Do you have READING RULES?

I was just daydreaming in class today (something I do very, very well) about how my reading system has changed over the year. I had this rule, you see, that I wouldn't read a series until all the books were out (like reading the Twilight series right after Breaking Dawn was published), or until the second-to-last book was out (reading the Percy Jackson series with just the last book to go).

The reason? Pretty much the anticipation... if I got started reading a series and I had to wait like over a year for the next book to be published, I seriously would go slowly out of my mind. I can't let the story go! I will seriously stay awake at night wondering "what's going to happen next? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?!?"

But now...I'm kind of going back on my own rules. There are several "first books" that I have in my TBR pile

Now, I've kind of moved away from waiting around for all the books in a series to come out before I start reading... although I still try and hold off as much as I can. I'm trying to wait to read the Hunger Games series until closer to August just because I heard through the grapevine there's a CLIFFHANGER! At this point, the only reason I won't read a book (and I do have to "Just Say No" to a couple of them) is if there are content issues I've heard about, or if they're a genre that doesn't excite me.

Also, this may be really stupid, and/or it may reflect the inner "teacher" in me and the need to make lesson plans, but I actually set up a reading schedule - for the month of May, I have like 4 or 5 books blocked off that I'm going to read in a certain order.... c R a Z y ?

Do you set up any "rules" or guidelines when you read? Is there a procedure you follow when you pick what book you're going to read, or what you'll read next...?

Week in Review...

Books Reviewed

The Red Necklace

My Posts

Friday Finds [7]: The Dark Divine & Brightly Woven

Cover Wars [9]: Wings & Spells

Who Am I? Some Quick Stats

MY CONTESTS

The Last Olympian anniversary giveaway - ends May 3.

Incarceron & Sapphique giveaway - ends May 2

• Note: Sapphique will not be published in the United States until December - here's your chance to READ IT EARLY!

This week wasn't that bad. It wasn't spectacular, but not bad. This week coming up is going to be a GOOD WEEK - why? - because it's the last week of class @ my school. No stupid school=more time for reading & blogging! I have one more paper to finish by the 30th, and then I'm done, baby!

What I'm looking forward to...

as soon as I turn in my paper, I'm high-tailing it back to the house where I have a date with...

that's right! Fun-reading is back with a vengeance!

What book will you be dating this weekend?

Friday Finds [7]

Friday Finds are books that you've heard about during the past week. For me, I'm taking it a step further: these are books I heard about and may potentially read. Friday Finds is hosted by MizB @ Should be Reading

I seem to be on a pattern lately:

1) I either find/read books that no one's ever heard of/read yet or

2) I find out about books that have been out for awhile and that everybody has already read/reviewed!

But yep, this week's Friday Finds have actually been garnering lots of publicity, and I bet many of you have already read them.

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away. As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

And hey, apparently it's the first in a series! The sequel, The Lost Saint, comes out in December :) So I've added this one to my TBR after some of my close beta reviewers on GR gave this a good rating. And Bree Despain seems like a really level-headed person...that's always a plus.

And Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Sydelle Mirabil is living proof that, with a single drop of rain, a life can be changed forever. Tucked away in the farthest reaches of the kingdom, her dusty village has suffered under the weight of a strangely persistent drought. That is, of course, until a wizard wanders into town and brings the rain with him. In return for this gift, Wayland North is offered any reward he desires—and no one is more surprised than Sydelle when, without any explanation, he chooses her. Taken from her home, Sydelle hardly needs encouragement to find reasons to dislike North. He drinks too much and bathes too little, and if that isn’t enough to drive her to madness, North rarely even uses the magic he takes such pride in possessing. Yet, it’s not long before she realizes there’s something strange about the wizard, who is as fiercely protective of her as he is secretive about a curse that turns his limbs a sinister shade of black and leaves him breathless with agony. Unfortunately, there is never a chance for her to seek answers. Along with the strangely powerful quakes and storms that trace their path across the kingdom, other wizards begin to take an inexplicable interest in her as well, resulting in a series of deadly duels. Against a backdrop of war and uncertainty, Sydelle is faced with the growing awareness that these events aren’t as random as she had believed—that no curse, not even that of Wayland North, is quite as terrible as the one she herself may carry.

Dude, she's only 23 and she wrote this in college! Oh my gosh, she must a genius! I can barely manage a few pages a week... :( Anyway, this one sounds good, too and even better, Alexandra Bracken answered my email! Yay!

So I would like to know... who has read these books? What did you think?

Book Blogger Hop! (early)

For those fellow hoppers, welcome to Imagination in Focus!

The idea of the Hop is to network and find cool blogs you might not have found otherwise. Check it out at Crazy-for-Books and join in the fun!

Review - THE RED NECKLACE

**It's another week of no-fun-reading, so I'm posting a review from a pre-blog read...

The Red Necklace - Sally Gardner

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

# of pages: 416 (pb)

Amelia's Age-Level Suggestion: 13+

My Thoughts

I usually am a very big fan of historical fiction---if it is done right. Ann Rinaldi is probably my top historical fiction writer--she happens to write stuff geared more towards kids, and to me that is an awesome balance. Sally Gardner is perhaps just a hair under her, but throughout the entire story (and it is quite a lengthy story) I was completely captivated.

The setting is 1789-1792 France, with a brief switch over to England. I saw similarites to The Scarlet Pimpernel and A Tale of Two Cities both, not only in the setting and plot but also in the story's more intricate details. Sally Gardner is a perfect author for young readers because she has such a natural gift for using literary elements-- The Red Necklace is full of clever metaphors, allusions and personifications as 18th century France is brought to life.

The two main villains of the novel--a foppish (that's my word of the day, I guess) Marquis and the sinister Count Kalliovski --are entertainingly one-sided. JUST BECAUSE A CHARACTER IS ONE-SIDED DOES NOT MEAN HE IS FLAT! Sometimes the best villains - especially in childrens/YA literature - are the ones who are just downright bad. That being said, the narration didnt really show Kalliovski's POV until the very last of the story, and I would have liked more of a window into his behavior throughout the story. I'm totally okay with evil characters doing evil things, but I'd like to know why they do evil things or what their purpose is for doing evil things. I'm still a bit confused, in fact, about Kalliovski's reasons for doing anything.

While I love the story's two protagonists - a mysterious gypsy boy named Yann and a longsuffering aristocrat-with-a-heart-of-gold Sido, I feel a bit disappointed by their relationship. I was under the impression that the book would spend a great deal of time - or at least SOME time - on their romantic development, but actually, they only have a few conversations together. Yes, they're in love and all that, but why? Sally Gardner is such a talented author and she really has a gift for words, so I wish she could have given their relationship a bit more detail.

- My one main criticism of the book comes out of this: Her beginning and end segments are clearly the strength of the book, and the middle drags. That being said, the last half of the book, I'd say (beginning when the book flashes forward to 1792) at times feels really rushed, and her once descriptive narrative voice gets choppy and sloppy. For example, when Yann first sees Sido after a 3-year-absence, they just start talking like "oh, whatever. there you are." And then ending...? It should have been better explained. I knew it was coming, but still... an author really needs to expand on the great "WHY's" of their books. And one more nitpicky thing: In historical fiction (particularly kids/YA) you cant just throw out characters without taking the time to explain who they are. The "Big Three" of the Revolution--Robespierre, Marat, and Danton-- are all mentioned, but in a very random "name-dropping" sort of way. I will admit that my little issue could stem totally from the fact that I am a college-age history major. MS and HS kids will love this, and I certainly see this as a book I could read aloud to my future students.

Amelialand Rating

V: It's a book about the French Revolution, so yeah, it's pretty violent...but not really in a "disturbing" way - I would definitely recommend this to middle school and up

S: Some pretty blunt innuendos, which surprised/annoyed me. Completely unnecessary, but

Gardner probably thought she was being witty or something.

L: pretty 'PG'-level

Final Rating: 4/5. If you're into historical fiction, this should definitely be on your to-read list :)

Cover Wars [9]

This week I'm going to do a quick Cover Wars - the Wings series by Aprilynne Pike

* I have yet to read these...are they any good?

Here are the US covers for Wings and Spells

vs the UK covers...

And I want to know what Enchantments looks like!!

Personally, I like the UK ones better - they seem cuter and the US ones seem kind of bland :)

Have a good rest of the week

My LAST OLYMPIAN anniversary giveaway!

Zac & Corbin couldn't be here today, so I got another piece of eye candy to announce my next giveaway! Well, actually, I agreed to stop following him if he's announce my giveaway...so without further adoo, here is:


That's right! In just a few weeks it will be May 4, the 1-year anniversary of The Last Olympian's release. To celebrate (and it indeed is worth celebrating - long live the PJ series!) I'm going to be giving away one copy from The Book Depository--and you know what that means: INTERNATIONAL!

this one really is the best in the series!

• Oh, and if I hit 215 followers by May 3, I'll give away 2 copies - two is better than one, right?!

Real quick, here's the fine print:

1. You must be a follower to enter - and I do check. Please, please be sure you click the "Follow" button on the right-hand side. :)

2. You need to fill out my little form in order for the entry to count.

3. If you are a blogger and you win, please post a review of this book once you're finished reading. Yes, the series is hugely popular, but it's always good to spread the word!

This contest will run through May 3, at 11:59 PM (central time).

CLICK HERE TO ENTER!