Memory of After, by Lenore Appelhans (book review) – sinister stop-off between life and heaven

Jun6

book cover of Memory of After by Lenore Appelhans published by Simon SchusterDead, but not gone,
memory lives on,
in limbo, but never heaven?

Felicia figured she was more likely to end up in hell than heaven, considering what she’d done with Julian and to her best friend before she was banished to Grammy’s small town, but her time with Neal was slowly convincing her that forgiveness was possible.

And then she died – bam – end of second chances… or was it? Given a choice of revisiting memories of Neal forever or trying to change a corrupt system, she does have a second chance – if she dares to act.

In an unusual turn, the publisher realized that the hardback title Level 2  and its cover art (shown next to My Book Talk section) did not fit with the story, so the paperback (issued just 3 months after original pub date) uses the new title and art seen above. I agree that their first choice made this book look and sound like some paranormal video game, rather than the contest between good, not-so-good, maybe-evil, and oh-so-bad that it is.

Could you give up your favorite memories to move on?
**kmm

Book info: The Memory of After (Memory Chronicles, book 1) [hardback title: Level 2] / Lenore Appelhans. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2013.  [author’s blog]  [publisher site]  [author video interview]

book cover of Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans published by Simon Schuster, reissued as Memory of After

original hardback cover art & title

My book talk: Felicia’s not in heaven or hell, just stuck in Level 2 reliving memories over and over. When another girl in her pod vanishes and no one else remembers she was there, the teen thinks something’s amiss. When a dangerous guy from her past on Earth invades the pod to recruit her into a revolt against the angels, she knows something really strange is going on!

Not that Felicia was a good girl as a teenager, but dying just a day short of her 18th birthday seems so unfair. After the horrific incident with Julian and her best friend Autumn in Germany, her diplomat parents sent to live with her grandmother Stateside.

Felicia has lived in cities around the world, so the tiny Oklahoma town and Grammy’s strictness strangle her, but maybe it’s punishment she deserves.  School, church, school, home – that’s it. Meeting Neal at church youth group is the best thing in her world. Maybe she can overcome her guilt after all, with his love and help.

Now here she is with other dead teen girls in their stark white pod, not hungry or thirsty, accessing the best-ever memories. like her time with Neal. Suddenly Beckah finds herself trapped in her own terrifying death memory and is gone when Felicia checks on her later…and the other girls swear there never was any Beckah!

Julian’s abrupt appearance in the pod is alarming – no one ever comes in, let alone boys! He says he’s coming back for Felicia, then leaves. What’s going on? How did Julian find her? Is he dead, too?

As the pod is attacked and Felicia flees with Julian, she sees that there are thousands of pods, which means many thousands of people-drones here with their memories instead of in heaven or hell…

Why did angels set up pods filled with good memories that no one wants to abandon?
Why does Julian need Felicia’s help to “restore balance” in the afterlife?
Is Neal in one of those pods?

The battle is just beginning in this new series that takes the power of memories to a whole new level.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Fave Five apps for bloggers and readers (plus a bonus app or two)

Jun5
cartoon of billiard ball 5 by ClassroomClipart.com

(c)ClassroomClipart.com

Today’s WordCount Blogathon theme is Five Favorite Apps.

My hands-down favorite is 30/30 for iOs and Android (didn’t find it for Windows phone yet). This timer program allows me to set up alerts for a sequence of tasks – as long as the blocks are under 60 minutes – and sounds an alarm when it’s time to switch to next task. I can pause a timed task, add or subtract time, move off the list for now, all on the fly.  Add in the ability to create and save multiple sequences, and you have a truly useful app that’s FREE.

I use  30/30 to schedule in stretch breaks, remind myself to check email and Twitter on a regular-but-not-constant basis, and so on. Rewarding myself with a 15-minute block of gameplay satisfies my need for some non-writing time while keeping me from getting so engrossed in the game that I ‘forget’ to get back to work. Super-super-super for ensuring that I’m not sitting still in front of computer for hours at a go.

Finding BufferApp was delightful. I use the free version to pre-schedule tweets at times when more of my followers are on Twitter, which lets me write the perfect tweet about a new blog post, put it in a scheduled slot on BufferApp, and not have to worry about remembering to tweet as soon as that post goes live. Recent enhancements let me Buffer retweets directly from Twitter, rather than having to copy-paste. Also available for iOs and Android, it works with Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. You can have up to 10 tweets buffered at a time with the free version, more with paid subscription.

Next is Dropbox (free for computers, iOs, Android, Windows Phone) which gives me access to my saved Dropbox files from nearly anywhere. As I routinely move between several computers in multiple locations, I save essential documents (optical prescriptions, frequent flyer numbers, book reviews) into Dropbox so I don’t have to remember which hard drive they’re on. It’s also great as photo/video downloader and repository, as I don’t have to locate cables to directly download phone photos to my computer.

Number four is a catchall of apps, since I haven’t yet bought a dedicated eReader because the eReader format wars haven’t shown any clear winner. I use the free Kindle and Nook apps on my phone (and desktop and laptop and netbook) to access those eBook types. Many publishers provide ARCs (advance reader copies) to reviewers in Adobe Digital Editions format, so that’s on all my computers, too. Adobe doesn’t have ADE for iOs yet, and user reviews of phone apps which claim to read ePub and ADE format are uniformly dissatisfied with those alternatives; hope Adobe has their own reader app available soon.

My fifth app helps me keep up with all the wonderful blogs I follow. When Google announced they were discontinuing GoogleReader this summer, I joined the mad dash to find a good substitute. After trying a few, I’ve settled on feedly as my preferred blog-reader and have happily changed my 30/30 task name. With a robust ‘back-end’ to harvest the blogs you subscribe to, it’s time to say hello feedly and sayonara GR!

And the bonus apps for everyone are Sun Wise from the EPA (all smartphone platforms) which gives you the current UV Index for any zipcode and Charity Miles which donates money to your choice of several charitable causes for every mile that you walk, run, or bike while you have the app activated. That’s right – you give the physical effort and someone else donates the funds! Among their current charities are Wounded Warrior Project, The Nature Conservancy, Autism Speaks, and StandUp2Cancer. Their initial $1 million pool pays out 25 cents per mile walked or run and 10 cents per mile biked to the charity you’ve selected. So download this app for iOs or Android, then get out there and move!

What apps do you use to keep your life/work/fun/relationships balance successfully juggled?
**kmm

Reconstructing Amelia, by Kimberly McCreight (book review) – not a suicide, not a chance

Jun4

book cover of Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight published by HarperPrivate school academic pressure
or vicious peer pressure?
What sent Amelia over the edge?

First love isn’t always easy or simple. Lifelong friendships may break apart or simply drift away during high school. Parents don’t know what their children experience every minute; kids don’t think that their parents were ever in such predicaments. Told in several voices, Amelia’s story is both familiar and unusual, with an outcome you might expect, but an ending you won’t guess.

On her website, author Kimberly McCreight asks folks to post “what would you tell your mother or your daughter” – anonymously, if need be –  if they could only find the courage or the right words or the right time, sharing the conversations on her Facebook page, hoping that the right time is sooner rather than too late.

This mystery-tragedy jumped onto the bestseller lists before I could finish this post, so you should easily find it at your local library or favorite independent bookstore now.

Is it ever too late to say the right thing?
**kmm

Book info: Reconstructing Amelia / Kimberly McCreight. Harper, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Amelia would never cheat, so why would she take her own life before fighting against the false accusation? As her mother tries to uncover the truth about her death, pieces of Amelia that no one knew begin to surface through emails, text messages, and notes.

Known as an over-achiever even by Grace Hall school standards, Amelia writes thoughtful, compelling essays all the time, so the idea that she plagiarized an entire English paper about her favorite author is absurd. Her mother rushes from her law office to the posh private school when notified of her suspension for cheating, only to find that the fifteen-year-old hadn’t survived a fall from the roof. Amelia – suicide?

An anonymous text message “Amelia didn’t jump” pulls Kate from her haze of grief, as the single mother realizes that there are parts missing from the story surrounding her daughter’s death and decides that she must get to the bottom of things. With the help of a new police detective, her law firm’s IT department, and interviews with students and parents, a chilling picture emerges, centered on the social clubs which Grace Hall insists are not official school organizations.

Why did Amelia feel under so much pressure?
Who did she fall in love with and hide from everyone?
Why did she stop sharing secrets with her best friend?
What really went on with Dylan, Zaidie and the other Magpies Club girls?

This riveting story of peer pressure, indiscretions, cover-ups, and missteps on Amelia’s voyage of self-discovery is told through her diary entries, Facebook updates, text messages, emails, notes shoved in her locker, a particularly snarky blog devoted to Grace Hall gossip, plus Kate’s narrative and her own college diary.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins (book review) – ghost-hunting ain’t for amateurs!

Jun3

book cover of School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins published by HyperionMonster sighted? Check.
Banishment strategy selected? Check.
Ready to walk into high school? No way!

Of course, home-schooling makes sense when your family is frequently traveling to hunt and eliminate otherworldly baddies, but none of her martial arts training prepared practical Izzy for her first major undercover assignment – locate and banish a high-school-based ghost with a grudge!

Makeup, clothes not suitable for stalking in the shadows, a hedgehog mascot for the basketball team …  and very, very attentive boys? Hope Izzy can corner Mary Evans’ ghost during the right moon phase and get out of Ideal, Mississippi in a hurry!

Grab this serious/not-so-serious ghost-trapper tale today at your local library  or independent bookstore, first in new series by Hex Hall author Rachel Hawkins.

Which ghosts of high school would you banish forever?
**kmm

Book info: School Spirits / Rachel Hawkins. Hyperion, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Being a Brannick means hunting down supernatural monsters – it’s the family business. When her big sister Finley disappears before Izzy’s training is complete, the teen finds herself walking into high school for the first time, ready to fight an avenging ghost, but so unprepared for cliques, cute boys, and pep rallies.

A science teacher was nearly killed in his lab with the door locked from the inside, and sightings of the school namesake’s ghost have been reported for the first time in years. So homeschooled Izzy is tapped to infiltrate Mary Evans High School to eliminate the ghost.

One official school club in this small Mississippi town is the Paranormal Management Society, with 3 members, all considered weird by other students. Mom always says that “civilians” who think they can take on the Prodigium make supernatural situations worse; hopefully, Izzy can nab the ghost without involving Romy, Anderson, or Dex.

Ah, Dex, who seems to be Prodigium himself, might have a crush on Izzy? She and Torin (the spirit living in Brannick mirrors for past 400 years) watch many movies and television shows about high school life, trying to get a handle on how to cope with boys who ask for phone numbers and girls who are mean and teachers who just don’t have a clue.

A mangled Barbie doll on the head cheerleader’s locker mimics the dead frog found on the science teacher’s door before he was attacked. Mary Evans appears to Izzy and is much more powerful than a ghost should be. Even after Izzy seals the ghost girl’s grave, Mary steers a speeding car into a crowd at school!

Who or what has augmented Mary Evans’ powers?
How can Izzy banish the ghost when normal techniques fail?
Why can’t she shake the feeling that Dex isn’t who he seems to be?

Vengeful, deadly, tied to high school forever – this paranormal opponent forces Izzy and her mom to delve deep into Brannick lore to find a way to save her classmates from evil School Spirits  in this new series by the author of Hex Hall.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau (book review) – keep friends close, enemies closer?

Jun2

book cover of The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau published by Houghton MifflinFor a chance at your dream, how far would you go?
What would you sacrifice?
How much can you give without giving up who you are?

This dystopian novel of trials and trust, peril and personal integrity, desperation and death is not a Hunger Games knockoff, by any means.

Testing completely done in secret, candidates’ minds wiped after they fail or succeed, the lucky ones who get into Tosu University will be assigned to other colonies and never see their families again.

Gotta be glad that the consequences of our standardized testing in the US aren’t so severe…

This is Charbonneau’s first foray into the sci-fi world and young adult books, as her previous books feature Chicago women who wind up in small towns solving mysteries, one series with inherited roller-skating rink, the other with glee club director. Glad that this is the first in a trilogy, as I can’t wait to see what happens after the candidates get to the university.

Tor.com shares a short prequel to the story, to tide you over until publication day on Tuesday, June 4.

So, how do you decide who to trust?
**kmm

Book info: The Testing (Testing, book 1) / Joelle Charbonneau.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Books, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Of course, Cia longs for a chance to attend the University! But to pass the Testing, she must be willing to do anything and to trust no one… not even her first love. The stakes are high – the dangers are too numerous to count.

All the scientists, teachers, and leaders of the cataclysm-torn United Commonwealth have passed The Testing and succeeded at Tosu University. When graduation day closes with no word from the capital, Cia thinks she’s stuck working on tractors in Five Lakes Colony forever. But the next day brings a Tosu official who tells Cia, Tomas, Malachi, and Zandri that they will leave for the Testing in the morning!

As her family and friends celebrate, Cia’s father tells of his recurring nightmares from his Testing time and  warns her to trust no one. From the moment they leave Five Lakes, everything is part of the Testing. There are only 20 openings at the University and over 150 Testing this year. Coming from her collaborative community, the 16-year-old thinks Dad is exaggerating, until another Testing candidate tries to poison her before the first exams begin!

The academic exams are hard, the practical and cooperative exams are harder, with more and more students failing each level. Phase 3 drops the remaining candidates into a city shattered by war, instructing them to return to Tosu City through hundreds of miles of disaster-blasted territory, equipped only with a few survival supplies and their wits. They can make alliances if they wish, but still only 20 will be allowed into the University… if that many survive.

Has Cia chosen the right equipment for the journey?
Can she locate Tomas near the drop-point?
Is she right to trust the boy she’s known and loved all her life – or is her father right?

First in a series set in a future United States trying to rebuild itself after nuclear war and worldwide geologic shifts, The Testing  asks whether being truly human is more than just surviving at any cost.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy through NetGalley and cover image both courtesy of the publisher.

Read with your ears! Free audiobook downloads all summer with SYNC

Jun1

SYNC summer YA audiobooks logoWoo-hoo! Summer is finally here!
time for road trips, new jobs,
Wordcount Blogathon,
lazy days by the pool…
so “read with your ears” while you work or relax – for free!

The popular SYNC program returns this summer with free audiobooks of YA and classic books, so you can read with your ears at your computer, on your phone, or with any other enabled electronic device.

Once you’ve downloaded a SYNC audiobook, it’s yours to keep and listen to for as long as you like!

There is a catch, of course – each pair of audiobooks is only downloadable for 7 days (Thursday through Wednesday).  I’ll remind you of each title pair and the SYNC download site weekly, but you can also have the program send you alerts by email (sign up on the SYNC site) or by text message by texting syncya to 25827 (standard message rates and fees apply).

Our first free pair of books take us to the stormy sea – download them before 11:59 pm US Eastern time on Wed, June 5th!

CD cover of Of Poseidon audiobookCD cover of The Tempest audiobook by BBC RadioMay 30 – June 5, 2013
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks, read by Rebecca Gibel (AudioGO)
The Tempest by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast, with music (AudioGO)

You’ll note several BooksYALove favorites on the line-up for SYNC Summer 2013 below – the link to my no-spoilers recommendation appears after those.

So get ready to read with your ears, all summer long! Which SYNC audiobook are you looking forward to most?
**kmm

June 6 – June 12, 2013
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, Book 1: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood, read by Katherine Kellgren (HarperAudio)
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Audio)

June 13 – June 19, 2013
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, read by Will Patton (Scholastic Audiobooks)
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya, read by Robert Ramirez (Recorded Books)

June 20 – June 26, 2013
Once by Morris Gleitzman, read by Morris Gleitzman (Bolinda Audio)
Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr., read by Dion Graham (christianaudio)

June 27 – July 3, 2013
Rotters by Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne (Listening Library)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, read by Jim Weiss (Listening Library)

July 4 – July 10, 2013
Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, read by Nick Podehl (Brilliance Audio)
She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

July 11 – July 17, 2013
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler (HarperAudio)
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, read by Simon Vance (Tantor Audio)

July 18 – July 24, 2013
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon (Recorded Books) – my recommendation here
Hamlet by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works)

July 25 – July 31, 2013
The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, read by Charlie McWade (Scholastic Audiobooks) – my recommendation here
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, read by Steve West (Blackstone Audio)

Aug 1 – Aug 7, 2013
Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, read by Dan Weyman (Macmillan Audio) – my recommendation here
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Ralph Cosham (Blackstone Audio)

Aug 8 – Aug 14, 2013
Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, read by Katherine Kellgren (Brilliance Audio) – my recommendation here
Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, read by Miriam Margolyes (Bolinda Audio)

Aug 15 – Aug 21, 2013
Sold by Patricia McCormick, read by Justine Eyre (Tantor Audio)
Let Me Stand Alone by Rachel Corrie, read by Tavia Gilbert (Blackstone Audio)

Blogathon2013 on the horizon; TBR2012 rolls on

May31
Phillip Martin cartoon of girl lying down with book

image (c) Phillip Martin

The merry month of May…
reading, writing, reading,
slow progress on TBR2012 shelf,
WordCount Blogathon2013 dead ahead!

Oh, I recommended plenty of books in May, but only 2 from my to-be-reviewed shelf had publication dates of 2012 or earlier:

Renegade Magic, by Stephanie Burgis
Arm of the Starfish, by Madeleine L’Engle

So totaled with my January, February, March, and April TBR2012 Challenge title lists, that makes 46 pre-2013 books that I’ve offered for your consideration this year (just click on the link to get to that month’s wrap-up post with titles and links to my recommendations; each opens in new tab/window).

Now, I’m poised to take on the blog-every-day-of-June-challenge of WordCount Blogathon2013! (remember, if you sign up by 11 pm EDT/8 pm PDT today and blog each day in June, you’re eligible for nifty prizes)

I plan to take full advantage of the traditional Blogathon days for haiku, word clouds, “my top five” and at least one guest blogger, as well as sending a guest post to another Blogathonner’s blog or two. Even with those special days counted in, that still means over two dozen new books will be recommended for you in June as I #blog2013!

During the summer, I will be joining many librarians and teachers in trying to read a #bookaday (thank goodness I also review picture books for www.abookandahug.com!), Tweeting my progress @BooksYALove. Since I read fast and write with due deliberation, there may be quite a gap between my #bookaday tweet and its appearance here on BooksYALove. If you spot a title that you can’t wait to hear more about, give me a holler here, and I’ll try to move its recommendation post up the calendar.

Of course, not every book I read makes the cut for BooksYALove – only the best are good enough for YA readers to spend their time and money on, in my opinion.

So, what will you be reading and writing this summer??
**kmm

Image of reader lying down copyrighted by and courtesy of Phillip Martin http://reading.phillipmartin.info/la_reading_comprehension.htm

Arm of the Starfish, by Madeleine L’Engle (book review) – regeneration research, bad guys, international plot

May29

book cover of Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'Engle published by Square FishResearch with an “interesting” new development,
Remote island lab closed to outsiders,
Whispers of miracles or perhaps monsters…

Adam will have to rely on his own wits and instincts during this summer of 1965, when an amazing opportunity to assist with cutting-edge regeneration research lands him right in the middle of medical espionage, undercover agents, and foreign country misunderstandings.

Written as a near-future story in 1965, The Arm of the Starfish  reads almost like alternate history today, as events in Dr. O’Keefe’s island lab blur the line between science fiction and mysticism, with Adam having to decide whether to believe young Poly O’Keefe or beautiful Kali Cutter about the researcher’s true intentions.

You’ll find this classic beginning to the O’Keefe family stories at local library or independent bookstore in the new Square Fish edition. And, yes, the O’Keefes are related to the Murry family you know from A Wrinkle in Time.

How far should research take us toward a future with no limits on life?
**kmm

Book info: The Arm of the Starfish / Madeleine L’Engle. Square Fish, 2011 (originally published in 1965 by Farrar Straus Giroux).  [author site]  [publisher site]

My book talk: Adam’s summer job as research assistant to a noted marine biologist on a Mediterranean island is a dream come true – until he’s blamed for a young girl’s disappearance from his flight, chased through Lisbon by thugs, and drawn into a secret with international implications.

Unusual for his professor-mentor to send a recent high school graduate to assist Dr. O’Keefe with starfish regeneration experiments. Unusual that beautiful Kali warns him that O’Keefe and his associate Canon Tallis are not what they seem when she meets Adam for the very first time.

Diverted to Madrid by fog, Adam worries that he’ll miss his connection in Lisbon, but Canon Tallis assures him that they’ll wait, especially as O’Keefe’s preteen daughter Poly is on this same plane.  But when Poly goes into the airplane lavatory and doesn’t return, the flight crew tells Adam she was never aboard!

Dr. O’Keefe himself meets Adam at the airport, telling him that Poly has been kidnapped by someone wanting his research results. Before they can get to the boat for Gaea, Adam is chased and shot at, lied to, brought up-to-date on espionage, and sworn to secrecy.

How can they get Poly back safely?
What is so important about this starfish research?
Which side is Kali really on?

Science and mystical forces weave together in a 1965 outside of our history books on this island paradise where family and community must guard against mercenaries and greed. First of the O’Keefe family stories by A Wrinkle in Time  author Madeleine L’Engle, The Arm of the Starfish  is followed by Dragons in the Waters.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Armchair BEA! Book bloggers wishing we were there…

May28
sketch of stacked books typewriter person reading from 1clipart.com

(c) 1Clipart.com

The biggest US book event of the year starts now in NYC, and I am among the many book-fans not attending BookExpo America… sigh.

But, hark! There in the blogosphere… it’s Armchair BEA, a chance for book bloggers not thronging Javits Center to gather together virtually and celebrate our love of books and blogging!

First things, first – introductions:

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging?
I learned to read when I was so little that I can’t remember ever not being able to read – and I’ve always loved reading a wide range of genres and subjects. In fact, being a non-specialist is why I became a librarian, back in the olden days of mainframes and card catalogs.

A few years ago, my husband’s out-of-state job transfer gave me the chance to ‘retire’ early from school library (the retirement checks will catch up in a few years), and I found myself with time to finally read and read. When Barb Langridge asked for guest reviewers for her website www.abookandahug.com where kids search for books themselves, I sent in a sample…and the rest is history! Barb always reminded me that my recommendations belonged to me and encouraged me to share them, so when I heard about WordCount Blogathon 2011 – blogging every single day for a month – I decided to leap in.

Thankfully, my choice of blog name was available, I had a built-in community of supportive bloggers for that first month, and I found my niche recommending young adult books beyond best-sellers. Because of Blogathon, I also got onto Twitter, where I can hear from authors, bloggers, and everyone else (love it).

This year, Blogathon starts June 1 (you still have time to sign up!). I still contribute many recommendations to www.abookandahug.com, too (over 340, at last count).

Where in the world are you blogging from? Tell a random fact or something special about your current location.
Now in a different location for husband’s work – we stay in an RV park during the week, home to E. Texas most weekends. If you drive straight south on road from RV park, you get to the free Lynchburg Ferry which has been running since 1822! After crossing the river, you come to the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas.

Have you previously participated in Armchair BEA? If you have not previously participated, what drew you to the event?
This is my first year for Armchair BEA. For the past couple of years, I’ve just pouted when all the tweets and blog reports came in from BEA. It sounds like the Texas Library Association conference exhibit hall on steroids, and that would be some kinda huge!

I really like the chance for interaction and community in what can be such a solitary pursuit. It’s just me and 2 sleeping cats here writing reviews with content enhancements, week in and week out.

What are you currently reading, or what is your favorite book you have read so far in 2013?
Oh, gosh, ask an easier question, like favorite book this week! I read very, very fast (so my summer #bookaday challenge should be easy), but really take time to craft recommendations with no spoilers.

Since I concentrate on smaller presses and debut authors, finding the gems among them is so cool. Two very different books by M. Scott Carter are recent reads that I’ll recommend during June so Blogathonners see them: Stealing Kevin’s Heart  and The Immortal Von B.  (both from The Roadrunner Press). Laurie Plissner’s Screwed from Merit Press made me cry; it’s so good, but no easy answers.

Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you.photo of couple in traditional Chinese wedding clothes (c) Katy Manck
My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary while he was building the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, so we had a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony as our rededication! The wedding planners said they’d never heard of a Western couple doing that before. Lion-dog dancers, acrobats, being carried in a palanquin, erhu and flute music – quite the experience!

Onward, Armchairers!
**kmm

Clipart of reader with books and typewriter copyrighted by and courtesy of 1clipart.com

Ready…set…blog! It’s Wordcount Blogathon Time!

May27

Wordcount Blogathon2013 green logoWhere the first spark struck a flame,
The setup, the theme choice, the blog name,
Where BooksYALove got its start – Wordcount Blogathon!!

Yes, the reason that BooksYALove exists is the 2011 Wordcount Blogathon, where a free challenge to blog daily every day of the entire month of May finally gave me the oomph to create a blog so I could share and comment on the young adult books that I recommend on Barb Langridge’s site www.abookandahug.com, where librarians recommend the best books for babies, kids, tweens, and teens.

This year on June 1st, Wordcount Blogathonners will set out to post to their own blogs every single day of the month. The discipline of posting something with regularity helps you build up your “blogging muscles” and explore your blog topic more widely and/or deeply.

Freelance writer Michelle Rafter’s brainchild is now in its 6th year, and the registration, advice and guidance are still free. Sign up here by 11 p.m. EDT/ 8 p.m. Pacific on May 31 to be eligible for a whole slew of prizes in the closing raffle for folks who blog every day of June 2013.

Michelle offers a few suggested theme days (to fill the lull when you just can’t think of another thing to write about) and the opportunity to connect with bloggers to match up for guest posts (you write a post for their blog, they write a post for yours).

The kickoff Twitter chat (use #blog2013) at 1 p.m. Eastern/ 10 a.m. Pacific on Wednesday, May 29th is a great way to scope things out, ask questions about blogging for 30 days straight, and gear yourself up for a great challenge.

New this year is a Wordcount Blogathon Facebook page, where participants can share post summaries and links, request guest post matches, and keep in touch. This FB page replaces the old Google Group which several of us used to share our posts year-round, months and months after Blogathon officially closed (like I said, community!). Blogathonners are generally quite good about visiting one another’s blogs during the challenge, then following favorites over the long haul, so you can get some new followers, too!

Whether you want to start blogging, give your current blog some new spark, or find new bloggers to follow, Wordcount Blogathon 2013 is for you, so sign up for Blogathon and get on out there!

You know that you want that cool Blogathon participant badge, too.
**kmm