The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

This book showed up on a ton of Top Ten Tuesday's recently and I've seen so many good things about it that I finally gave in and requested it from the library.  It was a quick read that completely lived up to my high expectations.  I can't believe I waited so long to read it.

Book:  The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Summary: En route to London for her father's wedding to a woman she has never met, Hadley meets Oliver.  The chance of them falling in love might be as high as Hadley being able to forgive her dad.

Characters:  I loved these characters.  Hadley is real.  She's mad at her parents for their divorce and still figuring out who she is.  Oliver is sweet and charming.  We only get to know him over the course of 24 hours, so he didn't make a huge impression on me, but he does feel right for Hadley and I was left hoping that they would make it.

The parent's are suprisingly well developed.  Both Oliver and Hadley have issues with their parents, but the parents are never vilified.  They are presented as real people who make mistakes and are still figuring out how to live a life.  That's a real part of growing up... realizing your parents aren't perfect, but that they aren't trying to ruin your life, either.  The new step-mom, Charlotte, is sweet and even though we don't spend a ton of time with her bridesmaids, they all have individual personalities.

Plot/Pacing/Structure: The book takes place over a period of 24 hours, but much of the book is Hadley reflecting on her relationship with her dad.  Usually, I find myself drawn to one story line or point of view, but this wasn't the case for Statistical Probability (you really want me to write the whole name every time?).  I found myself wanting to know why Hadley is so angry with her dad, but I also wanted to stay in the present to see what would happen next with Oliver.  I was never bored and even though the story takes place over a short period of time, it feels both realistic and satisfying.  The characters grow and change, the plot builds up perfectly, and, yeah, I cried a little bit.

Moments I Loved:  Hadley's heart to heart with her dad on the dance floor is touching.  It is the moment where it really feels like Hadley has grown as a person and, as a scene, it felt earned so it was emotionally satsifying.  I also loved the scene where Hadley and Oliver first meet.  The uptight lady made me laugh (although I get it!) and Oliver is charming.

WTF Moments: I don't think there were any moments that left me reeling.  Nothing was particularly surprising and there were no super creepy moments that took a moment to digest.  It was simply an enjoyable read.

GoodRead's reaction upon finishing: This book is super cute and completely lived up to the hype. The romance swept me away and the father-daughter relationship gave the story a depth I wasn't expecting.

Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges: 236 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge and Support Your Local Library.  Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

And my first time using my rating system... The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight gets...

I'm Sleeping With Your Book Boyfriend: Will Killian from The Ghost and The Goth

Book: The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Book Boyfriend: Will Killian

What does he look like?
As Jenny at Alternate Readality points out, the cover model is pretty much perfect.

As someone who has always loved guys in eyeliner, I like these pictures, too.  But, if I'm being honest, they aren't what Will looks like, because these pictures are way too goth.  Will is really only characterized as a goth because Alona doesn't know what a goth is.

Benji Madden from Good Charlotte.

Goth God from Joan of Arcadia.
(He was my favorite God.)

Original Review by: Jenny at Alternate Readality

My favorite thing about Will is how realistically male he is. I know, I know that's praise for the author but I wouldn't like him so much if he wasn't believable as teenage guy. He admires Alona's body but isn't stupid enough to let that completely control him. After all, Alona is REALLY annoying. He cares about the few people who are truly close to him and just wants to live a normal existence. Best of all he's sarcastic, and if there's one thing I find irresistible it's sarcasm.

My thoughts: He is absolutely a realistic male.  Being... not male... I tend to forget that realistic males are few and far between in YA books.  I read about it all the time, but it's hard to really understand until you read a character as great as Will.

I love damaged characters that push everyone away except for a select few.  Watching Alona worm her way into that position was one of the best parts of the book for me.

And sarcasm.  Sigh.  Sarcasm.  Yeah, make my laugh, make me love.

Is he a keeper?  Sorry, Jenny.  We're running away together.  Love him.

Whose book boyfriend are you sleeping with?

New Blog Design and a Giveaway

I have a new blog design.
You can't tell, because I'm typing, but I said that more like I HAVE A NEW BLOG DESIGN WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!*$#()(@#)*#)$*U)# #

Just like that.

Lori from Imagination Designs just installed it.  I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  She was super easy to work with and I love everything she did.  Over the entire process, I think there was only one thing I asked her to change.  If you're thinking about getting your blog redone... I cannot recommend Lori highly enough.  She exceeded all my expectations.  Part of me wishes I had another blog, just so I could work with her again.

So, partly because I already spent my book budget but have a bunch of books I want to buy anway, but mostly to celebrate my new design, I'm having a giveaway... with a twist.  Below are five books that I really want, but haven't allowed myself to purchase yet.  Tell me which one YOU want to read, too, and I'll buy a copy of the winner's choice for both the winner and myself.  This may be the most selfish giveaway ever. 


Twittercide [twit-er-sahyd]: the killing of one human being by another while the victim is in the act of tweeting.

Call me crazy, but I figured writing for the Herbert Hoover High Homepage would be a pretty sweet gig. Pad the resume for college applications, get a first look at the gossip column, spend some time ogling the paper’s brooding bad-boy editor, Chase Erikson. But on my first big story, things went... a little south. What should have been a normal interview with Sydney Sanders turned into me discovering the Homecoming Queen-hopeful dead in her pool. Electrocuted while Tweeting. Now, in addition to developing a reputation as HHH’s resident body finder, I’m stuck trying to prove that Sydney’s death wasn’t suicide.

I’m starting to long for the days when my biggest worry was whether the cafeteria was serving pizza sticks or Tuesday Tacos...



Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

Two days before the start of her junior year, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed—as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows—with every fiber of her being—that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.

But her revival, and Ben's possible role in it, is only the first of the puzzles that Janelle must solve. While snooping in her FBI agent father's files for clues about her accident, she uncovers a clock that seems to be counting down to something—but to what? And when someone close to Janelle is killed, she can no longer deny what's right in front of her: Everything that's happened—the accident, the murder, the countdown clock, Ben's sudden appearance in her life—points to the end of life as she knows it. And as the clock ticks down, she realizes that if she wants to put a stop to the end of the world, she's going to need to uncover Ben's secrets—and keep from falling in love with him in the process.

From debut author Elizabeth Norris comes this shattering novel of one girl's fight to save herself, her world, and the boy she never saw coming.

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf? 

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora’s best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

Writing Posts: 4/20-4/26

Late post because I set the post time wrong.  It's been a long week for me, recovering from the readathon, but there have been a number of writing posts that I've loved:

This Week In Rejection: Hitchcock! by Barry Lyga

8 Tips for Naming Characters by Dan Schmidt.  Everything I've ever written has a Josh, Jason, and Landon.  Seriously.

Does Your Story Need Subplots by K.M. Weiland.  Less, does your story need them, and more how to effectively use subplots to make your story better.  On the same blog, L.B. Gale talks about How to Create Distinctive Character Voices.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes Tumblr Post.  I love her tumblr and I love the insight she gives when she answers readers questions.  This post has some great advice.

Holly Black gives advice on world building.  She is one of my favorite writers and her world building is phenomenal.

How to Cut Thousands of Words Without Shedding A Tear by Rachelle Gardner

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I had heard this desribed as Harry Potter for adults, so I thought I would give the audiobook a try.  I was delighted to discover that Jim Dale is the narrator (he is the superb narrator of the US Harry Potter audiobooks).  I couldn't imagine a better narrator, but I sometimes wished I had read the paper version first... my mind tends to wander regardless of how captivating a book is.


Book:  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern; narrated by Jim Dale

Summary: A mystical circus that is only open at night is the venue for a competition between two young magicians.  But if they fall in love, theirs aren't the only lives that hang in the balance.

Characters:  The circus becomes the venue for a competition between two young magicians, Marco and Celia.  They are both bound to the challenge at a young age and there is no way out.  Both are immediately easy to like.  Celia has natural magical ability and after her mother commits suicide, she lives with her magician father who is careless and abusive (though, not always in obvious ways).  Marco is chosen from an orphanage to be trained by Alexander, Celia's father's rival.  He's smart and ambitious, but also pulled into something that is bigger than he could ever imagine.

Even though I like Celia and Marco, my favorite characters were the twins, Poppit and Widget, and the boy they meet in Connecticut: Bailey.  I loved their story, how it weaved between the magic and the competition and then pulled everything together at the end.  I also loved the connection between Poppit and Bailey far more than the romance between Celia and Marco.  My only complaint about this book is that I never got the Bailey and Poppit moment that I wanted.

Plot/Pacing/Structure: The book is long and weaves so many storylines together.  But it's magical.  The pace is slow, but the story is never boring.  There was so much going on and I was curious from the very beginning how everything would come together.  Because the story jumps around between time and place, it might be helpful to read a paper copy first, but the audiobook was absolutely great.  Jim Dale is my favorite narrator and his voice added magic to an already magical tale.

Moments I Loved:  Every so often, there would be a chapter told in second person (You enter the circus.  You wish you never had to leave. etc).  It was potentially awkward, but I loved these chapters and it really helped bring the circus alive.  It felt like I was attending and, man, did I want to actaully attend.

I also loved all the moments between Bailey and Poppit, especially when she visits him on the farm and asks him to come with the Circus.  My heart... oh, my heart was so happy.

WTF Moments (potential spoilers): One of the sisters is hit by a train and I wasn't sure what was actually happening in that scene.  I'll have to read a print copy.  I wasn't clear on if it was truly an accident or if Alexander and/or Prospero (Celia's father) intentionally led her to her death.

Marco is involved in the circus through his boss, Mr. Lefevre, who is the proprietor of the circus.  Mr. Lefevre is basically driven crazy by all the unexplainable happenings surrounding the circus.  Marco maniuplates his mind to stay in control and keep his connection to the circus and part of me wished that he had just explained things to Mr. Lefevre.  Seeing all those years of his life wasted on drinking made me incredibly sad.

Overall:  Magical and beautifully written.  It is not something I would normally pick up, but I try to take chances with audiobooks and I am so glad I read this.  It is one of the best books I have ever read and I can't wait to read a paper copy.

Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenge: Literary for the Eclectic Reader.  Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

Waiting On Wednesday: The Council of Mirrors by Michael Buckley

Waiting On Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, lets us book hoarding bloggers highlight a book we're excited for each week.  This week I'm waiting on Sisters Grimm 9: The Council of Mirrors by Michael Buckley.

GoodReads Description:  In the final volume in the Sisters Grimm series, Sabrina, Daphne, and the rest of the Grimms and their friends must face off against the Master to decide the fate of Ferryport Landing—and the world. When Mirror fails to escape the barrier using Granny Relda’s body, he turns to his plan B: killing all the Grimms so that the magical barrier collapses. In the meantime, Sabrina has gathered the other magic mirrors as advisors on how to deal with their mortal enemy. They tell her to join forces with the Scarlet Hand against Mirror, in exchange for offering all the citizens of Ferryport Landing their freedom. This final chapter is the end of the road for several beloved characters, but the conclusion is sure to satisfy devoted fans of the series.

Why I'm Excited: I love this series.  It's smart and fun and funny.  It reimagines my favorite fairy tale characters while giving me a new story with heros to root for.  And this is the last book, which is both disappointing and a big relief, because I will finally get some answers!

The Council of Mirros comes out May 8, 2012.  (My arrival date changed, so I should get it tomorrow now!)

Top Ten (Tuesday) Favorite Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that combines lists and books.  This weeks topic is... Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters In Books.  I'm going to limit this to LOVE INTERESTS, because... it needs to limited for me to keep my list under control.

In no particular order, my favorite characters that also happened to be love interests...

Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter - Ginny Weasley was a BAMF and I couldn't imagine Harry wanting to be with anyone else.  I know romance wasn't the point of these books, but I loved watching her grow from a blushing ten year old who was too shy to even speak to Harry to the most confident girl at Hogwarts and someone who could not only catch Harry's interest, but fight beside him.

Cricket from Lola and the Boy Next Door - He's tall and smart and nerdy, but in a really cool way.  He wears fitted pants and is the boy next door.  Plus he is sweet and funny and genuine.  Love. Him.

Anna from Anna Dressed In Blood - Anna is intense.  Her story broke my heart and I loved her as a character.  She has done terrible things and walks the line between good and evil, which I always love.  As a love interest, she is absolutely perfect for the book's protagonist and their relationship is completely unconventional... after all she is one of the world's most violent and powerful ghosts.

Ranger from the Stephanie Plum series - "Babe."  Batman levels of sexy, he drives nice cars and runs his own security business.  Man has skills and he smells good.

Morelli from the Stephanie Plum series - "Cupcake."  Because I really can't decide who I want Stephanie to end up with.  He's a little controlling, but it's only because he really cares about Stephanie.  He wants to settle down and be a family man, but he's every bit as tough as Ranger, just in a different way.

Marcus Flutie from the Jessica Darling novels - Because he made me say "Edward, who?"

Prince Kai from Cinder - He walks the line between boyish charm and grown up discipline.  In my head, he has a great smile, and I'm always charmed by men with great smiles.

Lila from The Curse Worker Series - Another seriously strong chick.  She's vicious and the one person that Cassel can't con.  Cassel needs someone who can challenge him and Lila is that girl.

Dave the Laugh from the Confessions of Georgia Nicholson - Because the only thing sexier than a great smile is someone who can make me Laugh.

Nick from the Demon's Lexicon series.  Or Maybe Alan.  I'm including them both. - One can't lie and maybe he can't love, one does nothing but lie and he loves his brother before everyone else.  Call me crazy, but I'm attracted to the complicated.

Agustus Waters from The Fault In Our Stars - Because I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things, either.

I really wanted to include Baily from The Night Circus, because I adored Baily and Poppit, but the book is so sweeping that ALL of the characters feel like main characters and I didn't feel comfortable including him in my list.  But, seriously, I love Baily and Poppit.

The List by Siobhan Vivian

This book made it onto my radar only about a week or two before its release.  I loved the cover, I loved the concept, and I didn't think I had bought enough contemporary YA this year.  I read it as soon as it showed up on my doorstep.

Book:  The List by Siobhan Vivian

Summary: Every year, during the week before homecoming, an anonymous list hits the school declaring each class's prettiest and ugliest girl.  The List follows all eight girls in the time leading up to homecoming and examines how girls and women see themselves and how that is affected by what others think of them.

Characters:  There are eight main characters and they were all likeable in their own way and surprisingly easy to keep track of.  I'll try to be brief.  There will be spoilers, but I don't think they will actually spoil the story.

Abby is the prettiest freshman and the list puts her at odds with her brainy sister.  Each think they are one thing and can't be the other... either pretty or smart... even though they don't believe that about the other.  I would have loved to see more of their story, but felt satisfied with it.  The ugliest freshman, Danielle, is given the nickname Dan the Man and it puts her boyfriend in a really uncomfortable position.  He's a total jerk and while the list does cause them to break up, he wasn't good enough for Danielle to begin with and Danielle learns to love herself thanks to the awesome varsity swimmers.  Her story was one of my favorites.

The sophomore girls held both my favorite and least favorite stories.  Candace is a pretty girl who is declared ugly, told that pretty isn't just skin deep.  The prettiest girl is Lauren, the new girl who is going to school for the first time after being home schooled her whole life.  Candace changed and grew, but Lauren was all over the place.  I had a hard time believing that she could go from someone who calls her mom "Mommy" to someone who sneaks out and gets drunk so quickly.  She is the only girl who I could not relate to at all and her relationship with her mom was weird.  I had no idea what her story was really about and didn't get a sense of closure.  Also, most of the minor characters in this book were fully fleshed out, but I didn't get this with the group of girls who ditched Candace in favor of Lauren.  They were just a stock group of pretty airheads.

The junior girls had the most interesting storylines.  Sarah is a bit of a rebel and when she is declared as the ugliest, she takes it as a challenge.  She writes UGLY on her forhead in sharpie and decides not to shower for a week.  It was disgusting and in the end she realized that it didn't matter what she did, because nothing she did could shock people or change their preconceived notions of her.  I wish I could have had more of her story, even though the conclusion she comes to kind of depressed me.  Her pretty counterpart, Bridget, takes the list as confirmation that she made the right choice in becoming anorexic, something she's been struggling with for months.  Her story follows as she lets her eating disorder take control of her life and the story ends with her smaller than she ever was, but still convinced that she will never be pretty.  Again, depressing, but these were two of my favorite characters.

The senior girls are the pair that I'm most unsure about.  Jennifer and Margo had been best friends in middle school, but Margo dropped her the summer before high school and freshman year they both made the list.  Senior year, Jennifer is ugliest for the fourth year in a row, while Margo is once again the prettiest.  Jennifer was so socially awkward is was completely unbearable, while Margo came off as really shallow in the beginning.  We find out later that Jennifer is manipulative and it was a good decision that Margo decided to stop being friends with her, but the way everything came out was just weird.


Plot/Pacing/Structure:  The first eight chapters are each girl reacting to the list and it's not that those chapters were slow or boring, but it felt like I had to start the book eight separate times.  Once I got into the story, it was easy to keep track of all the characters and what was going on.

Other reviews have said that the ending was rather abrupt and I have to agree.  Some of the story lines felt resolved, but just as many left me totally confused.  The storyline with Margo and her sister was absolutely set up, but the event between them that launches the book into its climax felt like it relied on coincidence instead of being inevitable.  This bothered me so much, because it wouldn't feel forced if Margo had been the one to make the call instead of the other way around.


Moments I Loved:  I loved the moment when we see that Candace has changed and she helps Lauren.  I loved Candace from her first chapter (I can be a bit of a mean girl when I want to be), but it was so great to see Candace become more.

I liked when Milo made Sarah shower.  Thank you, Milo.  I had to take a break and shower while reading this, because I could feel all of Sarah's dirt crawling on my skin while reading her chapters.

WTF Moments:  Lauren's mom was weird.  Lauren was nice and sweet, but her mother was controlling.  I didn't understand their relationship and never felt like anything was resolved between them.  There wasn't any confrontation or growth, just... weirdness.

The end, when you find out who wrote the list... it seemed to me to come out of nowhere.  It reemphasizes the idea that pretty people are pretty because they decide to be and ugly people are ugly because they are socially inept.  There are a few good messages here, but I'm still trying to really figure out what the book is trying to say.  I honestly think I would have preferred if we never found out who wrote the list.


Overall:  I really enjoyed The List, but felt that it missed out on its full potential.  It is a very unique contemporary with characters that are easy to relate to.  I liked that it raises a lot of questions about body image and how what we think about ourselves is influenced by what others think of us.  It would definitely make a good book to discuss with others.  While the end left me slightly disappointed, I still plan on reading the author's earlier novels.


Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges: 332 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge. Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

Morning after readathon!

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?  I fell asleep somewhere in hour 21... in the middle of Kim's floor.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?  I loved the Ghost and the Goth and started Hex Hall at the end, which was also a fast read.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?  I love the readathon, but it seemed like not enough people volunteered.  Next time, I will volunteer.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Personally, I loved physically getting together with other bloggers for readathon.
5. How many books did you read? hahahahaha...1.  I'm a slow reader.  We talked a lot. And then I fell asleep.
6. What were the names of the books you read? The Ghost and the Goth, part of Hex Hall.
7. Which book did you enjoy most?  The Ghost and the Goth, but I think Hex Hall is going to turn out to be good, too.
8. Which did you enjoy least?  None.  I don't read boring books.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?  Didn't cheerlead, but... TURN OFF WORD VERIFICATION!  Seriously, do it now.  I'm going to stop commenting on anyone who has it.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?  I love readathon.  I'd like to host a mini-challenge again and I'll probably volunteer for one of the committees next year.

Readathon: Hour Fifteen Update

Hour Eleven Mini-Challenge Winner: Melissa from One Lirarian's Book Reviews.  She suggested "Gen from Megan Whalen Turner's the Queen's Thief series and Digger from StarCrossed by Elizabeth Bunce".  Congratulations Melissa, I'll be contacting you shortly to get your mailing address.


HOUR THIRTEEN MID EVENT MEME:
1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired?
I am kind of tired, but no more than normal...

2) What have you finished reading?
Nothing!  I feel like a failure.  I've mostly been making jokes about Alexander Skarsgard.

3) What is your favorite read so far?
The Ghost and the Goth... Can not wait to review this!  I'm introducing a new feature soon and this book will be the first victim.

4) What about your favorite snacks?
Brownies. And quiche.  Yum.

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!
No, I'm going to try to read, but I plan on visiting all the blogs that participated in my mini challenge this week!

Your Favorite Trouble Maker: Readathon Hour Eleven Mini Challenge

Welcome to the Hour Eleven Mini-Challenge.  My intro is probably too long, so I've bolded the actual challenge if you want to skip down.  But it might not make sense without the intro.  Fair warning.

For those of you who have been here before, this won't come as a suprirse, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE anti-heros.  (I also love villains... if the characters are exceptionally stupid in a horror film, I find myself rooting for the killer.)  This is how Wikipedia defines the term anti-hero:

Unlike traditional heroes, antiheroes are not as fabulous as the traditional ones. They are generally corrupt, oppressive, etc. They are not villains but not necessarily heroes. They may do bad things but are not evil. They usually fight villains, but not for the reason of justice. Their actions are motivated by their own personal desires, such as revenge. For example, an antihero may steal, vandalize, and perform other "bad" acts but may do so for a good cause.


First, let me say I disagree with the first sentence.  Anti-heroes are actually MORE fabulous than heroes.  I love rooting for the bad guy and if an author can make me fall in love with a character who does terrible things, then I am a fan for life.

My favorite anti-hero is Cassel from Holly Black's Curse Worker Series.  Cassel is a teenager who grew up surrounded by criminals and struggles to be a good person when his first instinct is to lie and cheat and con.  In short... I love him.  And I want to read more chraracters like him.

For this mini-challenge, I want you to tell me about your favorite unlikely hero, troublemaker, or anti-hero.  Recommend some books with some shady characters and tell me why you love them!

Post the answer on your blog (and leave a link) or in the comments.  I will pick one random winner to receive copies of the entire Curse Worker Series (two paperbacks and one hardcover with the beautiful new covers!).  I will ship through The Book Depository, so the challenge is open to anywhere they ship.  And if you prefer e-copies for your kindle or nook, we can work that out, too!  Covers link to GoodReads.

    

This is an excerpt from my White Cat review, that sums up why I love Cassel so much: "...even though this book is dark, it is still an emblem for hope. Cassel knows he's a terrible person, but he still lives his life in the hopes of being good. He is betrayed in mind-blowing ways and he still forgives. He is a light in a dark world and I love his story."

Readathon: Hours six to eight

Okay, so we got serious and actually started reading and the plan is to read more.  I can't believe we are a third of the way through the readathon and I am still on my first book.  Love chatting and not going it alone, but I also need to read more.

HOUR SIX: Book Appetite
I'm reading the Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade .  I'm loving this book so far and if I were having people over, I'd serve salad (because Alona says she eats salad for lunch), vodka (because they talk about drinking and I don't like beer), and pizza (because that was my favorite school lunch and Will probably doesn't eat salad.  Also, pizza yum).

Music... Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, Hot Rod Circuit.

Fancy dress... lots of eyeliner (for Will and Alona) and either black hoodies or gym clothes.

Thanks to Sheila for this mini challenge.  It makes me want to host a book club (which will probably make her happy because if you've ever read her blog, you know how much she loves book club).

HOUR EIGHT: Book Staging
Like house staging, but with books... here's mine:

Headphones for Will and makeup for Alona.  Love these characters so far.  (Also, do you think that is too much lip gloss to keep in my purse all the time?)

I'm not eligible to win this challenge, because I'm currently sharing a couch with Kate, but thanks to Kate for hosting.

Readathon: Hours Three and Four

So... we've been talking A LOT.  Which is fun, but it means I'm only 38 pages into my book... check out my hour three below to find out what I'm reading.

HOUR THREE MINI CHALLENGE: BOOK PUZZLE
Use these pictures to figure out what I'm reading.

+

HOUR FOUR MINI CHALLENGE:  I would rather read than ____.
This challenge is a fill in the blank and I wrote: I would rather read than go to the beach... and I really want to go to the beach.

Back to reading.

HOUR FIVE MINI CHALLENGE:  Book Sentences
I'm participating, but not eligible to win, since I am at the hostess's home right now.
Here are my book sentences from last time:

 An abundance of Katherines burn the forest of hands and teeth.

 Supernaturally entwined, the girl who was on fire shut out the other beautiful darkness.

Soulless troubletwisters hold still the lost hero.

Readathon: Hour 1

Yes!  Finally time for Readathon.  I'm at Kim from On the Wings of Book's house with Kate aka Midnight Book Girl.  I've got a Courtney (Abducted by Books) and an IKEA Bag full of books.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Virginia!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The Ghost and the Goth and Hex Hall... I have no idea why I suddenly want to read these, but they seem about perfect for the mood I've been in lately.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Lasagna!  We have so many snacks though.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm really tired this morning.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

Differently... well, I'm physically spending the day with Kate and Kim while we do readathon!

Writing Posts: 4/13-4/19

Every week I share my favorite writing posts.  Mostly, because I know I'll want links to look through in the future.

The Great Critique Partner Question! by Shannon Messenger.  She makes quite a few good points.

Don't Try To Make It "Easy". Just Try To Get It Done. by Ollin Morales.  I love this.  Also, I started going to the library to write on my lunch break.  I get about thirty minutes of actual writing time.  Sometimes it is the only writing time I get all day, but I've found I'm getting close to 1000 words in that time.  Finding that little slice of time in my day is making a HUGE difference.

The title is too long, but it is an answer to a question about revising by Jennifer Lynn Barnes on her tumblr.  I think it is important to note that I have never been able to put down one of her books.  One sitting reads, every single one of them.

The Breaking Point and Beyond by Carolyn Kaufman.  References to Nip/Tuck, yes please!  I've only watched the first four seasons of Nip/Tuck, but back when I watched TV regularly, it was one of my favorite and the first two seasons are absolutely some of the all-time best-written television.

How I Came To Not Hate Synopses by Adam Heine.  Because I still hate them.

Just Give Me Ten Minutes by Christina Lee.  I totally use this trick all the time.  This is on Janice Hardy's blog, which always makes my list, because her blog is AMAZING.  This week I also loved her First Look at a First Draft post.  So many things I know, but have never heard put quite so clearly.

As always, feel free to share your favorite writing blogs and posts with me!

Awake: Episodes Six and Seven

I didn't mean to get behind on this show.  It is so good... I am just not any good at keeping up with current television.  But for Awake, I try.  Awake airs Thursday nights at 10pm on NBC.

Series premise: A cop drama following Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) after a car accident that results in his life literally splitting in two.  He has two realities--one where his wife survives and one where his son does.  He doesn't know which one is real and which is a dream, but he does know that clues in one will often solve cases in the other.


Thoughts on episode six: In the reality with his wife, Britten teams up with his shrink to defuse a hostage situation with a mental patient having delusions.  In the reality with his son, Britten must confront the realization that without his wife, his relationship with his son is deteriorating. 

I loved watching the possibility that Britten is going crazy unfold.  There is something bigger at play and I want to know more.  This episode made me want answers to the big questions... they are coming at an agonizingly slow pace.  The storyline with his son is touching and reminds us of what's at stake and how close Britten is to losing it.

Thoughts on episode seven: Britten has a case in each reality that at first look open and shut, but upon closer inspection both turn out to be more complicated.  He also gets a message to not move to Portland, because he needs to look into the case he was working right before the accident.

This show is starting to get a creepy, Fringe feel.  I'm really curious to see where they are going with it.  We get a few more hints about the overall mystery, which is good, because episode six made me need them.  I loved watching Britten solve the cases and it felt like the series was starting to go somewhere big.  Britten's realities are starting to unravel and I want to see how and why.

Overall: I still love Jason Isaacs and we are finally starting to get some answers about why his world is split.  I am sticking with this show, because I truly love it, but I need them to give me more of the series mystery.  I'm terrified that the show will be cancelled and I won't know the answers.

REREAD: The Unusual Suspects (Sisters Grimm 2) by Michael Buckley

Along with The Romo, I am attempting to reread this entire series in anticipation of the final book coming out in May.  She's a children's librarian... I don't have an excuse.

Book: The Unusual Suspects (Sisters Grimm 2) by Michael Buckley

What I remember (may include spoilers): I just decided to format my reread posts this way, so I'm writing what I remember when I'm halfway through the book.  In the future, I'll write it before hand, because I think this will be fun.  And funny.  I always think I have a better memory than I actually do.

From what I remember, the sisters Grimm go to school and there is a mystery involving monsters and kids of everafters.  It ties in to reasons why the everafters hate the Grimms.  Puck annoys Sabrina (it is hilarious) and the book ends on a major cliffhanger.

Thoughts on the reread: There are monsters, Puck annoys Sabrina, and the book ends on a major cliffhanger.  Other than that, the things I really noticed were that these books put the main characters into really dangerous situations.  I hadn't really thought about it before (and I still enjoy it), but the two main kids are subjected to monsters, reckless driving, ropes instead of seatbelts, and a bomb. 

The book also deals with Sabrina's predjudice against EverAfters.  I think it is a realistic reaction to her parent's being kidnapped and Buckley handles it well.  It might be a good talking point for parents to discuss real life predjudice with their kids.

Overall:  A great sequel, the characters are likeable and funny, the plot fast-paced.  The book stands well on its own, but also ties in to the series plot well.  I love this series.  It's great.

Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges:  290 pages for the 15,000 page challenge, Support Your Local Library, and Read Me Baby One More Time. Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

Waiting On Wednesday: Thumped by Megan McCafferty

Waiting On Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine, lets us book hoarding bloggers highlight a book we're excited for each week.  This week I'm waiting on Thumped by Megan McCafferty.

GoodRead's Description: THE CONCLUSION TO ONE OF THE MOST TALKED-ABOUT NOVELS OF LAST YEAR
It’s been thirty-five weeks since twin sisters Harmony and Melody went their separate ways. And now their story has become irresistible: twins separated at birth, each due to deliver twins…on the same day!

Married to Ram and living in Goodside, Harmony spends her time trying to fit back into the community she once believed in. But she can’t forget about Jondoe, the guy she fell for under the strangest of circumstances.

To her adoring fans, Melody has achieved everything: a major contract and a coupling with the hottest bump prospect around. But this image is costing her the one guy she really wants.

The girls’ every move is analyzed by millions of fans eagerly counting down to “Double Double Due Date.” They’re two of the most powerful teen girls on the planet, and they could do only one thing to make them even more famous:

Tell the truth.
 
Why I'm Excited: I love McCafferty's Jessica Darling series and thought Bumped was funny and thought provoking.  I don't often read satire that is done well (please, recommend more!), but Bumped was great.  I'm dying to know how everything ends and Thumped looks like it will be just as wonderfully over the top.

Thumped comes out on April 24, 2012.

White Collar Season Two

 I'm really disappointed to report that season two of White Collar did not live up to my expectations. The show follows an FBI agent and his criminal partner as they investigate white collar crimes (forgeries, bank robberies, art theft, etc.). Unfortunately all of the things I adored about the first season didn't last into the second. Not that it was bad, I enjoyed it, but it didn’t blow me away in the same way.

First, what drew me in to the show was the unconventional pairing of the two series leads. I loved watching them learn to work together and trust each other. They were all over the place in this season and their relationship didn't grow. Worst of all, it ended with them having a huge fight, that I’m not sure can be satisfactorily resolved. I hated everything about the season finale.

Tying into this is that there were a ton of episodes where nothing seemed to happen...because so much was happening with the series storyline. While the overarching storylines for the season and the series are intriguing, what I enjoy is the heist, con, or case that we encounter episode to episode. Around the middle of the season, all of the episodes focused on the season storyline and each episode storyline seemed clichéd at best. And speaking of clichés... the last half of the season had dialog so bad that I was literally rolling my eyes.

Then there are the women. I mentioned in my review of season one how much I love Burke's wife and their healthy relationship. In the first half of season two, Mrs. Suit, as Mozzy so affectionately calls her, is relegated to a conversation here and there. I could overlook that, because she is brought back for some decent storylines at the end, but Neil's love interests drove me crazy.

How do you go from chasing a mystery because the girl you love is dead to
making out with the girl you made out with before you met the girl you loved?  

The driving force of the season two storyline is Neil's grief over Kate's death. He wants to find her killer and he is working to get past her death. At some point, and I'm not totally sure where this happened, he kept wanting to find Kate's killer, but all the sudden felt like he could pursue other woman. It's fine for him to pursue other women, as I didn't particularly care for Kate, but I found it strange and unsettling that he can go from being absolutely in love with a dead girl to kind of into two girls. I just didn't like it. Also, I don't like Alex. She bores me as a character and only leads Neil to bad decisions. However, I love Sarah. She is one of my favorite characters, right up there with Mozzy. She is absolutely the kind of girl that Neil needs in his life. Alex interfering pissed me off, instead of creating enjoyable conflict and tension.

I will watch season three, but I have reservations. Most of the characters are still awesome and there are some great moments, but most of the season left me shaking my head as characters acted out of character and storylines were consistently unoriginal.

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

I've been excited for this book since I first heard about it.  I love serial killers (in books, I'm not trying to have a jailhouse wedding or anything in real life), I love tortured heros, I love Barry Lyga's book Boy Toy.  There was no way I could not like I Hunt Killers.  Then, I read it.  And I loved it.

Book: I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

Summary: Jazz is 17 and the son of the world's most notorious serial killer.  He was raised to be his father's protoge, better than the master.  But Jazz just wants to be normal and when another sereial killer shows up in his small town, Jazz thinks that finding the killer will prove he is a good person and not destined to end up like his father.

Characters: I love these characters.  Jazz reminds me a little bit of Cassel in Holly Black's Curse Worker Series (definitely a good thing).  Jazz has all the skills to be a worse killer than his father, but he desperately wants to be a good person.  I love characters who are conflicted and tortured.  They have the capacity for evil and even they don't know if they'll choose good, which makes it so much more satisfying when they do (and potentially exciting when they don't).

All characters paled in comparison to Jazz.  They were still fantastic... I just really loved Jazz.  His best friend, Howie, is a hemophiliac, which means his blood doesn't clot and he can bleed to death if you look at him to hard.  Lyga took full advantage of this, using it for both comedy and drama.  But Howie isn't there only as a plot device.  I loved watching Jazz figure out how to be normal through his relationship with Howie and Jazz's girlfriend Connie.  Connie is strong and real and perfect for Jazz. But their relationship is complicated and adds another layer to Jazz and his story.

The adults in Jazz's life are just as well-drawn.  G. William, the town sheriff, is my favorite character after Jazz.  He is tired and jaded.  He wants to protect Jazz, even though Jazz is past the point of anybody being able to protect him.  I can't wait to see more of G. William in the sequel.  Jazz's grandma is crazy, in a way that is both sad and hilarious.  One of Lyga's strengths as a writer is that he can do this: present heartbreak and humor together.

Plot/Pacing/Structure: The book drops you right into the action, but it immediately grounds you.  I was immediately sucked into the story, but I never had any problems figuring out where I was or what was happening.  Things happened quickly and I was often suprised, but I never felt like I was struggling to keep up or that a plot point was more a gimmick than a natural part of the story.  It was a seamless read and the end... the end!  One of the best endings I've read in a long time.

Moments I Loved: POTENTIAL SPOILER.  There is a moment where Jazz declares himself the town sociopath and scares the crap out of an EMT in order to save his friend's life.  It is easily my favorite moment, because we see his capacity for evil being used to accomplish something good.  Moments like these, where characters are tempted to the dark side are why I read in the first place.

WTF Moments: Jazz sleeps surrounded by pictures of his father's victims.  He blames himself and he doesn't want to forget, but it was jarring and it broke my heart.  I wanted to hug him, although I'm sure he would not have appreciated the effort.  Also.. THE END... DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!  (The end=awesome.)

Overall: This book is phenomenal.  If the end is any indication, this is going to be a series and I am ecstatic.  The book is dark, the plot pulled me in, and I want to be friends with the characters.

Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges: 359 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge and the e-book reading challenge.  Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page.

ROW 80
I didn't get as much done this week as I wanted so I'm no longer on track to finish my current first draft before the readathon on the 21st.  But I still wrote every day and I found a library close to where I work.  I've discovered I am very productive when I go write there on my lunch break.

This week I wrote a total of 4,584 words for a total of 25,294 on the project.  I'm having a ton of fun with it, way  more than I expected to have when I first started.  However, I'm still anxious to finish this draft so I can move on to the other goals I have for this round, then come back and rewrite this draft.  My goals are listed on my 2012 goals page.


SUNDAYS IN BED WITH
Sundays in bed with is hosted by Kate at Midnight Book Girl.  Sundays are my favorite day of the week because I get Pho before going to the gym for my favorite class (bodypump).  However, when I get home, I plan to get back in bed with Intangible by J. Meyers.

Next up is a Myron Bolitar novel and iDracula, which I just digitally downloaded from my library.  I have a love-hate relationship with Dracula, so I'm really curious about this update.