In My Mailbox (51)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme run by Kristi at The Story Siren which explores the books that have been delivered to our mailbox or doorstep or directly into our hot little hands.

Won:

Every You, Every Me by David Levithan (ARC)

Thank you Random House/Random Buzzers

Purchased:

Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez

Shade (Shade, Book 1) by Jeri Smith-Ready

The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Terra Elan McVoy

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

Moonglass by Jessi Kirby

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, Book 1) by J L Bryan (free e-book)

For Review:

Airel (The Airel Saga, Book 1) by Aaron Patterson and Chris White

from Stone House Ink

The Knife and the Butterfly (Carolrhoda Ya) by Ashley Hope Perez

from NetGalley

Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klauss

from Simon and Schuster Galley Grab

I made another trip to the Green Valley Book Fair and picked up some books that were on my wish list. I was happy to find a hardcover of Shade there because I'd given away my paperback as a RAK but wished I'd kept it after reading Shift. I didn't realize how much I was going to love the series and would want to have the complete trilogy. The same thing goes for Jenny Han's Summer Series. I bought the e-books so that I would have them accessible whenever I wanted but it was only after I finished them all that I wished I had copies to lend to friends. Now I have the whole series to share. Yay!!

I'll be checking out everyone's IMM to see if anyone else went just a little overboard like I did. I'm not ashamed. Nope. But I will be cutting back in the next few months. I have to!!

Love My Indie with author Kelly Milner Halls

 

Love My Indie is a feature where fellow bloggers, readers, and authors tell me about their favorite independent bookstores. I love the feeling I get when I go into an independent bookstore - like it is filled with hidden treasures just waiting for me to find them. Maybe one day I will have the chance to visit these amazing bookstores.

Showing some Indie Love today is:

 

Kelly Milner Halls, children's author and

editor of Girl Meets Boy

Twelve years ago, I moved to Washington State from Colorado.  In terms of independent bookstores, I left the grand presence of the legendary Tattered Cover for regions unknown.  Finding Auntie's Bookstore made me certain I would soon call Spokane "home."

 

Chris Crutcher

I've had many of my own in-store events at Auntie's since 1999, but I fell in love with the store watching other authors take the podium.  My friend -- and the only person I knew in Spokane when I arrived -- Chris Crutcher took to the stage and taught me how to reach the general public with humor, humility and articulate grace.  "Let them know who you are," he once told me.  "Let them know why you write what you write."  Hundreds of people turned out to hear Crutcher share a part of himself, and many became my friends. 

Crutcher cut-out

Terry Trueman was one of them.  When Auntie's celebrated the release of his new book, Crutcher was supposed to introduce him, but a flight delay made it impossible.  With only minutes to spare, he emailed me a written statement and I made a Chris Crutcher mask.  With both their blessings, I stood in for Crutcher and read his humorous introduction with the mask covering my face.  It was a funny statement, but the cardboard face and his absence made it even funnier.  It is an Auntie's memory I will always cherish. 

Kelly Milner Halls

I organized a panel on how to write for young readers at Auntie's next.  The plan was to have me, Terry Trueman, Claire Rudolf Murphy, and Chris Crutcher on the stage together to talk about our work and share tips on how to break into the business, then welcome questions.  The turnout was exceptional, but once again, Crutcher was missing.  Another delayed flight.  Trueman couldn't resist himself, he's such a natural entertainer.  As I told the audience Crutcher was trapped in Denver, Trueman stood in mock anger and tossed Crutcher's chair from the four seat line up.  "Does that guy really exist?"  he questioned.  The audience howled and Crutcher was certainly there in spirit.

Fate did allow Crutcher to be at Auntie's a couple of years later to introduce Michael Harmon and his debut novel, SKATE.  Crutcher had mentored Harmon and shared the story of that relationship, start to finish.  I was lucky enough to write about Harmon in the local paper, the Spokesman Review, in advance of their presentation.  Hundreds of people turned out, and a new career was launched -- a career that has proved rich with meaning and fruitful.

Crutcher and Harmon

I limped to the podium to promote MYSTERIES OF THE MUMMY KIDS when I'd torn the ligaments in my right knee just hours earlier.  I barely remember that presentation at Auntie's, but they tell me I did fine, apart from scaring two preschoolers who weren't quite ready for a talk about dead kids throughout history. 

I shared dinosaur fossils with a robust group of curious kids in the Auntie's children's book section to promote DINOSAUR MUMMIES.  I made tiny albino mice bookmarks to promote ALBINO ANIMALS.  I share Sasquatch foot casts when TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS and IN SEARCH OF SASQUATCH were released.  I'll share alien evidence once ALIEN INVESTIGATION hits their shelves.  I've had my share of events on my own, thanks to the generosity of Auntie's.  But the memories of groups of people -- the sense of community -- is what makes Auntie's the best independent bookstore ever.  

I'll always be grateful for the store and the magical people who keep it up and running.  What magic will prevail when Terry Trueman, Terry Davis, Chris Crutcher and I gather to talk about my anthology for Chronicle Books, GIRL MEETS BOY, in the spring of 2012?  Each of us contributed a story to the collection, so sparks are sure to fly.  And who knows, Crutcher may actually find a way to show up.  Just in case, I think I'll invest on a life-size, cardboard Chris Crutcher stand up.  It just might come in handy.  : )   

 
Kelly is the author of nonfiction children's books, and hundreds of magazine articles and reviews. Her newest book In Search of Sasquatch was released this month and her upcoming anthology Girl Meets Boy will be released in early 2012. 

To learn more about Kelly, visit http://www.wondersofweird.com/

Little Something for Thursday

I love getting that random text or tweet that just makes me smile. Yesterday my friend sent me this

 

and the caption, "It's Actin' Up with Nooks!"

Made my day - even better, he's "reading" The Hunger Games!

Waiting on Wednesday - Magic in Manhattan bind-ups

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

  

Magic in Manhattan Volume One

by Sarah Mlynowski

Published by Ember

Publication Date May 8, 2012

What if all your wishes could come true?

In Bras & Broomsticks, fourteen-year-old Rachel learns the outrageously unfair fact that yes, magic exists, but she's not the one who's a witch: Miri, her younger sister, is!

The magic continues in Frogs & French Kisses when the teeny-tiny love spell Rachel talks Miri into casting goes horribly wrong. Now the fate of their family, the world, and senior prom is in Rachel's hands. . . .

Magic in Manhattan Volume Two: Spells & Sleeping Bags/Parties & Potions

by Sarah Mlynowski

Published by Ember

Publication Date May 8, 2012

Witches have a lot of secrets. . . .

In Spells & Sleeping Bags, Rachel's psyched for the summer. Sure, her new powers are out of control, but her dream boyfriend, Raf, is with her. Too bad a backstabber in her cabin is making her life miserable.

The supernatural scene is heating up in Parties & Potions as Rachel and Miri get ready for their Samsorta, a debutante party for witches. But Rachel can't juggle a secret life (and two boys) for long. . . .

These books sound like too much fun. I was excited to hear from Sarah herself (at the Ten Things launch) that her previously published books would be released as bind-ups. I love bind-ups and the covers are cute.

 

Cover Reveal: The Knife and the Butterfly by Ashley Hope Perez

Yesterday author Ashley Hope Perez revealed the cover of her second novel The Knife and the Butterfly on her website. Here it is!!

Azael Arevalo wishes he could remember how the fight ended. He knows his MS13 boys faced off with some punks from Crazy Crew. He can picture the bats, the bricks, the chains. A knife. But he can’t remember anything between that moment and when he woke behind bars. Azael knows jails, and something isn’t right about this lockup. No phone call. No lawyer. No news about his brother or his homies. The only thing they make him do is watch some white girl in some cell. Watch her and try to remember.

Lexi Allen would love to forget the fight, would love for it to disappear back into the Xanax fog it came from. And her mother and her lawyer hope she chooses not to remember too much about the brawl—at least when it’s time to testify. Lexi knows that there’s more at stake in her trial than her life alone, though. She’s connected to him, and he needs the truth. The knife cut, but somehow it also connected. (from ashleyperez.com)

I am a huge fan of Ashley's and share her excitement for her upcoming novel which will be released in February 2012. To read the first chapter, go HERE  

On October 20th, Ashley will do a radio program with Figment co-founder Dana Goodyear, NYT writers, and NWP teachers. Here's more info: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nwp_radio/2011/10/20/why-i-write.

Ashley's debut novel What Can't Wait was published earlier this year. My review can be read here and my interview with Ashley can be read here.

In My Mailbox (50)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme run by Kristi at The Story Siren which explores the books that have been delivered to our mailbox or doorstep or directly into our hot little hands.

Won:

 (from Banned Books Giveaway Hop)

I Like Him, He Likes Her: Alice Alone; Simply Alice; Patiently Aliceby Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

It's Not Like I Planned It This Way: Including Alice; Alice on Her Way; Alice in the Knowby Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Thank you Nikki from Pretty Opinionated

 Purchased:

Bloodthirsty by Flynn Meaney

Some more fun books this week. Yay!

 

TGIF

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads! Each week she proposes a question to her followers. 

This week's question:  

To-Be-Read's: How big is your pile? Which book keeps getting pushed down the stack, but you keep meaning to read it?

My TBR pile has too many books on it that I can even begin to think how many books are waiting to be read. I am a compulsive book buyer and purchase way too many books - I feel like I justify it because I don't buy much else (except for the necessities). I love the idea of have my own home library and over the past 15 years it has grown exponentially - which means my TBR pile has too. 

Some books that keep moving down, sown, down to the bottom of my pile are Harry Potter books 1-4. I'm almost finished with books one - I may have about 40 pages left, but I just can;t manage to finish it. I worked at bookstore in 2003 and that is when I acquired them, but now 8 years later I still haven't read them. This is probably what I am most embarrassed about because I know that so many people love them, I mean hello, they are a world-wide phenomenon. Still I've almost resigned to the fact that it is just not going to happen. Until then they remain on my TBR pile (status always changing).

Here's just a small portion of my TBR pile. Any suggestions on which I should read next?