Armchair BEA 2013: Day 4 (Non-Fiction)

Do you read non-fiction? Why or why not?

Yes, just recently! I have mentioned in my previous Armchair BEA post that I have been reading genres that are usually out of my usual comfort zone nowadays and one of those genres is Non-Fiction! The only Non-Fiction books I’ve read in the past are those from school and I’ve never attempted (or thought) reading one until someone suggested The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Now that was a huge eye opener for me. After reading that book, I realized there was more to Non-Fiction than I imagined!

Is there a specific type of non-fiction that you prefer to read (i.e., historical, true crime, memoirs, biographies, etc.)?

I typically enjoy reading about true crime and history but I have been reading a few biographies and memoirs recently by Frank McCourt!

 What is the perfect book for a first-time non-fiction reader?

I definitely recommend The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

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Make sure to enter my Armchair BEA International giveaway here!

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Armchair BEA 2013: Day 4 (Ethics)

I’ve had so much fun yesterday with all those awesome giveaways and Twitter parties going on at BEA. Unfortunately though, we’d have to revert back to discussions today with the topic about Non-Fiction books! (But don’t worry, there’s gonna be more giveaways and Twitter parties in the following days!)

What guidelines must we follow as bloggers--attribution, disclosure, honesty?

Try to be honest and original as possible! I’m no expert at Ethics but I think every book blogger should establish rules in his/her blog by making up a Review Policy.

Have you had an experience with plagiarism?

I Googled my name one day out of pure curiosity and I stumbled upon a site with my review of ********* on it. It’s not really that bad since there’s my name written below, but I think it’s more acceptable if they contacted me and asked my permission first.

Do you have recommendations to new bloggers about how to ensure that credit is given to whom/where its due? 

My number one suggestion would to give credit to every person who needs to be credited especially meme creators, book tour/hop organizers, and publishers. And never ever plagiarize! You don’t wanna mess with the blogging community!

And there's an International Armchair BEA giveaway happening right now so make sure to enter!

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EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Bitter Angel by Megan Hand

Title: Bitter Angel

Author: Megan Hand

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller

Format: ebook

Published: Published April 1st 2013

About the Author:

At twelve, Megan decided to write a novel. A month later, she quit. A reading junkie by nature, she started writing again in her twenties as a way to get the voices out, because who wouldn't want to create a Real Living Person out of thin air? Megan also plays the piano and sings. She teaches little kids and takes pictures of pretty butterflies. She eats way too much chocolate, is sort of a mad scientist with her blender, and spends an unhealthy amount of time LOLing on Facebook and Twitter. She lives in Ohio with her husband and very smiley son. Bitter Angel is her first published novel.

Twitter ~ @MeganHandWrites

Website ~ http://meganhandwrites.blogspot.com/

Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/meganhandauthor

Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6868683.Megan_Hand

Synopsis:

Torn between two realities.

A choice that will mean life or death.

She won’t know anything… until she wakes up.

College sophomore, Lila Spencer lived Friday night twice. She doesn’t know how or why, just that she did. As if she split in half and went in two different directions.

Out clubbing with her friends, Heather and Nilah, the girls rock it out and party hard. What begins as an innocent night will lead to a deadly fight for their lives, and Lila might be their only chance for survival.

In bed with her boyfriend, Jay, Lila is safe and warm as she drifts to sleep in the arms of the man she loves. Until she is sucked into a horrifying nightmare of her friends’ deaths.

As the sunlight warms her face on Saturday morning, the two scenarios collide. But there can be only one outcome. Will she wake up in her warm bed with Jay by her side, devastated and grieving for her friends? Or was she there to save them?

The answer is just the beginning.

Excerpt:

My heart hammered, but I put venom in my tone. “What the hell kind of operation are you running here? And where are my friends? I want to see them.” I strained forward, listening for anything that would tell me they were okay and alive.
I could hear music, loud and vulgar. Voices, all male. Laughter. Bottles clinking. I could smell the crusty scent of cigarette smoke.
He pointed to the closed door. “They’re out there, being taken care of. Don’t worry. They’ll be fine. It’s you that I’m not so sure about.”
“You sick son of a bitch. My friend could be on the brink of death, and you’re just gonna do nothing? If she dies on your hands, I swear—”
“Relax,” he cut me off. “She’s still breathing. Enough. We’ll drop her somewhere when everyone’s done. She’ll be fine.”
As I had kicked H’s seat earlier, I just as frantically pulled on my arms. “Let me out!” I screamed, hoping beyond hope that someone, inside or out, upstairs or down, could hear me in this hellhole. I had no idea if we were in a house or apartment building, if this was the only bedroom, or if there were others. From the looks of it and guessing the age of these guys, my bet was that this was their place of business where they brought all the girls just for this purpose. I highly doubted that they lived here, but I had nothing to back up my theory.
He rounded the bed. It creaked as he sat on the clean side. He caressed my jaw, my bloody lip. I cringed, ripping away from him, and he gripped me harder. From his pocket, he retrieved a knife. The blade winked at me in the dim light.
I swallowed.
He grinned. “Still wanna scream?”

Giveaway:

Now for the giveaways!!!

Open US

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Open International

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This excerpt and giveaway is organized by Julie from ATOMR Book Blog Tours

To see other stops on the tour for reviews, excerpts, and guest posts, click here or the tour button below.

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Armchair BEA 2013: Day 3 (Literary Fiction)

Today is Day 3 of BEA and today's genre would be Literary Fiction. I am not entirely new to this category and I've read quite a lot actually (most of which are classics).

What books have you read this year that would fit into this category?

So far, I’ve finished three really good books under this category this year and those are Dear Life, You Suck by Scott Blagden, When Love Comes to Town by Tom Lennon, and Being Henry David by Cal Armistead. I’m currently reading The Symptoms of my Insanity by Mindy Raf and will start Cameron and the Girls by Edward Averett after it.

Is there anything coming up that you're particularly excited about?

I’m a huge fan of John Green and I’ve read all of his books except The Fault in Our Stars so if there is anything I should feel excited reading about, it would be The Fault in Our Stars!

What authors/novels would you recommend to someone new to the genre?

While most of the literary works I’ve read before are classics, I’ve certainly enjoyed a few by modern authors and here are some authors that I would most definitely recommend:       

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

All of John Green’s books

Are there any misconceptions or things that you'd like to clear up for people unfamiliar with literary fiction?

A lot of people instantly associate Literary Fiction with Classics. But that’s not always the case. To make everything clear, all Classics are considered Literary Fiction, but not all Literary Fiction are Classics. Literary Fiction are books that emphasize more on “meaning” than “plot”. You could also say that they are more “character driven” compared to Commercial Fiction.

What got you started into this kind of book?

Well, the first literary works I've read were classics and I started reading them at school.

Name a novel that hasn't received a lot of buzz that definitely deserves it.

It would have to be Being Henry David by Cal Armistead. You can read my review here.

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Armchair BEA 2013: Day 3 (Giveaway)

I know I haven’t announced the winner of my Children’s Book Giveaway Hop yet since I’m too busy with all these college applications and preparations but I promise I will soon! Buy anyway, to celebrate the 3rd day of BEA, and to thank everyone for dropping by my site everyday to read my BEA posts, there will be an international giveaway! Yay!

There will be one (1) winner and he/she will get a book of choice from The Book Depository up to $12. Easy peasy. Just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.

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And make sure to leave links to your own BEA giveaway posts on the comments box so I can drop by!

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Armchair BEA 2013: Day 2 (Genre Fiction)

         

I read just about almost anything, but Mystery has been my favorite genre since my Elementary days. For some unknown reason, they’re just so addictive and I can’t stop myself from picking random mystery books from the library/bookstore. I really like mysteries since they make me think and they always have unpredictable twists and turns. My love affair with mysteries began when I was a child since I grew up reading Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, Boxcar Children, Sherlock Holmes, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and Hardy Boys. It has been a routine for me to read at least a mystery book a week and I couldn't really imagine how boring my week would be without mysteries.

My all time favorite mystery writers would of course include Carolyn Keene, Laura Lee Hope, Franklin W. Dixon, Gertrude Chandler Warner, Lemony Snicket, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle but some of my favorite modern authors are James Patterson, Anthony Horowitz, and the multiple authors of The 39 Clues.

What about you? What genre do you prefer to read and what books under that genre would you highly recommend?

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Armchair BEA 2013: Day 2 (Blogger Development)

Today is a very special day since today is Day 2 of BEA! Yay! Yesterday, I gave you guys sneak peek of myself by answering five questions about myself and I shared my thoughts on Classic books. And for today, I will be sharing to you my “development” in the Blogoverse!

Without doubt, my first year of Blogging has been a blast! I have met a lot of awesome people and participated in many fun activities. Though I am a fairly new blogger (1 year old to be exact), my blogging experience has been really remarkable. I just love this community so much and I’m really thankful for the support and assistance I got from everyone.

Have you branched out to the blogging community?

Yes! I think I have. I have been participating in giveaways, blog hops, blog tours organized by other bloggers, and commented on their blogs as well! I took me a while to get out of my shell, to be honest, but it feels really great to have fellow bookworms as friends in this community.

Do you partner with other bloggers?

Not yet, but I sure am planning to collaborate with other bloggers soon in organizing book-related activities.

Have you gone "pro" or tried generating some income through your blog?

Erm no…I don’t intend to make money through my blog and I like to keep it this way. But I did try to put up some links to The Book Depository one time but I removed them immediately since they’re too “messy” to look at (I’m an OCD btw). I’m also not eligible for Google Adsense since I’m still 16. But I might put some on in the future when I no longer have cash to buy myself books.

If you’re a long-term blogger, how has your online personality developed over the years?

I’m definitely still not a “long-term” blogger but blogging has surely changed my personality a bit (in a positive way of course!). I have been more open to suggestions made by other people and I have been reading books out of my usual comfort zone.

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And oh, before I forget! There MIGHT be an INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY tomorrow so make sure to drop by!

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Armchair BEA 2013: Day 1 (Classics)

Each day during Armchair BEA, we will be looking at a different genre. And for today, we will be talking about the classics!

Ah yes! The classics! They’ve been around for a very long time even before our great great granddaddy’s granddaddy has been born. There was no other way of communication but by printed word at that time and ideas were only shared through written method.

Unfortunately, majority of us tend to think that they’re just big, boring, thick books. However, I like think of them as something everyone should read and appreciate since they are very relevant to the history of literature after all. And without these beloved classics, I don’t think books, television shows, and movies we have now would be this wonderful without the influence of classics.

I personally prefer to read modern books over classics since I find it easier to let myself in the story but unlike classic literature, modern ones are just not so stimulating and touching compared to classics. I have read quite a number of classic books over my sixteen years of existence and though I didn’t find all of them enjoyable in my standards, I found a few too that will forever remain in my heart. Here are ten some names of famous classic authors whose works I really enjoyed (in no particular order):

1. Antoine de Saint-Exupery
2. C. S. Lewis
3. Charles Dickens
4. Frances Hodgson Burnett
5. George Orwell
6. Hans Christian Andersen
7. Harper Lee
8. Herman Melville
9. J. D. Salinger
10. J. R. R. Tolkien
11. Jules Verne
12. L. Frank Baum
13. Madeleine L’Engle
14. Mary Shelley
15. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
16. Victor Hugo
17. William Shakespeare

And finally, let me tell you that not all classics are good and that there are many modern books that are as good as classics. Modern books, after all, are destined to be classics in the future!

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Armchair BEA 2013: Day 1 (Introductions)

This is my very first Armchair BEA participation and I’m really excited to get started! For those of you who do not know, BEA or Book Expo America is a weeklong convention, held on New York City for book lovers. It is run alongside a Book Blogger Convention where each day there is a different topic for bloggers to talk about. For Day 1, it will be an introductory post! The gorgeous people from BEA asked us to answer five questions from a pre-determined list. Here are the five questions I chose to answer:

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? 

My name is Marius and I have been blogging for exactly one year and twenty one days now! I got into blogging since I wanted to share my opinions on books I have read. Aside from that, I also felt the need to have another place (except Goodreads) to share my tremendous love of books and meet fellow bookworms as well. I will be taking up Chemical Engineering and am about to start my first year at USC soon, so I guess I would have to lessen my blogging to focus on my studies.

2. Tell us one non-book-related thing that everyone reading your blog may not know about you. 

I watch a lot of reality shows and I especially love watching American Idol (I LOVE YOU ANGIE MILLER!!!), Dancing with the Stars, and So You Think You Can Dance. I am also a fairly good amateur Standard and Latin Ballroom dancer. I am deeply obsessed with the movie/musical ‘Les Miserables’ and I can quote lines from it word for word.

     

3. If you could eat dinner with any author or character, who would it be and why? 

If I could eat dinner with any character it’d definitely be The Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s famous novella! The Little Prince has been a huge childhood inspiration to me and I’d sure love to have dinner with him face to face.

4. What literary location would you most like to visit? Why? 

I’d like to say Hogwarts, Middle Earth, or Narnia, but since they’re too cliché, I’m choosing Catskill Mountains instead (from the book My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George)! You see, I’m a huge nature lover and a fan of the book since I read it when I was a kid and I’d really love to live like how Sam Gribley did on the wilderness.

5. What is your favorite part about the book blogging community? 

Ah yes. I just love every single bookworm behind the blogging community! I follow a lot of awesome bloggers and I hope to have coffee with them someday and just talk about great books. And I guess the publishers and publicists from different publishing companies deserves an acknowledgement too for providing all of us book bloggers an opportunity to review books before anyone else does.

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And oh before I forget! Make sure to visit Armchair BEA's official site for news about daily blogging themes,  discussions, giveaways, and many more!

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COVER REVEAL: Steel Lily by Megan Curd

Title: Steel Lily

Author: Megan Curd

Genre: Dystopian, Steampunk

Release Date: N/A

About the Author:

Megan began her journey into writing as a college junior during winter finals at the encouragement of a friend. What resulted was Bridger, Megan's first full-length novel. Since then she has written the second book in the series, Traitor, and a stand-alone novel (which will hopefully become a series!) called The Guardian Chronicles: Forbidden.

When not writing, Megan enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and Great Dane, aptly named Dozer. She enjoys snowboarding, playing xBox, and crocheting. Music is a huge part of her life and drives her writing. Her favorite bands are Muse, Bon Iver, Florence + the Machine, and The Civil Wars.

Megan resides in Kentucky, near two of her writerly tweeps Hope Collier and Beth Isaacs, and swears it's Hope's fault she's living in the land of the banjos, but wouldn't have it any other way.

Twitter ~ www.twitter.com/MeganCurd

Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Megan-Curd/212200835483198

Official Website ~ www.megancurd.com/steel-lily/

Synopsis:

AVERY PIKE is a commodity. No, more than a commodity. Her existence is guarded at all costs.

She’s a water Elementalist, the strongest of her dwindling kind. She creates steam to provide energy to fuel Dome Three: the only thing standing between humanity and an earth ravaged by World War III. No steam, no Dome. No Dome, no life.

Or so she thinks.

That is, until a mysterious man offers her a way out of having to donate steam. A way to escape the corrupt government of Dome Three. While the offer seems too good to be true, Avery is intrigued.

But when she arrives to her new home, she realizes the grass isn’t any less dead on this side of the fence. Instead, the lies are just hidden better.

…Which means digging deeper.

When Avery enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth, it may make her wonder if she was better off being a government tool than searching for freedom.

Some secrets are better left concealed, but humankind was never meant to live in a cage. And when you can control the most sought after resource, you can learn to control anything…including the fate of your world.

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So, what do you think about the cover? Share what you think on the comment box!

This Book Blast is brought to you by Book Nerd Tours

 

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Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop (INT)

May 13th – 19th

Hosted by 

KidLitFrenzy, Mymcbooks

& I Am A Reader, Not A Writer

What is Children’s Book Week?

Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running literacy initiative in the country. Each year, books for young people and the joy of reading are feted for a full week with author and illustrator appearances, storytelling, parties, and other book-related events at schools, libraries, bookstores, museums, and homes from coast to coast!

Celebrate the Children's Book Week by entering the giveaway below!

One (1) winner will win one (1) picture, juvenile fiction, middle grade, or young adult  of choice from The Book Depository up to $10. It's open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.

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GIVEAWAY: Wide Awake by Shelly Crane

Title: Wide Awake (The Wide Awake Series, #1)

Author: Shelly Crane

Genre: Young Adult, Romance

Format: Paperback, 200 pages

Published:  March 26th 2013 by Createspace

ISBN: 1483912647 (ISBN13: 9781483912646)

About the Author:

YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a fantastical husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family, binge on candy corn, go out to eat at new restaurants, buy paperbacks at little bookstores, site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music everywhere and also LOVES to read.

Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.

Blog ~ http://www.shellycrane.blogspot.com/

Facebook ~http://www.facebook.com/shellycranefanpage

Twitter ~ http://www.twitter.com/AuthShellyCrane

Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4951964.Shelly_Crane

Synopsis:

A girl.

A coma.

A life she can't remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital.

Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?

Excerpt:

He smiled that Mason smile that set me on fire all over. Then he put one hand on the other side on the hospital bed and the other lifted toward my face. I waited, bated breath, gulping, sweaty palms, fluttering eyes, the works. His face got so close before he stopped. I thought he had decided against whatever he was doing he waited so long. I began to pull back in disappointment, but he reached behind my neck gently and pulled me to him. The barest of touches was the best way to describe our first kiss. It wasn't really a kiss at all. His bottom lip barely brushed my top one. When he leaned back and opened his eyes, he must've seen the confusion and frustration in my face. 

         He chuckled. "I just had to taste that coconut…" he licked his lips, "but I don't want to kiss you when you've been angry at me and I messed up our date." He said 'date'. Like…a date. "I want to kiss you when if we go another second without it, one of us will combust."

          My breaths were raging. I tried to calm myself. "I…" I failed.

        "I want to give you back your first kiss, the one that jerk stole from you. And I want it to be something that even a coma can't make you forget."

Giveaway:

One (1) lucky winner will win one (1) eBook copy of WIDE AWAKE by Shelly Crane. Winners will be sent a Smashwords coupon code. Open International. 

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COVER REVEAL & GIVEAWAY: You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

Title: You Are Mine

Author: Janeal Falor

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Release Date: May 6th 2013

About the Author:

Janeal Falor lives in Utah where she’s finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years without moving. In her spare time she reads books like they’re nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she’s still going on about the voices in her head.

Website ~ https://janealfalor.com/

Goodreads ~ http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6950698.Janeal_Falor

Twitter ~ https://twitter.com/JanealFalor

Synopsis:

Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life– worth less than the shadow she casts.

Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

Giveaway:

One (1) lucky winner will receive one (1) eBook copy of YOU ARE MINE by Janeal Falor. Open International.

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