The Best Reader:
beauty

At the beginning of the year, Momma Remmers applied for and received the Laura Bush Grant, $5500 for fiction books only. A dream come true, I know. So before I left for school, I gave Momma Remmers my huge theoretical TBR List (theoretical implying I don't have the books, but I want to read them). When I went to visit Momma Remmers at her library at the high school, she had a HUGE surprise for me — a huge box full of books (the books I requested!) that I can take with me during break to read! So my original "To Do List" just grew exponentially:

• Finish "The Source of Miracles" (Review)
• Finish listening to "Confessions of a Shopoholic" (Own)
• Read "Merry, Merry Ghost" (Library — 12/30)
• Read "Inside Out" (Review)
• Read "Elmer, the Christmas Elf" (Review)
• Read "Lucifer Rising" (Review)
• Read "Comfort Living" (Review)
• Read "I Used to Know That" (Review)
• Read "Death Beauty" (Review)
• Read "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much" (Review)
• Read "Some Girls Are" (ARC — Goodreads Winner)
• Read "The Van Alen Legacy" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Post all the Guest Reviews I've received for My Holiday Book Review Campaign
• Read "Love You, Hate You, Miss You" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Truly, Madly: A Novel" (ARC — Goodreads Winner)
• Read "Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Sea Change" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Jumping off Swings" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Before I Die" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Embellish" (Review)
• Read "Gone" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Cracked Up to Be" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "How to Buy a Love of Reading" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Oh.My.Gods." (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Dark Places" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Nothing But Ghosts" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Isabelle's Boyfriend" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "The Grand Sophy" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Shelter Me" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Ransome's Honor" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Poltergeist" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Girlfriend Material" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Wicked Lovely" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "According to Jane" (Library — Momma Remmers)
• Read "Catching Fire" (Library — Momma Remmers)

From Marilynrandall.com...

"Inside Out is a fun story about the little frog who thought God had made a mistake and made him ugly. It is about learning that beauty is truly found on the inside and that each of us has our own gifts to offer the world and that we are all beautiful in our own way, just as God made us."

I hadn't read the provided summary before reading this book, silly I know, so I was utterly surprised when, in the second stanza, I saw the word "God." I'm not exactly sure why this took me by surprise, it just did. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I began this book.

I soon realized that this book wasn't about the cute Owl on the page, but more about the frog that goes almost unnoticed. While short, this book is a wonderful read full of depth. The illustrations are beautiful, the language used is musical, and the message is exquisite.

I will be keeping this book tucked away until the time comes for me to read to my future family. I would 'warn' readers, that the message is a very Christian message and directed towards a Christian child audience. If you are looking for a book to read to your children to teach them about God's plan and individual beauty — this is the perfect book.

I am very much inspired by Marilyn's statement on the back of her books: "She is determined to pass along the values that were instilled in her as a child so that children raised in today's commercial society might know a different way to view their surroundings and cope with the hurtful things we sometimes experience while growing up in today's world." I think that this book successfully and admirably accomplishes this.

Thanks to Marilyn Randall, via Bostick Communications, for mailing me a copy of this book for review.

Monday morning, the day after I spent all that time updating my Mac, I get an email from the Tech Center saying my PC is fixed. Well you can just imagine, I am so excited. I go pick it up, start it, and it works great! EXCEPT, my enter key is missing. MISSING! I make a phone call and they tell me it was missing when I brought it in, but if I'd like, I can bring it back in and they'll see if they can fix it. My initial reaction is this: "You've had my computer for three weeks and it's had a MISSING enter key and you didn't just think, 'hm, maybe we could fix this for her'!" Ok, not a big deal, I'm still breathing. So I continue working on my Mac — I have a paper due Tuesday morning at noon. I'm up until 5am on Tuesday working on it, I go to bed, get up at 8am and continue working on it. Ten minutes before class, I save the document to a flash drive, take said flash drive to my newly fixed PC to print it on my HP printer — and, Oh My Gosh, they deleted WORD from my computer!

It was a rough day.

Anyway, my last final was on Tuesday and I've officially finished my last week of finals (until grad school). Wow. I don't know how I managed it with a broken computer — but I did it. I got home yesterday and am enjoying every minute of it. I plan on getting a lot done during break in regards to catching up on some reading and enjoying my life a little — it was a very rough semester. Below, you will see a massive "To-Do" list in regards to break.

Again, sadly, due to finals week, I didn't get around to reviewing anything for the second week in a row (gasp! gasp!) But, I spent five hours on Saturday listening to "Confessions of a Shopaholic" on my way home to Northern Minnesota and I will finish "The Source of Miracles" tonight (my review is coming up tomorrow). I did post my review policy, please check it out (feedback is appreciated). Plus, I had a quick giveaway of "Mr. Darcy's Dream" that Joanne won!

Gina was this week's Guest Reviewer — donating her review of And Tango Makes Three. Please share some book love and visit her at Book Dragon's Lair. .

My new holiday campaign to collect Guest Reviews has been a great hit — we've acquired 43 reviews! Thanks to everyone who has donated! Campaign ends January 4th and is open to absolutely everyone!

I gained one follower and now have 31 amazing followers. Welcome and Thank you!

Like I mentioned, I am so excited to be home for break. I plan on spending a lot of time reading and doing blog related things to recuperate before next semester. My "To Do" list for blog related things — not just reading:

• Finish "The Source of Miracles"
• Finish listening to "Confessions of a Shopoholic"
• Read "Merry, Merry Ghost"
• Read "Inside Out"
• Read "Elmer, the Christmas Elf"
• Read "Lucifer Rising"
• Read "Comfort Living"
• Read "I Used to Know That"
• Read "Death Beauty"
• Read "The Man Who Loved Books Too Much"
• Read "Some Girls Are"
• Read "The Van Alen Legacy"
  
• Post all the Guest Reviews I've received for My Holiday Book Review Campaign
  

What did you finish this week?

• Well, it's been a month since my last bookshelf post. I feel like my book shelf has changed dramatically — mostly due to the huge dent I made in my review TBR pile: Lighting Their Fires, Prince Harming Syndrome, and The Recipe Club. Plus, after my Thanksgiving at the Inn Giveway, I lost TWO more books. It's been a crazy couple weeks.
• Here is my bookshelf as a whole
• Notice my green journal, "A Death for Beauty," Ipod, alarm clock, Purell, and fan on top? First shelf is my Harry Potter books for class

• 

  Second shelf is divided: the left side is Review/Recreational Reads and the left side is dedicated towards textbooks. Notice I only have two more Review Reads (as of write now) — very excited! I feel like I'm making progress!

• The final shelf is, apart from the curlers, what I have read and need to take home to 'clear' my shelves. Although, the two massive books are literature unit books for my educational methods class. I won't be taking those home, and will, in fact, be quite glad to return them to the library soon.

  

• 
  

A few weeks months ago I asked for your opinion: what books would you recommend to my students. I had a fantastic response. If my stats for that post are any indication, this question has been asked many times before and people, especially teachers, are still looking for those great recommendations. Well, after asking my mom (a school librarian) and the librarian at my school, I'm finally making public what we have put together. I'm pretty sure everybody can find something on this list; I know that nonfiction is an area I need to work on as well and as I'm expecting one nonfiction read from my students by the end of the semester I've set the same standard for myself.

If you'd like to look at these lists in a Google Doc format: Recs from Readers and Recs from Teachers

Here are the recommendations from other readers:
Title of Book
Diary of Anne Frank
In the Garden of Beasts
Manhunt
Farewell to Manzanar
Graphic Novels: Maus and Persepolis
Half Broke Horses
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed
What is the What
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Freakonomics
Under the Black Flag
Cleopatra: A Life
All But My Life
Freedom Riders
Einstein's Refrigerator
Brothers in Arms
The Devil In The White City
Little Princes
360 Degrees Longitude
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

You Had Me at Woof
Decoded
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Night
Eat, Pray, Love
I am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee I am Scout: The Biography of Harper Lee
The Glass Castle
The Children's Blizzard
Rocket Boys
Stitches: A Memoir

And here are the recommendations compiled by two fantastic school librarians:

for (var i = 0; i < ListCount ; i++) { GenerateNum(); document.write('

Like last week, this week I've accomplished next to nothing in regards to the blog. I have, however, somehow stayed one step ahead of homework. It was a crazy week at school; I had TWO Harry Potter papers due on Monday, THREE presentations on Tuesday, ONE LARGE (12 pages) Harry Potter paper due on Wednesday, a presentation and a test on Thursday, and Friday I left for the Cities to attend "Beauty and the Beast" with my mom. I ended up starting that large HP paper on Tuesday night at 8pm and SOMEHOW finished by 3am. Like I said, "one step ahead".

I am still hosting a contest — "Thanksgiving at the Inn" is the perfect book to come out of the Halloween season with. I loved it! AND I decided to extend the deadline until November 15th! I am slightly disappointed that more people aren't interested in it — only one so far! And I have TWO copies to giveaway! Pity... (hint hint).

This week I reviewed a grammar book, posted my October Wrap Up post, photos of my bookshelf, and a Halloween Recap post.

Leslie was also this week's Guest Reviewer — donating her review of Perfect Chemistry. Please share some book love and visit her at That Chick That Reads.

Still at 30 amazing followers.:)

My goal for this week is to, again, stay ahead of the homework AND focus a bit more on my recreational reading and this blog. Hopefully next week my Sunday Salon will be a bit more exciting.:)

(Again, for the third week in a row...) Also, each week I'm going to start making a "To Do" list for blog related things — not just reading. It's soon to be the time of year when I'll be sending the HTML address for Miss Remmers' Review out to prospective school districts and I want to make sure it is "spot on". if you have any ideas as to how to make this blog more awesome — please let me know.

• Rewrite/hone my Guest Reviewer 's post.
• Rewrite/hone my Mission post.
• Proofread/Professionalize Review: "A Circle of Souls "
• Proofread/Professionalize Review: "A Vengeful Spirit "
• Proofread/Professionalize Review: "Audrey, Wait "
  

Happy Sunday everyone!

What did you finish this week?

I'd like to welcome this week's Guest Reviewer, Leslie from That Chick That Reads!

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

From Amazon.com...

"Tough guy Alex is primarily known by his classmates as a dangerous member of the Latino Bloods gang. He’s not exactly thrilled when Brittany Ellis, the school’s seemingly perfect beauty queen, is assigned as his lab partner—and the feeling is more than mutual. But Alex’s bravado works against him when he impulsively accepts a bet that he can get Brittany in the sack. The romance that follows will not surprise any reader, yet Elkeles gives it heart by constantly switching point of view from Alex to Brittany to provide dual running commentaries on their minute-by-minute insecurities and urges. Brittany’s controlling parents and sister with cerebral palsy are well drawn, but it is Elkeles’ rendition of Alex and his life that is particularly vivid. Sprinkling his speech with Spanish, his gruff but tender interactions with his family and friends feel completely genuine."

So I happened to be at B&N pre-ordering Blood Promise when I decided to get this book. I didn’t have to pay for BP right there and then so I had some extra cash and decided to get it. I initially saw this on Eleni’s blog, La Femme Readers and saw how much she enjoyed it so I decided to get it. I didn’t get around to the book in like forever, but I can not believe how amazing it turned out!

The story line is captivating and it was told perfectly! This novel is told from both Brittney and Alex’s point of view, which I apparently didn’t know or if I did, I just forgot. I abs loved all of the Spanish culture in this novel! I’m Hispanic myself so everything they mentioned was something that I grew up with or my parent’s did. Alex’s chapter’s appealed to me most, just because they reminded me of my home life, especially his mother. Brittney’s appealed to me because I guess I was the same way she was in High School. I was the first in the family to graduate high school and go to college so in school I was forced to be “perfect” until I broke free after my senior year. There were moments in this novel that made me both laugh and cry.

It’s honestly an amazing book. Major props go out to Simone Elkeles for creating such an amazing story! Overall I give this novel 5 out of 5 paws!

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

Thank you so much Leslie for such an AWESOME review! Sounds like a great read! I might have to purchase it for my classroom.

Make sure to visit Leslie at That Chick That Reads. Check out her original review. Thank you so much!

"This book was wildly addicting and honest, when I wasn't reading about it I was wondering about what would happen next." — Miss Remmers

From Amazon.com...

"Congratulations! You have been admitted to the most prestigious university in the world. Now what are you going to do?

Callie Andrews may not have money or connections or the right clothes, and she may have way too many complications in her love life, what with—

Gregory
the guy she loves to hate
Evan
the guy she'd love to forget
Clint
the guy she'd love to love
and Matt
the guy she really should love
—all vying for her attention.

But she has three fantastic roommates (best friends or her worst nightmare?) and a wholesome California-girl reputation (oops) and brains and beauty and big, big dreams.

Will it be enough to help her survive freshman year at Harvard?"

Why I read this: I'm not sure what made me read this book; I picked it up at BEA and liked the premise, but the cover really threw me off.

Plot: The plot was slow at first, but the tone of Alexis (page 1) was so fantastic it sparked my curiosity. For the first couple chapters, it was Alexis' "pre-chapter" advice that really kept me going. But once all of the characters were introduced (and I quit hearing about soccer and ACLs) and the premise was more thoroughly developed — I couldn't put this book down. I read it during Recreational Reading Fridays at school and in one class I actually laughed out loud! At first I struggled with the back and forth POV, but I found that at times I really did want to know what Gregory or Clint were thinking. It was also really fun reading about college experiences; it's homecoming at my alma mater and I'm feeling a little more than left out, as I'm the only one of my friends graduated and with a "real" job. It was fun reading all of Callie's college experiences and, I'll admit it, I googled Harvard's Graduate School. I can't help it! I miss being a student!

Characters: While fairly predictable and definitely stereotypical, these characters were honest. In reality, there are many freshmen students who fit the exact subscription of Callie and her friends. Many of you may not know, but before transferring to a small, South Dakota college, I attended San Diego State University my freshman year. While reading "The Ivy," I found myself thinking back on my own crazy freshman year. I did everything I was supposed to do, I joined a sorority, I participated in several campus activities, instead of spending hours in the library I watched Grey's, I spent hundreds of dollars on clothes and accessories and soon found myself broke — in retrospect, I completely changed who I was. And why not? I was half way across the country from my family. It took that year for me to realize that I don't belong in California — I'm a midwest girl all through. (Yes, there is a point to this). I feel like the same thing is happening to Callie in "The Ivy;" she's completely changed who she is in order to break onto the "scene." I can't judge her because, hey, I've been there! I can't wait to see what happens next to Callie, I hope she makes the right decision. Besides "The Duff," I haven't read such an honest novel in a very long time.

Cover: As previously stated, this cover didn't draw me to the book.

Random Thoughts: I love that Lauren is from California, went to Harvard, and is now writing creatively. She's 23 years old (same as me) and has really inspired me — hey, if she and Kody Keplinger can do it... what the heck am I waiting for! I am so excited for the next book!

Final Thoughts: While it did take a while to get into it, after the first couple chapters this book was wildly addicting and honest, when I wasn't reading about it I was wondering about what would happen next.

Originality: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Characters: 8/10
Plot: 9/10
My reaction/enjoyment: 8/10
Theme: 10/10
Imagery: 10/10
Setting: 5/5
Voice: 5/5
Style: 5/5
Tone: 5/5
Cover: 4/10 (It doesn't really speak to me)
Overall: 89/100 B

To the FTC, with love: Review Book

Check out Bookalicious '!

BBAW is finally here and I am so excited to welcome Chachic from Chachic Book's Nook.

You're from the Philippines! That is so cool! Are there other book bloggers in your area? If so, what are they! I'd love to visit their blogs!
I'm so glad you think it's cool that I'm from the Philippines! There are actually a number of book bloggers here. I only started blogging this year but I noticed that there have been Filipino book bloggers for several years and more and more are popping out lately. I noticed that we didn't have a site that brings together all Filipino book bloggers so I decided to create Filipino Book Bloggers (http://filipinobookbloggers.wordpress.com/) . I know the name isn't that creative but I'm happy to get to know some of the book bloggers out there. We're having our first meet up soon and I'm really excited for that.

That's so awesome about the meet up! I hope it goes awesome! Because English is your second language, is it hard to read YA novels written in English? What about writing the reviews? Here in the Philippines, we actually use English as the medium of instruction. The Philippines was colonized by the United States and it was Americans who established education in the Philippines. All of our subjects, starting from nursery up to college, are taught in English except for Filipino and a couple of other History subjects. That's why English books aren't translated to Filipino over here and I'm comfortable with reading books and writing reviews in English. Also, I've never mentioned this on my blog but I actually work with Americans. I'm a research analyst for a Business Process Outsourcing company and I report directly to people in the US.

As an international book blogger, what differences in book blogging have your noticed between international and US book blogging?
One of the main differences is we don't get review copies. International shipping is really expensive so I understand that publishers would have a hard time sending review copies and it also takes a couple of weeks for the books to get here. I've never received a copy for review and most of the other Filipino book bloggers that I've talked to also haven't received any review copies. The books that I review on the blog are given as gifts, bought, or borrowed.

On a positive note, I love it when US book bloggers are amazed with some of the things that I mention in reviews like how I've never seen snow or how we don't have public libraries over here. You don't have public libraries! Wow, that really makes me appreciate my library.
You host a meme called "Want Books?" where readers can highlight books that they want but can't have either to it not being released in their country yet, not having the money for it, a far-out release date, etc. Where did you come with the idea? When is your weekly post up? How many bloggers generally participate? I love the photo too! Are you familiar with the meme Waiting on Wednesday (WoW), which is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine (http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/) ? In WoW, you can feature upcoming releases that you're eagerly waiting for. I used to use that meme but then I realized that it would be better if there's a meme that lets you feature books that have already come out that you can't get for some reason. Instead of complaining about books not being available here, I thought it would be better if I could create a meme to highlight them. So that's how I came up with Want Books. I put up a post every Saturday and anyone can participate. It isn't a popular meme though and only a handful of book blogger friends have participated. I don't mind because I don't think I'll ever run out of material for the meme, there will always be books in my wishlist.:)

I see that you have a giveaway ending TOMORROW! What is it and who is eligible? Yes! I have a Mortal Instruments giveaway but sadly, it's only for residents of the Philippines. All you need to do to enter is tell me what review of mine is your favorite and why. Learn more about it here. We both read a lot of YA, what books would you recommend to struggling young adult readers? Oh gosh, I have so many recommendations! Here you go:

Fantasy
The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith
Sasharia En Garde duology by Sherwood Smith
The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
Graceling and Fire by Kristin Cashore
His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy

Fairy Tale Retellings
Beauty by Robin McKinley
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

YA Contemporary Fiction
Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta
Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
Jessica Darling books by Megan McCafferty

Historical Fiction
Sunbird, The Lion Hunters, The Empty Kingdom by Elizabeth Wein
A Countess Below Stairs, The Reluctant Heiress and A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
Thanks for all the great recommendations! Wow! I'm going to steal one of your questions because it was so good! What is your "good read" preference — contemporary YA, epic fantasy, urban fantasy, science fiction or dystopian? I read read books from all of those genres but I have a special place in my heart for epic fantasy.

What are your comfort reads? Books that you go to on a rainy day for a reread when nothing seems to be going your way. The books that I listed in the recommendations section are my favorites so they're really my comfort reads. I've reread most of those several times already.

What book are you pinning for — that you can't wait to get your hands on? Oh so many! Check out my Want Books meme because I have weekly posts on books that I'm pining for. Although if you're asking for books that are yet to be released, I can't wait to get Bayou Moon and Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews, Pegasus by Robin McKinley and Seer of Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier.

Chachic, thank you so much for stopping by! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you and discovering your blog. Readers, please remember to stop by and visit Chachic at Chachic Book's Nook.

I am "stealing" this from The Story Siren. If you want to find out more about it click here . Anyway, these are books I got this week at the bookstore, library, and in the mail, of course.

For Review:

Thanks to the publisher, I received a copy of "A Death for Beauty" by Alberto Rios Arias. Thank you!

Won:

From the library:

• Text Books
  

What did you find in your mailboxes this week?

Until next week — Happy Reading!

Sticking with the classroom theme of "Fairytales" this week, today's book talk is on "Beastly" by Alex Flinn. A retelling of the classic, "Beauty and the Beast," "Beastly" adds a modern twist to the old classic.

I really like this book trailer, but I don't see an embedded code — so go check it out at YA Books and More.

Now for the review: Beastly.

I highly recommend this novel to any student who loves fairy tales with modernity. Yes, it is cliche and predictable (but aren't all fairy tales?). It has a great story behind it all that reinvents "Beauty and the Beast" for the modern day reader. There is a movie based on the best-selling novel being released in 2011 — keep a look out.

This book is on the classroom shelves and in the HS library system.