End of 2010 Survey / FIVE Challenge

This awesome survey was created by the inspirational Jamie over at The Broke and the Bookish, with some additions that I gleaned from author Trish Doller.

1. Best book of 2010 - Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta. Hands down. The only book I wish I could give 6 out of 5 stars to.

2. Worst book of 2010 - I was not fond of a couple of books I had to read for my Victorian Lit seminar. Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy really pissed me off.

3. Most Disappointing Book of 2010 - There's a couple I can think of that didn't live up to their hype for me, but I don't think I'll name names.

4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2010 - Hmm, maybe The Iron King by Julie Kagawa. I thought I was burnt out on faerie wars and love triangles. Nope! Julie's charming writing pulled me right back into love.

5. Book you recommended to people most in 2010 - I talked up Jellicoe Road, Anna and the French Kiss, and Sugar and Ice quite a bit.

6. Best series you discovered in 2010 - I'll go with the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. This is quite simply one of the BEST urban fantasy series out there.

7. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2010 - Oh, why is this question so hard? Why were there so many talented authors this year?? I think I'll go with Jeri Smith-Ready on this one. All the books of hers that I've read so far have been consistently top-notch.

8. Most hilarious read of 2010 - That's difficult, as I usually turn back to my utmost favorites when I'm in need of a humorous read, but I tore through Castration Celebration by Jake Wizner last night and there were many moments in the book when I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

9. Book that made you cry the hardest in 2010 - There was a point, somewhere in Holly Cupala's Tell Me a Secret, where I just put down the book and sobbed for about 10 minutes straight. I don't know why I was so affected by that one chapter. It might've been a combination of PMS and Holly's intense writing.

10. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2010 - I read Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien in one breathless, all-nighter gulp. I didn't dare put the book down for sleep!

11. Book you most anticipated in 2010 - Well, I definitely anticipated Mockingjay, but since nearly everyone's answer is that, I'll also mention that I pined for Clockwork Angel.

12. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2010 - I think that would have to be Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. AMAZING.

Yummmmmmm.

13. Most memorable character in 2010 - Kate from the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. If I ever had to be in an urban fantasy story I'd want to be like her.

14. Most beautifully written book in 2010 - A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, for its one-of-a-kind use of poetic descriptive language, phrases so beautiful they made my heart hurt in a good way.

15. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2010 - Umm I guess I'll go with Jellicoe Road for this. The only book I've ever read that actually caused me to stop reading for a few days afterwards, unwilling to pick up another book to break the spell that Jellicoe Road had cast over me.

16. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2010 to finally read - Jellicoe Road! Man, my answers are getting monotonous...

Book Blogging in 2010

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2010 - Probably Jamie at The Broke and the Bookish, for her wonderfully participatory features, posts, and questions that make me think, and her IRL friendship; and Jen of Makeshift Bookmark, for never failing to make me laugh with her genuine enthusiasm for good books.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2010 - Gah, this is so hard! Oh, hold on, let me just peruse the 200-something reviews that I wrote this year... GAH. Maybe Incarceron by Catherine Fisher?

3. Best discussion you had on your blog - You do realize you're asking me to pick one post I wrote that sparked discussion? I'm very proud of my What's Missing in YA Lit? post (and I still think everyone in YA lit industry should read it and take notes), but I think two that sparked the best comments were my post "Why I Want More Asians on YA Book Covers" and my "What is love, anyway?" post.

4. Most thought-provoking review or discussion you read on somebody else's blog - I've recently discovered the star feature in Google Reader and should probably keep track of my favorites from now on. Let me think... okay, fine, I give up. Just go to Adele's list of discussion posts and the First Novels Club's list of YA character studies and read them all.

5. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.) - PAYA! A writing workshop run by great YA writers, plus the treasured company of old friends and the discovery of new ones. It was just the right size for my kind of bookish event.

 

6. Best moment of book blogging in 2010 - I'm not really sure what this means? Um, I've had some pretty splendid conversations with bloggers over Twitter this year. And because I'm not a person who gets close to others easily, this seems like a best moment for me.

7. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.) - I don't know if there's much this year that I didn't discover last year, but I greatly appreciated Doylestown Bookshop's Advanced Reviewer Program earlier in the year when, y'know, I obviously didn't have enough books to read!

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Abbreviated Persnickety Snark's FIVE Challenge for 2010

So I wasn't able to participate fully in Adele's awesome FIVE list-making challenge, uh, mostly because I was busy making 1302948576 lists for the last two weeks. But some of the lists she challenges us to make are worth sharing, I think. So here goes!

5 Great Re-Reads

1. The Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty - Always and forever my go-to series for when I need a 100-volt jolt to my energy levels, inspiration, and happiness. I feel like I reread this series about once a year, and this year happened to fall on my finals week (heh).

2. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare - Oh how this paranormal series makes me giggle and sigh.

3. Fat Cat by Robin Brande - Arguably one of the best contemporary YA books out there. I reread it every once in a while just to remember how amazing contemporary YA can be, if you have the right character and are dedicated enough to the research.

4. Dairy Queen + sequels by Catherine Gilbert Murdock - Another amazing contemporary YA series, with a one-of-a-kind protagonist.

5. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - Reread so soon after my first read-through? Must be a sign of its adorable goodness.

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5 Most Anticipated 2011 Titles

1. Where She Went by Gayle Forman - I absolutely cannot wait to find out what happens to Mia and Adam, in NYC, from Adam's point of view. Will Gayle make me cry buckets again? I hope so.

2. We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han - I eagerly await the conclusion to one of my favorite series.

3. Huntress by Malinda Lo - I look forward to being immersed in Malinda's writing again. Even better, this is an Asian-inspired fantasy with an ethnically accurate cover. WIN.

4. Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal - Everyone has been saying wonderful things about this debut. Luckily I only have to wait about two more weeks before it comes out!

5. The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta - Ms. Marchetta can do no wrong with her writing, and I can't wait to read this book.

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5 Hopes for YA in 2011

1. Diversity continues to be the norm in stories - The second half of 2010 produced for me many great books featuring a colorful cast of characters. I want to see this quiet shift into the recognition of our differences carry over into 2011 and beyond.

2. Fewer luuuv-at-first-sight romances - They're ridiculous and unrealistic and even the most ardent paranormal romance readers knows it by now.

3. POC characters in paranormal or urban fantasy - Asian characters have a strong showing in Asian-inspired fantasy, but I would love to see a paranormal or urban fantasy story, set in our times, that features a POC main character.

4. Covers diversify and remain true to the story - Enough, enough, enough with the whitewashing! You think you're not going to get caught if you whitewash characters on covers? In this Internet and info-tech age, everyone is a "cop," and one doesn't need to be a professional to cry foul.

Okay, only 4, but I think those are four solid ones.

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5 Great YA Bloggers

1. Jamie at The Broke and the Bookish and The Perpetual Page-Turner - Jamie is an eclectic blogger, but she reads a healthy enough dose of YA (*pats self on back for an influence well done*) that she can be included on this list. This beautiful chick is incredible because she's so passionate about inspiring conversation over books. The many features she runs on her blogs have me thinking all the time, and she has the particular talent of asking me questions that make me think about things I've never given much thought before.

2. Jen at The Makeshift Bookmark - Jen is a gem. Her unbridled enthusiasm for books makes her blog a joy to read, each and every day. Not to mention she is an utter joy to talk to online. I can only hope that one day I'll be able to meet her in the flesh, from which we will then proceed to fangirl over our shared interests!

3. Adele at Persnickety Snark - How could I not mention Adele on a list like this? I don't think a list of YA bloggers is complete without Adele, who has spunk and a sharp and inquisitive voice that's all her own. She writes fantastic discussion posts that I always look forward to reading. Even better, I got to meet her this year. That's saying a lot when we live on opposite sides of the world. We hung out for a day in NYC, and it was an amazing experience to talk books with someone so passionate, well-read, and intelligent.

4. Angie at Angieville - One of my favorite bloggers, because even though our reading tastes do not necessarily converge, she just has a way of writing her reviews that makes you feel like you're in a room in person with her, and there is no one else, and she is talking about this book to you and only you. I always take into consideration her reviews because she's just so utterly sincere with them. She's passionate about retellings, which I love, and she also does a cool feature called Retro Friday, in which she reviews her old fave YA reads, which I wish I could do because older gems need recognition as well.

5. Khy at Frenetic Reader - Last but certainly not least, Khy is a fave YA blogger of mine, not just because she is a cool half-sweetheart/half-kickass girl, but also because every single one of her posts is full of a genuine passion and interest in what she's writing about. And you know, I'm a sucker for genuineness all the time. Whether she raving about her newest fave read or ranting about YA genres or covers, she does so with an excellent sense of humor and always gets me thinking. I love that about her blog!

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I think that's all for now!

BBAW Reading Habits Meme

Book Blogger Appreciation Week fun continues with this meme! Which I'm, uh, supposed to answer in as few words as possible? We'll see about that...

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Sometimes, depending on the book and my mood. I'll snack on anything from fruit to salty chips to chocolate to crackers with some sort of spread--in short, anything that won't melt!

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

It's rather horrifying, although if it's a book I know I'll read over and over and keep till I die, I'll have less of a problem underlining (very lightly, and in PENCIL!) my favorite lines, to repeat to myself or to learn from.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

In the past I just tried to remember where I left off, but ever since I started receiving bookmarks after winning them in blog giveaways, I've been using them. Never dog-ear, ever.

Laying the book flat open?

I'm okay with that, as long as it doesn't permanently damage the book. Laying it open temporarily for a few minutes while you get up to do something else is fine.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

I prefer fiction. As for non-fiction, it depends on the subject, and how it's written.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Hard copies. The last book-on-tape I listened to was, like, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix way back when!

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I can put it down at any point; with some books, it's actually easier to put it down randomly than to try and stop after each cliffhangery chapter ending!

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

I'm ashamed to say that I mostly make a reminder to myself to look it up later, only to forget. If a word comes up multiple times in one reading, however, and I remember it the day after and look it up, I'll remember it for a long, long time. (The last word I learned this way was "ebullient": overly enthusiastic!)

What are you currently reading?

I'm reading two books for review: The Waking: Dreams of the Dead by Thomas Randall, about an American girl who attends a school in Japan that seems to be haunted by an evil spirit (Bloomsbury / Sept. 29, 2009), and How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, a quirky story about two different misfits who befriend one another (Scholastic / Oct. 1, 2009). I'm also reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (bleeeechhh!!) for class.

What is the last book you bought?

That might've been Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey. I borrowed it from the library, enjoyed it, and wanted a copy of my own.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

As evidenced by my answers to the question two prior, I most certainly can read more than one book at a time!

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

Not really. I read when I can. Most of the time it's during meals, or on my walk to class, or on the train, or in bed right before I go to sleep.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

I have no preference: there are good books in both "types"!

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

It depends to whom I'm recommending books. Earlier in my Children's Lit class I recommended When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead to lovers of A Wrinkle in Time and science. I just wrote a review in which I recommended Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson to Meg Cabot fans. It really just depends.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

Due to limited bookshelf space, they are currently by size, and then alphabetically within each size grouping. :)

Lots of Bookish Memes

So after delving through my blog archives and taking hours and hours to finally decide on the posts I'm submitting for my BBAW nominations, I need a brain-break. When I was younger I took surveys whenever I needed something fun and easy. I'd post them on my Xanga, MySpace, Facebook... whatever the space-of-the-moment is. It's because I really love lists of all kinds: to-do lists, wish lists, Christmas present lists, lists of favorites--it never ends!

I've been seeing a ton of fun book-related memes that I've been wanting to do for a while. This is as good as any time to do them! Yay for lists and surveys!

This one I found over at Carrie's blog:

Hardback, trade paperback or mass market paperback?

I've become quite a bit of a hardcover lover over these past few months. I take great care of my books, and it's a lot harder to keep them pristine when they're paperbacks and are more likely to be bent or otherwise damaged in transport. With hardbacks it's a lot easier to take off the dust jackets and carry the sturdy book around!

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

It used to be Barnes & Noble because that was the closest one to my house, but at school I have a Borders down the street, and now wherever I am I go to Borders (at home in New Jersey, I'm willing to go the extra ten minutes to Borders) because of their fantastic and FREE Borders Rewards Program. Their weekly coupons are addictinggg.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

NEVER DOG-EAR. NEVER EVER EVER. Bookmarks are something I've only begun to use lately. I used to just la-la-la flip through the pages until I find where I had left off.

Amazon or brick-and-mortar?
I like going to the actual store to see and feel the physical books. Talk about a sensory delight for book lovers! However, I do like to save money when buying books, so I'll either wait for a coupon, try to swap for it, or buy it on Amazon. The case is different for indies, though: I never mind paying full price there!

Alphabetize by author, or alphabetize by title, or random?
Eventually in my future dream library I will have my books organized by age genres--juvenile fiction, middle grade, young adult, adult, classics, nonfiction (yes, I know this off the top of my head)--and then alphabetically within each genre. Now, however, I've got my books organized by size, then alphabetically, so that I can save room and pile books on top of each other. I like orderliness. ^_^

Keep, throw away, or sell?
I rarely sell my books. I have a habit of buying more books than I can read, but I end up only keeping the ones I really enjoy, am impressed by/can learn from, and/or will reread. The others I either give away or swap. Throwing books away is blasphemy!

Keep dust jacket or toss it?
UGH. Keep, all the way. I won't keep a book in my permanent collection if it doesn't have its dust jacket.

Read with dust jacket or remove it?
Yeah, I answered this in the first question, but I remove it to keep it pretty. :)

Short story or novel?
I'm a novels girl. I've been a novels girl my whole life, except for the occasional exception such as short stories by Roald Dahl or, uh... yeah, the exceptions are rare. There is just something more satisfying about novels, either reading or writing them.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Definitely Harry Potter. Quality writing, dozens of unforgettable characters, and a plot so intricate I have no idea how J. K. Rowling keeps track of everything. I only read/listened to the first couple Lemony Snicket books, but they got old pretty quickly, unfortunately. Although the other day I was tempted to buy a brand-new complete set of The Series of Unfortunate Events for the bargain price of $25...

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I stop when I'm tired. Sometimes stopping in the middle of a chapter or even a paragraph works better for me than trying to stop at chapter breaks, especially when the writer likes to write cliffhanger-y, wait-what-happens-next?! chapter endings a la Maria Snyder. For the most part I think of chapter breaks the same way I think of those double-spaced breaks in between chunks of writing, both of which tempt me to read on. It's thus better if I just stop in the middle of something.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
"Once upon a time." I'm a fairy tale lover, and a hopeless romantic at heart. For the most part, "Once upon a time" promises a "happily ever after."

Buy or borrow?
lol I used to be so much better at just borrowing from the library! Unfortunately I've gotten into a really bad habit of wanting to covet the books over the past few years, which has led to awful buying sprees. I'd say that of the hundreds of books I've bought, I've read only about a third; the other two-thirds remain to be read, only more books keep on coming in! Ahhh!

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendations, or browse?
Ooh, this is a hard one for me. I think word-of-mouth (or, er, -hand, in this blogging, twittering world) influences me the most. I enjoy reading reviews but when a blogger I respect raves about a particular book in his or her Goodreads or Twitter statuses (statii? hee) I snap to attention and take great notice. I haven't bought from browsing in a long while, but I sometimes do that when I'm at the library.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?
Like, ending-of-the-book ending or chapter ending? With chapter endings I'm a sucker for cliffhangers; it's what's caused me to finish The Da Vinci Code and Poison Study and The Hunger Games in one straight stretch of reading. I like tidy final endings, though, even if the book is part of a series; series are strongest when each book can technically stand alone. (See: Harry Potter.)

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or nighttime reading?
I often read at night, when I find myself unable to immediately fall asleep--and I do give up pretty quickly. Since this summer I've grown to enjoy reading while commuting to work. Hopefully I'll be able to get a job with a commute, so that I can do the bulk of my reading then and during lunch breaks. ^_^

Stand-alone or series?
Stand-alones are great. Series can be tricky buggers to accomplish well, but if they're done well--whoo boy, I absolutely love them. What I'm not really a fan of is companion stand-alone novels where important characters from previous books pop up. I'm really not a fan of Sarah Dessen's characters all being linked through less than the average seven degrees of separation. Egads.

Favorite series?
Oh man, this is soooo hardddd... Let me think. I'd have to say that Megan McCafferty's Jessica Darling series is my all-time favorite. I never get sick of that series, no matter how many times I reread those books.

Favorite children’s book?
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine literally elevated me from serial juvenile fiction to quality middle grade fiction and a greater love of reading in general. Seriously. I discovered that book and my whole outlook on reading and writing changed. That was the book that made me want to WRITE.

But for the record, honorable mentions are The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster and The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensburger. Oh, and Anne of Green Gables, of course, though that was more in my middle school years.

Favorite YA book?
These questions are why I like that the info on my Facebook page is so thorough... It's impossible to pick just one so I'll go with several that will forever be my favorites: Stargirl, Saving Francesca, The Hero and the Crown, Tithe, The Goose Girl, This Lullaby, The Hunger Games, Poison Study.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
*pulls up handy-dandy Word document of--you guessed it!--my favorite books of all time* I don't know if there's anything THAT obscure, but I absolutely loved Good Girls by Laura Ruby.

Favorite books read last year?
2008, eh? I wish I had kept better track that year. Let me pretend I know exactly when I read these books: Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway, Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Sula by Toni Morrison, Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Favorite books of all time?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Poison Study by Maria Snyder

I would say that those books complete my life.

What are you reading right now?
Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick

What are you reading next?
Probably Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani, for review. Finishing up a reread of Graceling by Kristin Cashore since Beth and I have been having an awesome conversation about it lately.

Favorite book to recommend to an 11-year-old?
Oh boy, let's see. When I was 11... Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine for a girl, the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix for a boy.

Favorite book to re-read?
I read The Hunger Games twice in a row when I first read it, and I don't think I can ever get sick of it. Ever.

Do you ever smell books?
Um, yeah. I love the new books smell. It makes me giddy.

Do you ever read primary source documents like letters or diaries?
I wish I had a greater attention span, because I do love reading diaries. I'd like to finish reading all of L. M. Montgomery's journals one day.

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Now for a not-so-bookish meme, taken from Steph Bowe of Hey! Teenager of the Year:

Available or single? I readjusted the question so it made sense, idiots. I'm taken.

Best Friend? I would say my...boyfriend, probably. Although he fills a number of important roles in my life.

Cake or Pie? Depends on what kind of pie. Seriously. Cherry pie? I'm all yours. Anything else, I'll take the cake.

Drink of choice? I am an absolute sucker for Nestea sweetened iced tea.

Essential item for every day use? Unfortunately lately it's been my laptop. It used to be my pen and journal. Let's revert to the olden days.

Favorite color? A lovely, rich shade of emerald green.

Google? Um...yes? I don't get this question.

Hometown? I was born in New York City, but I moved to a nice lil' suburb in northern Jersey when I was a month old. And yet my friends still like to joke that I'm a New Yorker at heart. Maybe I am.

Indulgences? Food. Lots and lots of it.

January or February? I would say January if not for the grueling ten-day swimming training trip I have to take. So it's February because of tapering and championships (all related to swimming). Ask me again in a few years and it might change. :)

Kids and their names? I've always been partial to Evan and Luke for boys, Lea for a girl, and I'm sure there were more (I have a list somewhere; I AM the listmaster, after all) but I can't remember anything else off the top of my head.

Life is incomplete without...? Reading.

Marriage date? Mid-October, when the leaves are brilliant.

Number of siblings? Two younger brothers. I love them to pieces, even if they won't acknowledge our relation sometimes.

Oranges or apples? Clementines or fuji apples. Or those light green ones that have a twinge of sour and tang to them.

Phobias and fears? Suffocation. Breaking a bone or otherwise causing my body some sort of serious injury.

Quote for the day? "Hope is the thing with feathers" - Emily Dickinson. I saw it on someone's tag line in Paperbackswap and had to immediately look the poem up. I love Emily.

Reason to smile? Because I'm living and breathing and experiencing and passionate.

Season? Autumn. The colors, the temperature... perfect.

Tag 3 people? Well, if you really want to... and only if you want to! Beth Revis, Yan, and Khy

Unknown fact about me? I love playing the piano. I specialize in showtunes and film scores.

Vegetable you hate? Celery. The fuzzy pea ones...edamame?

Worst habit? I bite the skin around my fingernails.

Xrays you've had? My head... MRIs are awful.

Your fave food? I would probably die without my mom's curry chicken with rice. Particularly the rice part. As a swimmer, I'd be dead without my carbs. I love my carbs.

Zodiac sign? Pisces.

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Actually, the next few may all be from Steph... she went through a period where she did a bunch of these... now it's my turn...

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?

Only positive reviews dont' turn me away from books, although I do have to admit that I didn't enjoy Shiver quite as much as everyone else seems to have.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
I can't answer this question, because in groups of more than two people, my conversational abilities shut down. Seriously. I'm absolutely awful in groups, but engage me in a one-on-one conversation and I'll seem like the most interesting and intelligent and funniest person you've ever met. (Er, sort of.) Anyway, I'd meet Jessica Darling (from Megan McCafferty's books) in some place where the wait/subpar service/idiotic company would make us form an unbreakable lifetime bond, and she'd go home and wax eloquent about me in her journal.

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?
Moby Dick. If the book is anything like that old movie rendition I saw, then I'd be dead before page 30.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
There are three big ones that I can think of. Moby Dick by Herman Melville, which was the book I got randomly selected to do a ridiculous project on in high school English. The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens in 9th grade English: I just cannot stomach his writing. And Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner for a college course: it was my third Faulkner book of the semester and by far the worst. I already had enough of Faulkner, so I just stopped reading after the first chapter and Sparknoted it.

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realise when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
Um, Romeo and Juliet? We failed to get to it in 9th grade English, and instead only spent, like, two days on it right before the final. Talk about disrespecting the Bard! (Although the story in question is cheesy, anyway...)

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP.)
The Hunger Games, because it's a book that will appeal to any gender, any race (I think/hope), and any age.

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
Japanese; do you know how hard it would be for a non-native speaker to master otherwise?

A mischievious fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
Um, I have no problem with this fairy, although I think she should go do something better with her time. I think I'll pick any of Kristin Cashore's books; they're always good for questions about gender equality, feminism, and the constructs of fantasy.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leatherbound? Is it full of first edition hardcovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favourite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead—let your imagination run free.
Easy question. I'd love as much hardcover as possible, and for all the covers to match within series. A bright, spacious, and well-lit room with plenty of comfy sofas to read in. Maybe even a super-cool fireplace at night. Floor-to-ceiling light-colored shelves. No annoying rollable ladder, please.

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What author do you own the most books by?
I'd say either Sarah Dessen or Margaret Peterson Haddix--but the latter only because she's so prolific.

What book do you own the most copies of?
I don't really know... I suppose I've owned at some point several copies and variations of Anne of Green Gables.

What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Char from Ella Enchanted. More recently Valek from Poison Study, but Char has got my back for the past ten years.

What book have you read more than any other?
Excluding the books that I read over and over again as a child because they were the only books in my house... probably The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley.

What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?

The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensburger.

What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
I've read some god-awful self-published books for review.

What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
Impossible to pick. Top honors go to The Hunger Games, Poison Study, and Ash.

What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
Anything by Faulkner. Hah! Take that, you dead old white Southern man!

Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
Oh noooo. The French had Dumas, with The Count of Monte Cristo (absolutely brilliant book, you must read it for high-class entertainment), but I love Crime and Punishment and The Cherry Orchard. I may have to go with the crazy Russians for now... at least until I've read more Dumas and finally attempt Les Miserables.

Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?
Difficult. Maybe Chaucer, because The Canterbury Tales is kind of like a collection of short stories, which is the length I like my Old English classics to be.

Austen or Eliot?
Austen. Even though I haven't read any Eliot. But I'm pretty sure my decision would not change even if I had.

What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Probably modern adult classics like Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, Jonathan Safran Foer, Joseph Heller... and on and on. Luckily I have all of their books on my TBR shelf!

What is your favorite novel?
If I had to go with just one, it'd be Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She wrote it two centuries ago and it's still my favorite. That's a crazy accomplishment for a classic.

What is your favorite play?
Difficult. I enjoy a lot of them. The existentialists were bizarre. But probably Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. In 12th grade English I did an assignment where we had to write one more scene to the ending. I loved doing that, and finding out all the symbolism.

What is your favorite poem?
Lots of short ones, but a longer one would probably be Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott," if only because Megan Follows performs it so brilliantly as Anne Shirley in the movie.

What is your favorite essay?
I mean, I haven't really read much, but probably "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift. Come on, when a man writes intelligently satirizing eating babies as the solution to world overpopulation, you can't but love it.

What is your favorite short story?
I really like "The Wonderful Tale of Henry Sugar" by Roald Dahl, even though the anthology it was in scared me when I was younger. That man is crazy!

What is your favorite non-fiction?
The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins. A heartbreaking, eye-opening, and shocking look into what high schoolers will do to get into the "elite" colleges.

What is your favorite graphic novel?
I don't really read graphic novels... I read manga sometimes? For manga I like Marmalade Boy and Absolute Boyfriend. I'm absolutely girly when it comes to my manga.

What is your favorite science fiction?
Depends on what you label as science fiction. I'll just go with Ender's Game, to be fair and to avoid too much head-hurting.

Memoir?
I read one called Gift Hands by Ben Carson that I really enjoyed. First They Killed My Father is an account of a Cambodian childhood. And Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah should be a must-read for every middle schooler.

Favorite History/Historical Novel?
When I was younger I read Ann Rinaldi's The Second Bend in the River over and over again. Tecum-theh! Tecum-theh! And Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years in Laura Ingalls Wilder's series are my favorites.

Favorite mystery or noir?
Mmm... I don't read much in that genre... uh, Dan... Brown? His Robert Langdon books are good for one-time reads.

Favourite romance?
I don't read much romance, but I'm recently getting into Gena Showalter's paranormal romances. They're pretty awesome.

Favourite teen book?
*in Cockney accent* Difficult to say, me friend. Er, maybe The Hunger Games. But then again, it might be because that's the one that's been on my mind the most throughout this whole post...

Who is your favourite writer?
I admire Sarah Dessen, Robin McKinley, Megan McCafferty, and Beth Kephart, among many others.

Who is the most over rated writer alive today?
Well, Faulkner's dead, so... is Salinger still alive? Cuz I hated The Catcher in the Rye. What a whiny, useless, foul-mouthed protagonist.

What are you reading right now?
Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick

What book do you wish someone wrote so you could read it?
I want a Jessica Darling-like character who's Asian. I think we need a kick-ass Asian protagonist with the wit and snark of Jessica. Actually, I just think we need some more Asian main characters in YA lit in general, who are not going through an identity crisis of the racial bent.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week Nominations!

I... I'm... I... I don't really know what to say. I'm kind of shaking. Also, my brain is a mess and has been because I swear this disgustingly hot and humid weather messes with my vibezzz. But seriously, guys: five BBAW nominations? FIVE???!!!??? [Edit 8/21: six now. SIX! *faints*] I'm absolutely bowled over. You've stolen my words. I can't thank those who nominated me enough. This is a great honor, both for me and my writing, and I can only hope that I don't disappoint you in the selections process, and that maybe--hopefully--I will make it into the shortlist for at least one of these categories.

I was nominated for the following two niche categories:

Best General Review Blog

Best YA Blog

Each nominated blog can only be shortlisted in one niche category, and since my focus is really on YA, I'm flabbergasted at the General Review nod and will try to dig up from the mound of archives any non-YA reviews I've done for that category (lol).

I was also nominated for the following categories:

Most Humorous/Funniest

Best Reviews

Best New Blog

Best Reviews?!?!? ZZZZZINNGGGGGG!!! (That's the sound of me electrifying myself out of the seat of my chair.) Wow! I'm not quite sure I understand the Funniest nomination; I figure the funny part is probably the part where I was nominated for that...? :) Just kidding. Anyway, THANK YOU THANK YOU. This is absolutely incredible.

[edit: 8/21] Just got a last minute email saying I was nominated for Best Writing! Ahhhhhhh!

I have to select 5 posts to send in for the judges' consideration for each category. The posts may overlap. I'm going to spend most of my free time today and tomorrow going through my posts and trying to find ones I think are most representative of me and my blog, but if you guys have any particular favorites that you think I should send in, LET ME KNOW, PLEASE! (Particularly for the Funniest one. I have a feeling that's going to require me unearthing my narcissistic side and rereading every single one of my posts, to find that elusive "funny."

Anyway, if you're interested, I'll probably be updating this space numerous times between today and tomorrow as I gather my posts, so feel free to chime in with your suggestions anytime!

And here is the BBAW meme, which reads like a brainstorming of a thank-you speech at certain points. Whoops. What can I say? I love every opportunity I get to give thanks to you guys.

1) What has been one of the highlights of blogging for you?

Easy question: meeting authors, other bloggers, readers... just being able to meet all these YA lovers! I've been reading YA since my middle school days, but this is the first year I've actually been able to find people with whom I can have a conversation about Sarah Dessen, or talk about how super nice Michelle Zink is, or how we all have a fangirly crush on John Green... and they know what I'm talking about!! Being part of the YA blogging community has made me continue to read and write YA in the face of scarily academic and "classic" college readings. It's like I was homeless and I didn't even know it... until I came into this community and found people who share my love of YA. It's utterly incredible.

2) What blogger has helped you out with your blog by answering questions, linking to you, or inspiring you?

Lenore has been there since the very beginning, commenting even when I was a wee little blogger just starting up. I don't know how she does it, how she manages to keep up her fantastic blog while simultaneously making friends and commenting and encouraging EVERYWHERE, but I thank her for doing it. Jenny and Thao were two of the first bloggers I befriended, and I still love them to death for being so sweet and talented. If the world suddenly shrank one day, I'd love to be able to find them in the melee that would follow. (Hehhhhh.)

I've also made a bunch of blogger friends whom I'd love to get to meet in person one day: Brooke, Beth, Aerin, Alyssa, Lizzie, Donna, Khy, to name just a few. The list of authors whom I've gotten to talk to is perhaps even longer, and they simply make my day. Thank you all!

3) What one question do you have about BBAW that someone who participated last year could answer?

I'm not sure what to ask because I feel like this year's BBAW is already so different than last year's in terms of volume and attendance! I guess I'm curious about what new blogs you discovered as a result of last year's BBAW. I'm primarily YA, and am curious to see what other book review blogs are out there.

For more information about Book Blogger Appreciation Week, check out their website/blog HERE!

Interview Me, Interview You

Steph Bowe of Hey! Teenager of the Year started this fun "co-interview" meme. Check out how this works (cuz I hope you'll participate):

Follow these instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (Include your email address if you think I don't already have it).
   
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
   
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
   
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
   
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
   

And here are my answers to Steph's questions:

1. Have you ever read a book that’s really spoken to you? Can you tell me about it? (Not in the sense that it suddenly began talking, but something that you could really relate to, and which drew a really powerful emotional response out of you.)

Oh, God, where do I even begin? I'm a leaky faucet when it comes to sad movies, but not so much for sad books. So when a book manages to make me cry, that's very impressive.

When I finished The Sweet Far Thing, the last book in Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy, I felt like I walked around in a cloud of despair and bittersweetness for the rest of the day. I've talked to numerous people who really didn't like how the trilogy ended, but for me, it was perfect in its sad hopefulness and imperfection. It's one of my favorite "imperfect" series endings, and is always something I think about when considering how to write my own stories.

I also recently read The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale, which made me bust out laughing as well as sob nonstop for the last third of the novel. I don't think I've ever read a book that made me sob, and this one was just so well-written, a fun but un-fairy-tale-like story.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler is not one of my all-time favorites, but there was just something about the main character, Anna, that I could completely relate to. If I were ever placed in that position of loving my best friend's dead brother, I know that I would react exactly how Anna related. I have problems liking people--and characters--who are too similar to me, but at the same time I have trouble getting Anna and her story out of her mind, so eerily alike we are. That was a cool discovery.

2. If you could choose only five movies to watch for the rest of your life, what would they be and why?

Another hard question! The 1995 Pride & Prejudice BBC miniseries (self-explanatory), When Harry Met Sally (love the dynamics and dialogue), 10 Things I Hate About You (makes me laugh every time), Hairspray or Rent (great musical soundtracks that I can sing along to for *gulp* the rest of my life), and the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary in Concert DVD (best musical of all time. Period).

3. If you were a shape shifter, what animal (or inanimate object, if you prefer) would you choose to be the form you could shift into and why?

lol, this is not something I've ever really thought about, but it might be pretty cool to be a ferret-like creature like the form that Lyra's daemon, Pan, prefers to take in the His Dark Materials trilogy. (Wow, that was really specific.) Sleek and pretty, with soft fur.

4. If you were arrested by police, what would it most likely be for?

Illegal downloading. Or falling asleep at the wheel. :/

5. Zombie apocalypse scenario: I want you to have a look around whatever room you’re in, and choose which object you’d use to fight them off if the undead suddenly rose, right this very second.

In the surge of adrenaline that would surely accompany this unlikely scenario, I would probably brandish my three-piece floor lamp. Hee-yah!

-

Sounds fun, right? Just leave a comment saying you want to be interviewed, along with your email address, and I'll send you some questions for you to answer! :D

Meme: Teen Books Everyone Should Know About

I love lists. I'm obsessed with them. Writing them, checking them off, constantly updating them... Lists of Bests is a site that I am sad to admit I frequent much more than I probably should (especially since it's not like the contents of those lists ever change, and not like the amount I have consumed of each list can change on a daily basis or anything). Anyway. I saw this meme over at Chelsea's blog, and I figured this is the kind of fun stuff I like to do and continue to spread with others.

The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.

Instructions:
Put an "X" next to the books you've read
Put a "+" next to the books you LOVE
Put a "#" next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your "X"s at the bottom
Share with your friends!

1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams
2. Kit's Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie #
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson X
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews #
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher X
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway X+
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block X
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor #
12. Forever / Judy Blume X
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell X
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares X
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray X+
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot X
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus X
19. Ender's Game / Orson Scott Card X+
20. Postcards from No Man's Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky X
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn X
24. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan X
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer X
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins X+
27. The Midwife's Apprentice / Karen Cushman
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen X+
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow #
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly X
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer X
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman #
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden #
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles X
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green X+
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen X
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause X
47. Arrow's Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee X
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan X
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart X
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry X
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry X
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler X+
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey #
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick X+
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta #
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr X
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock X+
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix X
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix X
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini X
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen X
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer X+
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman X
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling X
80. Holes / Louis Sachar X
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman X
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli X+
87. Chanda's Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar X
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld X
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger X
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang X
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin X
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak #
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak X+

50 Xs. Wow. 50 out of 100 books. That's a little insane. What did you guys get?