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Just Finished…Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry

With my YA reads this year, aside from The Hunger Games I’ve been trying genres that I don’t normally read and as far as possible – indie debut authors. One of the things I like best about the good indie authors I’ve read is that the freedom of publishers and others shaping the book means that the story is exactly what the author wanted to tell and in the way they wanted it. If you look at an author as an artist, then this freedom is a good thing.

So…Blue Sky Days…this is a contemporary romance in the main, a genre I don’t often read and so in some ways this was a refreshing change. In many YAs I read, the romance is something that comes along with action and angst and great danger. This book is almost a complete inversion of that model – the ‘action’ and ‘danger’ have significance and grow out of the romantic theme.

I’ll not be giving anything away – as the blurb tells you – that after a beautiful initial romance, Nicholas becomes ill – so you can hopefully see what I mean about where the ‘danger’ comes from. In many ways it was good to read a book about real danger…the things that threaten people’s lives every single day, the hardship that people have to endure through serious and terminal illness and how that impacts the relationships they have with those around them.

I’d read several reviews prior to reading Blue Sky Days and knew that many readers had found this an emotional book to read – unsurprising given the subject matter – and I certainly found it thought-provoking for the same reasons, not necessarily identifying completely with Emma and her experiences, but her responses and perspective made me consider things in my own life that perhaps you don’t take the time to focus on enough in daily life. Every moment for Emma and Nicholas becomes precious and special, placed under a microscope because of their situation, and their relationships with friends and family are very affectionate and open – despite their difficulties, it is a world many people would want to live in.

Emma’s narration is very interesting – it is so personal and open emotionally, that I felt like I were reading her thoughts in a diary. In this way it is unlike other YA books I’ve read – the depth of her self-reflection and knowledge were much greater than others I’ve read, however, this may be more typical of romance genre (and I wouldn’t know!) 🙂 In turn, all of the characters close to Emma are very similar – very emotionally open and articulate their feelings regularly through unguarded dialogue or affectionate gestures. Some readers might find that openness unusual – but as Emma regularly notes, she finds it hard to believe herself, given her past experience with her mother – and for the style of book, it all works together well. Right from the start of the book Emma is on a journey, transitioning from a life of eduction and boundaries to a new world of independence and she draws you into this as though you are absolutely a part of her life, just as Nicholas, Daisy and the other characters do for her.

‘Blue Sky Days’ themselves – as you discover in the story – are these wonderful moments of time and clarity, when you look at the world around you and see what is truly important: the people you care about, the beauty in the world around you and the things that change your life.

Blue Sky Days feels like a very personal book. The characters, situation and emotional intensity feel as though they come from real experiences and perhaps this is the case. I rarely read author’s acknowledgements in books, but for this I did and feel that there is a real and important connection between the author and this story, more than most. And this brings me back to the beauty of indie authors – this is Marie Landry’s and Emma’s story, told exactly as it should have been.

Overall a lovely book, to be read with the knowledge that you’re delving completely into someone’s life and – just as I read in another review – Blue Sky Days will make you feel.

Rating: 4*

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Blurb: A year after graduating from high school, nineteen-year-old Emma Ward feels lost. She has spent most of her life trying to please her frigid, miserable mother – studying hard, getting good grades, avoiding the whole teenage rebellion thing – and now she feels she has no identity beyond that. Because she spent so many years working hard and planning every moment of her life, she doesn’t have any friends, has never had a boyfriend, and basically doesn’t know who she is or what she really wants from life. Working two part-time jobs to save money for college hasn’t helped her make decisions about her future, so she decides it’s time for a change. She leaves home to live with her free-spirited, slightly eccentric Aunt Daisy in a small town that makes Emma feel like she’s stepped back in time.

When Emma meets Nicholas Shaw, everything changes – he’s unlike anyone she’s ever met before, the kind of man she didn’t even know existed in the 21st century. Carefree and spirited like Daisy, Nicholas teaches Emma to appreciate life, the beauty around her, and to just let go and live. Between Daisy and Nicholas, Emma feels like she belongs somewhere for the first time in her life, and realizes that you don’t always need a plan – sometimes life steers you where you’re meant to be.

Life is wonderful, an endless string of blue sky days, until Nicholas is diagnosed with cancer, and life changes once again for Emma in ways she never thought possible. Now it’s time for her to help Nicholas the way he’s helped her. Emma will have to use her new-found strength, and discover along the way if love really is enough to get you through.

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This review was also posted at Confessions of a Bookaholic blog.

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WWW Wednesday

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly meme hosted over at Should Be Reading I saw it on Confessions of  a Bookaholic this week (they have a 100 follower giveaway on the blog this month, so take  a look at that for your chance to win a great YA book). Anyway – back to WWW Wednesday…I’ve not done one of these before, but had five minutes and thought it would be fun. To play along, just answer the following three questions…

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
What are you currently reading?
I’m reading Cinder at the moment – as part of the Never Too Old for YA Goodreads group challenge for March which is all things dystopian. Really got into this now – who wouldn’t like a retelling of Cinderella with a cyborg as the pumpkin loving lead? I’m about a third of the way through and have only seen one pumpkin reference so far…
What did you recently finish reading?
Just read Divergent sneaking ahead on our April book of the month. I wasn’t overly fussed to be honest – it didn’t have the pace of The Hunger Games or the quality of backstory. For a dystopian it seemed rather implausible – a little bit of a vehicle to throw together some random scenes of violence and the obligatory romance…but maybe that’s a bit harsh? Will have to see what the others think of it next month.
What do you think you’ll read next?
I’m expecting to stick with dystopians this month and so will be doing the selected Bachman books for our own group read – The Running Man and another one I can’t quite remember (my brain is definitely on the way out today and I’m not getting out of bed to walk downstairs to find the book). Anyway, I’ve high hopes for these, haven’t read any Stephen King in ages so this should be good.
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Guest Post…Author Appreciation

For today’s guest post, we’re welcoming back author Charlotte Abel following her recent guest review slot (which you can read here), to talk about a subject of interest to most authors – but especially indie ones: getting reader support. For readers, this might give you an idea of the kind of things authors hope people who enjoy their books will do, as it all helps with promotion.
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If you have favorite authors that you want to help promote with about 15 seconds of effort, consider using the “like” button and tags to increase their rankings on sites like amazon.com and within search engines. It’s a simple gesture that goes a long way to giving thanks to those that provide us with hours of entertainment and happiness.
I had no idea how important those like and “useful” buttons were on the sales pages of my favorite products until I listed my own books. Not only do they determine which reviews (the good, the bad and the ugly) are shown to prospective customers but they can mean the difference between making it onto a best-seller list or not. That is one of the ultimate goals for all authors and if your willingness to just click a few tags can help that dream come true… Well, I know that I am always happy to give a little love to my fave authors.
Here’s a little video to give you ideas on other ways you could help the authors you like…
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Want to know more about our guest? 
Charlotte Abel is a full time writer that lives near Boulder, Colorado with her husband Pete. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys hiking, bicycling, and archery. Her debut novel, Enchantment, Book 1 of The Channie Series is a paranormal coming of age romance. Taken, Book 2 of The Channie Series is the action packed sequel. The final chapter of The Channie Series will be released in the summer of 2012. Future projects include a romantic thriller set in the remote Sawatch Mountain wilderness of Colorado and a Polynesian shifter series.

To learn more about Charlotte and The Channie Series, please visit: www.TheChannieSeries.com.

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Interview…with Pike from Pike’s Quest

So far our character interviews have been attracting a rather varied mix of…erm…people…with aliens and big feet popping onto the blog for a chat. We’ve got some more interesting ones scheduled throughout March and April – then a whole month of author mini-interviews as part of our Indie Author Month.

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Q: Hello Pike, welcome to Aside from Writing, it’s great to have you here today. It’s not every day that we can welcome a bona fide visitor from the New Dawn to our site – or our era, for that matter. Can you tell us a little about yourself and, maybe, what the New Dawn actually is?

A: Me? Well, I’m in my sixteenth year and up until the longest day I had no idea we were even in the New Dawn. I was happily assisting Molag the Melon Mogul to harvest his crop of juicy watermelons, but I had a memory: many years before, my mother sent me to the Fertility Stone of Ooze – Ooze being the name of my village – and there I met Moorlock the Warlock. He told me that I was the one who was chosen and that I must return there on my sixteenth birthday – the longest day of the year.

Apparently, the New Dawn comes after the destruction of most of the world. Ancient Magicks resurfaced and the technology you know is all but gone. Certain fallen wizards and despot tyrants want to rediscover the bad technology and use it along with dirty magicks to merge our world with the demonic one and to gain ultimate power.

Q: A quest? What did that involve?

 A: A sparrow, a horse and a tub of moisturising cream, mostly.

 

Q: That just sounds bizarre. 

A: It was. You see, horses are gifts from the gods. No one owns them, no one rides them, yet there I was befriending one and riding on its back, with his permission. I’d never have done it if Robyn hadn’t made me.

Q: Robyn, who’s Robyn? I thought you said you were with a sparrow?

A: Yes, a sparrow called Robyn. Robyn Fynch, actually.

Q: So, Robyn persuaded you, and the horse gave you his permission?

A: Yep. That about sums it up. Did I mention they can talk to me, and that I can talk to them?

Q: No. I suppose the horse is call Mule, or Donkey, or something?

 A: Don’t be stupid, he’s called Horse.

 

Q: OK…What are actually happens on the quest then?

 A: Quite a lot: we get captured by Lord Nairy du Well – otherwise known as the Lisping Lord. He finds out about my riding of Horse and decides that he’s going to supply me with an army to continue my quest on the agreement that I train his troops to capture and ride horses as well. I had to agree, but had no intention of keeping my side of the bargain. Then he sent out a huntress to track us – Scarlet Deadnight. She nearly succeeded in stopping me. I don’t understand why he did that after supplying me with troops. Maybe I’ll find out in the future.

 

Q: What were the most challenging aspects of your Quest?

A: Mostly it was all a nightmare: the Stinking Peat Bogs of Lanklandishire were tough, giant sabre-toothed worms, one-eye winglekrats, treachery, man-eating flowers … and then there was the Fair Maiden.

Q: Ah, there’s always a fair maiden.

 A: Yes there is. But this one was central to my quest: I was to win the heart of the fair Maiden and rescue Moorlock from the clutches of his arch enemy.

Q: And how did that work out for you?

 A: Well, I found out that things weren’t quite what I had been told. The Fair Maiden, for example: not what I was expecting, and certainly not fair … nor a maiden. If you want to know the rest I suggest you read the book and find out; my biographer, K J Bennett, did quite a good job, you know?

Q: And you mentioned moisturiser: what’s that all about?

A: I have this really bad skin condition, and du Well’s handmaiden sorted it out with a moisturiser. I didn’t know that it also had magical properties, which would come in very useful.

Q: We’ve got some random questions for you now about books – hopefully you’ll have learned enough stuff from the 20th and 21st century to be able to answer them.

If you could be any character from any book – who would you be and why?

A: In the New Dawn we don’t have books for pleasure. I was given a copy of the Great Book during my quest, but that was full of esoteric stuff.  I do rather fancy myself as a dashing hero, but I’m more of a dashed one!

 

Favourite fictional world – where would you love to live?

 A: K J Bennett showed me the Lord of the Rings movie. Hobbiton – or the Shire generally – is a bit like Ooze, except for the hairy feet. I like the look of that place.

 

Best super-evil book baddie?

 A: That big eye thing in LotR.

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today!

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Pike’s Quest, by K J Bennett, is currently available as a Kindle e-book. Want to know more about the book and the author? Check out the links!


The Author: Web   Facebook   Twitter – @kj_bennett

The Book: Amazon US   Amazon UK   Goodreads 



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30 Days of Hunger Games…Our own Capitol

So…when The Hunger Games was our Book of the Month in January, one of our regular contributors, Em, didn’t get chance to post her review before the end of the month and so now – as part of 30 Days of Hunger Games – her thoughts finally make it to the blog…

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Like many of you, I didn’t just read the Hunger Games trilogy, I devoured it! When I had to put the books down to do mundane things such as going to work or sleeping, I was left wondering what would happen next, how would it all turn out, who would Katniss choose and so on and so on.

Then, when the final page had been turned I was left with that satisfied but sad feeling I often have when I’ve finished a set of books that I love, knowing that there isn’t another one to look forward to….until I remember that the film is coming out shortly, so that should appease me for a while!

However, unexpectedly, I was also left with a new set of questions.

Not ‘what next’, and ‘how will it end’, but some rather broader questions, the most worrying of which was this;

In the Hunger Games world……who are we?

Of course, we all want to be Katniss, Gale, Peeta, Finnick (Oh – I loved Finnick!)….the heroes of the piece, the protagonists, the ones we have followed, cheered for, cried with, grieved for and celebrated with throughout the books. But the Hunger Games, like so many other modern books, whether intentionally or otherwise, poses much greater moral and social questions than we may realise at first glance.

As was no doubt the intention, I was repulsed and amused by the people of the Capitol – their selfish shallow attitudes, their materialistic focus, their utter indifference to the suffering of the people in the districts who fed, clothed, served and provided for them, so long as their needs were met. And yet, on closer reflection, how are we as a society so different? In the ‘developed’ world, we take a lot for granted – that there will be food on the shelves, petrol for our cars, products in our shops – we live in a world of plenty….and how much thought do we give to where these things come from? For many years we have exploited the workers of less developed countries and societies in order to keep up our supply of things we don’t need, and luxuries that most of them could never hope to have.

Obviously we as a society haven’t a Hunger Games to convict us as the repellent creatures we see in the novels – that kind of voyeuristic bloodlust is thankfully not tolerated in our society…at least to that extent! But how many of us see the warring, the starving, the struggling on the television, and turn a negligent eye to it….as long as we are ok, it seems very far removed.

Whilst we all want to aspire to and empathise with the heroes of the piece, how many of us felt any empathy for the people of the Capitol? Very few I would expect, and rightly so – their portrayal as weak, petty, frivolous beings doesn’t inspire empathy….but maybe, just maybe, it should inspire a little self- reflection, and the need to be a little more aware of what is going on outside the walls of our own ‘Capitol’.

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Guest Post…Is it Really Inspiration? by Stephen Graff

I’ve read a few passages about what has inspired some of the great novels.  Three famous horror novelists share a common thread: that their books were inspired by disturbing dreams.

Two years ago, I started writing a dystopian suspense novel called RIVER DAWN after a series of strange, recurring dreams set in an abandoned shore town.  In this town, the hotels are all empty, but reservation clerks are on duty waiting for vacationers that never show up.  I am there, with suitcase in hand.  Sometimes I am there with my wife and daughter, sometimes alone.  But we manage to secure a room for the night, and all night long, as we try to sleep, the ocean is pounding the shore with relentless fury. There is some comfort in being near the sea, but also a sense of impending doom.

For the book, I imagined a family on a journey in a future, flooded world where darkness reigns and the sea is always a force to be reckoned with.

But was it really inspiration in the traditional sense? According to one account, Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN was inspired by a strange, eerie dream involving corpses.  Nightmares also inspired Steven King with his novel MISERY and Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic horror novel DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. But it’s difficult to think of these famous authors having to find time to write in the midst of mundane schedules. Like most of the writers who venture forth into the universe of self-publishing, I struggle to find the time to write, and inspiration has to reveal itself rather quickly because I have to go run some errands, finish my tax return, take my daughter to school, walk the dog, mow the lawn, or keep a dentist’s appointment.

Perhaps we over-romanticize the writers we admire.  Robert Louis Stevenson spent much of his younger life in poor health, in bed and unable to participate in the normal pursuits.  Much of his early inspiration rose out of boredom.

Today, there are many thousands of part-time novelists; writers juggling jobs, family, and schedules.  What we end up with is the result of fleeting dreams that have to be captured and revealed quickly, between the challenges of everyday life.  I’d call it inspiration on the fly.

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Stephen Graff is the author of the dystopian novel River Dawn, available now at Amazon.

Link to

Stephen has been a teacher non-stop for 27 years, starting out in Philadelphia at a number of proprietary schools.  For the past 9 years, he’s worked as an elementary school teacher full-time, a musician/performer part-time, a free-lance writer and fledgling beekeeper in his spare time.  He lives in Woodbury, NJ with his wife and daughter. He is the author of the dystopian novel RIVER DAWN.

Want to know more? http://www.sgraffwriter.com

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30 Days of Hunger Games…Peeta’s Reaping Day

I stare past the bright banners hanging from the buildings that surround the square and keep my eyes focused ahead, not looking at the faces of those who will soon be standing beside me. I hate the desperate grimness that the reaping day brings to the Seam.

Following the line of people, I file in silently like everyone else and sign my name. Then I follow the others as we’re herded into the roped areas, which separate each age group from another and the boys from the girls.

The space in the square fills quickly and the bodies press in more tightly around me as even more people arrive. On either side I’m aware of others looking about, exchanging terse nods with their neighbours before focusing their attention on the temporary stage set up before the Justice Building. I’ve kept my eyes fixed straight ahead the whole time and right now I find myself staring – somewhat blankly and without really seeing – at the three chairs nestled beside the podium on the stage. I don’t look at the reaping balls. I don’t want to think about them.

I’m sixteen this year. Closer to the front than I’ve ever been before, with my name on more slips of paper inside the boys’ glass reaping ball than I’ve had before. But I know I’m more fortunate than others – I don’t have extra entries for tessera in there – father wouldn’t allow us. We were lucky to be less desperate than many of our neighbours.

Two of the chairs are filled, by the Mayor and Effie Trinket. They make an odd pair: one balding and plain, the other bizarrely coloured like an exotic bird. I’m sure that she’s supposed to look beautiful and bright among the drab inhabitants of District 12, but to me there’s nothing lovely about her, only false colours and a garish grin. Even from this distance you can tell they are nervous about whether the intended occupant of the third chair will arrive.

The clock behind me chimes – two deep, melancholy bellows – then the Mayor takes his place at the podium and begins his familiar reaping day speech on the history of Panem. I tune out for a while, not really wanting to hear the one-sided review of history again. Nor do I want to hear about the bountiful generosity of the Capitol, who remind us district dwellers how lucky we are to be patronised by them, by killing children every year for sport. I don’t need to remember how much each of us is at their mercy; I see it everyday in the faces of the children at school and in the streets. The Capitol kill us each day of the year, just in slower, crueller ways; it’s just that they don’t bother filming these deaths.

Just in time to hear his name announced – the only surviving victor of the two District 12 has managed to produce in seventy-four years – Haymitch Abernathy struggles onto the stage and falls down, drunk, into the third chair. A smattering of token applause rises from the crowd around the square. I’m not sure if it’s for his appearance or the hug he tries to force on Trinket, which she manages to manoeuvre out of.

The Mayor tries to pull the attention of the cameras back to the reaping, seeing that – as usual – we are becoming the laughing stock of Panem. I wonder at how Haymitch ever managed to triumph at the Hunger Games as a boy…but then I also wonder about what he saw there that made him this way. I’ve no time to dwell on this as the colourful Effie Trinket springs to the podium and announces with cheer, “Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!” If the odds were in our favour we wouldn’t be stood in the square right now, awaiting selection for death – it’s a notion that obviously wasted on Ms Trinket as she happily moves us through the ceremony to get to the important part.

It all happens very quickly. Trinket finishes her speech and is moving towards the glass ball with the girls’ names in, announcing “Ladies first!” as she always does. Suddenly there’s something in my chest, a hard, rock-like something that erupts before she finishes unfolding the paper. I don’t know how or why, but I know something awful – even more terrible than usual – is about to happen.

For the first time since I entered the square, my eyes move from the stage, sliding to the left. I scan the girls gathered there, waiting for Trinket to speak and find the person I’m looking for. Katniss Everdeen stands straight and tall, her eyes forward, face frozen. The rock in my chest swells when I see her: the hair carefully braided around her face; the pale blue dress she wears, beautiful and more like that of a merchant’s daughter. The terrible feeling explodes: in that one instant I know that it will be Katniss going to the Hunger Games. I can’t turn away from her to look back at the stage. But I hear Effie Trinket call out the name, her voice cutting clearly through the unnatural silence. “Primrose Everdeen.”

The painful bursting in my chest freezes when I realise what has been said, but the terrible feeling does not disappear. I’m aware of unhappy murmurs from the crowd but still my eyes do not move from Katniss’s face. I watch as her body tilts forwards minutely as though something has punched into her stomach; the colour draining from her face in an instant. Then Primrose is there between us – passing down the narrow line which separates the boys from the girls – her small steps are stilted and awkward. For some reason, the thing I notice most is her blouse un-tucking from her skirt as she walks. She looks younger than her twelve years.

Primrose is beside me when I hear the noise. Pain and terror and fear rolled into a single word from a single voice. “Prim!” My eyes move beyond the small girl – almost invisible in the crowd of bodies – towards the owner of the voice.

“Prim!” Katniss shouts again, her voice strangled and tight. She’s moving now. Not shoving her way through; the crowd peels aside for her and she moves rapidly towards the stage. Around the edges of the square I sense another movement: Capitol guards moving nervously from one foot to another as they watch the scene unfold and wonder if there will be trouble. My own muscles twitch, my legs begging me to move forward and put myself between Katniss and the danger I can see she’s running into. My fingers tense into fists at my sides, the nails digging in to the skin beneath. I was right. Katniss Everdeen will be going to the Hunger Games.

She’s at the stage now, her blue dress fluttering out behind her body, then falling into gentle folds as she stops moving. In a single motion Katniss grips her sister’s arm and pulls the small body behind her own, taking her away from the steps. Though Katniss’s voice is no more than a gasp I hear her clearly as she says “I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!”

The Capitol guards stop their shuffling. Now the team on the stage leap into action, although they are obviously unsure as to the protocol, it being so long since District 12 had had a volunteer. Effie tries her best. “Lovely! But…I believe…there’s a small matter of introducing the reaping winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth then we, um…”

The Mayor covers her blathering. “What does it matter? Let her come forward.”

I feel sick and angry and powerless all in the same instant. Primrose is clinging to Katniss now. I can see her screaming, but can’t hear the words. Nor do I hear what Katniss says to her or Gale, when he steps forward and pulls Primrose off her back. The small girl’s limbs thrash furiously but uselessly as she is carried back into the crowd.

There’s more talk on the stage now. I don’t hear any of it over the rushing in my ears as my heart pummels blood through my veins. Because I know now – just as I did about Katniss Everdeen – that I too will be going to the Hunger Games. I cannot begin to think about how I will explain to my family why I volunteered, although I think perhaps my father would understand a little. I swallow thickly, holding any doubts or questions deep inside me. I am going to be a tribute.

As my eyes refocus on the stage I’m in time to see Effie Trinket calling out, “Come on, everybody! Let’s give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!” No one claps. The silence is as total as that during the reaping announcement itself: no one moves, no one breathes. There is only quiet whilst Katniss stares impassively out at the crowd. It’s like this for a few endless moments, then I become aware of a shuffling around me; the lightest whisper of movement. And now I see them: first one person, then another and another until almost every member of the crowd is moving: they touch the three middle fingers of their left hand to their lips and then hold it out towards the blue figure on the stage. My impatient hand moves now, pressing against my own cool lips then offering her my admiration. For the others around me this is thanks, this will be goodbye. But I am not saying goodbye to her.

The silence is completely broken as Haymitch careens forward and slings his arm around Katniss’s shoulders, announcing something barely coherent but that sounds like praise. A moment later he pitches head first off the stage and is whisked away on a stretcher a few minutes later. I don’t really listen as Effie Trinket tries to regain control of the stage and her wig to proceed with the reaping ceremony. It doesn’t matter whose name she pulls from the ball, because I know that I will be taking that place.

I’m so focused on preparing myself to volunteer that I almost miss the announcement. “Peeta Mellark,” Effie Trinket’s warbling voice proclaims. I’m still for a second or two, whilst I realise what has just happened. And then I’m moving forward through the crowd towards the stage. The odds were in my favour it would seem: I don’t have to worry about explaining why I volunteered now.

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This piece was written by Mel Cusick-Jones, author of Hope’s Daughter, as a little creative experiment to compliment the 30 Days of Hunger Games activities taking place on Aside from Writing and World of Words…there’s more to come – so keep an eye out for our Hunger Games features 🙂

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30 Days of Hunger Games…The Trailers

The Hunger Games - Poster

For those of you looking forward to the film release in March – our latest post as part of 30 Days of Hunger Games event features links to all the official film trailers. Enjoy!

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The Hunger Games – Official Theatrical Trailer

The Hunger Games – Official Teaser Trailer

The Hunger Games – Official Trailer #2

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Comments on this post count towards you tribute points for the 30 Days of Hunger Games event 🙂

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Book of the Month – March – The Bachman Books

Em’s choice this month – we’ve all read some Stephen King along the way – Em LOVES him I think 🙂 and so it’s no surprise she’s nominated one of his for BotM. I’m really looking forward to reading these short stories as I’ve not done any Stephen King for a while. As we’re doing The Running Man and The Long Walk, we’ll be on these for March and April to give everyone chance to read both.

As usual – feel free to join us in a read along – if you want a guest review just send it over or get in touch with comments 🙂

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Interview…with Crystal from What R U Reading

For today’s blogger interview we’re welcoming Crystal from What R U Reading? Crystal was one of our first guest book reviewers in February (check out her review here). Let’s find out some more about her! 

Hi Crystal, welcome to Aside from Writing, can you tell us a little about yourself and What R U Reading?

Hey, thanks for having me! Well my name is Crystal and I am 21 years old. I live in Virginia where I am a full time college student at Radford University. In my very limited free time I love to read, and I thought it would be nice to share my love for books with others. So I created my blog What RU Reading, I am still new to the blogging scene but I am really enjoying it so far!

What prompted you to start writing it and was there anything particular you wanted the blog to achieve? 

I do not really have many friends that share my love for reading so I decided to create my blog as a way to meet others that also love books. When I created What RU Reading my main goal was, and still is, sharing what I am reading with others as well as my thoughts after I am finished reading. I also love hearing what books other readers have read and really enjoyed.

What R U Reading has a facebook page that closely tracks the blog – some people have both, other bloggers don’t bother with facebook or twitter feeds to promote the blog. Why did you add one and what difference do you think it makes?

I decided to create a facebook page for my blog to attract more readers. By having my facebook page I have expanded my audience beyond fellow bloggers. Before I created the facebook page I felt that my audience was limited to only other bloggers who found me through similar blogs. With facebook I am able to gain readers that aren’t bloggers. I hope that makes sense lol 🙂

What do you think are the best (and perhaps worse) things about engaging with authors through your blog/facebook?

I really like being able to talk to authors through facebook and blogs. It gives us (the reader) a chance to express our thoughts and such about a book directly to the source. The worst part?? Well I would have to say it is the fact that they are all so creative, I wish I had the skill to put together stories but I do not think story telling is my thing.

And what’s the best bit about connecting with fellow readers?

The best thing about connecting with other readers would have to be all the suggestions they give. Without all their book suggestions I might not have read some awesome books!

You’re studying graphic design/art…. at the moment. Do you think you judge a book by its cover more than another person might?

I absolutely tend to judge a book by its cover, I do not think I do so more than any other person. But I do think that I judge a book by its cover in a different way than other people might. I tend to look at the composition, layout, colors, etc of a cover and think about what they did well as a design or what they could have improved on. As a graphic designer I tend to really notice the typeface on a cover, the wrong typeface can just throw the whole design off. 🙂

Do you have any book cover favourites, from a design point of view?

I really like simplistic designs, I think that you can tell a story with a single image. I do not really like covers that have to much going on. I love the cover of Elixir by Hilary Duff. They made a beautiful cover that is very simple yet eye catching, and the image is very representational to the story. The cover for The Help by Kathryn Stockett, is really nice I like the use of complementary colors. I also really like all of the Twilight series covers, another instance of simplicity.

What genres/authors do you love to read?  

I really enjoy reading Young Adult books, usually paranormal romance. I particularly  love Richelle Mead. I have really enjoyed all of her books, her Vampire Academy series is one of my favorites. Definitely team Dimitri ♥

Best books you’ve read so far in 2012?

So far this year I have read City of Fallen Angels, Hush Hush, The Girl of Fire and Thorns, and Cinder. I really liked all of them but if I had to pick the “best” I would go with…..oh this is so hard lol. I would pick Cinder, I loved the twist on the classic fairy tale.

Random Questions:

If you could be a character from any book – who would it be and why?

Bella Swan, only because she gets Edward!

Favourite fictional world – where would you live?

Narnia!

Best super-evil baddie?

Jace from the Mortal Instruments, not super evil but definitely has a dark side. 😉

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Thank-you for taking time to talk to us today!

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