2011 Fill in the Blanks

Hey Blogger Buds,
I did this last year, and it was a blast. You take books you read throughout the year, and you answer a series of questions. I traced this game back a bit, from blogger linkage, until I got HERE.

So. Here are the questions, all answered with titles of books I read in 2011. If you like the idea, feel free to do it as well! Let me know so I can check out your blog post, or where ever you did it.

On Sunday I'll be doing a roundup of 2011, and I'll be ringing in the new year.

Describe Yourself:
The Iron Queen
I flatter myself


How do you feel:
Five Flavors of Dumb
Bit of a brainfry right now, from schoolwork

Describe where you currently live:
Nomansland
...Sorta

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
The Berlin Boxing Club
It could be fun

Your favorite form of transportation
Steel
And iron, and the like...

Your best friend is:
Forever
Hear that, S? I'm getting cheesy about you

You and your friends are:
Matched
Ain't I sweet?

What's the weather like:
Forever Summer
...she says as she puts on another sweater

Favorite time of day:
A Midsummer Night's Dream
What do you want from me? I like sleep!

What is life to you:
Summer's Crossing
More correctly, I'm counting down the minutes until next summer

Your fear:
Secrets and Shadows
It's a smart thing to fear

What is the best advice you have to give:
Gemini Bites
so avoid anyone born between May 21st and June 20th at all costs!

Thought for the Day:
I can't keep my own secrets
Wait. Shoot. Um... I can TOTALLY keep my own secrets... *cough*

How I would like to die:
Breathing
Suffocation isn't pretty. I just want to cross that one off the list.

My soul's present condition:
Nevermore
What does that mean? I don't know. It's very ominous sounding.



Well, that's all. Bye guys, I'll see you next year!

Adios, Nirvana
Riv

Faves of 2011: The Random and The Covers

Hey Blogger Buds,
I'm sure you guys are slowly sinking from your high from the holidays (I know I am), so here I am to add a little cheer. (Oh, don't be like that, all *facepalm*ing and *headdesk*ing at me. I'm not that bad...okay, maybe I am that bad...)

It's time for more of inkcrush's faves!! Well, they're actually my faves, but inkcrush gave me the idea and all...you get the point.

1. fave first sentence

Adios, Nirvana

When you piss off a bridge into a snowstorm, it feels like you’re connecting with eternal things. Paying homage to something or someone. But who? The Druids? Walt Whitman? No, I pay homage to one person only, my brother, my twin.
In life. In death.
Telemachus.

2. fave book title

Adios, Nirvana

3. fave reading experience (ie: created a great reading memory)

I bought Original Sin at a really fun book event

4. book with the best food in it (made you so crazy-envious-hungry)

Anna and the French Kiss was all about fancy French dishes

5. book with the most sensual weather (made you shiver/sweat)

The Scorpio Races had some beautiful writing, and there was a scene with Puck and Sean Kendrick the night before the race where I felt like I was actually there.

6. most embarrassing book cover (feeling sheepish in public or just plain ugly) 

Here are just a few:

Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

(sorry for the weird spacing)

7. can’t believe you waited this long to read the book (!)

Hex Hall was sitting on my shelf for months!

8. book you'd give your mum/sister to read

I would give my sister Hex Hall...well, at least, I would give it to her if she hadn't already borrowed and read it before me

9. book you'd give your dad/brother to read

My brother is a fan of action and, for obvious reasons, boy POVs. I already gave him Angelfire, and I would also totally give him The Scorpio Races.

10. book you'd like to give your past-self to read

I would give my 12 or 13 year old self Like Mandarin

11. book that lived up to (or superseded the hype)Delirium was amazing, and the first book I almost threw across the room

12. book you stayed the latest to finish (confess!!!)

I've been pretty good lately about not staying up too late to read, but Inheritance was so long that I stayed up late several times to try to get through it, even though I didn't finish it. I stayed up until around 2:30 maybe...?

13. book you were *dying* to get your hands on the most

There are a bunch of these. Angelfire, since it sounded so awesome. Forever because of Linger's ending, The Scorpio Races because it's Maggie freakin' Stiefvater, and The Iron Queen because of the complete mind-blow that was The Iron Daughter

14. fattest brick of a book you read (by page count)

Definitely Inheritance--8 freakin' hundred and 60 pages

15. killer cliffhanger award

There are a couple of these. Illusions for the mind-blowing, Nevermore for the heart-stopping, and The Iron Queen for the tear-jerking

I mostly have some singles, but I also have a set that I read this year and is really pretty together

1-3

The eye is kinda creepy, yet still awesome...

4

I mostly love this one because it matches my other three books

5

General awesomeness

6

Boring and gorgeous all together

7

You can't really see it online, but it has these feux waterstains

8

Mostly for the sword

9

Fiery guitar? Count me in!

10

I love the font, and it matches my other book

Well, that's all. That was a fun roundup, in total. :D Sorry for leaving out the authors this time.

Peace,

Riv

Faves of 2011: The Characters and The Scenes

Happy Holidays, Blogger Buds!
We wish you a merry christmakwanzakah!

I'm back with some more of inkcrush's Faves of 2011! Today, I'm doing the characters and the scenes.

No pictures this time; I don't want to slow down your computer too much, and you've pretty much seen these already, in my last post. (And this post took AGES as it is.)

Let's get on with it, shall we?

I challenged myself to use someone different for each answer (or else Puck would dominate most of this section.)

1. favorite female main character

Viola from Viola in the Spotlight by Adriana Trigiani (New York FTW!)

2. favorite male main character

Roran from Inheritance by Christopher Paolini (I like him because he's not popular by default. He's popular because he's a genius, and he applies that.)

3. best couple <3

Grace and Sam from Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

4. who i so want to be best friends with

Sophie from Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (she's so snarky)

5. who i fell completely in love with (new literary crush)

<3Puck<3 from The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

(anyone who's been following my blog for more than a day know that there is no contest with this one.)

(and I guess I didn't fall in love with him for the first time this year)

Close second: Cadan from Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

6. worst (best & baddest) villain

The Villain in Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

(don't really know if there was a specific bad you or anything...)

Close second: Galbatorix from Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

7. best character twist (who you loved then hated or vice versa)

Snape

Alexi from the 13 to Life series by Shannon Delaney (he was just...weird...but awesome)

8. best kick-arse female

Ellie from Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

9. best kick-arse male

Will from Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton (they're both just really awesome!)

10. broke your heart the most

Ash from The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

11. favorite pet/animal character award

Saphira from Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

12. best YA parents award

The Packwoods from Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

13. favourite sibling relationship

Meghan and Ethan from The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

14. favourite best friends/friendship award

Jonathan and his "thicks" in Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft

15. best/worst character names

Telemachus from Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft. This is both the best and the worst.

Close second, for best: Ash from The Iron Queen. His true name is beneath the highlighter. SPOILERY SPOILERY SPOILERY: Ashallyn'darkmyr Tallyn

Bonus: best love triangle

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (I HATE love triangles, but this one was great)

And now...

1. best first chapter

Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

2. best climax

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

(only saying this because I read it recently, and remember it pretty well)

3. best ending

Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

4. best plot twist/revelation (no spoilers!)

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

5. scariest/most disturbing scene

Most of the scenes in Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

6. steamiest scene (or sweetest/sexiest kiss award)

Original Sin by Lisa Desrocher

Drought by Pam Bachorz

7. best swoon-worthy moment

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

8. biggest nail-biting moment

right before the race in The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

9. most hilarious scene

every single scene with Puck in The Iron Queen and Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa

10. most heart-breaking/tear-jerker moment

the end of Delirium by Lauren Oliver

and (you guessed it) the end of The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

BONUS: favourite meet cute

Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey

Faves of 2011: The Books (AKA: I'm Perpetually Late

cuz that's the way we do it in the Re house)

Hey Blogger Buds,
No review today. I need to get some stuff today, but I'm still kind of in my blogging funk. I have some inspiration for a handful of posts though:
As you probably know, Nomes over at inkcrush is hosting a sort of "faves" week. Book Awards for different favorites of 2011. Since I only post three times I week, I plan to take part, though slower than everyone else.
Check our Nomes's ("Nomes'?" "Nome's?" "Nomesssses?") Kick-off post!

Just for the record: I've read 63 books so far this year, out of my goal of 71. (My goal was originally 75, but I dropped it because Inheritance took me A MONTH.)

Many of the books are repeats.
Most "faves" have a runner up.
My inevitable snarky comments are scattered throughout, on its own special line in each section.
Sorry this post is up so late.
Sorry also for possibly freezing up your computer.
Sorry again for the bizarre formatting.
Sorry for apologizing so much. (D'oh!)

Enjoy!

1. favorite book read in 2011

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Close second: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
(these will show up a lot)

2. most powerful book

Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard

Close second: Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft
(both happen to be realistic[ish])

3. brilliantly funny

Anna and French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Close second: Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa
(there's Julie again ^_^; Anna will show up, too)

4. best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
(almost threw it across the room)

5. most beautiful story

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Close second: I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous and Obscure by Larry Smith
(totally cheating on the second one, and I haven't finished The Book Thief, either)

6. delicious rainy day comfort read

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Close second: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

7. adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Close second: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
(had to put Inheritance in here somewhere-8-freakin-60 pages)

8. the beautiful prose award

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Close second: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Close third: Adios, Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft
(never thought a Maggie-wolf book would come in second in this category)

9. most atmospheric and vivid setting

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Close second: Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

10. i-so-want-to-go-there award

Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Close second: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
(notice how ten is almost the same as nine)

11. most original and imaginative

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Close second: Gemini Bites by Patrick Ryan
(Poe FTW!)

12. best under-appreciated, hidden gem book

Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman
(not fantastic, but a very pleasant and enjoyable read...and this is coming from the girl who's sick of realistic fic [hey, I'm a poet and I didn't even reaize!])

13. i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
(average realistic fiction, right? wrong!)

14. most haunting story
Drought by Pam Bachorz
(creepy!)

15. outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it
Viola in the Spotlight by Adriana Trigiani
(New York City rocks)

16. series that i’m loving
Pagan's Chronicles by Catherine Jinks
Close second: Wings by Aprilynne Pike
Close third: Thirteen to Life by Shannon Delaney
(love all three of these, Pagan's Chronicles is already completely published)

17. always recommending this book award
Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
Close second: Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Close third, sorta: Iron Fey series (didn't read the first book this year)
(haven't done much recommending lately, but these would be two of my top)

18. completely awesome premise award
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Close second: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

19. would make the best movie
Crave by Melinda Metz
Close second: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton
(Crave is just very awesome; Angelfire is in second because I'm scared a movie would destroy it)

20. want to re-read already
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
(wish I could reread for the first time!)

Well, I've got one thing left to say,

 

Why I Successfully Failed NaNo (AKA 14045 #epicfails and #wins)

Hey Blogger Buds,
Right off the bat, I'm not done with my sort-of hiatus. I'm still missing days here and there. But I have a new meme  that I've been planning, and I hope it works out. (For those of you who have been with me a long time, you know that I've said this twice before. The first time, the meme lasted only a few weeks. The second time, nothing happened.)

So. NaNoWriMo.
I never really blogged about NaNoWriMo. I think I did some blogging about blogging about NaNo. But it took me to December 4th to finally write something. (I'm so timely, aren't I?)

This is my second year doing NaNo. Last year, I wrote a little under ten thousand words. This year, I wrote a little over fourteen thousand. It's an #epicfail, but not quite as epic as last November.
But, like last year, my epic fail was also a #win, albeit it not an epic one.
I always come back ("always" being said based on all of my scientific research, a whole two months worth) from NaNo stronger. I may be sick of my NaNo, but I fall back in love with Eberheardt. (For my new followers: Eberheardt is my main WIP. Out-dated info at the left of the page.)

Last night, for the first time in a long time, I got up, went over to my computer, and sat down, really in the mood. That isn't so usual. I still love to write, sure, but I haven't missed my characters this much in a while. And I opened up Word, and I looked at my most recent words and I said "hey guys, what's up?" And I spent some time with them.

(Ignore the fact that there was a two hour gap from the time I sat down and plugged in my flash-drive to the time I opened Word.) (New YouTube is weird!)

A month that you're forced to be away from one of the things that keeps you alive makes you appreciate it all the more. (Food, water, oxygen, and WIPs.)


So, to make drawn-out point slightly less drawn-out:

NaNoWriMo 2011 was an #epicfail. But it led to a #notquiteasepicwin.

Peace and #epicwins to you all,
Riv

Did you NaNo? How was it?

(Oh, I forgot. How was Thanksgiving for you guys? Did any of you "open your belt buckle?" Anyone go out to buy new pants before/after the holiday? What did you eat? Turkey? Tofurkey? Turducken?)

Current Music: Not All Heroes Wear Capes by Ocasan (What is it with the UK and awesome bands? We've got  The Beatles, Cold Play, and now these guys. They're indie, but they're amazing.)

Leave a Comment to Help UNIECEF

Hey Blogger Buds,
It's Friday. Sorry. I'm just going to take a minute of your time.
For every comment on her post, Mina Khan will donate a dolar to UNICEF, an organization that helps promote literacy.
Please take a second to go leave a comment on her blog post:

Thanksgiving and Literacy from One Writer's Point of View

The Future of Us: A Taylor Swift Parody

Hey Blogger Buds,
Last week, I wrote a review for The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler. It's out tomorrow. So. I wrote a song. You may remember As Long As You'll Dine: A Wicked Parody.
I've heard multiple people comment on the Taylor-esque title of the book. Before reading my parody, I suggest you go listen to The Story of Us on YouTube.  There's the official music video. And there are versions with the lyrics.
Sorry for going linkage crazy.
Oh, I almost forgot. Add the book on Goodreads, if you're interested!

If you've never heard Taylor before, you might want to go hear the song once before checking out my parody. You also might want to listen to it again, while you read the parody.

The storyline is a weird one. I didn't really know where I was going when I was writing the song, and it ended up on two sort of connected plotlines. A girl is chatting with her boyfriend and she accidentally lets a typo slip, which simultaneously lets in spam that crashes her computer (a Mac. Sorry, I'm a PC) and ends her relationship.

*I used the one-syllable pronunciation of "meme." ("meem")
So, without further ado...


The Future of Us
TTTO: The Story of Us by Taylor Swift

I used to think one day, there’d be a future for us,
How we’d log on, Facebook instantly,
Tweeple would say, “They’re the lucky ones.”
I used to know My Space was a click beyond yours,
Now I’m searching the web for a username
‘Cause lately I don’t even know what page you’re on.

Oh, a simple web sensation,
Miscommunications lead to fall-out
So many memes that I wish you knew,
So many firewalls and spam’s breaking through.

Now I’m sitting alone with a Starbucks cup and we’re not chatting,
And I’m dying to know if they’re billing you like they’re billing me, meh?
I don’t know what to write, since the typo slipped, and my Mac broke down,
And that future of us looks a lot like an #epicfail.

Next email.

How’d it end up this way?
See me nervously pulling up email and trying to look busy,
And you’re doing your best to not @ me.
I’m starting to think one day I’ll blog the #fail that is us,
How I was losing IE when I saw you vlog,
But you held your mouse like you should’ve held me.

Oh, I’m scared to see the fanbase,
Why’d I stay in cyberspace instead of logging out?
I swear I would “Like” you, but I forgot how,
I’ve never seen frowniesL quite this loud.

Now I’m sitting alone with a Starbucks cup and we’re not chatting,
And I’m dying to know if they’re billing you like they’re billing me, meh?
I don’t know what to write, since the typo slipped and my Mac broke down.
And that future of us looks a lot like an #epicfail.

This is looking like a tumblr tumbling mess,
Of who can write and still Wordpress
But I Liked it better when you were on my site.
The battle’s in your mouse now,
But I would lay my keyboard down
If you send you’d “rather blog than brawl.”

So many memes that you wish I knew,
And The Future of Us will be published soon!!!!

Now I’m sitting alone with a Starbucks cup and we’re not chatting,
And I’m dying to know if they’re billing you like they’re billing me, meh?
I don’t know what to write since the typo slipped and my Mac broke down,
And that future of us looks a lot like an #epicfail, fail, fail.

And we’re not chatting,
And I’m trying to know if they’re billing you like they’re billing me, meh?
I don’t know what to code since the virus slipped, and my Mac went down,
And that future of us looks a lot like an #epicfail.

Shut down.

**I just want to mention that this parody is in no way meant to offend Taylor Swift, her song The Story of Us, or The Future of Us by Asher and Mackler. I'm not trying to infringe on any copyright, either. This parody is for the purpose of publicizing the song and the book, in hopes of spreading them to more people.

I hope you guys enjoyed! Please tell me what you think, and if you want more parodies in the future!

Also, if you have any ideas for other book/song parodies like the two I've already done, please let me know! Either shoot me an email, or leave a comment anywhere on my blog!

The Future of Us comes out tomorrow, Monday November 21st.

Peace and PCs,

Riv

The Future of Us Review

(For those of you who saw this yesterday, sorry! I forgot to schedule it.)
Hey Blogger Buds,
It's been a while since I've put up a review. The Future of of Us, by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, is released Monday, November 21st.
Some of you may remember "As Long As You'll Dine: A Wicked Parody" which is a parody of, well, Wicked. As in, Broadway Wicked. I had a lot of fun writing ALAYD, and I've made another parody for The Future of Us. I'll leave you guessing what song I'm parodying. Hint: the genre is pop-country.
Pop back in next Sunday for the parody!
So. On to the review. Summary from Amazon.com

The Future of Us on Goodreads.

Blurby:

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.
By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.

Review:
[Note: This review isn't a full review, like usual. It's just my thoughts. It's kind of scattered, partially coherent and, like my brain, mostly scary.]
[Sorry in advance for the poor review.]

The book was interesting. I felt like the authors were trying to hard with the world building. (Five pages in, and I'm being overwhelmed with "pop" culture references.)
And, although I'm assuming that Jay Asher wrote the chapters from Josh's POV and Carolyn Mackler wrote Emma's chapters, I didn't find a distinction between the two voices, oddly enough. The key to multiple authors is clearly separating the voices, and I wasn't feeling it.
It was a pretty good book though. It wasn't predictable, and the ending was very bittersweet. Upon hearing about the book, I wondered how the authors would do it, and they incorporated Facebook very well.
There were some "inside jokes" for the reader as well. For example, two characters were talking about Ellen DeGeneres. One said that he thinks she might be gay, and the other character replied that it's impossible.

I recommend this book to those who can reminisce about the good ol' days, when computers took FOREVER to turn on, and you had to unplug your phone line to use the internet.
I also recommend it for those goshdarn young-un's, so we they can point and laugh. :)


I give The Future of Us 3 stars. Mediocre book. Not compelling, but interesting.

Pre-order TFoU: Amazon Book Depository Barnes and Noble

Peace and Interwebs,
Riv

My Latest Attempt At Creativity: AKA A NaNoing Tool

Hey Blogger Buds,

I could launch into a whole complicated story about this, but here are the basics, starting with two random and useless facts about me that you were probably fine without knowing.

1:

I have cold fingers. I think it's a genetic thing. Even when it's pretty warm outside, my fingers are cold and a bit stiff. Typing doesn't help get the blood flowing. At all.
2:

I hate gloves. I hatez them. They always make the backs of my hands itch.

3:

I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year. (More on that in a later post.)

So, although fingerless gloves are cool, they're completely useless. What I needed instead are gloveless fingers!

And thus, Finger Socks were born.

Yes, as a matter of fact, I am reminding you to DFTBA.

The picture above is of my first set. I use junky $1 gloves and a pair of scissors. I cut these pink ones too short. I also made thumbs, which are decorated, but they're not pictured. I have some stuff I might design these two with, if I don't cut up another pair of gloves.

I've got big dreams for my Finger Socks. First Etsy, then...

THE WORLD!!!

*evil cackle*

*cough*

Source

The Finger Socks are worn when I'm writing, blogging, whatever. They don't have tips, so you can use the keyboard and mouse with ease. :D

So. What do you guys think? If I got the hang of this, would these sell? Am I living in the clouds? (Don't answer that one.)

Peace and Penguins,

Riv

Happy Binary Day!

 Sorry, I couldn't resist.

It's the last Binary Day of the century, which is really sad.

So, this post is being published on November 11th, at 11:11:11 PM.

I just need this in my archives. Sorry.

Here's a joke, since you're probably mad at me:

There are 10 types of people in this world.

Those who know binary, and those who don't.

P3@¢3 & 1s,
®®

A Ton Of Awesomesauceness

Hey Blogger Buds,
Four things on the agenda today. Well, five. Let's start with number five:
School is killing me slowly.
Aaaaaaaaand back to the beginning. I've got some squeeing, some Paying It Forward, and some Early Thanksgiving.

1) This is me gloating. I got some awesome books in the mail in the past week:

• The Dragon's Tooth (Ashtown Burials #1) by N. D. Wilson (thanks to the editor for the gift!)
• Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (won from Read It, See It. Thanks, Megan!)

And, just today, two of my Top Books of 2011. (These babies were up there with The Iron Queen, Angelfire, and Forever.)

• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (won from Big Honcho Media, through Books Over Boys. Thanks Momo!)(Yay!!)
• The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa (bought from B&N. Ecstatic.) (Does anyone know why the book has deckled edges? Is that on purpose?)(Deckled edge is when the sides of the pages aren't even, and look like they were torn out or something.)(Google told me that.)

Okay. I got some awesome books this week. First though, I'm in middle of Hourglass. And then my copy of Inheritance should be coming, and I want to return Hourglass the same day I take out Paolini's. (It's a long story.) I'm really surprised about the lack of buzz there is for this book. A whole 20 hours after the book was released, there were still no reviews on Goodreads. (How long is this book, anyway?)

2) Anyway, that was supposed to be the quickest point. BUT, if you've been TL;DR-ing, pay attention here. This is the important part. You guys know about The Dark Divine, right? Of course you do. It's about werewolves. It's awesome. So Bree Despain has a short eBook story, THE LOST LETTERS OF BROTHER GABRIEL, which is $1.99!!! And that's not even the best part.

If you order The Lost Letter (under 2 bucks!) before June 2012, all proceeds will be donated to "Kids Need To Read." More info on Ms. Despain's blog.

3) You know Beth Revis? Of course you know Beth Revis. And I bet you also know the latest awesomeness of Beth Revis.

AND, I'm here to tell you of one book that I'm thankful for. This book inspired me to start writing. Of course, I could get more specific and credit (read: blame) my fifth grade English teacher for my love of writing. FC, you rock.

BUT, I'm not here to tell you about my teacher. I'm here to tell you about the book that made me write a short story, and then a "novel" about cats. (I quit when I got writer's block, and moved on to "adult" book ideas, like teenage girls running around trying to kill bad guys with old daggers.) I was a little girl who liked animals, and "kitties!!" so I picked up this book (well, I actually picked up the third book. I read out of order. 3, 4, 1, 2, 5, 6). And I followed the series obsessively for several years. I still read the series, but not as much. I've kind of grown out of MG.

Do I recommend this book for the majority of my blog readers? No. Do I recommend it for the younger kids in my Blogger Buds life that love animals? Oh yes.

So. What book is this that I'm talking about?

Warriors by Erin Hunter

Rusty starts out as an ordinary house kitten, but his travels deep into the forest involve him in the epic battles of the cat warrior clans who roam (and rule) the wild.
With a new name -- Firepaw -- and a position as a Thunderclan apprentice, our feline hero faces his destiny, struggles with issues of friendship, honor, courage, and betrayal, and learns what it truly means to be a warrior. (Goodreads)

These books are absolutely brilliant. I think meeting one of the authors (the series is a collab, but you can't tell. One person plots, the other two take turns putting pen to paper.

The saga is made up of sets of 6 books. Each book has it's own plot, of course, with a big plot solved at the end of book 6. (But, except for the first series, a new plot is opened up in the end of the last book.)

There are 22 books out, another out in a few weeks, and the final book in the current set (Ome of the Stars) out in 2012 (according to Goodreads.)

There are also companion novels to the series. :)

These books used to be my absolute favorite series. And I blame them for making me write.

So. Now you're wondering why I just raved about this series. I blame (read: credit) Beth Revis. This is why:

4) It's no secret that I love the Iron Fey (see #1). One of my favorite sites to kill time when I should be writing is eLouai.com, specifically their main game. I'm a girl, I admit I like dress-up games. Instead of writing, I spend hours designing my characters. Maybe I'll show you some day.
Anyways. I love the Iron Fey. I was bored.
The product of these two can't be a good thing.
But I love Puck. And...

Two things to note:

~I couldn't find a black bird.

~The wings are there to be ironic.

Okay, that post was way too long. And school will now proceed to kill me even slower. Soooo.......

Peace, Fey, Werewolves, and Cats,

Riv

Ack! I'm a Terrible Person

Hey Blogger Buds,

I'm so, so soooooo sorry for my recent absence. It's been a solid MONTH since my last post.

Blogging has just been hard lately.

I'l start with the obligatory "school is killing me slowly" line. So:

School is killing me slowly.

And then there's the lack of things to post about. Blogging is becoming more of a chore.

And worst of all: I don't even know if anyone's listening. It's a sad, sad time when you get ten times as much spam comments as real ones. And I don't know if anyone actually reads this anymore.

107 followers. Are you guys followers, or just numbers? Do you follow me because I follow you? Or do you follow me because you're genuinely interested in my bad jokes? (And if it's the latter, it's beyond me why you think I'm funny.)

But then there's the latest: NaNoWriMo. I'll try to get up some linkage soon to my NaNo, so you can find me. (I'd love to friend you!)

I can't post much in the near future, but here's some stuff that I plan to have up soon:

NaNoWriMo Obligatory Post

The Future of Us Review

Another Song Parody! ^_^ (I think you can guess what it is.)

My Latest Attempt at Creativity, AKA a NaNoing Tool, AKA Finger Socks (I'm not saying another word. You'll find out soon enough.)

A Pay it Forward type of post, about a book I loved (coming Tuesday, I hope...)

I can make no promises as of late. So sorry guys! There's just stuff going on, and I'm in a slump.

Until next time,

Peace,

~R

Cover Reveal: Bitterblue!!!!!!

Note that "Bitterblue!!!!!!" had more exclamation points than "Inheritance!!!!!"

Hey Blogger Buds,
Sorry for missing another day. That's going to be happening a lot more often, as classes get rougher, finished drafts become more real concepts, and Glee keeps airing. (Oh Em Glee, I am the only one who is in absolute heart with Beth?) (And I am the only one who wants Kristin Chenowith to change her mind and come guest star...in the same episode as Idina Menzel?)

But today is not about TV. It is about books. A book from Most Awesome Author Ever, actually.
Kristen Cashore unveiled Bitterblue today.
Add it on Goodreads.
Kristin's original post.

Let's have a reminder of the other covers, shall we?

And now....

*dies*

Ready for the customary cover analysis?

• It's blue. And purple. And, in my opinion, those colors always look perfect together.
• It has a whole face (sorta), not just an eye, like Graceling (even though the eye is focused on) or a mouth, like Fire.
• Gorgeous border. I love those flowers, and the pattern at the top and bottom.
• The keys! *moans* The keys! Initially, I was upset that the book didn't feature a weapon. (They've covered most of the basics already. What was I expecting? A rifle?) But, upon closer inspection, I've decided that I really don't want to be hit in the face with one of those. *shudders* *stares at spikiness* *shudders again* I'm kind of scared to see what the locks those keys match look like. And what do those locks keep...?
• *studied key heads* I wonder what significance they'll be...?
• Overall, I think this cover is more complex that Graceling's and Fire's. I think because it was white, Graceling seems to me like beautiful simplicity. Fire is a bit more detailed because of the coloring and the two-part weapon, but Bitterblue features THREE things, which makes it seem more detailed to me.
• Upon closer inspection, I've noticed that there is a second eye hidden behind some flowers. And the two eyes appear to be different colors....*speculates*
• My one tiny issue: I hate that the fonts don't match on the books. They're all the same font, but they're all different sizes and stuff. >< Still heart Bitterblue, though. Alone, it's perfect.

Okay, that's all. I'm in love. Amazing cover. One last thing before I say adios for the evening. All three covers together:

Next up: foreign editions!!!! (I can't wait!)

Peace and keys,

Riv

*Graceling and Fire pictures from Goodreads. Bitterblue cover from Kristin's blog.