An Armchair, BEA and You

BEA, for most non-American readers, would be an unknown. The Book Expo America is a massive 4 day event in NYC, starting 4th June, with over 1300 stalls, and 500 authors (FIVE HUNDRED!!)
Not only does it feature authors and publishers, but plenty of bloggers and other folks in the publishing industry.
 
Official BEA website with schedules (Don't read this, you will only want to be there, I promise):
http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/Concurrent-Events/BEAs-Book-Blogger/ 
 
To experience BEA madness without actually being there:
http://www.armchairbea.com/ 

Finally, the most awesome guide to BEA yet - use this to find titles on NetGalley that you'd enjoy reading:
Galleycat quick guide to BEA

What did world-famous authors read?

The awesome people at Flavorwire & Legacy Libraries have looked at titles on the bookshelves of author's - so here's how you and I get a glimpse into the books read by some Greats.


Well, here's a peek at the books on the bookshelves of Sylvia Plath, Herman Melville (of Moby-Dick fame, to all teens out there), Mark Twain, Fitzgerald and others!

Legacy Libraries is one of the perks of being a LibraryThing member - I personally haven't signed up (YET!) but perhaps if you are a member, you can tell me why its good to join? Goodreads keeps me happy, and I dont want to have yet another time consuming profile/thing-to-monitor.

Review: Artemis Fowl - The Lost Colony and The Time Paradox

Grade B+ Review of Artemis Fowl Books 5 & 6
Published by Disney-Hyperion


Why I read them: The 8th and final Artemis Fowl book is coming out July 2012, this seemed a good time to catch up!
 
The Lost Colony refers to a colony of Demons that have been out of sync with our universe for a thousand years. Artemis is on a race against time to prevent the humans from discovering their existence and hence exterminating them.
Quote from The Lost Colony:

"Sool was the king of red tape. As the dwarfs said, he couldn't make a decision if he was holding a jug of water and his bum-flap was on fire. "  

Plus: Artemis meets his nemesis, the young genius Minerva.  Plenty of witty comments and shenanigans occur - very fast paced. The God-names are obvious references to their intellect,
Minus: Her role wasn't wasn't as pivotal as I expected. Seemed like Minerva's story line ran out of steam about halfway through and it all became about Artemis per usual . The book overall wasn't memorable, but ended on a cliffhanger. Recommend that you borrow this novel AND have the next one ready to read!

Teaser Tuesday #50 - Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart

The book I'm about halfway through is Jane Lindskold's Wolf's Head, Wolf's Head (Firekeeper #2):

Out of fairness to Firekeeper, he spoke not one word to protect himself from accusations of being too credulous, but spoke as if he believed—as he realized that he did—both that she could understand the wolf and that the wolf could read the winds as humans read print.
When he finished his report, the king said mildly, "Well, that's interesting indeed. I wonder..."

Really Mini Summary:
Reading this for the second time in a row, as I didn't get through it first time. Picks up interest after the first few chapters - when the characters are visiting a foreign country, exploring new customs that involve weird face-painting!


First time visit? Check out photos of most beautiful US public libraries, John Updike's rules for reviews, and a question of whether hardbacks are dying.
Let me know if you follow this blog, I'll follow back! 

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To join into the TT fun, visit the link below!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Extremely Silly Photos of Serious writers!

The two I want to show here are of Ernest Hemingway kicking a beer can & Neil Gaiman with Chuthulu on his head. Click through for Colette, Proust, Mark Twain and others *grins* 

Here are pics via Flavorwire

What happens if you try to ban a book

Take that, censor boards!

Source: unshelved.com via Deepali on Pinterest

Review: Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles

Grade A review of Freaks of the heartland by Steve Niles & Greg Ruth
Publication Date: July 11, 2012 (of the hardcover edition that collects all 5 stories. You can still elect to buy each part separately if you want to read right away)

Blurb from Goodreads: Under the weathered skies of America's heartland, and in the wounded hearts of every family in one tiny rural town, a terrible secret has been kept for too many years. Now, a young boy named Trevor must try to keep his younger brother Will from falling victim to the worst fears of a troubled town that can't begin to understand the tragic secret that binds its families together.

Pros: Exceptionally moving - Greg Ruth's images are so clear, each brush stroke stands out. These dark stories are best illustrated by the stark lines of each panel. A pervading sense of horror keeps you turning the pages, waiting to see what happens next!

I had to go back and read again from cover to cover the next day once the story sank in. The looming house in a grassy plain, the lone kid dreading his home - each picture just pulls you in.

Cons: None that I could find! If I had to nitpick, I'd say that categorizing this as horror might mislead some of us - this is a genre-transcending story.


I'd recommend this to: Especially for those who think horror is gory.


You can preview it here and buy it on amazon here.
Thanks to Darkhorse comics & NetGalley for the review copy

BRIEFLY ABOUT STEVE, the author:
"I'm a writer. I write comics, novels and films. I like reading, writing and watching Horror
I'm credited among other contemporary writers as bringing horror comics back to prominence, authoring such works as 30 Days of Night, its sequel, Dark Days, and Criminal Macabre." 

What official websites think:

http://www.readaboutcomics.com/2004/02/11/freaks-of-the-heartland-1/
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/871081.Freaks_of_the_Heartland

The Happiness Blog Tour and Giveaway

Guest Post today!!

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Bryan Cohen here, guest poster and author, promoting my new book The Post-College Guide to Happiness for The Happiness Blog Tour. I'm giving away free digital review copies of the book and doing a giveaway for paperback copies, audio copies and even a Kindle Fire! Read on and check out the info below the post.

The Happiest Place on Earth

My girlfriend and I just visited Boulder, Colorado for a Bar Mitzvah over the weekend. It was beautiful and hip and it brought up the discussion of where we might want to settle when we’re older. We both have the possibility of working remotely in the future, which cuts down on a lot of restrictions some people have to deal with when selecting a location. The conversation made me realize that no matter where I’ve lived, I’ve learned to be happy there and I could probably do the same in any place. This is because the happiness I had wasn’t the result of a geographical region or a great music scene. It was the joy I brought and cultivated with me wherever I went.

I’ve heard many people complain about their location and they might cite it as one of the top reasons for their unhappiness. In most cases, however, it’s nothing but an excuse. Complaining about the traffic, weather and local government of a place can blind you to all the positive aspects the area has to offer. If you only talk about what’s wrong with it, of course you’re going to hate it. And guess what? If you move somewhere else hoping to get rid of your troubles, the negativity inside you is likely to move immediately to your next location.

You can’t control many aspects of a city or town. It’s best to concentrate on what you can change. You can affect how clean you keep your apartment and what friends you have over. You choose where in the city to go for fun and how often you want to explore the nooks and crannies for diamonds in the rough. Lastly, you get to control your attitude of how you react to the good and bad aspects of your location. If you can work on keeping your attitude bright no matter how cloudy it gets, you’re bound to have a much better time in the place you call home.

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Bryan Cohen is giving away 61 paperback and audio copies of The Post-College Guide to Happiness and a Kindle Fire between now and May 7th, 2012 on The Happiness Blog Tour. All entrants receive a free digital review copy of The Post-College Guide to Happiness. Bryan hopes to give away at least 1,000 copies during the blog tour. To enter, post a comment with your e-mail address or send an e-mail to postcollegehappiness (at) gmail.com. Bryan will draw the names at the end of the tour. Entries will be counted through Sunday, May 6th.

Bryan Cohen is a writer, actor and comedian from Dresher, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 with degrees in English and Dramatic Art and a minor in Creative Writing. He has written nine books including 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More, 500 Writing Prompts for Kids: First Grade through Fifth Grade, Writer on the Side: How to Write Your Book Around Your 9 to 5 Job and his new book, 1,000 Character Writing Prompts: Villains, Heroes and Hams for Scripts, Stories and More. His website Build Creative Writing Ideas helps over 25,000 visitors a month to push past writer's block and stay motivated.

Feel free to follow along with the tour at The Happiness Blog Tour Hub Page or on the book's Facebook Page

Review: Mike Norton's Battlepug

Grade: B (3 Stars) for Mike's graphic novel, releasing July 17th, 2012

The epic tale of blood and drool begins here! Join Molly and her dogs Mingo and Colfax, as she recounts the legend of "The Warrior and the Battlepug" - a tale of a fearless barbarian, his trusty and freakishly large pug, and evil baby harp seals. This volume collects the first year of Mike Norton's Battlepug - the perfect opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the fan-favorite webcomic by Mike Norton, Allen Passalaqua, and Crank

The Story is told to two dogs, Colfax and Mingo, by their owner Molly.


Plus:

Love the interaction between the dogs - super snarky and just like two siblings quarreling.
Also - Happy Killer Baby Seals (tm) are so funny!
What fantastic colours! Highlights are the humour, and terrific artwork. The conan-the-barbarian body and fighting style of our hero on the pug is great to look at!

Minus:
The fable our narrator tells is an over-used plotline. The gathering of a band, the omens and prophecy, were a little too obvious. Perhaps the artwork and design took precedence over plot and storyline? Why did Molly have to narrate while naked? No explanation, aside from the obvious appeal to a male reader.

Overall/Recommended to:
This is MUST read for all pug-owners, naturally. I'm not myself going to read the rest of the comic (available at the website below) right now, the storyline didn't leave me wanting more.
Thanks to NetGalley and Dark Horse comics for the copy to review.


Where to find Battlepug:

On Goodreads
Mike's online ongoing Battlepug comic

Review: Intangible by J. Meyers

Rated: B+
Author and Title: J.Meyers' Intangible. Here's a teaser:

"It was quiet times like this that she wished she could tell them that she knew what they could do. Knew who they were. But it wasn't entirely hers to tell.
Not yet."

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Twins Sera and Luke Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift. Then Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing about Luke’s ability? He’s always right. And he can’t do anything about it.

Plus: A pretty gripping read, fast-paced with enough action and story. The twins, Sera and Luke, were interesting, though Sera's character gets more prime-time in the book. Intangible's world is one where vampires, fairies and more are on the fringes of society, and at the moment unknown the world at large. I'd be interested in reading a sequel (there were hints at a next book) that dealt with how these paranormal creatures are revealed to the larger audience.

Minus: 

Just a little predictable in the sense that all the characters were who they traditionally are, in paranormal literature. Lilith - Mother of all vampires, a fey called Fey, so on. 
If I had some mad skills at healing or lighting a candle or anything, you can bet that I'd have been checking for limits, starting and stopping at will, minor heals using non-hands, whatever! Sera and Luke don't experiment enough for me.
 
Also, I kept wishing YA books would involve teens talking to their parents a little more. *le sigh*

Quotable paragraph from the book:

"Fey glanced up the street. The siren was getting louder, the ambulance closer. They needed to get out of there before it arrived. Luke was still gazing at the corner where Meghan had disappeared, along with everyone else on the street. Sera, however, was staring at someone farther down the block. Fey turned.
Jonas.
Fey gasped and her eyes widened in alarm. He'd seen it. She was sure of it. Meghan was one of his, and he was staring intently at Sera.
He knew she could heal."

I'd recommend this to: Younger readers or folks new to paranormal stories!
I received an ebook from the author for review