the 1st ever THROUGH A LENSE reading profile!

I have a new feature called Through the Lense, which hopefully will be a weekly occurrence. Through a Lense gives a quick snapshot of your reading preferences, allows you to share a little about your experiences, recommend books, and talk everything lit! My good blog buddy and first affiliate Jami from YA Addict was kind enough to drop by and for a little lit chat! Here's what she had to say:

Do you have character crushes? (list as many as you want)

Oh my God yes! I have so many, let's see. . . Dimitri from Vampire Academy, Balthazar from Evernight, Edward from Twilight, Peeta from The Hunger Games, Ash and Puck from The Iron King, Po from Graceling, Sam from Shiver, Ethan from Beautiful Creatures, Jace from Mortal Instruments, Daniel from Fallen, Seth from Wicked Lovely, Jay from The Body Finder, Kai from Rising Shadow . . . Just to name a few. Yea, when it comes to character crushes I have it bad.

If you could be any book character, who would you be? (if you want to list a few, you can!)

This one changes all the time, but right now I would have to say Phe from Shadow Hills. She was a really cool character!

If you could live in a fictional world, where would you live? (if you want to list a few, you can!)

It would have to be the Mortal Instruments world. Something about that series completely captured me.

If you were organizing an art exhibit of book covers, which ones would you show?
Ooh I love pretty covers! Some books I will buy just for the covers. Let's see . . .

Those are on the top of my head.

Ever been scared/ freaked out by a book villain?
Yes, when I read the Prince of Mist I was freaked out! I kept swearing I saw something in the dark corners. That's what I get for reading at night!

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

The Vampire Diaries Series. I love the show, but haven't gotten to the books yet.

Which book made you cry? (if you want to list a few, you can!)

Hourglass by Claudia Gray had me bawling near the end. So emotional!

Which book made you laugh? (if you want to list a few, you can!)

You Are So Undead To Me and Undead Much? by Stacey Jay. That author has a great sense of humor.

Have you ever been unable to finish a book?

Yes, there has been a few that I couldn't finish. There is not enough reading time in a day to waste it on a book you just can't get into.

What books did you like when you were a kid?


I use to love The Babysitters Club books. I ate those up. Goosebumps were the bomb back then. Anything by Judy Bloom. I also remember reading The Boxcar Children. Oh, and who didn't read Nancy Drew?!

When is your favorite time to read? Favorite place?

I love to read at night when everyone else is asleep. I feel like I am the only one there, which makes it easier for me to slip into the world of the book I am reading. And I can read any place that is comfy!

Any cool/funny reading habits or quirks?

Well, I often find myself talking about characters like they are real. Any day you can catch me saying something like, "Too bad Katniss is not here. She would totally know what to do right now."

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

Maggie Stiefvater for sure! Not only is she a fantastic writer, but she's an artist and plays all kinds of instruments. She sounds like she would be a really cool person to be around.

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

I would have to say the Mortal Instruments Series. Which sounds like it's going to happen, so yay!

What is your favorite word?

Incognito. I feel like a secret agent when I say it.

What is your favorite book quote?

"There is no pretending," Jace said with absolute clarity. "I love you, and I will love you until I die, and if there is life after that, I'll love you then." - Jace in City of Glass

I get goosebumps every time I read this!



One word answers for…

Bestsellers? Yes 
Book blogs?Awesome 
Vampires?Bitten 
Science fiction?Some 
Classics? Some 
Harry Potter? MORE :)


If you could recommend ONE BOOK to everyone – that they may not know about – what would it be?

I would have to say All American Girl by Meg Cabot. It's my favorite from Cabot and one of the first books I read when I was first really getting into YA lit.

Thanks, Jami! Boy, you sure have a lot of crushes! And I agree, "incognito" is an awesome word :)

Do you want to be featured on Through a Lense? Leave a comment with your email, or email me!

it's a BOOK RIDDLE!

As my roommate and I were cramming for one of our finals today, she scribbled out this "riddle." We've read pretty much the same books and so I figured it out right away. It's so totally random, and I didn't make it up, so if it's stupid--blame her!

Anyway, thought I'd post this since this is a "book" review blog :)
* note, you may not know all the characters...

What do Cupid (from mythology), Percy Jackson, Leven Thumps, Charlie Bone, Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, Taran from the Chronicles of Prydain, Tamwyn from the Great Tree of Avalon, Tom Ward from The Wardstone Chronicles, Peeta from The Hunger Games, Razo from River Secrets, Bridei from The Bridei Chronicles, and Marius from Les Miserables have in common?

- Jace is definitely a "no." So is Patch from Hush Hush, Damen from The Immortals, Dimitri from Vampire Academy

I almost didn't post this, because it's really stupid! But oh well...here you go :)

apple snob

Got a new computer today--it's an macbook and I haven't used a mac since the 90s, so it'll take me a few days to get used to how to do things on here, and with finishing up finals I may not be able to make regular posts until the weekend.

Because of this, I'm EXTENDING the deadline on my Last Olympian giveaway till Friday. Due to all the entries, there will be two winners!

Thanks for your patience while I go through this "maintenance mode" and if you have final exams this week...

In My Mailbox [9]

Okay, so it's been since April 4 since I've bought any books - not bad! I'm recovering slowly.

I'm super psyched that this book arrived today, because it originally wasn't supposed to be released until May 14 or something like that - but it just arrived on my doorstop not five minutes ago. I love you, Amazon!

Here is The Golden Spiral, next to its predecessor, The Hourglass Door, which I plan to read as soon as icky finals go away. The Hourglass series is by Lisa Mangum, who is extra cool because she's worked in the publishing business for awhile and now is an author, as well! And Shadow Mountain is an awesome publishing group - I would love for them to publish one of my books one day!

What books did you get this week?

INCARCERON/SAPPHIQUE WINNERS!

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest, and there were LOTS!

The winner of my copy of Incarceron is...

Jennifer G

and the winner of my copy of Sapphique (this book won't be released in the US till December!) is...

Chelle

Okay winners, you have 48 hours to send me an email with your mailing address, or another winner will be drawn.

And don't forget to enter my Last Olympian anniversary giveaway, which ends TONIGHT.

Love myths?!

Here are two books on Greek mythology that I absolutely love!

Last year I was on a major Greek mythology binge and I scoured amazon looking for books that had myth retellings. I'm so glad I found these two, and now I want to pass on the info!

Aphrodite's Blessing - Clemence McLaren

Genre: marketed to adults, but suitable for the over-14 crowd (I admit to blushing a little when I read this!)

# of pages: 202 (hardcover)

This is a collection of 3 short stories dealing with some of Greek mythology's happier love stories - the tale of Atalanta, the tale of Perseus and Andromeda, and the tale of Eros and Psyche. Because these are short stories, characters fall in love rather fast, and everything ends happily. This book is a perfect for when you're in the mood for a fun, quick read that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

Cupid: A Tale of Love and Desire - Julius Lester

Genre: Adult fiction/fantasy

# of pages: 186 (hardcover)

Amelia's Age-Level Recommendation: I think this book is okay for 12+. :)

I'm not going to lie - I am completely fascinated by the story of Cupid and Psyche: it's my favorite Greco-Roman myth and so naturally I'm a sucker for [some] retellings (CS Lewis' Till We Have Faces didn't really do anything for me, but that's because it doesn't focus on the love story...*yawn*) I also really like this story because Lester really seems to do justice to the traditional elements of the myth while adding a sort of modern-day commentary. When you read about myths, sometimes they feel kind of cardboard: not really explained in detail, not exhibiting a lot of emotion.... but Lester's retelling adds heart and a deeper level to this timeless tale. He also uses a double-perspective which is a breath of fresh air, because most stories (including the above book) only focus on Psyche, so Cupid is either really unrelatable or really inconsiderate.

Favorite passage from the book?

"It was all Cupid could do not to turn around, go to her, and apologize for being such a fathead." (pg 124) <--- hahaha! I love Cupid, but yeah he is a fathead sometimes!

I don't usually like to talk about my writing, but one of my MSs has to do with this myth - I just love it so much! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes 1) myths, and/or 2) sweet romances that don't have a lot of angst. Don't get me wrong, angst is necessary sometimes - I'm not dissing angst! But sometimes, "sweet" is good too!

book-swapping...I need a break :(

Wow. I officially suck. :(

Last night I started Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side and I loved it. Tonight...hmmmm. Without being too "spoilery," I got to the 'accident' part and then it just all went downhill from there. I'm on page 225 right now (a little over 100 pages left!) and I just have to take a break from this. For those of you who've read this book, I think you may know what part I'm having a hard time with. The last 50 or so pages I've just been skimming over and I feel kind of annoyed, like my time's being wasted.

I know it gets better - heck, I know about the thing on Beth Fantaskey's website - you know, the thing she posted that you're supposed to read after you finish the story... I know how it ends, but man this is just brutal. I feel so sucky, too (no pun intended) because I know that everybody loves this book - I've seen so many people read it and enjoy it, so I'm embarassed that I'm having such a hard time with it.

There's an almost identical scenario to this one in City of Glass (for those who have read it)--only that lasted like 2-3 pages, whereas this has dragged out for over 100. And I must be an ultra-loser or something, because I just can't bring myself to read any more at this point. So I'll be reading something else this week, and after awhile I'll definitely come back to this, because I am curious for the resolution. I just can't take any more of the current story - the plot has totally degenerated, in my opinion...

Sorry for the drama. I guess I'm just curious if this has happened to any of you before? Like, having to take a break from a book, or maybe just not finishing it at all...?