Archive for January, 2008

This makes me excited – The first chapter of SUITE SCARLETT by Maureen Johnson, on Inside a Dog, where she is currently blogging for one month!

About to be wrapped up in a warm blanket and reading Princess Mia. Yes, I did finish Princess on the Brink, only moments ago, and now I have to find out what comes next!

(I know, I said I was going to put down the Princess Diaries for awhile, but I picked it up for one brief, tiny, minute second, and couldn’t put it down!)

Can’t wait… must go read!

I have a soft spot (or should I call it a sweet tooth?) for new authors and their first novels. So when I happened across the class of 2k8 blog I was super stoked! The class of 2k8 are a group of first time YA or middle grade authors, with books being released in 2008. To be fair, not all of them are FIRST time authors, but I’m still excited to see what they have coming out. I’ve already heard great things about The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher. Make sure to check them out!

This weekend was filled with an unfortunate lack of reading, but a fortunate fullness of friends, and CANDY. On Saturday, I visited the always delicious B. A. Sweeties. If you live in the northeast Ohio area (as I do), you absolutely must go to this wonderful store. It has every type of candy known to man (even many, many foreign varieties). And you can buy Sour Patch kids in INDIVIDUAL flavors! No more tossing out the green ones because you only like the red and orange! Heaven, I tell you.

I did start reading Princess on the Brink by Meg Cabot. (I realize that it is very shameful that I am TWO BOOKS BEHIND in the Princess Diaries series!). All I can say is… MICHAEL WHA???????

I’m going to forgo finishing that book in order to start Undercover by Laura Kephart. I keep seeing everywhere everyone saying the nicest things about it! I can’t wait to devour it.

Also! Go read Little Willow’s awesome interview at Bildungsroman with Melissa Walker, who wrote Violet on the Runway. Which I’ve been meaning to read for AGES!

Last night I finished Geek High by Piper Banks. Cute YA novel. I always enjoy books about geeks, and love, and high school. I especially enjoyed this novel because the characters were quirky, yet quite believable. I found myself absorbed in the story rather quickly, and couldn’t put it down!

So yikes, I read two books yesterday. And that’s even a bit much for me!

Tomorrow I’m planning on reading Thirteen Reasons Why and another new book I picked up today, Leftovers, by Laura Wiess, who also wrote Such a Pretty Girl.

Austenland by Shannon Hale is an absolute must for ANY fans of Jane Austen out there! In this great (but, yet, a bit short) novel, Jane Hayes, a New Yorker, is whisked away to the time of Austen; propriety, politeness, and corsets abound! A wealthy aunt dies and leaves Jane an odd sort of inheritance–3 weeks at Pembrook Park, in England, where women come to fantastize and act as if they are living in the 19th century, complete with servants, men wearing tight breeches, and no air conditioning!

If you know me, which many of you, do not, you will know that I am a very large fan of Jane Austen. I’ve read all of her novels, and her incomplete novels, and everything I possibly can even remotely relating to Jane or her stories. So, of course, I loved this book, because it sounds like an amazingly wonderful dream. Do places like this exist? If so, please someone buy me a ticket? And make sure Colin Firth is waiting at the door?

I am the utmost hopeless romantic. I relate to the main character, Jane, because she is searching for her Mr. Darcy. Wouldn’t it be great to find your own Mr. Darcy? That’s what you think, right? That’s what I think, but honestly, have you really thought about it? Thought about THE MR. DARCY? The story is called PRIDE and Prejudice, and he was for sure, a very prideful man. And in the end, perhaps humbled, a bit, but still proud. Is that what I really want in my future soulmate? I’m still trying to figure that out, but really, am I holding out for too much? Is my pedestal, perhaps, a bit, TOO high?

Something to think about… aren’t books great at doing that?!

Anyways, this book was great. I read it in one sitting. Go read it now, women of the world.

(DISCLAIMER: If you are reading my blog, you may notice I seem to enjoy every book I’ve written about. Well, I just happen to love almost every book I read, no matter the subject matter. If I don’t enjoy a book, I won’t keep reading it, so therefore probably won’t blog about it. But maybe the time will come, when I too, will read a horrid novel, and share with the world. For now, you will have to deal with my amazing positivity and extreme promotion of every novel I come across. That’s just me. And I say amazing a lot. In case you haven’t caught on by now.)

Also finished reading The Boyfriend List by the absolute fab E. Lockhart last night!

Why do I love this book so much? Because I AM Roo (the protag). The story centers around Roo (Ruby) Oliver, who lately, has a bit of trouble with the boys (and with her best friends). And then she has a panic attack. And then another, and then it’s five, and she freaks out a little. WHO WOULDN’T?! So she sees a therapist (which reminds me of another book I just read and loved, Total Constant Order by Crissa-jean Chappell, so talented new author). Anyways, I’m Roo because I am a WAITER. Not like, the kind that waits on people, and brings them food and crap, but the kind that WAITS FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN TO THEM.

Waits for the guy I like to call me or ask me out, waits for the good things in life to happen to me, waits for others to work it out, waiting, waiting, waiting, while LIFE freakin’ passes me by. I’m a waiter, like Ruby.

Now, recently, I’ve tried to not be so wait… ful (it’s a new word I just made up, ok??). I’ve got this awesome new job. I’m more outspoken and confident. But I still have this problem with guys. A BIG PROBLEM. Like, I can’t talk to a guy I have a crush on. At all. Even if talking is necessary, say, for example, because WE WORK TOGETHER. It’s that bad.

So, I need to work on that. And I think this novel, in waking me up to my waitfulness, has helped to do that. So I recommend all waiters out there, like myself, READ IT AND GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR LIFE!!!

Last night I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. A few years ago, in college, one of our class assignments was to read The Kite Runner, which he also wrote (and which there is currently a film out based on this novel).

A Thousand Splendid Suns is extremely emotional. I can’t imagine that anyone would read this novel and not feel ANYTHING. I definitely cried at a few critical moments. This novel tells the story of two women growing up and facing extreme hardship and betrayals in Afghanistan over the past 30 or so years.

I sit and read this novel and think, “A few thousand miles, and that could be me.” Fate has granted me the life of an American citizen, and all the freedoms that come with that. I will never be forced into a marriage I do not want. My family will never be so poor that our stomaches ache with hunger pains and we fear for our lives. If I am assaulted, or beaten, or hurt in any way, I have the right to speak up for myself.

As a woman living in the world today, I recommend that all women, from every background and age, read this book. I recommend every man read this book. You’ll surely be touched by the amazing strength of these strong women.

Hello world! Welcome to bibliochic.com, my awesome place on the web to share my love of books! Maybe you’re here because you are a friend of mine. Maybe you are here because you love books. Maybe you’re like how the FREAK did I get here? Well, the reason doesn’t matter. Just enjoy. And comment. AND RSS ME! Seriously. If you don’t know what RSS is and if you’re not subscribing to blogs around the world, you are so not with it. If you don’t know what the RSS button to the side is, PLEASE COMMENT AND I WILL TRY TO HELP YOUR POOR SOUL.

Thanks much–look for my first bookishly awesome entry in about 15 minutes! Ciao my peeps!