Teaser and Top Ten Tuesday (#31) (10/22/13)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

Salvation by Anne Osterlund

From pg. 64

Why had he bothered to ask for her help? Was this some dare like in the movies where the guy hung out with the loser girl only because his buddies said they'd pay up? Or because someone told him she was easy?

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

 

Top Ten Character Names

I have to be honest.  Most names completely slip from my memory quickly.  I am usually hard pressed to tell you the name of the character from a book a read a week ago.  So a name really has to stand out in a good or bad way for me to remember it.  Here are some of the more memorable good ones.

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Before reading this book, I had no idea that Alaska was a person.  After reading it, Alaska Young is as memorable as her name.

 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Is Holden Caulfield a memorable name because the book is so well known and such a classic, or is it just an awesome name?  I debate this with myself all the time.

Heist Society (Heist Society #1) by Ally Carter

Oh W.W. Hale the 5th.  I think what makes this name so memorable and awesome, is the mystery behind the W.W.  I can't wait to find out the answer to this one.

The Raven Boys (The Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

It was a really hard choice between Blue Sargent or Puck Connolly.  I gave the nod to Blue, if only because the author claims Blue had her name long before Blue Ivy.  Way to be ahead of Hollywood!

 Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry

Echo Emerson is such an awesome name, and so memorable. 

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

NOBODY names their characters like Sarah Dessen.  I always look forward to what unique and perfect name she comes up with for her characters.  This time I'm giving the nod to Remy Starr.   Although, I'll never forget Dexter Jones either.  Or Macy, or McLean, or Auden, or Haven.  I could keep going, but I'll stop.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Is Scout Finch played out since because of Scout Willis?  Don't know.  But for anyone who has ever read this book, you'll always remember the name Scout. 

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Ponyboy!  Sodapop!  No real parent should ever name their child this, but how memorable are these names?  Plus we will always have “Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.”

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

Magnus Bane, and awesome name for an awesome character.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling

Picking a name from all the amazing names presented in this series is almost impossible.  Has a series ever provides such a list of awesomely unique names?  For this I'm giving it to Albus Dumbledore, but really throw a dart at a list of Harry Potter characters, and you will find a winner.

ALA Wrap Up

ALA Chicago!

So as my little tag on the side of my blog says, I attended ALA Annual in Chicago this year.  This is my second annual conference, and it was a bit different than Annual in Anaheim last year.  I have also attended two Mid-Winter conferences.  Overall, I think I prefer Mid-Winter to Annual, but all the conferences are great. 

The Good:

The Publishers. Of course.  They are always so wonderful, friendly and generous with the books they give away.  They are starting to recognize me, which is great.  This conference is the first since I started my blog, and even though I've attended all the conferences as a librarian, I had the extra bonus of letting them know about the blog.  I even made cards, so I hope they will remember me when I contact them in the future about author and book promotions, which is something I would love to do on the blog.  I want to give a special shout-out to Sourcebooks.  Although all the publishers were awesome, the gang at Sourcebooks just go above and beyond for me.  Every conference I look forward to seeing them, and every time they out-do themselves with their kindness and their generosity. 

The Authors.  I loved meeting so many of my favorite authors.  Some of whom I have loved forever.  I had a huge challenge in that I really had to be in session most of the time, but I had a few worker bees with me (my husband, his uncle, and his uncle's girlfriend).  They were able to walk the exhibit hall and stand in the lines while I was able to get my job done.  There were several authors that I was able to meet during breaks though.

Laurie Halse Anderson & Simone Elkeles

Children's Authors Mo Willems & Jon Klassen (with my DH)

The Books. This goes back to the publishers.  I loved seeing all the new books that are coming out.  I got a ton of ARCs and finished copies of books that I can't wait to read.  I had to have them shipped to me, and I've only gotten 2 of the 6 boxes that I had to mail back.  I forgot to take a picture of the books I've gotten so far, and I already integrated them into my book shelves, here are some of the titles that have arrived so far:

The Bad:

The Crowds. I don't know if it's because of the location of Chicago, or if more people are making an effort to go to ALA because they heard it was just as good as some of the other conferences, just less crowded, but it was crazy busy.  It was hard to walk in the aisles most of the time.  I hate crowds and it was the worst I've ever seen.  There were also lines everywhere because all the signings happen in the booths.  The people in line usually did a pretty good job of not blocking the aisles, but it was still bad.  Friday night was the worst.  You really couldn't walk.  It was very reminiscent of Bourbon St. during Mardi Gras.  Yuck.

The Theft.   It pains me to say this, but the somebody or somebodies were stealing books from the publishers left and right.  I was actually disgusted.  I talked to some of the publishers and they repeatedly said they had never had so many books stolen from them.  For all future attendees and those that may be intending to go to a future ALA conference, please keep in mind, the publishers are there to show off their upcoming products and popular titles.  If people keep stealing from them, they will no longer come.  Also keep in mind that this is a LIBRARY conference.  Any attendees who don't work at a library or for a library are there as guests.  Being there is a privilege and not a right.  If the publishers complain to the conference organizers about the amount of books that were flat out stolen from them, ALA will close itself off from guests.  I know bloggers enjoy the opportunity to talk to the publishers, but the conference is NOT for bloggers.  It's for librarians.  Good luck at getting in for a reasonable price if this kind of behavior continues.  The reason I'm targeting bloggers is because I would be really shocked if it was librarians.  Librarians deal with the theft of books on a regular basis, and I don't think any of them would do that to a publisher.  I'm not saying it's not possible, but ALA will surely block guests and bloggers from attending long before they block Librarians from attending.

Teaser and Top Ten Tuesday (#12) 05/14/13

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! 

White Lines by Jennifer Banash

From loc 996 33% in of my e-ARC*

There's something impenetrable about him that makes me afraid to look him in the eye.  He's old enough to be my father, and in real life I'd be completely grossed out, but somehow, over the past few months, my life has slid far away from anything approximating real, and so Christoph, like everything else in the shadowy dream world I inhabit when the lights go down, has somehow become a possibility.

 *This is and ARC copy.  Page number and quotes may not be the same in the finished copy.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

If I Stay (If I Stay #1) by Gayle Forman
I know I have talked about this before, but it is such a powerful book about death, and finding the will to live. So amazing and so powerful.





Looking for Alaska by John Green
Another book that deals with some hard subjects.  I won't go into what, but it is so amazing.  Honorable mention goes to The Fault In Our Stars.  I didn't want to put two John Green books on here, but it is equally as powerful.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
I may have mentioned this book before, but it remains one of the most powerful books I have ever read.  It is just simply amazing.  I think it should be a must read for everyone.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
I read this years ago, and it's still with me.  A great look at suicide and what would cause someone to pick that option. 

Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks
I know, I know. This is a work of fiction meant to be a autobiography.  Doesn't matter.  I read this in middle school and it kept me off of drugs my entire life.  Scared the crap out of me.

Life is But a Dream by Brian James
I thought a really well done look at mental illness.  I found it to be very engaging and real.

Identical by Ellen Hopkins
Really you can put any Ellen Hopkins book in here and it will be a book dealing with tough subjects.  I don't know if she's ever written a happy fun book.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
I don't know if any of my lists would be complete without a book by Sarah Dessen.  This one deals with a few hard topics, and it just so very good to book. All of her books deal with tough issues.  But they are so very good.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
I debated a while putting this on the list. I don't normally think of it as a book dealing with tough issues, but really it does.  Between orphaned kids, abused & neglected kids, social issues, murder.  There are some things going on here.

Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits #1) by Katie McGarry
Yes, it's a love story, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the characters are dealing with some pretty tough issues.