ArmchairBEA: Favorites

Today's an open topic day and it's my day for reflection.  We don't do that very often around here; we mainly review, but I did this last year and I found it rather cathartic.  I like to look back over the years at some of my favorite reads.  As you can see, I do have favorite genres.  Obviously YA is featured pretty heavily, as are crime novels, food-lit, and magical realism.  But there are some things that really don't fit any of my usual genres... and I love looking back and seeing that.

JennJustReading's Favorites

Jennifer's favorite books »

Google+

Armchair BEA: Giveaway - Say What You Will

There is a lot of buzz going around about Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern.  While I must say that its subject matter is a little too serious for my tastes, I know this is a book that will make a difference for a lot of people with it's diverse characters and realistic subject matter.

From Harper Teen:

 SAY WHAT YOU WILL by Cammie McGovern follows Amy – a girl born with cerebral palsy who cannot talk, can walk only with a walker, and has difficulty controlling her facial expressions – who has decided her senior year is the time to make friends. So she hires students to be her helpers at school, including Matthew, a boy struggling with OCD. As they both help each other through their individual difficulties, a friendship begins to blossom into a romance story unlike any other.

SAY WHAT YOU WILL already has people buzzing – in the May 16 issue ofEntertainment Weekly, they named the book one of the “5 YA Novels to Watch Out For.” In a starred review, Publishers Weekly raved: “readers will be surprised, moved, amused, worried, hopeful, and grateful to have spent time with them [Amy and Matthew],” and Kirkus called it “a deeply engaging and rewarding story.” Booklist also gave a starred review saying: “Exhilarating and heartrending, McGovern’s YA debut has a similar odd-couple camaraderie as Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park (2013) and the raw exploration of disability in R. J. Palacio’s Wonder (2012). With a smart, proud, and capable protagonist eager to take her life by the reins, this novel is stunning.”
 To learn more about Cammie’s Whole Children organization, the girl with cerebral palsy that served as the inspiration for the book, as well as an excerpt, be sure to head over to USA Today’s “Happy Ever After.”  

For a chance to win it, enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

  Google+

Armchair BEA: More than Just Words

When I saw the topic for today what immediately came to mind is The Invention of Hugo Cabret.  I'm sure I won't be the only one to bring it up in this context but it is such an amazing piece I couldn't let the opportunity to share it pass.

If you've seen the movie Hugo, which is wonderful, it can't even begin to do justice to this magnificent work of art. This is a concept book, part picture book, part graphic novel, with almost 300 pages of original art work, photographs, and film stills. It's fantastical and enchanting, and you never know what turning the page may bring.  Parts of the story are told through pictures and some through prose; some pages are filled with drawings; some pages are almost blank save for a paragraph on them.  The pictures progress the story at times better than the words.  The plot is mysterious while not being overly complicated, and it is full of scope for the imagination with automata and gears and magic... Not only is the story amazing, and incredibly well researched, but Brian Selznick's artwork is fabulous. 

Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick's follow up piece, is sitting on my shelf begging to be read, but I've been saving it to read with my daughter so that we may discover its the magic together.  I highly recommend this to anyone, not just readers of YA or MG. It is truly an experience not to be missed. 


Google+

Armchair BEA Introductions

Design by Amber of Shelf Notes

Girls Just Reading is a shared blog by four book lovers, Lisa (our founder), Julie, Alice, and me, Jenn.  Oddly enough we're all internet friends. We met on a fan site for one of our favorite TV shows of all times, ALIAS. We kept in touch when the show closed and ended up here.  

Sharing a blog helps keep things flowing around here. None of us has time to run a blog on her own, but together we maintain an active blog.  Each of us read different genres and we also split the responsibilities of blog maintenance.   I think it's a formula that works well as we've been on the blogging scene for seven years now. 

If you've participated in Armchair BEA before, you've probably visited our blog before, so I thought I'd select a few of the more unusual questions to answer this time around.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 books would you bring? Why? What 3 non-book items would you bring? Why? 

I would totally cheat and bring my Nook. To this day it floors me that I can carry over 600 books around with me in my purse. 

But if I had to pick three, it would be novels by Sarah Addison Allen, Heather Blake, Cassandra Clare, Meg Gardiner, and Ally Carter. They are all authors whose work I cannot do without. Ok, that's five authors and I can't even narrow it down to which of their books I pick, so can I please just bring my Nook?

As for non-literary items, it'd have to be my daughter, hubby...and coffee.  Girls gotta have her priorities. 

What book would you love to see as a movie?

I think Ally Carter's Heist Society would be fabulous on the big screen, as long as they could do it justice.  I love a good con, and Ally Carter writes amazing ones. Plus, it'd be refreshing change to the current dystopian trend in teen movies. 

~~~

We won't be able to post every day this week, but we love Armchair BEA and we're glad you stopped by and we hope you visit us again soon. 

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GirlsJustReading

Twitter:

Alice

Jenn

Julie

Don't forget to visit the other blogs participating in Armchair BEA this week! 

Armchair BEA Giveaway Winners Announced!

Here they are!  The lucky winners:

Winner:  Dana at Little Lovely Books!

Winner:  Tiffany of Somersworth, NH!

Winner:  Tiffany of Lexington, KY!

Thank you to all who entered.



Google+

Armchair BEA: Wrapping It Up

Well, ArmchairBEA has reached a close. It's always sad to see this fantastic week of books and book blogging come to an end.  We've made new friends, found new blogs, discovered new books, and gotten new ideas. Personally, I love how it gets all of us writing and thinking about what we read.  I particularly enjoyed discussing the different genres this year ( ~which finally made me write that post about why I read YA!).  I think it worked well with the three of us as we all had thoughts to share and were able to contribute to different posts.

Here's a look back at our posts from this week:

• Armchair BEA: Introductions and Classics
• Armchair BEA: Genre Fiction
• Armchair BEA: Blogger Development
• Amrchair BEA: Jenn's Favorites
• Armchair BEA: Giveaway (OPEN THRU  6/6/13)
• Armchair BEA: Non-Fiction
• Armchair BEA: Ethics
• Armchair BEA: Children's & YA Literature
• Armchair BEA: Keeping it Real

Thank you to everyone who put so much time and effort into hosting this.  We appreciate being able to participate.  Thank you to everyone who participates, especially my fellow bloggers Julie and Alice.  Maybe one of these days we'll get to NYC to visit BEA, but we're pretty happy interacting with all of you. Thanks for visiting with us. Come back any time.  See you in the blogosphere.

Armchair BEA: Keeping it Real

What exactly does "keeping it real" mean? The meaning lays in keeping. How do you not only grow an audience, but how do you keep them coming back for more? If you have been around for years, how do you keep your material fresh? How do you continue to keep blogging fun?

Alice:
On of the best ways we "keep it real" is with four different reviewers.  Our readers get four different points of view. That diversity is magical.  I love how we don't always agree but we always respect each others opinions.  The mutual respect is born from years of friendship. It also helps that we each like different genres.  There is a lot of variety on our blog and I'm happy to contribute to that.

On a personal level, one of the best parts about the blog is that it pushes me to read outside my comfort zone.  I have read so many novels in the last three years that before the blog, I wouldn't have thought to pick them up. I hope we motivated our readers to do the same thing.

Julie:
I love how we'll mix it up from year to year. Last year we did our GJR Book Club where we each picked 3 books to read together and review together. It was a great experience even if we didn't bring it back. I also like how each of us reads different genres for the most part. Sure we overlap at times but really we do have vastly different tastes in books.

I love blogging because I love to read. I love to share my thoughts on the books I read and hope that people like them. I also blog because it's easier for me to remember all the books I read. I have loved discovering other bloggers and getting recommendations from them. It's great to have our own community and to find others who's opinion your trust.  

Armchair BEA: Children's & YA Literature

Jenn:
As the resident YA reader, I'm pretty sure this topic falls to me.  :)  For a while now I've been trying to write one of our Random Musings posts on what it is I love about YA... I'm still trying so here goes...

I fell in love with Diana Wynne Jones' novels somewhere around third grade and I have been hooked ever since. I love the self discovery, the thrill of first loves, the adventures of YA.   I love the story telling.   The world needs a little magic and this is where I retreat to tap into mine.  I've tried to get into adult fantasy and paranormal but the adult relationships always seem to take precedent over the story.  (I will continue to try and break into this genre so if you have any recommendations for me, please leave them in the comments.)

I love that the genre of YA has quadrupled since I was a... YA.  Granted, not every book is for everyone.  There are books out there on very serious topics of rape, abuse, etc. in both the YA (and adult sections) ...and I'm not reading any of them ...and that's okay.  Heck, I don't even like to read dystopian!  But I'm glad that they're out there.  Books that help children know that they aren't alone in their situation or help teens explore serious situations that are blasted all over the news are good ways to make sense of the world.  Reading how others learn to problem solve, interpret, and cope helps us learn how to do the same.  And personally, I'd much rather my daughter experience some of those things on the page rather than in person.   I'm not saying that a mature YA book is the right read for every 12 and 13 year old out there.  It may never be the right read.  But if my daughter comes to me and wants to explore these books that I don't want to read, I'm not going to stop her.  We read to understand the world around us, and last time I checked, it wasn't all unicorns, rainbows, and happy endings. [getting down off soapbox]

At the moment, my list of favorite authors are too many to mention... but if I had to pick something you should definitely read:

1. Dianna Wynne Jones:  If nothing else, you must try Howl's Moving Castle. Over the years Ms. Jones wrote hundreds of fabulous novels some middle grade, some YA, and I encourage you to explore them all, like my personal favorite Fire & Hemlock, but if you need a starting point, I suggest Howl's Moving Castle.
2. Cassandra Clare:  I know she doesn't need any help with publicity, but I really can't get enough of her Shadow Hunter series. Her intricate story weaving and complex characters make her books hard to put down and nearly impossible to wait for the next release. 
3. C.C. Hunter:  I adore the Shadow Falls series, which she just concluded and I'm thrilled that she is starting a spinoff series.
4.  Amanda Hocking:  I never thought I could love a troll book until I read her Trylle series.  She has several other series out and I really need to get back to reading her work.
5. Wendy Raven McNair:  You may not have heard of her but she is a fantastic indie author that I can't recommend enough.
6. Ally Carter:  Between her teen spy Gallagher Girls Books and her teen thieves and con artists, Heist Society, it pretty hard to decide...
7. Rebecca Maizel:  Her Vampire Queen series made me fall in love with vampires all over again.
8. Kathy Reichs:  Virals is like a contemporary Nancy Drew with some sci-fi thrown in for good measure.

Ok I could keep going, but it might be a very long post...  LOL

We actually have a Children's Corner here at Girls Just Reading and every Sunday Julie and I try to feature  something that has caught our children's attention... or our attention as parents.  Sometimes we hit the classics, but sometimes we find the really obscure too.  We always appreciate suggestions for our budding readers so go ahead and throw some out there!

Julie:

I don't read YA. I mean I went throught the angst and I don't need to relive it in adulthood. Plus a lot of it falls into the fantasy/speculative fiction area and I don't read adult fiction in those genres so why do it in YA? Having said that I will revisit the books I loved as a young adult. Also, I was told that I'm wrong about YA so I put together a challenge for this year. It's almost June and I've read one book on the list. Better get it in gear.

As my daughter will be in 3rd grade this upcoming year, I find myself pushing her towards Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume and other favorites from my childhood. I can't wait until I feel she's old enough to read Harry Potter. I do enjoy watching what she brings home from the library. Sure sometimes she's in over her head bringing home 5 chapter books for a week, but I love that she tries.

My son will be starting Kindergarten in the fall and we've been working on his reading for this year. As you can tell from some of our posts he's doing that quite well. We try to pick books he can read to himself and out loud, so that means a lot of Dr. Seuss and really how can you go wrong there?! He also loves books about space so those have been taking up some of our reading time. Any book that has a sports theme is also a hit with him so we are always seeking those out. I know that a lot of the books his sister reads won't appeal to him in a couple years so I will be looking for books geared towards boys. These days, I think that's fairly easy.

Armchair BEA: Ethics

Plagiarism is BAD.  There. We said it. It's a back-handed compliment. You liked our content enough to copy it verbatim but didn't respect us enough to let us know. If you are too lazy to do your own work, then maybe you just shouldn't be blogging or writing.


Girls Just Reading is conscientious about what we post.  We don't borrow images, with the exception of book covers, and we make sure we give credit where credit is due.  If anyone ever has questions about what you see on our site we encourage you to contact us so we can fix or clarify any perceived errors.  We have attempted to make our purpose and policies clear in our Disclosure page.

Have we been plagiarized? Yes, but we asked that the content be removed and it was. In the world of instant access this is bound to happen but we have found that most people in the blogging world are ethical.

Armchair BEA: Non-Fiction

Alice:  As the resident non-fiction reader in the group, memoirs are a topic I am always glad to discuss.  I have always been drawn to memoirs. There is something about diving into a person’s life in their own words. I like how it doesn’t focus on their entire life but a single event that helped change them, that helped them grow. Truth is usually better than fiction. Memoirs take courage and an inner strength to share a part of you that you are usually too afraid to show. I am in awe of that strength. That is why I read them and why I will always recommend them. If you are looking for a place to start, here are three memoirs I highly recommend.



The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls It still amazes me she was able to recover from her childhood yet recovery is not quite the right way to describe it. Her childhood was a blessing to her, deeply rooted in family and love. Although challenging and difficult, it gave her the motivation and moxie to do something with her life, to make her own success.



Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster This memoir is hands down the funniest I have ever read in my life. Jen Lancaster is a comedic genius and a natural storyteller. Three pages into any of her memoirs and you feel like you’re sitting on a couch together sharing a bottle of Trader Joe’s Two Buck Chuck and she’s your new best friend.  That openness is why she is a favorite on our blog.



Lost Edens: A True Story by Jamie Patterson This is a short memoir about the abandonment d betrayal of a husband written in his wife’s point of view. I loved her writing style, it was brutally and fearfully honest. It hurts to read because my heart aches for her. It’s simply wonderful. (Read my review here.)




Jenn:  
When I read non-fiction, it tends to be about the Holocaust.  I have a macabre relationship with it...  I cannot  seem to get passed how many wonderful souls were lost ...and I think it is important to find ways to remember them.  My absolute favorite is the novel, All But My Life: A Memoir by Gerda Weissmann Klein which I read in high school but have since re-read as a group just before we started the blog.  This is a must read and I can't recommend it enough.

Occasionally, I read biographies of people that interest me too.  For example, I think I've read everything out there about Katharine Hepburn...

Sometimes it just subject matter that attracts me, like  Dave Cullen's Columbine (my review) which is a fascinating book that explores the events leading up to the tragedy and the aftermath.  It's a book I think everyone should read.



Julie:
I really don't read a lot of non-fiction but if I do it has been memoirs. I loved it when Jenn had us read All But My Life, it moved me and it is one of those books I do recommend to people when they are looking for a first person view of the Holocaust. For me the most entertaining one I've read was by Rob Lowe, yes Rob Lowe. I can't recommend Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography enough. I think people will be surprised about how open and honest he is about his life.

Ever since the debacle with a memoir a few years ago, I think editors/publishers are more cautious or maybe we have redefined memoirs.  To me a memoir is one person's account of their personal history or journey. It might not fully factual but it's how they experience it. I don't read memoirs because I want facts, I read them to have an idea of someone's experience.

Armchair BEA: Giveaway

It's everyone's favorite Armchair BEA day, Giveaway!

We have three prize packs available:

You may enter once between now and midnight EST on June 6th, 2013.  This giveaway is open to US & Canadian residents only.  Winners will be drawn using random.org no later than June 9th.

Entering is easy, just fill out the form below:

Please review our giveaway policy.