Through a Lens: Meet Rae!

Today I have my buddy Rae with me. She's an awesome blogger who was kind enough to answer some of my questions! Visit her @ Goodreads or her blog!

If you could be any book character, who would you be?

hmmm...This is a tough one. Probably either Hermione Granger (she's smart and can kick your butt), Annabeth Chase (she's a child of Athena, so she's smart, and she's got mad skills. :) lolz), or Enna from the Books of Bayern (who wouldn't want to be able to 'talk' to fire and wind? of course, with great power comes great responsibility. :))

If you could live in a fictional world, where would you live?

hmmm....Bayern would be a nice place, though the world of Harry Potter would be great. :)

If you were organizing an art exhibit of book covers, which ones would you show?

Ever been scared/freaked out by a book villain?

only occasionally, and I have to be really into the book to get freaked out.

Is there a book/series that everyone seems to have read but you?

Not at this moment- I was gonna say the Book Thief by Markus Zusak, but I'm in the middle of reading it right now. :)

Which book[s] make you cry?

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. I got kinda depressed in New Moon when Edward left, but I didn't cry- I don't normally cry when I read.

Which book[s] make you laugh?

The entire Percy Jackson series, The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg, The Sisters Grimm series by Michael Buckley--I could go on....

Have you ever been unable to finish a book?

sadly yes. I hate it, though I can't help not getting into a book- the author's writing style just doesn't pull me in.

What book did you like when you were a kid?

Ooo yay! an easy one! The Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osbourne, The Babysitter Club by Ann m. Martin, and, of course, could I forget to mention Nancy Drew? (i still love to go back and reread all of these from time to time.)

Any cool/funny reading habits or quirks?

When I come to a funny part in a book/story, I can't just laugh (or appear to be able to), I have to set the book down and clap my hands while squealing- It's weird, I know. I've just always done that (since I can remember I mean.) According to my sister, when I get really into a book, I shush those around me. :)

When is your favorite time to read? Favorite place?

Fave time? whenever I'm not on Goodreads. though I have adopted the *principle* i guess you would say that I have to read before i go to bed to fall asleep.
Fave Place? the couch, in my room, pretty much anywhere really im not partial to one spot.

If you could hang out with an author for a day, who would it be?

hmm....Rick Riordan. He's my all-time favorite author, and he seems very humorous and like a good person to talk to.

If you could adapt a book/series into a movie, it would be...

I would redo the PJO movie. :) but for one that isn't already a movie I would love to see Shannon Hale's Princess Academy become a movie (as long as I can be in charge of casting and help with the script so it don't stink)

What is your favorite word?

befuddle- it sounds like puddle, but with a 'bef' instead of a 'p' hahaha
and awesomesauce- they're tied. :)

What is your favorite book quote?

"The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. They're working to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a mixture of dark magic and gum disease." -Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

ONE WORD ANSWERS FOR...
Bestsellers- woo!
Book blogs- awesomesauce
Vampires- Twilight
Science fiction- TARDIS!
Classics- Austen
Harry Potter- wands

If you could recommend ONE BOOK to everyone, it would be

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Thanks for stopping by, Rae! She's one cool girl, and she's the one who introduced me to the Books of Bayern series by Shannon Hale - which are GREAT books by the way! And did you notice how she said she'd redo the Percy Jackson movie? Atta girl!

If you would like to be featured on Through a Lens, just leave me your email in the comment section and I'll get in touch with you!

Book Blogger Hop!

Hey everyone - it's Friday, time for another hop!
Head on over to Crazy for Books to join the Book Blogger Hop, a great way to connect with other book bloggers and share your links!

Thank you so much for visiting Imagination in Focus! Leave me your link too and I'll follow you too! :D

Shout-out to great book review sites

Personally, I want to know what to expect when I read books...just the same as wanting to know what to expect when I go to the movies. However, some book reviews - and I'm sure we've all heard them (maybe even written some ourselves) - sound a little too much like ringing endorsements and less like personal reviews. And even less have content information. We typically write reviews based on how we feel, which can be different from how someone else feels. And if we don't think something is that big of a deal (to us), we may not include it in reviews. For example, I'm unfortunately really uptight about sexual content and really lax about language and violence. One of my goodreads friends pointed out that unless a book has the F-word in it, I won't say anything about language. So I'll try to be more factual in that department... :)

And for a little shout-out within a shout-out: to Juju @ Tales of Whimsy... her reviews were really the first (not the last, but the first) that I saw that actually gave me a good indication of what to expect when reading. If you haven't been to her site, she has different "meters" that gauge content and give age-appropriate suggestions, which is brilliant. So thank you, Juju!

But anyway, on to the sites: These are two of the best sites that I know of for 1) parents and 2) readers who like to know what to expect when going into a book. All of my aunts and several of my other parent-friends know about these sites and use them routinely.

My favorite is Reading Teen: Parental Book Reviews. This site is just like Screenit (the best movie review site on the internet!) only for books. It breaks down topics by content and gives quotes from the book you're reviewing. They update their site often and feature reviews for very popular and new teen books... they're my favorite! I don't know if it's one mom or a team of moms, but I love their little commentaries at the bottom - they're cute! And most importantly, they're effective. In fact, their ratings have a link that takes you to actual passages from the book. In a situation like this, I really don't care about spoilers, but some of you might, so that link is optional.

Another good site is Common Sense Media - Books. This site is definitely more "professional" looking and they have way more titles to search. Personally, I ignore their age categories, because some of the 12-14 books I would consider better suited for 15-17...and a few of their reviews (for books that I've read myself) have left out content, plus obviously different interpretations on what is and is not "graphic." But again, they have more titles to choose from.

Okay, so I don't know how many parents may read this, or how many of you find book reviews like these useful. But I've been meaning to do a post like this for awhile, so here it is. :)

My recommendation? Bookmark these sites!

Which is more popular?

Both are YA dystopian series-novels
Both have legions of fans
Both have film adaptations in the works.

So I'm curious...

Which one is more popular?
and...
Which do you like better?

PS - I may be the only one, but when I hear that a book is going to be adapted into a film, my first reaction is kind of negative...like, ohh how many changes are they going to make THIS time?! Eragon and PJ just lost my faith in film adaptations. But hey! Apparently Suzanne Collins is writing the screenplay herself - that must mean that the movie will be faithful to the books? What are your thoughts on film adaptations of books? Yes or no?

Books for Trade! (US Only)

I got this idea from the wonderful Natalie over at Mindful Musings.
Seeing her post, I realized that I have a lot of books need to be cleared away

Basically they are ones that I...
1) have two copies of
2) probably won't read anymore
3) never read and likely will not get around to them any time soon

Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld
Specials - Scott Westerfeld
Captivate - Carrie Jones
Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness
This World We Live In - Susan Beth Pfeffer
Rampant - Diana Peterfreund
Oh My Gods - Tera Lynn Childs
Artemis Fowl - Eion Colfer
The Alchemyst - Michael Scott

Review - WONDROUS STRANGE

Wondrous Strange - Lesley Livingston
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy
# of pages: 321 (pb)
Amelia's Age-Level Recommendation: 13+
My Thoughts: Did a little something uncharacteristic in that I read two very similar books back-to-back - The Iron King and then Wondrous Strange (both being YA modern-faerie-tale stories). I'm glad I did, though! Truth be told, TIK had me in a little bit of a funk, and I was holding out for a hero to rescue me from bad faerie books (okay, so TIK wasn't "bad" - it just was "flat okay")

And let me tell you - Lesley Livingston is a hero! A hero and a wonderfully creative storyteller, too! This book was so fun, so enjoyable, such a delight to read! I love writing happy, positive reviews! It makes me not sound like a harpy :)

Wondrous Strange, to me, offered a very clever, very interesting amount of mythology and folklore to explain the faerie world. This is particularly interesting because the entire story takes place in New York City - the "Otherworld," as it is known, is only referenced.
There's something in particular that I found really neat: So often in faerie fiction, you hear the same things over and over: Seelie/Unseelie, Winter & Summer Courts. Well, those concepts are all here, but Livingston brings more to the table by having 4 courts: yes, Autumn and Spring are represented too! That was really cool. And the Midsummer monarchs: Titania and Auberon (instead of Oberon--cool!) are here as well, but they're not near as stereotypical. In fact, Titania is only referenced, and Auberon is portrayed in a way that makes sense with his character background.
This may sound redundant (because it is a FAERIE book), but in WS I actually liked the portrayal of the faeries. What I look for are not necessarily cute, adorable little J.M. Barrie/Tinkerbell fairies... but I do look for faeries that make sense for what they're portrayed to be. For example, if fairies are so magical/wonderful/beautiful/immortal/exotic, that should reflect in their culture and behavior. I don't want to get off-track here, but the easy way to write faerie fiction (it seems) has been to portray them as raunchy and too over-the-top... Not so here. Faeries aren't perfect - by any means - but they're not overdone.
Girls, you will *love* Lesley Livingston's writing style! It's just so beautiful, lyrical, and incredibly witty. Seriously, there were a few passages and quotes that made me laugh out loud!
Also, I loved that Livingston chose to tell Wondrous Strange using double perspectives. Sometimes seeing things from the point of view of the "normal girl character" can be a bit limiting, so it was really cool to read Sonny's perspective and be able to have a window into the faerie world through him.
And last but not least: the main character. I liked Kelley Winslow a lot. She's smart, spunky, and capable, but she's also able to let somebody else take the lead, too - a very good quality to have in a well-rounded and mature person. And she graduated early - very cool (I liked that little bit because I graduated early too!).

If you are a fan of faerie fiction, Shakespearean-influenced literature, or just a fun, entertaining summer read, definitely check out Wondrous Strange!

Final Grade:
I have Darklight, but I want to make the series last as long as I can! Wondrous Strange #3 won't be published until January 2011!

What to read next? need input!

Right now I'm reading The Spook's Nightmare, book 7 in the Wardstone series, but after that... I'm stuck in a rut. Help!

These books have been waiting patiently on my bookshelf, but now they're getting restless!
Which books should I read next? Have you read any of these, and if so, what did you think of them?

Round Two!

Life as We Knew It - Susan Beth Pfeffer
Impossible - Nancy Werlin
Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater
Darklight (Wondrous Strange #2) - Lesley Livingston
The Wizard Heir & The Warrior Heir - Cinda Williams Chima
The Hunger Games & Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
The Maze Runner - James Dashner
The Golden Spiral (Hourglass, #2) - Lisa Mangum