It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

A weekly event hosted by Sheila from Book Journey to discuss your reading week ~ the books you've read and those you plan on reading in the coming week. I love this meme ... thanks Sheila!

For those of you wondering what I thought of Beautiful Creatures ... enjoyable, but too much crammed in making it a little disjointed. Any one else seen it? What did you think?

*Squee* I'm just about jumping out of my skin with excitement for the 2013 Australian Romance Readers Convention this coming weekend. Kristan Higgins & Rachel Vincent are two of the US authors I'm dying to meet and Nalini Singh from NZ and of course our home grown talent, the gorgeous Anna Campbell, Helene Young, Kerri Arthur, Rachel Johns just to name a few. Should be a blast, I'm going with my friend Karen who guest reviews on my blog.  

Speaking of guest reviews Karen's review of If You Give A Rake A Ruby by Shana Galen will be posted tonight so please pop back 

************ 

Giveaways: 

Winner of ELUSIVE DAWN by Gabriele Wills (The Muskoka Novels #2)  
~ Congrats: Quirky BookandFilmBuff

*********** 

I posted reviews for: (click on title)

MY ONE AND ONLY  by Kristan Higgins ~ short & sweet review 

MISTRESS TO THE CROWN by Isolde Martyn ~ engaging

************

Finished last week:

HYSTERIA by Megan Miranda 

THE WATER WITCH by Juliet Dark (Fairwick Chronicles #2) 

************

This Week's Reading List:

SOMEBODY TO LOVE by Kristan Higgins ~ loving it 

THE CHALICE by Nancy Bilyeau

HEART LIKE MINE by Amy Hatvany

LADY OF ASHES by Christine Trent ~ book tour

************

Reviews Coming:

PAPER CHAINS by Nicola Moriarty ~ 5 star favourite!!

THE SWEETEST DARK by Shana Abe ~ loved it (March 2013)

Squeeworthy News!

OMG bring on March 2012 ... The Hunger Games on the big screen :D 

The trailer gave me goosebumps and it sure looks like the movie is going to do the book justice. Can't wait to see Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Cinna and the rest of the crew!

I'm also super super excited to be auto-approved by HarperCollins *woot woot* which means amongst other awesome titles I also received an ARC of HALLOWED by Cynthia Hand, book 2 in the Unearthly series. UNEARTHLY was a favourite read in 2011 and I can't wait to get stuck into Hallowed :))

Unearthly is also in production at the CW television network home of such awesomeness as the Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Gossip Girl etc. How cool would it be to see this one make prime time!

US cover

Australia cover

UK cover

My favourite is the Aussie cover ... what's yours?

 

Top 100 YA List

This list has been doing the rounds of the blogosphere. I noticed it posted by Rowena @ The Book Scoop & Katrina @ Novel Nonsense and I couldn't resist seeing how I faired :)

Bold- I've read it.

Italics- own it but still unread (how embarrassing I own most of these)

21/100 = 43 books read.

How did you do? Let me know if you post so I can pop in and comment :)

1. Alex Fin - Beastly

2. Alice Sebold – The Lovely Bones

3. Ally Carter – Callagher Girls (1, 2, 3, 4)

4. Ally Condie – Matched

5. Alyson Noel – The Immortals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

6. Anastasia Hopcus – Shadow Hills

7. Angie Sage – Septimus Heap (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

8. Ann Brashares – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1, 2, 3, 4)

9. Anna Godbersen – Luxe (1, 2, 3, 4)

10. Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

11. Aprilynne Pike – Wings (1, 2, 3)

12. Becca Fitzpatrick – Hush, Hush (1, 2)

13. Brandon Mull – Fablehaven (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

14. Brian Selznick – The Invention of Hugo Cabret

15. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments (1, 2, 3, 4)

16. Carrie Jones – Need (1, 2, 3)

17. Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (1, 2, 3, 4)

18. Christopher Paolini - Inheritance (1, 2, 3, 4)

19. Cinda Williams Chima – The Heir Chronicles (1, 2, 3)

20. Colleen Houck – Tigers Saga (1, 2)

21. Cornelia Funke – Inkheart (1, 2, 3)

22. Ellen Hopkins – Impulse

23. Eoin Colfer – Artemis Fowl (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

24. Faraaz Kazi – Truly, Madly, Deeply

25. Frank Beddor – The Looking Glass Wars (1, 2, 3)

26. Gabrielle Zevin – Elsewhere

27. Gail Carson Levine – Fairest

28. Holly Black – Tithe (1, 2, 3)

29. J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

30. James Dashner – The Maze Runner (1, 2)

31. James Patterson – Maximum Ride (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

32. Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why

33. Jeanne DuPrau – Books of Ember (1, 2, 3, 4)

34. Jeff Kinney – Diary of a Wimpy Kid (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

35. John Boyne – The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

36. John Green – An Abundance of Katherines

37. John Green – Looking for Alaska

38. John Green – Paper Towns

39. Jonathan Stroud – Bartimaeus (1, 2, 3, 4)

40. Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl – Caster Chronicles (1, 2)

41. Kelley Armstrong – Darkest Powers (1, 2, 3)
42. Kristin Cashore – The Seven Kingdoms (1, 2)
43. Lauren Kate – Fallen (1, 2, 3)

44. Lemony Snicket - Series of Unfortunate Events (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)

45. Libba Bray – Gemma Doyle (1, 2, 3)

46. Lisa McMann – Dream Catcher (1, 2, 3)

47. Louise Rennison – Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

48. M.T. Anderson – Feed

49. Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls (1, 2, 3)

50. Margaret Peterson Haddix – Shadow Children (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

51. Maria V. Snyder – Study (1, 2, 3)

52. Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

53. Markus Zusak – I am the Messenger

54. Mark Haddon – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

55. Mary Ting – Crossroads

56. Maureen Johnson - Little Blue Envelop (1, 2)

57. Meg Cabot - All American Girl (1, 2)

58. Meg Cabot - The Mediator (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

59. Meg Cabot – The Princess Diaries (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

60. Meg Rosoff – How I live now

61. Megan McCafferty – Jessica Darling (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

62. Megan Whalen Turner – The Queen’s Thief (1, 2, 3, 4)

63. Melina Marchetta – On the Jellicoe Road

64. Melissa de la Cruz – Blue Bloods (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

65. Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

66. Michael Grant – Gone (1, 2, 3, 4)

67. Nancy Farmer – The House of the Scorpion

68. Neal Shusterman – Unwind

69. Neil Gaiman – Coraline

70. Neil Gaiman – Stardust

71. Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book

72. P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast – House of Night (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 )

73. Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials (1, 2, 3)

74. Rachel Caine – The Morganville Vampires (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)

75. Rachel Cohn & David Levithan – Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

76. Richelle Mead – Vampire Academy (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

77. Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

78. Rom LcO’Feer – Somewhere carnal over 40 winks

79. S.L. Naeole – Grace (1, 2, 3, 4)

80. Sabrina Bryan & Julia DeVillers – Princess of Gossip

81. Sarah Dessen – Along for the Ride

82. Sarah Dessen - Lock and Key

83. Sarah Dessen – The Truth about Forever

84. Sara Shepard – Pretty Little Liars (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

85. Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan (1, 2)

86. Scott Westerfeld - Uglies (1, 2, 3)

87. Shannon Hale – Books of a Thousand Days

88. Shannon Hale – Princess Academy

89. Shannon Hale – The Books of Bayern (1, 2, 3, 4)

90. Sherman Alexie & Ellen Forney – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

91. Simone Elkeles – Perfect Chemistry (1, 2, 3)

92. Stephanie Meyer – The Host

93. Stephanie Meyer – Twilight Saga (1, 2, 3, 4)

94. Sue Monk Kidd – The Secret Life of Bees

95. Susan Beth Pfeffer – Last Survivors (1, 2, 3)

96. Suzanne Collins – Hunger Games (1, 2, 3)

97. Suzanne Collins – Underland Chronicles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

98. Terry Pratchett – Tiffany Aching (1, 2, 3, 4)

99. Tonya Hurley – Ghost Girl (1, 2, 3)

100. Wendelin Van Draanen – Flipped

Armchair BEA - Giveaway & Best of 2011 ... so far

Tuesday is Armchair BEA’s big Giveaway Day! We’ll be doing giveaways all week here, but if you’re hosting a giveaway for Armchair BEA-goers on your own site, this is the day to post about it there and link it up here! And if you’re not hosting a giveaway, today’s suggested posting topic is “Best of 2011”: share some of your favorite books so far this year, and/or the the books being promoted at BEA that you hope will end up among your favorites for the year!

 

The delightful Christine Nolfi has offered 2 eBook copies of TREASURE ME especially for participants in Armchair BEA

Petty thief Birdie Kaminsky has arrived in Liberty, Ohio to steal a treasure hidden since the Civil War. She’s in possession of a charming clue passed down in her family for generations: Liberty safeguards the cherished heart.

The beautiful thief wants to go straight. She secretly admires the clue’s author, freedwoman Justice Postell, who rose above the horrors of slavery to build a new life in Ohio. According to family lore, Justice left South Carolina at the dawn of the Civil War. Heavy with child, she carried untold riches on her journey north. As Birdie searches for the treasure, she begins to believe a questionable part of the story: a tale of love between Justice and Lucas Postell, the French plantation owner who was Birdie’s ancestor.

If the stories are true, Justice bore a child with Lucas. Some of those black relatives might still live in town. Birdie can’t help but wonder if she’s found one—Liberty’s feisty matriarch, Theodora Hendricks, who packs a pistol and heartwarming stories about Justice. Birdie doesn’t know that an investigative reporter who has arrived in town will trip her up—as will her conscience when she begins to wonder if it’s possible to start a new life with stolen riches. Yet with each new clue she unearths, Birdie begins to discover a family history more precious than gems, a tradition of love richer than she could imagine.

Please click on the link below and make sure you mention in your comment that you are an Armchair BEA participant :)

"In Praise Of Book Bloggers" - Guest Post & Giveaway with Christine Nolfi, author of Treasure Me.

BEST OF 2011 ... so far

Even though I'm doing a giveaway I couldnt resist posting my favourite reads of 2011 ... so far. Books that make me so glad I'm a reader, books that transport me to another time or place, stories that have made me laugh, cry, sigh, swoon and scream!
 

Stay by Deb Caletti - Breathtaking, hopeful, real. Beautiful, heartfelt writing, absolutely mesmerising!

Mercy by Aussie author Rebecca Lim is a "page-turning" YA fantasy. Lim's writing is gorgeous; dark, despairing and very very 'moreish'.

 
Aussie author Katherine Howell, writes the most thrilling paramedic themed crime novels. Violent Exposure is a must for lovers of "edge of your seat" suspense/thrillers.

These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf - brilliantly crafted with mesmerising clarity, sensitivity and intensity. This one tugs at the heartstrings.  

 

Exit The Actress by Priya Parmar - captivating, vivid, eloquent & intimate story of Nell Gwyn

Die for Me by Amy Plum is another YA with a completely captivating Parisian setting so vivid you can almost picture yourself there, experiencing all the charm, mystery, flavour and history. A magnifique debut!

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand was all I could wish for and more. My favourite angel book of the year so far; refreshing, intriguing, delightful, effortless!

Armchair BEA

The Book Expo America (BEA) and Book Bloggers Convention is scheduled for May 23-27 in New York. If you can't make it to NYC in person then don't miss out on all the fun, participate in the Armchair BEA. A virtual BEA with daily blogging themes, discussions, giveaways and more!

Visit the lovely people at the Armchair BEA website to register and find out more.

Blogger Blooper.

Due to a Blogger meltdown my last post "Interview and Giveaway with Aris Whittier" (author of Across Eternity) that was posted on 12th May has disappeared :(

In the interest of resolving a bucketload of issues the team at Blogger rolled back to an earlier version; hence the disappearing trick.

Now the blogger team are asking us to be patient, they are trying to restore all deleted posts and comments but in the event that this doesn't happen, I'll repost the post and hopefully all the lovely people who commented will re-comment!

If you'd like to read Blogger's explanation check out http://buzz.blogger.com/

Queenslanders Unite ... and It's Monday! What Are You Reading

Montague Rd - West End

Local park - West End

With 75% of our state disaster declared, the Queensland floods are officially Australia's worst disaster. My heart truly goes out to the many people who've lost everything all over the state but especially to friends in Toowoomba and surrounds (where I grew up) and Brisbane where I live.

The photos above are of my friend's suburb of West End ... not only have they been without power for a week, their friends' homes and businesses were completely inundated with flood water ... just one amongst so many. While we are personally not affected by flood damage it is devastating to have friends so badly affected, all we can do is help in the clean up and provide hugs, love and support.

  Friend's business on Montague Rd - the road in the first photo above

I'm so proud of Callum for lending a helping hand

Beginning the salvage operation & clean up

 Just one of the people who brought around food and drinks.

These cupcakes were a mini work of art and gorgeous.

See more on my last post Home Town Devastation and Brisbane Prepares For The Worst!

As you can see from my reading list below ... nothing happened last week that wasn't flood related but this week I need to get things sorted in my own home. I know there are many people who are unable do that yet and my heart hurts for them but for those of us who can, a little normality is good. Hopefully I will get some of my review books read and reviews posted :)

A weekly event hosted by Sheila from One Persons Journey Through a World Of Books to discuss your reading week ~ the books you've read and those you plan on reading in the coming week. Thanks Sheila :)

************

This Week's Reading List: same as last week :)

INDEFENSIBLE by Pamela Callow ~ page 70

I AM THE CHOSEN KING by Helen Hollick

BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS (audiobook) - chapter 3

************

Apologies to publishers for my reviews that didn't go up as planned; hopefully this week!

LIFE FROM SCRATCH by Melissa Ford

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver

Reviews still to do:

UNEARTHLY by Cynthia Hand

A CHRISTMAS BALL by Jennifer Ashley, Emily Bryan & Alissa Johnson

THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE by Heather Gudenkauf

MY SOUL TO TAKE by Rachel Vincent

DRACULA IN LOVE by Karen Essex



This month on The Eclectic Reader 2 readers will win a copy of Delirium by Lauren Oliver or The Tudor Secret by C W Gortner, or Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. Check this blog post for details. Open Internationally.

Home Town Devastation and Brisbane Prepares For The Worst

My home town of Toowoomba was devastated by flash flooding on Monday - an inland tsunami, and now Brisbane (where I live) is bracing itself for severe flooding. Unlike those in Toowoomba who had little warning, Brisbane has had time to prepare for the worst. I cry talking to friends and watching the news ... there are now 10 dead, many of them children and 90 people still missing. This breaks your heart, the loss of life is going to be high as the search begins for bodies ... it's just so tragic!

 

Many of my family are in Toowoomba, my Dad, my boys' father, uncles, aunts and cousins and my sister and her family are also stuck there, it will be a few days before they can get back to their home on the Sunshine Coast. Some of my friends in the surrounding areas of Toowoomba; Oakey, Grantham, Forest Hill, Murphy's Creek have lost everything but at least they are safe! I'm grateful beyond words that my loved ones are safe and I pray they stay that way.

Thanks so much to everyone, my overseas & bloggy friends who've left comments and sent emails enquiring about our safety, it means a lot to have your love and support.

We are very fortunate to be in a no-flood area of Brisbane but for those in the 80 suburbs and the 40,000 homes that will be affected by the floods I pray that there is no more loss of life. There are so many stories of courage and community spirit,  emergency personnel do the almost impossible and Aussies band together to get through but it's going to be a terrible couple of days here. The huge Brisbane river has burst its banks and suburbs are going under; we are preparing for a flood peak in the early hours of Thursday morning, no power and a worse case scenario of contaminated water.

My eldest son flew out to Mt Isa on Tuesday to restore electrical services and like any mother I worry crazily but I heard from him this morning and he's safe, more rain is expected today though.

Please, please stay safe everyone!

This month on The Eclectic Reader 2 readers will win a copy of Delirium by Lauren Oliver or The Tudor Secret by C W Gortner, or Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. Check this blog post for details. Open Internationally.

This Post Is Brought To You By The Letters B & D

I have been pondering my words for 2011, the words I'll use as my guideposts for a happy, healthy year. Initially I was going to go with the mantra: Keep Moving Forward, it's a good motto and it is what I intend to do in 2011 but it just didn't feel right. Further reflection led me to choose Breathe & Do

Breathe:

Just breathe, breathe and relax, breathe and ground yourself, breathe and remember, breathe and think. Breathing is something I forget to do when I'm stressed, and it's something I've found challenging in recent years when overwhelmed by pain, fear, or panic. Panic attacks aren't really something you talk about in every day conversation ... not really so cool! Especially when you're used to being the one in control, coping with tragedies, heartbreak, pain and suffering. Reaching saturation point (I guess I assumed I had a never-ending supply of coping ability) has been quite the learning curve for me and it's nice to feel like I have control back in my own hands. This is my gentle reminder to breathe in 2011.

Do:

Now this may seem like a simple one and I guess it is but it's more than just the physical "do" as opposed to "do nothing" or procrastination, which mind you I have a degree in. It's about doing things that make me happy, doing things to bring joy to those I love, doing things on my terms, doing things to make me whole again; when you're happy and whole you heal. Physical scars heal so much faster than emotional ones but in 2011 I'm in control of my own happiness.

It's also about "do" as opposed to "dont" something I've heard way too much of over the last few years. I'm good and kind and strong and capable and just a little bit wicked and I can DO whatever I set my mind to! I am blessed with a truly wonderful family, beautiful friends and the bestest friend in the world.

And yes do is also about doing instead of just talking or thinking about it. Note to self: and anyone else who's interested ... do is a work in progress, I've made huge leaps already but zumba is still under the just talk banner but in all fairness it is only January :)

So, do you make New New Resolutions, goals or choose words for the year ... please share :)

As rain continues to fall in Queensland I'd like to take the time to send a message of love and support to fellow Australians ravaged by flood waters. My heart goes out to those who have lost loved ones and to the many who have lost homes, pets, livestock, businesses, crops, and livelihoods.

The loss of life; human, domestic and wildlife is heartbreaking and the cost to infrastructure, agriculture, exports (coal and sugar) immeasurable and the effects will be felt for years to come. With 60% of Queensland affected by floodwaters, many areas of New South Wales and Western Australia experiencing similar devastation, and many regions in Australia declared natural disaster areas the clean-up alone will cost billions. Not to mention the mud, the smell, the mosquitoes, snakes, crocodiles and whatever other nasties the flood waters bring out.

I pray that the sun comes out soon!

Kangaroos rescued in NSW

Rockhampton & Airport (AFP/Getty Images/Torsten Blackwood)

Emerald (Getty Images)

  This month on The Eclectic Reader 2 readers will win a copy of Delirium by Lauren Oliver or The Tudor Secret by C W Gortner, or Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning. Check this blog post for details. Open Internationally.