how the Deaths came to be; yes, they’re supposed to be mysterious, but that feels more like a cop-out than a reasonable answer, having read the book. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters; the characters lacked depth and even Iris’ “secret,” which I liked in theory, seemed added in as a plot point rather than a real facet of her character.

The cast of the novel is diverse, which was a nice change from typical YA. We have a biracial protagonist, Gabriela, who is Mexican/Caucasian; Raahi, who is Indian-American; Sarena, who is African-American; and Iris, who is white. That’s really the only “pro” I have for the characters in this book. It seems like we don’t really get to know Gabriela (or any character), partially I think because the book practically begins with Gabriela receiving her letter notifying her of her upcoming Departure.

I finished this book because it was relatively short, otherwise, I probably would not have finished it because I made no connections with the characters or the overall plot. I feel like the premise falls very short. The kisses on Gabriela’s wrap-up list, which seem to be a big part of the book’s premise, turn out not to be all that important at all, especially considering the strange almost absurdist way in which they come to fruition. I can’t stress enough that this book fell far below meeting my (albeit, perhaps too high) expectations. This book might be for you though, particularly if you like contemporary with sci-fi/fantasy elements.

FTC Disclaimer: All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.

The Big Game's On Read-a-thon! - Randi

Since I *Randi* really need to get some reading done today, I thought it would be fun to participate in Jenn's The Big Game's On Read-a-Thon! 

I'm not sure how much reading I'll actually accomplish, but goal 1 is:

Finish A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, which I started awhile ago and which has been pushed aside to make way for other books!

Goal 2:

Make some progress on The Snow Child, though finishing it would be awesome.

If I manage to finish reading student papers and both of these books, next up will be:

The Diviners!

We'll see how far I get toward my goals. :) I'll be cheering on the 49ers in the big game today. And I need to bribe the husband into making kielbasa soup and cheesy hamburger dip.

Happy reading!

Also, while you're here check out our 100th Follower Celebration Giveaway! You can enter to win one of Becky or my favorite books! :)

Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Title: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making  Author: Catherynne M. Valente  Pages: 247 Audience: Tween Genre: Fantasy (high fantasy/ fairies) Rating: 4-I'd go on a quest with this book

Goodreads Summary

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

My Thoughts
This was pretty charming. I hated it for the first few pages but quickly fell into the quirky personification and word play. Everything is alive in Fairylands: the wind, longitude and latitude, a jacket, a lamp, and even death. Those who have read a lot of fantasy will appreciate the faint allusions to other tales and the playful use of traditional structure/ hero's journey. I didn't really care for the first person narrator fading in and out of the story, however. It sort of jolted me and drew me out of the tale, and he/she/it was too self-congratulatory for my taste. I think that style would probably lend itself well to an audio-book format, however.

The characters were familiar yet charming. It was all very much like the wizard of Oz, and purposefully so. September was a typical plucky heroine but likable and a strong female character (loved the wrench). Saturday and Ell were fairly interchangeable, despite one being a dragon and one a Marid (sea Djinn). No one was terribly complex, except the Marquess. I always like the evil characters best. I did like how you were never really sure if she was evil or not.

I really enjoyed the illustrations in each chapter, and the magical descriptions of Fairyland's settings. The land of Autumn was my favorite bit, with all the houses made of bread and the fountains of milk held together with butter. The description of Pandemonium as being built entirely of fabric was pretty enchanting as well.

Overall a fun, tongue in cheek read, though not terribly fast paced. I'm not sure who the intended audience really is. September is 12, but a lot of the vocabulary is far above that, though perhaps in the hopes that readers will learn new words. I'd recommend this to a late tween or early teen.

FTC Disclaimer

All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.

100th Follower Giveaway!

Celebrating 100 Followers!
Thank You!

In celebration of our 100th follower, we've decided to have our first giveaway! Thank you all for visiting and following our little corner of the interwebz! We started last July and I don't think either of us would have anticipated that people would actually take the time to comment and read our bookish thoughts. ;) We're happy to be here, sharing our thoughts with you and getting to know other people who love books as much as we do! We hope you'll continue to hang around Cardigans, Coffee and Bookmarks with us.

On to the giveaway! One winner will be able to choose one of the following books from a group of our favorites. (Click each book for a link to that book's Goodreads page!) We tried to give you a wide selection, so hopefully everyone can find something they like.

This giveaway is open internationally if The Book Depository ships free to your country (click here to check!) The winner's book will ship from The Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon, whichever is cheapest for us since we're both poor graduate students! We are buying the winner's book out of our own pockets, just to be clear. :) (Cover may differ from what is shown here based on availability.)

To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below! Must be 13 or older to enter. The giveaway will last from now until the end of February. And since this giveaway is celebrating our followers, the mandatory first entry is that you follow us via GFC. We will email the winner after the giveaway closes and the winner has 48 hoursto respond or a new winner will be chosen. Thank you! Much love!!! :)

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Review (Randi): Days of Blood and Starlight

Title: Days of Blood and Starlight
Author: Laini Taylor
Page Count: 517
Genre: fantasy (parallel worlds)
Audience: young adult
Source: owned
Rating: 5 I would live in the desert with "monsters" for this book

Goodreads Summary: 

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

My thoughts: 

***BE WARNED. There may be spoilers ahead if you haven’t read Daughter of Smoke and Bone. ***

This book. I adored Daughter of Smoke and Bone, but this book had me falling head over heels before I even knew what hit me. Laini Taylor’s beautiful writing, which I first experienced in Book 1, continues throughout. I cannot wait for book 3…and it looks like a long wait (2014?!). This book shifted from the more urban fantasy in Daughter of Smoke and Bone to more high fantasy, but the description of epic proportions carries on, and although I’m not a HUGE fan of rereading, I look forward to rereading this series again and again while I wait for Book 3.

This book is gore and monsters and betrayal and blood and still, somehow, hope as well. I love Karou, Akiva, and Ziri. One of my favorite aspects of this series is the little interludes with Zuzana and Mik; in a series that is, at (many) times, so dark, their playfulness and earnestness brings a little light. They’re two of my favorite characters. We see Karou and Akiva grow, and we also see more of Akiva’s siblings, Hazael and Liraz. I greatly appreciated seeing more of the chimaera, particularly getting more vivid images of them this time around, especially with Karou’s “monstrous” (scary and grotesque) battle-enhanced versions juxtaposed against the innocent civilian chimaera.

I’d say this book is still romance, but not the fuzzy “aww, that’s so cute” kind of romance that seems to be associated with the word. I still have hope that maybe a certain relationship will be mended. J There were several “WTF” moments in this book for me, and I appreciate that this book is completely unpredictable (at least for me!). I honestly have no idea what will come to pass in book 3, just as I felt at the end of book 1.

FTC Disclaimer: All reviews are solely the opinions of Becky and/or Randi. We are not paid in any way for our reviews, and all opinions are 100% honest.