Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

I have read and reviewed Will Grayson, Will Grayson before, but not since I started doing structured reviews and not in the audiobook format.  So you guys get a normal review instead of my reread format.

Novel:  Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Summary (from GoodReads):  One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.
Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.

Characters:  This book may be called Will Grayson, Will Grayson, but this story is actually about Tiny Cooper.  Kind of.... he is something larger than himself (which is quite large already) and he is integral to the change that takes place in both Will Graysons.  I love Tiny Cooper, he is hilarious and wonderful and I want a friend like him in my life.  As for the Will Graysons, they have more in common then their names.  They both feel friendless, they both try not to care.  One Will Grayson defines himself by shutting up and not caring and the other is defined by his anger and depression.  However... they are both hilarious.

Plot/Pacing:  It's John Green and David Levithan, so this book is the perfect mix of hilarious and moving.  It's over the top, but in this completely believable way.  I was driving down the highway laughing and by the next exit, I'd be crying.  FYI--there is a porn shop and references to sex and one of the Will Graysons has to pick his friends nose.  These references are hilarious and real, although, I expect that some people will have issues with them.  They aren't particularly subtle, but there also isn't graphic sex, just some minor makeouts.  I like minor makeouts.

Moments I Loved:  One of the Will Graysons (GEEZ, this is hard!) gets a fake ID and the guy puts the wrong birth year on it, so when he tries to get into the concert, his fake only says he's twenty.  As for the other Will Grayson, I liked the moment he came out to his mom.  I just loved his relationship with his mom in general.  I've said this before, but she is the kind of parent that YA Lit needs.

WTF Moments:  The whole Isaac situation.  Wow, just... wow.  And OMG.  Also, wow.

Narrators:  Unfortunately, I hear John Green's voice in my head when I read his books, so it took me a chapter or two to get used to this narrator who only slightly sounded like John Green.  The second narrator was really angry, which fit the character, but it is such a striking different to the first, indifferent Will Grayson, that it threw me off at first.  Once I got used to the narrators, I really enjoyed the audiobook.  They sang a lot of the songs, which was... weird, but good.  I don't know.  Tiny writes a lot of showtunes so there is an unusual amount of singing and I just don't think the audiobook did it justice, but that's one of those things that is better in your head, I think.

Overall: This book is just as good the second time.  It made me laugh and cry and hope that John Green and David Levithan team up again for another book.  There are so many quotable quotes in this book.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson gets a FakeSteph rating of...

Waiting On Wednesday: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

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 The Archived by Victoria Schwab.

GoodReads Description: Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.
Why I'm Excited:  This was recommended to me in line at BEA by someone in the publishing industry who had nothing to do with the publication of this book.  It just blew them away.  Also, Kate read it and said there is a boy I will like (link is to her review).

The Archived comes out January 22nd 2013 from Hyperion.

Top Ten (Tuesday) Most Anticipated 2013 Releases

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 Most Anticipated Books of 2013. As always, covers link to GoodReads.

    

  

    

  

You'll see more of these in the future, as I have Waiting on Wednesdays set up for all of these.  Seriously... I can't wait!

Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger

Novel: Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger

Summary (from GoodReads.  Potential Spoilers for Book One!:  Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.
Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.
While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

Characters: Lady Maccon is not having a very good time of things, but, as always, she makes the best.  As always, I love the way her character narrates, but this book made me come to appreciate that we sometimes get other points of view, specifically Professor Lyall.  I loved his view in this book, because he gave us a deeper understanding of Ivy Hisselpenny, who Alexia often takes for granted, but who seems to not be as dimwitted as she puts on.  Even though he is gone for most of the book, we get to know Lord Akeldama a little better at the end and there is definitely the promise of a bigger storyline for him in the next book.  Since he is one of my favorite characters, I can't complain.

Plot/Pacing:   I don't think this book is necessarily plotted any differently than the others, but it seems way more quest-like to me, when I prefer mysteries.  However, I was still invested and listened to the audiobook in only a few days.

Moments I Loved:  The Templars destroy all of the plates and utensils that Alexia uses because she is a preternatural and therefore unclean... the whole moment... hilarious.  I loved that she also sort of chased them around since they wouldn't look at her and were afraid of touching her.  Had I been in her shoes, I would have initiated a massive game of freeze tag.

WTF Moments: Someone is trapped in a huge ball under the Themes and it is creepy!!!  This scene was a little bit crazy and I loved it.

Narrators:  Same as last time: I think the narrator is fantastic.  She sounds proper and annoyed at the same time, but you can tell she is having fun.  Possibly, her narration is a little slow.  I sometimes thought she was talking too slow and I was listening to the book at 1.5x speed.  I'm going to try book four at 2x.

Overall:  I didn't love it as much as the first two, but I'm still psyched for the next two and can't wait for Carriger's new series... especially her young adult Finishing School series.

Blameless gets a FakeSteph rating of...

Sundays In Bed With... Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Sundays in bed with is hosted by Kate at Midnight Book Girl.  After a week of being under the weather, I am on my way back to the gym today and can't wait.  After that, I have a paper to finish that is due tomorrow, but I know what I'm going to say in it, so I think I might actually have time to listen to my fantastic new audiobook.

It's actually a reread, but I loved it the first time and it's just as good the second.  Review to come soon in an attempt to have reviews other than the Parasol Protectorate up, because that is pretty much all I read this month.

But I've got a new audible credit... what should I get?

Weekend Hops: November 23

This week the hop is hosted by Butterfly-o-Meter Books.

The sound of silence: When reading, do you assign each character their own voice in your head, or do they all sound the same? Do they sound like you or someone else?

My Answer: 

I think it really depends on the book, but I think, generally, good dialog should bring to mind different voices for different cadences.  Not necessarily the sound of a voice, but the speed at which the character speaks, the cadences present in their voice... speech includes so many mannerisms individual to the person speaking so I think it is (delightfully) unavoidable in a well written book.

Are you thankful for a fellow blogger? Tell us about him or her.

My Answer: 

The answer to this question is both hard and simple at the same time.  I'm thankful for all the bloggers I've met... and there are a lot.  I hear people talking about book blogger drama all the time, but I've never experienced it.  I've made good friends here on the blog that have extended to real life.  So I'm thankful for all the bloggers who have become my friends, both via twitter, text, and in person over boars head pasta recommended by a sexy waiter in NYC.  I'm thankful for all the bloggers I'm still getting to know who get me excited about books I haven't heard of and books I wasn't sure about.  I'm thankful for all the future bloggers who I hope to meet.  Book bloggers are fabulous and I'm glad to be one.

Happy Thanksgiving

I'm not sure I can eat something so ugly.

Happy Thanksgiving!  This year I'm thankful for my family, especially my adorable new niece who already has more attitude than most adults I've met.  Also, for audible, because I have recently become obsessed with listening to audiobooks while knitting.  Also, the audible app has badges and it makes me obscenely happy every time I earn one.

Once again, November means to me: pumpkin spice lattes, being able to taste the end of the semester, gearing up for Christmas, and wearing soft scarves.  Well... I've spent most of my November in a very warm and lovely Los Angeles, but now that I'm back East, that's what November means to me.

What does this time of year mean to you and what are you thankful for?

Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger

Novel: Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger

Summary (from GoodReads.  Potential Spoilers for Book One!:  Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.
But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. 
She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

Characters:  In book two (or book the second, rather) I love Alexia just as much as I did when I read book one.  She's funny and smart and inappropriate... but she does it all with impeccable manners.  Once again, one of my favorite parts of these books is the juxtaposition of what is happening with Alexia's polite narration (although... as we have not been formally introduced, I suppose I really should be calling her Lady Maccon).  This book gives us a little bit more of Alexia's family, who are horrible and hilarious, and plenty more of Alexia's best friend, Miss Hisselpenny, who continues to have terrible taste in hats.  We also meet Madame Lefoux for the first time, a woman inventor who insists upon wearing men's clothing.  She hits on Alexia quite often and Alexia is not always quick on the uptake, which is funny, but the women become friends and Madame Lefoux has become one of my new favorite characters.

Plot/Pacing:  These books never go where I think they are going to.  I am always surprised, entertained, and engrossed.  In fact, I listened to books two and three back to back.  I couldn't help it.

Moments I Loved:  There is a moment when Alexia goes head to head with a highranking pack member who thinks she is a servant and not Lady Maccon.... hilarious.  These are exactly the moments I read these books for.

WTF Moments:  At the end... the fight between Lord and Lady Maccon... at first I thought it would ruin Lord Maccon for me, but it ended up just breaking my heart... and being the reason that I immediately downloaded book three.

Narrators:  I think the narrator is fantastic.  She sounds proper and annoyed at the same time, but you can tell she is having fun.  Possibly, her narration is a little slow.  I sometimes thought she was talking too slow and I was listening to the book at 1.5x speed.  I'm going to try book four at 2x.

Overall:  Did I mention I started the next book right away?  I loved it!

Changeless gets a FakeSteph rating of...

What I'm Reading: School Edition

Not sure why I named this post the School Edition, as I've never done a "What I'm Reading" post before.  I've been in LA and between visiting with old friends, working, and homework, I haven't been online... pretty much at all.  Sorry for my absence.  I expect next week to be better.  I only have a few more weeks of classes (for this semester) so I plan to read A LOT in December, but for now... here's some of what I've been reading (and I'm linking up texts in case you want to read them):

-Modernist Poetry... was probably the most difficult thing I've read this semester.  What the actual ****?  I just... it's just... I can't.... my book said that modernist poetry required an encyclopedic knowledge of history and literature and The Waste Land is definitely hipster poetry.  Langston Hughes redeemed this section.

-Twelfth Night... my favorite Shakespeare play AND I got to write a paper comparing it to a modern adaptation.  I chose the fabulous teen comedy She's the Man starring Amanda Bynes and had a blast writing the paper.  It was also my last reading for English Lit, which was an 8 week course (I got an A woohoo!).

Here is my favorite scene from She's the Man.  You're welcome.


-Medea... have I mentioned this before?  I seriously expected to hate it, but I found the whole thing fascinating.  The book told me that I would slowly come to detest Medea, but I loved her.  She may have killed her children and been spiteful, but she had follow through and I can respect that.

What are you reading?  And what should I read when classes are done?

Waiting On Wednesday: Notorious Nineteen (Stephanie Plum #19) by Janet Evanovich

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 Notorious Nineteen (Stephanie Plum #19) by Janet Evanovich.

GoodReads Description: #1 bestselling author Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels are: “irresistible” (Houston Chronicle), “stunning” (Booklist), “outrageous” (Publishers Weekly), “brilliantly evocative” (The Denver Post), and “making trouble and winning hearts” (USA Today).

New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is certain of three truths: People don’t just vanish into thin air. Never anger old people. And don’t do what Tiki tells you to do. 

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie’s bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton’s premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it’s on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape . . . or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive. Since the hospital staff’s lips seem to be tighter than the security, and it’s hard for Stephanie to blend in to assisted living, Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur goes in undercover. But when a second felon goes missing from the same hospital, Stephanie is forced into working side by side with Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, in order to crack the case.

The real problem is, no Cubbin also means no way to pay the rent. Desperate for money—or maybe just desperate—Stephanie accepts a secondary job guarding her secretive and mouthwatering mentor Ranger from a deadly Special Forces adversary. While Stephanie is notorious for finding trouble, she may have found a little more than she bargained for this time around. Then again—a little food poisoning, some threatening notes, and a bridesmaid’s dress with an excess of taffeta never killed anyone . . . or did they? If Stephanie Plum wants to bring in a paycheck, she’ll have to remember: No guts, no glory. . . 
Why I'm Excited:  I'm not even reading the description, because I'm only on thirteen (I think), but even though I'm not caught up on this series, I'm psyched for the new one!  LOVE Stephanie Plum SO MUCH.

Notorious Nineteen comes out November 20, 2012.

Legend by Marie Lu

Novel: Legend by Marie Lu

Summary (from GoodReads):  What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

Characters: Legend is a dystopian from two points of view.  Day is the most notorious criminal in the Republic.  He hates the government and disrupts them whenever he can, but his real goal is to acquire money and food for the family who thinks he is dead.  June is the prodigy soldier who is determined to find Day and bring him to justice.  This is a dystopian, so I don't think my next sentence is a spoiler, but if you are completely unfamiliar with the genre, then go read Hunger Games and ignore the rest of this paragraph.  Throughout the course of the book, Day gains a purpose, while June learns how corrupt the government is.  I loved the ways their lives intertwined.  Both characters are smart and resourceful.  At one point they even comment on this, but they are truly the same character in different situations, which is fascinating.  I can't wait to see what they accomplish in book two.

Plot/Pacing:  Definitely fast paced, which isn't unexpected for the genre.  The stakes are always high and the action goes places I didn't expect.  I loved watching Day and June, two equally smart, likeable characters, go head to head.  However, the inevitable moment when they have a common cause is perfectly timed.  This is definitely one I'm going to want to reread.

Moments I Loved:  So many.  I loved the moments when June showed her excellence (scaling buildings, outsmarting people, cage fight), but I also loved her more emotional moments.  As for Day... I'd have to say that the way he escapes the hospital was very cool, but hands down my favorite moment was learning what is so important about his necklace.

WTF Moments:  POTENTIAL SPOILERS: (highlight to read) When Day gets arrested, they shoot his mother in the head.  It's horrible. And unexpected.  And also horrible.  Not a bad moment, just, man, my heart. (end highlight)

Narrators:  I listened to this at 1.5 speed, which is a fabulous feature that I'm so glad to have found.  It's a little hard to get a full grasp of the narrators at that speed, but for the most part I think they both captured the characters.  June is no nonsense and Day is a bit more wistful.  I would listen to other productions with these readers.

Overall:  THANK GOD I HAVE AN ARC OF PRODIGY.   I can't wait to spend more time with these characters.

Legend gets a FakeSteph rating of...

Sundays In Bed With... Catch ups

Sundays in bed with is hosted by Kate at Midnight Book Girl.  This week... I'm in bed playing catch up with Legend on my audible app and The Dark Light on my kindle.  Both of these books are fantastic and it's killing me that I haven't finished them yet.  They deserve better from me.

  

Life has been a little crazy... I'm actually in Los Angeles right now... but I'm hoping to get back into my twice a week review schedule.  I miss reading and as soon as the semester ends, I'm going to spend an entire weekend doing nothing but reading and not stress about all the other stuff I need to do.  There are so many books I'm dying to read.

Book Blogger Hop: November 9-15, 2012

Jen from Crazy-For-Books is currently on hiatus and I'm so excited to host the Book Blogger Hop for the next two weeks.  Credit to Jen for creating this awesome weekly blogger event.  She's awesome.  All I did was come up with a question.

What to Do:
1. Post on your blog answering this question:

Is there a book series that you're not totally into, but still keep buying new releases because you love the covers?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name, Genre you review, and direct link to your post answering this week’s question; failure to do so will result in removal of your link).

3. Visit other blogs in the list, spending quality time getting to know the people you are visiting. Don’t just visit the post with the question, but click around and read some of the blogger’s other content, too! This Hop isn’t about the number of people you can visit, but the quality of each visit. Readers – find a new blog to read by clicking through the links in the list!

My Answer:

I didn't love City of Fallen Angels, but I still bought City of Lost Souls.  I haven't read it yet, but I know that I'll buy City of Heavenly Fire when it comes out.  These covers are just awesome and they look nice on my shelf.

Your answers:

Waiting On Wednesday: Black City by Elizabeth Richards

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 Black City by Elizabeth Richards.

GoodReads Description: A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Why I'm Excited:  That image on the cover?  The shattered rose over a dark skyline?  That is the exact feeling I like in romances... dark and desperate, but passionate and explosive at the same time.

Black City comes out November 13, 2012.

Blog Tour: Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies by Jordan Jacobs

I'm really excited about Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies, because... Nancy Drew meets Indiana Jones?  Yes, please!

SAMANTHA SUTTON AND THE LABYRINTH OF LIES

(October 2012; Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; $6.99; Ages 9-12)

GoodReads Summary: A legendary ghost, an ancient treasure, a mystery only Samantha Sutton can solve.
What happens when Indiana Jones meets Nancy Drew? You get Samantha Sutton, twelve year-old archeology buff with sharp wit and an insatiably curious personality. SAMANTHA SUTTON AND THE LABYRINTH OF LIES is the incredible page-turner about a young girl from California who is given the chance to follow her archeologist uncle to the excavation of an ancient Peruvian temple.
What she doesn’t expect, though, is the legend haunting this ancient site. When important artifacts begin to disappear overnight, Samantha must navigate the disapproving eye of her uncle’s acerbic assistant, the bungling boyishness of her annoying big brother, and the ever-present stories swirling among the locals of the hysterical spirit that wanders through the town late at night. Using her keen sensibility and her knack for mapping the unknown passageways of Chavín de Huántar, Samantha uncovers a mystery far bigger than she could have ever imagined. This is a novel for children (and adults!) who love history, mystery, and heart-stopping plot-twists.

Characters: I really loved Samantha. She is a total nerd who loves paperwork and questions and history, but she doesn't come across as geeky. She really embodies what I perceive to be the dual nature of archaeology... on one hand it is a meticulous science, but it also seems to be adventurous, taking you to new places and constructing an image of past civilizations. Her relationship with her brother is very believable--they fight a lot, but he is also the one she runs to when she is terrified. He annoyed me to no end, but I think that was the point.

I found Sam's Uncle Jay to be an interesting character. He's maybe not the most responsible adult and I think he puts Samantha in some awkward situations, but her relationship with her parents is just as complicated. Both relationships feel real and I really appreciated the shades of grey with all of the characters. There were some nice people who turned out to be bad and some nasty people who turned out all right in the end and everyone else fell somewhere in the middle. Nobody was exactly what they seemed.

Plot/Pacing: There is a lot of space devoted to Sam's archaeology expedition, but it ties into the mystery, and I thought it was really cool. I liked reading about what happens on a site and, honestly, if 12-year-old me had read this book, I might have had a different major in college. I guessed the bad guy very early on, so it stressed me waiting for Sam to figure it out, but I had fun watching Sam solve the mystery and enjoyed the build up to the climax.

Moments I Loved: There are so many fun, scary, cute, moments in this book, but I think my favorite part is in the author's note, where Jacob's says that "the archeologists who actually work in Chavin are far, far more competent than their fictional counterparts." I loved them as characters, but yeah... they are pretty irresponsible, so the comment made me laugh.

WTF Moments: Sam sees dinner being made one night... guinea pigs. As if that weren't bad enough, we get to hear about them being gutted and fried up... could have done without that image.

Overall: I can't wait until my niece is old enough for me to read this with her. I will definitely be checking out Sam's next adventure.

Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies gets a FakeSteph rating of...

**I received an e-galley of Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies from the publisher through NetGalley. I was in no way compensated for my review or participation in the blog tour. All opinions expressed here are my own. Feel free to check out my full FTC Disclaimer on my About This Blog page.**

Jordan Jacobs’ love of mummies, castles, and Indiana Jones led to his first archaeological excavation at age 13 in California’s Sierra Nevada. He followed his passion at Stanford, Oxford, and Cambridge and through his work for the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, and UNESCO.  His love of travel has taken him to almost fifty countries, and his work at Chavín de Huántar inspired his first novel,SAMANTHA SUTTON AND THE LABYRINTH OF LIES. He now works as senior specialist at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley.

I asked the author, Jordan Jacobs, to share ten of his favorite places.  I love travelling and want to do more, so I'm so glad I get to share his list with you.  And the setting of his book is totally on this list!

JORDAN JACOBS GUEST POST:

I am really, really grateful to have been able to travel as much as I have—more a series of lucky circumstances than something to be proud of. But I’m terrible at picking favorites. The list below represents ten of the many places that continue to resonate for me, and are not in any meaningful order:

Ouidah, Benin

Ouidah is perhaps the most foreign place I’ve visited--relative to my day-to-day life back home. Known as one of the major surviving centers of voudou culture, Ouidah reveres the serpent deity, Dangbe. A local temple houses dozens of pythons…during the day. At night the snakes are released to slither into town and hunt for food.

Galta, Jaipur, India
Outside bustling Jaipur, the stunning Monkey Temples of Galta are best visited at sunset, when thousands of screaming monkeys descend on the sacred, spring-fed pools. These guys took full advantage of their exalted status, and climbed all over me as I may way up the canyon’s ancient stairways.

Kbal Spean, Cambodia
Outside the tourist hive of Angkor Wat, the site of Kbal Spean attracts a much smaller crowd. After a wet slog into the Kulen Hills and through an active minefield, I reached the glistening riverbed, carved centuries ago with a partial pantheon of Hindu gods.

Chaco Canyon, NM, USA

Atop the dry Colorado Plateau, and reached only by a pitted, rocky road, the Ancestral Puebloan ruins of Chaco Canyon are among the most well-studied in Native North America. And for good reason. This was the center of a major empire, with trade routes extending all the way west to California and as far south as Guatemala. One ruin, Pueblo Bonito, was among the largest buildings on earth at the time of its use. And the haunting nighttime calls of coyotes around my tent only added to the ambience.

Avebury, UK

Some miles north of its better-known neighbor, the great stone circle of Avebury is best seen from above. Questions about its original function are just as captivating as the early explanations for its use: that it was the work of traveling Native Americans, or Giants, or the burial place of Arthur and his knights. My visit paired nicely with a cider and fish’n chips from the adjacent two-hundred-year-old pub.

Moscow, Russia

It’s exactly what I expected it to be, but more so. Soviet monuments loom high over shiny new shopping centers chandeliers glitter above the subway platforms, and Lenin himself lies in the center of it all--his waxy corpse still on view.

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul’s sites are as thrilling and diverse as its history. Romans ruins? Check. Crusader churches? Yep. Ottoman fortresses? Yes, those too. Nothing has done more to shift my understanding of the ancient world as the sight of Viking graffiti in an ancient church-turned-mosque.

Aguateca, Guatemala

With its grand plazas, pyramids, ballcourts, and stunning ancient bridge, Aguateca is everything I’d want from a Mayan site. But getting there was the best part. I hired a business-minded eleven-year-old to take me deep into the jungle, piloting his boat along the swirling Rio Pasion.

Dougga, Tunisia

Pompeii had dense ash to protect it. Herculaneum had a thick layer of volcanic ash. The Roman site of Dougga has somehow survived without. The whole city still spills out across the rolling hills of northern Tunisia, complete with a towering temple, a multi-story bathhouse, and the spectacular mosaic floors Roman Africa was known for. I should’ve arranged my transportation beforehand for the trip back to Tunis...it was a long, long way to hitchhike.

Chavin de Huantar, Peru
I’ve spent lots of time insisting that archaeology is nothing like Indiana Jones. Chavin de Huantar poses a problem in that regard. Its thrilling mix of massive temples, unexplored tunnels, bats, bones, and the strange and ancient mechanisms cry out for an adventure story. So I wrote one. Chavin is the setting of “Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies.”


Guys!  Steph again.  You don't understand how much I love this post.  I think if I had to pick one place from this list to visit it would be Moscow... or maybe Istanbul.... seriously, all of these places sound good.  And now I know what to do so I don't have to hitch hike back from Dougga.  If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Top Ten (Tuesday) Books That Lived Up To the Hype

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish that combines lists and books.  This weeks topic is... a freebie week, so I'm doing books that lived up to the hype.  These are a mix of super-hyped debuts and series that could have gone horribly, horribly wrong. As always, covers link to GoodReads.

   

 

   

 

And I think it's obvious that by "hype" I mean all of the expectations I created on my own for each book.  What book did you have overwhelming expectations for and it still blew you away?

Sundays In Bed With... Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies

Sundays in bed with is hosted by Kate at Midnight Book Girl.  Today is one of those days that will be kind of crazy, but also kind of mellow... it's a travel day.  I can't wait to get to the airport, buy my latte, and settle in with my kindle (the real reason I get to the airport so early).  At the airport, I never feel like I have to do homework or clean.  It's "wasted" time anyway, so I can spend it how I want.  Today, I'll be reading:

Samantha Sutton and the Labyrinth of Lies is AWESOME so far.  My review will be up Tuesday as part of the blog tour and will also include a list of ten of the authors favorite places from his travels (he's an archaeologist, just like Samantha).

When I finish that, I want to work on some of the half finished books on my kindle and possibly write a little on the plane.  Speaking of writing... how is Nano going for everyone?  I am... 500 words in.  And, honestly, I just want to keep working on the rewrite I didn't finish last month.  I love that everyone is all writing together toward a common goal, but... I really love my finished draft and want to make it awesome.  Plus... I have two other first drafts that need major rewrites and I might die if I add a crappy fourth.  What do you guys think?