Reading Meme

You ever realize most of my entries start with "I'm not dead" or "Sorry I haven't been around"? Yeah...if you miss me, check out my twitter, my tumblr, & my livejournal. There's also the 5NerdsomeWriters, where I post on Tuesday. Actually, all the blogs I would normally put up here, tend to go there, which is why you're not seeing them very often. So if you're used to my regular chatter about books, publishing trends, & mass communication, you might want to check that out. Be sure to read the other girls' posts as well, because they're amazing.

Anyway, here's a book reader meme I snagged from Jordyn of Ten Cent Notes.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?
Chances are, I am always snacking, especially while reading. The better the book, the less I snack because I start to forget about food, haha.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of
writing in books horrify you?
I would never ever ever write in a book! I might put in sticky notes if it were for a class, but generally if I feel like making notes, I open up a file on my computer to keep track. This is usually how I start my reviews.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?
Generally bookmarks. And by bookmarks I mean anything I can find that is flat. Sometimes I will not use anything and just trust myself to be able to find the right page, but sometimes that can be tricky.

Laying the book flat open?
Absolutely not! It ruins the covers & spines of the books, and I can't stand that.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?
Fiction, but every now & again I'll read some nonfic if it's good & looks interesting. Or is on a subject I really enjoy.

Hard copy or audiobooks?
Hard copy. I don't really like audiobooks all that much. They're convenient for someone like me who rarely has a minute to breathe, but at the same time, the voice, tone, & style of the reader on the tape has too great of an influence on the person listening. I think people should be able to make those distinctions for themselves.

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 whenever, and generally have to. My life doesn't always accommodate me enough time to finish chapters.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?
Generally I just keep on reading & can infer from the context what it is supposed to me, and I'll maybe look it up later. If I'm near my computer, I might look it up right then.

What are you currently reading?
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

What is the last book you bought?
I just had a birthday last month & got a few gift cards, which I used to buy an array of books. I purchased 2 EL Koningsburg books, City of Ember, The Book Thief, Memoirs of a Teenaged Amnesiac, & I think one other but I can't remember.

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

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?
Any time, anywhere. Though I seem to most read when I am waiting in lines or in cars.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?
It depends on the book. Some series should have been stand alones, some stand alone books I wish were series.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?
I am constantly recommending The Great Gatsby, Looking for Alaska, anything by Maureen Johnson, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, & The Higher Power of Lucky

5 YA Crushes

I have more than 5, but that is not how the meme works. Jordyn over at Ten Cent Notes posted a list of the 5 guys in YA that she does and does not like the most and challenged the rest of us to do the same, so here are mine. If I wanted to make this really, really easy I could just pick one guy from every Maureen Johnson book & be done with it (and still have books left over) but I won't do that.

Just to name a few...
1. Spencer from Suite Scarlett
He. Is. AMAZING. He is sweet, smart, funny, and he can do a prat fall. And ride a unicycle! This is the boy for me. I was in love from his very first line, I swear.

2. Remus Lupin from the Harry Potter series
He's old, yeah, but whatevs, I don't care, I love this dude. Really smart, totally caring, and solves all your problems with chocolate.

3. Tom from Magic or Madnes
He's just fantastic. And he can sew. Although I have to admit, I fangirl him less & less as the series goes on. Probably because I don't like who he ends up with. (I like HER, I just don't like him with her)

4. Gavin from Shrinking Violet
I've always had a thing for guitarists, you know.

5. Hunter from So Yesterday
So he can be a bit of a wimp, but I'm willing to help him become braver. Still, he's smart as heck and nerdy, but also sweet. Good guy.


Guys I find very over-rated.
1. Edward Cullen. He's a creep, a stalker, & a pedophile. And a tonne of other things like those.
2. Harry Potter. I cannot stand him towards the end of the series. Honestly, where's the appeal?
3. Sirius Black. Even more-so than Harry. So many people are in love with him and I just don't get it! (double for Snape)
4. Victor from Runaways (totally counts). He is a robot, okay, got it...what else ya got?
5. Speaking of Marvel characters, why Wolverine?!! I never understood this. EVAH.

Another Book Meme!

I was tagged via twitter by the awesome Sarah Maclean (check out her new book, The Season!), so here goes!

1. What author do you own the most books by?
Lois Gladys Leppard. I'm on a quest to someday own the entire Mandie series! (All 41 of them)

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

3. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
...Lincoln Clinton Carter Kennedy? ^^; In my personal fandom he's an aloof, sweet-hearted 18/19 year old. It's a fanfic thing. But you see why this was a secret, right?
Also: Calvin O'Keefe, Jonathan Guyer, Jamie Madrox, and so many many more, but those aren't secrets ;D

4. What book have you read more than any other?
Hm...Through the Looking Glass or Looking for Alaska by John Green. The adult book I've read the most is The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald.

5. What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Most likely one of the Mandie books; or Holes by Louis Sachar, which came out about that time.

6. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year?
If I don't like a book, I don't finish. Although I was pretty upset with the NOT ending of Superior Saturday by Garth Nix

7. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year?
I'm still pretty in love with Looking for Alaska...do re-reads count?

8. If you could tell everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. Powerful stuff, man.

9. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read?
I'm with Sarah, Ulysses is definitely up there for me. But I think overall Crime and Punishment by Fyodr Dostoyvsky (whose name changes spelling all the time)

10. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I think my last answer would give you a hint, but if not: French. I like Camus, hate Dostoyvsky.

11. Shakespeare, Milton or Chaucer?
...that's hard. Uh...uh...Chaucer. I love Shakespeare, I really do, but all his plays are kind of the same? Plus, Paul Bettany never played Shakespeare.

12. Austen or Eliot?
Austen, no contest.

13. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
(Sarah, DON'T. They're awful) I've never read a lot of the High School English classics. They were always required for the other classes, but not mine. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, Catcher in the Rye, & One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

14. What is your favorite novel?
Like I was explaining last night, I don't have one favorite, I have three: one for each reading level I read/study.
Adult - The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
YA - Looking for Alaska by John Green
Children's - The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron.
(notice a theme there? Yeah, so did I. I have depressing taste in books, I know...my own novel has kind of the same theme too)

15. Plays?
Love 'em. My favorite is The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare

16. Poem?
Eh, it really depends. I can love them, hate them, or not care. I really like Emily Dickenson & Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smith.

17. Essay?
Not so much, but I guess if it had a really fantastic topic then I might.

18. Non Fiction
It really depends on the topic, but overall I'm not much for nonfic.

19. Graphic Novel?
YES. I work in a comic book store, okay?

20. Science Fiction?
Love 'em!

22. Fantasy?
Oh absolutely!

23. Who is your favorite writer?
Maureen Johnson. I know, I know, it goes with nothing else I mentioned in this post and all her books are happy & funny & not morbid. I don't know, I just like her style.

24. What are you reading right now?
Some birds outside & my dog snoring. It's very quiet here.

25. Favorite Genre:
YA - Realistic fiction. Go figure.

I tag YOU.

Book Meme

I'm not dead, school didn't kill me. I'm heading out of town in a few minutes here (as soon as the family is all finished packing), but when I get back next week I'll have plenty of wonderful things to post for you all. Including reviews of John Green's Paper Towns (comes out Oct 08), The first 3 (or maybe 4) Traveling Pants books by Ann Brashares, The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Paton, The Witches by Roald Dahl, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Possibly some ranting over Louis Sachar's Holes and some stuff on children's literature and picture books too. My children's lit class has prepared me well and I'm more than happy to share what I learned!

Okay, until then I leave you with a book-based meme taken from Jordyn over at Page Numbered

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews?
Maybe the House of Night series? Everyone always tells me good things about it and my friend Jess lent it to me once. I got through like 3 chapters and could not read anymore because I hated the main character so much.

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?
Ooh, that's tough. Um. I'm reading the pants books now and really connecting with Bridget, so let's take her along. And maybe this is a current book obsession thing, but I want to bring along Margo Roth Speigelman from Paper Towns because she's so awesome, but still really deep and thoughtful. My third guest would be Ginny from 13 Little Blue Envelopes. We'll all go on a road trip! That seems to be the best idea with these girls.

You are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for a while, which book would you expect to be waiting for you at the end?
Crime and Punishment. I tried to read it for school and could not do it. Or maybe something by Dickens.

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?
I don't remember exactly, but I know I did this a few times in school. Cuz that's what honor kids do, honestly.

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?
Hm...I'm not sure. There most likely has been. I know I do it with manga sometimes, like the 29th volume of Naruto I could have sworn I'd read before, but as I got farther into it I found out I hadn't.

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 of personalise the VIP).
Depends on the person, but either The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald or The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. I recommend Hugo Cabret to non-reading kids all the time because even though it's huge it's easy to read. Half of the book is like a picture/flip book anyway. And then when they're done and like it they can fell like "I just finished that gigantic book, now I can read anything."

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?
Italian, no contest. I would like French maybe because there are so many good books in French, but Italian would win out no matter what. I'm learning Italian and I love it completely.

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?
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. It was the first book to get me really into reading and I still love it. I try to read it once a year anyway.

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art-anything)?
I found John Green through Scott Westerfeld's blog, and whereas I'm not a big fan of An Abundance of Katherines I really love Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns. John Scalzi too, also through Westerfeld. I haven't read most of his stuff, but I really enjoy Agent to the Stars.
But more importantly I found Maureen Johnson through the blogosphere and she's my favorite author these days. I will read anything written by her, even if it is a blood & tears book. And I hate those books generally (Twilight is the only thing of that genre I like, but for the action and not the romance so should it count?). MJ is a writing goddess, that's all there is to be said about that. Thank you internets!

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.

I wrote this library into my book, actually. It's huge, with shelves so high you need those rolling ladders around. Most are hard cover or leatherbound, but some books are paperback and falling apart. These ones are all first editions or the ones I read as a child or never truly published by written by people I know. My favorite books are signed and have personalized messages to me. And there's a huge wall of all my favorite manga, with all the volumes there. And somehow my comics would end up somewhere in a way where the could not be ruined.


Take this if you want, I won't tag anyone this time around

I'm alive and I've been tagged

Yes, I am still alive. Just very busy is all. I finished up my last exam this morning (very very early this morning I might add, I've been exhausted all day) and I start May Term on Monday. Lovely.

Anyway, Jude tagged me. And then Anita tried to tag me. So here goes!
Here's the rules at a glance:
-Pick up the nearest book
-Flip to whatever page you're on or a random page
-Type up lines 6-9
-Tag 5 people

From pg 80 Generation X: Crossroads by J. Steven York:
"...And most of all, we will need one unit to operate full specs, and we will need it ready quickly, to allow for the cosmetic modifications that we require."
Bervin leaned back against the workbench, allowing a..."

I really don't know who to tag anymore, as everyone else seems to have already been tagged. But I will tag Jordyn, my newest blogging friend.

Also, Jude nonspecifically & unknowingly tagged me for a second game:
Rules are:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up

1. The first person to congratulate me today after I finished my last exam was my favourite radio DJ, Jordan, who does the all-request hour on Shine.FM (I called in to request Paul Allen's "Bring You Back")
2. I write more fanfictions for my X-Men forum than I write for my book
3. I crack my toes in my sleep
4. I am allergic to mint, which means I use kid's "sparkle fun" flavoured toothpaste
5. I am a caffeine addict, more specificly a Coca-Cola addict
6. I'm one of the few writers I know who loves editing

Again, I don't know who to tag anymore, so anyone who wants to can consider themselves tagged.


One of the classes I'm taking during May term is Children's Literature. I've already started flipping through the text book; I'm very excited for this class. We'll be reading Charlotte's Web and when the girl in the school bookstore tried to give me a copy I told her "Oh no, I have my own copy, I just read it last month actually." She gave me a very strange look.