Guest Post: Holiday Reads

Hey Everyone,
Today I have Melanie from The Reclusive Bibliophile stopping by for a guest post!  She'll be talking about some Holiday reads that are great for the readathon!  I love her picks!


Five Wintry Books for this Holiday Season:

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn: This book was one of my favorites of 2010. When Dash and Lily exchange messages with each other via a red notebook, they end up on a wild goose chase around New York City searching for clues that will reveal each others' identities. Dash and Lily is packed with romance and comedy and holiday spirit.

Trapped by Michael Northrop: When you're stuck inside after a blizzard of epic proportions, Trapped is an excellent reminder that it can always be worse. A group of teens get stuck inside a school during the snowstorm of a lifetime. As they lose power and heat and food, they'll have to be cunning and resourceful if they want to make it out alive.

Kissing Snowflakes by Abby Sher: Kissing Snowflakes is a light romance, perfect for curling up by the fire with a steaming mug of hot chocolate over winter break. While vacationing with her family at a ski lodge in Vermont, Sam just wants to find a winter fling to keep her company.

Let it Snow by John Green, Lauren Myracle, and Maureen Johnson: This book of three interconnected short stories by some of my favorite authors features a major snowstorm, cheerleaders, a Waffle House, and a pig. These playful, funny, and touching stories of holiday friendship and romance make for a great read and a wonderful gift.

Winter's Kiss by Jennifer Echols and Catherine Hapka: This bindup, which will be released at the tail end of the holiday season (in time to use your gift cards), includes The Ex Games and The Twelve Dates of Christmas. I haven't read either book yet, so I'm looking forward to picking this up when I'm in need of some snow day reading.

Giveaway #3: Macmillan Audio Sci Fi & Dystopian

Hey Remarkable Readers,

I hope you've made a dent in your reading stack!  Now I'm giving you the chance to have more to read!  Today I'll be giving away four audiobooks and some swag including:

-Death Cloud by Andrew Lane audiobook

-Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon audiobook

- Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan audiobook

-All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin audiobook

-2 Bookmarks

-A Signed May B. postcard

-A May B. Sticker

Wow! That's a lot of stuff for one person to win!  Make sure you enter this!  I wish I could keep it all! :)  To enter, just fill out the widget below.  Thanks to Macmillan Audio for donating the audiobooks!

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Guest Post: Leanna Renee Hieber & Giveaway

Hey Remarkable Readers!  As part of the Readathon, I have a treat for you today!  Leanna Renee Hieber, author of Darker Still, will be guest posting today!  I also have a signed copy of her book to give away!  Now without further ado, Leanna Renee Hieber!

     My Strangely Beautiful and my Magic Most Foul series beginning with DARKER STILL: A Novel of Magic Most Foul aren't terribly different in mood or intent. I'm a PG-13 kind of gal in everything I write. The differences are what shelf they’ll sit upon in the bookstore and the rest is semantics: Strangely Beautiful is in London whereas Magic Most Foul is in New York City. 1888 vs. 1880. A large cast of characters vs. a smaller one. 3^rd person sweeping narrative vs. epistolary (diary entry) 1st person narrative. But the Gothic mood, language and Victorian Paranormal sensibility? Check. 

     The obvious difference between my series is age and life experience of the characters and their peer group. A YA world doesn’t have to be populated only with teens, but the reason my Strangely Beautiful series ended up as adult rather than YA is that Miss Percy was the only real teenage character in a world starring mostly adults and their situations, so it skewed adult, while it’s still rated PG-13. In order to keep a book YA, there does have to be a teen peer group for it to sell to a YA market. Even though Natalie isn't surrounded by teens, she has an adult mentor in Mrs. Northe and a frenemy her own age in Maggie, the important fact is that her love interest, Lord Denbury, is eighteen, to her seventeen years of age. Her story is also more focused; focused on her, focused on Denbury, whereas my Strangely Beautiful series focuses on a wide cast of characters throughout the four books. There's something far more intimate about DARKER STILL and the Magic Most Foul saga. The fact that it's told through Natalie's diary entries definitely has a lot to do with that sense of immediate intimacy. And I think that ability to relate is really key in YA.

     The coming of age story is a beautiful one. It’s one of the most important aspects of why YA fiction is read by young adults and adults alike; the utterly relatable journey that is ‘coming of age’. There is a breadth of change and conflict in ‘coming of age’. Change and conflict is the driving force of all good storytelling, we must as storytellers tap into this beautifully precarious point of raw power for all our characters. We can't shy away from it. We learn the most about the characters by how they each approach their own critical journey. And we, the readers, always learn something of ourselves too.

Blessings on your journeys! - Leanna

More about Leanna Renee Hieber (with links to some free fiction) at http://leannareneehieber.com and she Tweets at http://twitter.com/leannarenee and on FB http://facebook.com/lrhieber  

Special thanks to Sourcebooks & Macmillan Audio for the Prizes.

Thanks to Stasia Kehoe, Nova Ren Suma, Hobbes Publishing, and Caroline Starr for donating the swag! 

Darker Still is inscribed:

"Find Your Voice, Leanna"

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Readathon Update #1

Hey Readathoners,

I haven't updated my reading status on my blog yet, only on twitter.  That being said, I figured I'd update right now! :)  This is what I've read from Yesterday until Today at 5:30 EST.

Finished:

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Pages in Book: 640
Pages I read during the readathon: 506
Date: 12/23/11
Thoughts: Loved it!

Currently Reading:

Tempest by Julie Cross
Pages in Book: 352
Pages read during readathon: 86
Currently on Page: 154
Thoughts: Loving it so far!

Have you updated? tweeted?  Leave your link in the linky! :)

 

Other Blogger's Giveaways: Day #2

Hey Remarkable Readers and Readathon Participants!

      Today, Erika from Rescue Reads is giving away two SIGNED Pledge Posters!  You can enter her giveaway here !  Make sure you don't miss out!  Mickey from I'm a book shark will be posting another puzzle for you to enter!  Every correct answer throughout the readathon will get you a chance to win her giveaway!  Visit her blog here!
 

Giveaway #1: The Gathering Storm

Hey Remarkable Readers,

I hope you've all been catching up on all your challenges and reading a ton!  Today I'm giving away a hardcover copy of The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges, 2 postcards, 3 bookmarks, and a pen!  The book will be signed and personalized to you however you like if you win!  

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue. 

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn. 

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

To enter, just fill out the form below!  Thanks to Robin Bridges, a 2012 debut author,  for donating all the prizes!

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Other Blogger Giveaways: December 22nd

Hey Everyone!     I have some other bloggers doing readathon giveaways, too!  Each day I'll be posting a list of who will be hosting an event.  Mickey from I'm a Book Shark will be posting a puzzle every day!  You can find her blog here !  She's the only giveaway hosted by another blog for today but, lookout for my giveaway! :)  Hope you're reading a ton!

A Few Reminders

Hey Remarkable Readers,

   I just wanted to remind you of a few things!

1. Jessie's Remarkable Reads Reader's Choice

I'm having an election for some of your 2011 favorites!  Please fill out the nomination form here!  Thanks!


2. Give me some Feedback! :)

I posted a blog survey a few weeks ago.  I didn't receive too many responses so I need your help!  I want to make this blog the best it can be.  In order to do that, I need to know what you guys want!  Please fill out the form here so that I know how to make you happy :)  I never want to disappoint!

3. Buy some Reading stuff :)

I'm not sure if everyone's heard about it yet but, on Cyber Monday I launched my own online store.  I spent a lot of time handpicking all of the products!  I hope you like them!  The site is called Keep Calm Read On.  Get it? As in Keep Calm Carry On? ;)  Anyways, I'm selling all sorts of products for book lovers and writers!  They make perfect gifts and why not get yourself a gift, too?  I haven't been getting a ton of response from the site so I made a survey asking what improvements I could make.  Please fill it out here .  I started the website because I love to read but, it will also help finance all the giveaways and things I need to pay for to keep this blog running!  With that in mind, please check it out! :)  www.keepcalmreadon.com