TGIF: Giving Bookish Thanks

Believe it or not, today is the Friday before Thanksgiving. I would reflect on where the time has gone, but that sounds depressing so I will SKIP it. Instead, I will write far too much about the question the lovely, fabulous, wonderful Ginger at GReadsBooks has posed this week:

Giving Thanks: Which books are you most thankful for receiving from other bloggers, friends, family members, or publishers?

Where She Went is the first ARC I received from a publisher. It surprised me in the mail, about six weeks after I'd started this blog. I was FLOORED that I'd received it because I didn't request it (Hell, I didn't even know how to request an ARC at that point) and because there'd been SO MUCH buzz surrounding it. I'm still just shocked that I got this and thoroughly confused as to how it came to me. But I loooooooved it and am so so so glad and honored that I received an ARC. 

I was the first of my friends to jump on the Harry Potter train, but not without a lot of prodding and a good bit of boredom. I received this book from my grandmother the week that it was first released in the U.S. I was eleven and in that period where I did not want to read anything with a cartoon of a boy on the cover. I don't even think I read the jacket copy. I just put it aside and continued to read my Magic Attic Club and Saddle Club and every other girly series that ended in "Club" books. But my grandma kept calling my mom and asking if I'd read the book yet. So, finally, after several conversations where my mom was like, "Bethany, just read the book so she'll stop asking." I sat down and read it. And I couldn't stop. When I finished it, I immediately re-read it. So, yay for my grandma and her book-picking skillz! :)

So, this one is sort of abstract in that my introduction to John Green didn't come in book-form. My super-awesome sister sent me an email one day that included this video with the message "OMG YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS." So I watched and was like, "HOLY SHIZZBALLS THIS IS THE BEST." So I started watching the Vlogbrothers videos from the beginning forward. I developed a huge huge huge crush on John Green and when I realized he writes books that are, you know, buyable I immediately sought out everything by him. And then I read the two books I could get my hands on at the time—Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines—in order of publication, so my first John Green book was LfA. And I fell in love. [I have a feeling I'll tell more of this story during John Green Week, so I'll go ahead and stop here.] But without my sister sending me that inaugural video, I probably would have never read these books. 

I got Hourglass via my very first ARC tour, hosted by Heather at Fire and Ice (whom I am also thankful for for sending me The Name of the Star). From the first time I saw the stinkin' cover for Hourglass, I KNEW this was a book for me. I was SO excited to get in on the ARC tour, and couldn't wait until it showed up on my doorstep. Fittingly, it arrived while I was watching a Doctor Who marathon on BBC America. And it was literally love at first word for me. I was super sad that I had to send it to the next person because I wanted to keep the book and love it and pet it and kiss it and read it again. But! I couldn't do that and I wanted others to have the opportunity to read it as well. 

And these days I have TWO copies of Hourglass. *ponders what to do with the extra copy*

Alright, so that is my very long-winded post. I could go on and on about this. And I should probably take a moment to give a HUMUNGOUS thank you to Miss Ginger for sending me not only her ARC of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, but for also buying me a copy of Sloppy Firsts (which I have yet to read. I KNOW, I'm on it.) and for just being an all-around awesome blogger and friend and person. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a fabulous Thanksgiving!

TGIF is a weekly meme hosted by Ginger at GReadsBooks.

TGIF: This is Personal

On this first Friday of August (AUGUST!) Ginger at GReadsBooks has asked: 

Which books have affected you on a personal level and lingered in your mind long after you closed the pages?

Well. You see. I'm the kind of person who really delves into books. Meaning, I have a tendency to over-involve myself with the characters. I get so involved that I feel like I KNOW them, and, sometimes, I find myself adopting their attitudes and/or speech patterns. I know. It's weird. But I never said I was normal. 


But, what this all means is that there are a lot of characters or entire books that have really resonated with me while I was reading. But the ones that have STAYED with me? They're a whole different breed. 

1. Mansfield Park—Jane Austen
As much as I love Pride and Prejudice, it was Mansfield Park that really made me an Austenite. It's in this book that Austen's grasp on not only gentility and society shine, but her knowledge of politics and social commentary comes through as well. I guess it can be argued that all of her works have an element of politics in them, but this one REALLY does. And it's the one I point Austen critics to when they admit they've never read it. And Fanny Price is an incredible heroine—strong and smart and steady, even when she doesn't feel like she is. In fact, when people ask the always fun hypothetical question "If you could be a literary character, who would you be?" I often say Fanny Price. <3

2. Georgia Nicholson series—Louise Rennison
This series shows up on basically every list I make, but it's because it means so much to me. If you've read the books, then you're probably thinking, "Bethany . . . what?" And I know. These books are goofy and silly and so stylized in dialogue that some people may be put off by them. But you know what? I lurve them to the point that I have incorporated a lot of the words Georgia uses into my everyday vocabulary. (e.g., Mariachi-a-go-go. I only refer to Mariachi music as Mariachi-a-go-go music now.) Anyway. I just have a really special place in my heart for these books about a super goofy British girl. I started reading these when I was still in high school, a place where I was really confused about who I was as a person, and Georgia was the first character to make my super goofy ass feel as if it's ok to be super goofy. So, BIG HUGS for Georgia and the hilarious Ms. Louise Rennison.

3. If I Stay and Where She Went—Gayle Forman 
These two books, man. They are intense. And though I only read them for the first time earlier this year, probably everyone I know has heard me talk about these books. When people come to me for book recommendations, these two ALWAYS come up, no matter the age/gender/interests of the person who is asking.   They are just incredible. The story is arresting and the writing is so vivid that it's hard to not get personally involved in these books and completely swept up in the story of Adam and Mia.

4. Harry Potter—J.K. Rowling 
I'd be remiss not to add these to this list. I'm not gonna say much, because other people before me have waxed poetic about these books in much more sophisticated ways than I ever could. But. Well. Y'all know. These books are just special. They leave a mark (ha!) on everyone who reads them and Ms. Rowling deserves every damn royalty penny. 

5. Looking for Alaska—John Green
This is another book that shows up on almost every stinkin' list I make about books, but really, this one is important to me. My sister introduced me to the Green brothers' vlogs back in . . . Lord, 2008. From then on, I've been hooked. But, when I realized John is an author, I dashed out to get Looking for Alaska. I had no idea it was a YA novel. I had no idea what it was about. I just knew that I found John to be a very intriguing, funny, intelligent man and that I wanted to read his book. It did not disappoint me. In fact, I think I'll credit Looking for Alaska as the book that got me back into reading YA. I was so impressed with the style and tone he uses in his writing that I was like, "I have GOT to start reading YA again, if this is what YA books are like now." And thus began my reintroduction to the YA genre. And now I have a this here bloggy blog. 

Top Ten Tuesday: Required Reading

Y'all, I'm about to get all kinds of melodramatic and sentimental up in here. You ready? GOOD.

There are some books that just stick with you—the stories or characters or writing, or, really, all of that combined, just reach down into you and leave a mark that somehow changes you, be it your perception of the world or your understanding of language or the way you think about storytelling. This is because books are important and made of awesome.

So, here's the list of the books that have left an indelible impression on me, good, bad, and ugly, in absolutely no particular order other than the order that I thought of them.

1. The Odyssey by Homer
Helllooooooo classic lit that has informed kind of everything that came after it. That in and of itself is why it should be required.

2. As much Shakespeare as possible
 I know it's not for everyone, but this dude's works are freaking important. Hell, most of the words we use today were CREATED by him. And modern story structure and tropes? Yeah, those came from him too. And he came up with some of the best zingers. And some of the most thought-inducing philosophical musings. And let's not forget the sonnets and the romantic stuff. *swoons at the thought of it*

3. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
This is maybe the best book about being a good human ever written. And, IMHO, everyone should read it.

4. The House on Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
It's just sooooo sweet. And sad. And good. No one should ever be without the Hundred Acre Wood and Pooh Bear. [Note: The "cover" above is the audiobook version. Just the THOUGHT of listening to Jim Broadbent read this aloud is making me tear up.]

5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
If there's ever a book to teach you about the importance of books, this is it. This isn't necessarily one I enjoyed but it's one that I am very, very glad I read. In fact, I read it because it was on the required reading list for my AP Literature class my junior year of high school. :)

6.  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Yes, this is considered girly, but consider this folks: if every guy read Pride and Prejudice they'd probably better understand why we're all so gaga over Darcy.

7. A Separate Peace by John Knowles
I just really freaking like this book. I read directly after reading Catcher in the Rye, and actually preferred A Separate Peace. Not that Catcher isn't worthy of your time (IT IS, IT IS, IT IS!) but I just liked this one bester. (You see that? I made up my own word because Shakespeare taught me that that's okay to do!)

8. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
This one I recommend because a) I love road novels, b) I love Jack Kerouac and his refusal to write in a conventional way, and c) this is sort of an introduction to post-modern literature. More or less. Argue with me on that if you feel so inclined, in comments.

9. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
This is another one from my AP Literature required reading list. I was obsessed with it. It's beautiful and tortured and just so damn arresting. It's the first book that [SPOILER ALERT] didn't have a happy ending I ever read and LIKED. So, it's kind of a big deal for me.

10. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
This series just has it all—action, adventure, love, hate, friendship, magic, and perhaps above all, the lesson that you are never alone and that help is always there when you ask for it.

Bonus books (because ten just isn't enough!): Looking for Alaska by John Green, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishigaro, Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, Howl by Allen Ginsberg, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Night by Elie Wiesel, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman, and, because I have to stop somewhere, Idylls of the King by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Holy cow, I think I could have kept listing books all dang night! But I am stopping now, and advising you to read and find the books that imprint themselves on you and them pass them along to everyone you know. :)

TGIF: I Want to Go to There

The sun is shining. Birds are singing. There's a nice breeze blowing. AND ITS FRIDAY! *does happy dance*


In addition to this exceptionally gorgeous day, Ginger over at GReads! has asked an exceptionally fun question:

 If you could live in any fictional setting in a story, where would you go?

My immediate response to this is Hogwarts from Harry Potter. 

I mean, who in their right mind WOULDN'T want to go there? It's all castley, and magicy, and secret passageway-y, and awesome. But, then, I thought to myself "Self, you can come up with a better answer than Hogwarts." (Which isn't true. Hogwarts is the best. But I can come up with other alternate fictional settings I'd want to live in.) So! Let's say that I can't go to Hogwarts, for some God-forsaken reason. Here is my other choice for the fictional setting I'd like to live in. 


*thinks*


Camelot. 

Think about it: Knights. Round Tables. Wizards. Epic Battles. (We won't think about the parts where people died a lot and didn't bathe very often...k? K.) KING ARTHUR. Yeah. I think Camelot would be awesome to see in all its medieval glory. 

So what have we learned about me today, reader? That I like castles. :)


Now, what about youuuuuu? Tell me all about the fictional setting you'd love to visit and have a fantastic Friday!!

Guest Blog!: Why Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire Helped Me Grow Up

For the past week I've been in Orlando, visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (and other theme parks). To celebrate that joyous event (as well as my birthday), my plan was to have a week of Harry Potter-ness on this here blog, but that plan was THWARTED by the evil, evil hotel I was staying at because they DID NOT HAVE WIFI. It was weird. I was confused. But I could not change it.

But now I'm sitting in the Orlando airport (BTW, the call letters for the airport are MCO, so in my mind I call it the Mickey & Co. airport.) and THEY have WIFI for FREE DOLLERS. I like that. 

So, at long last, here is the lovely guest blog written by the lovely Farrah from I Eat Words. After you visit her blog,  you should follow her on Twitter, for she is awesome. 

LET THE GUEST BLOG COMMENCE!

Many people listen to a song and are brought back to a certain point in their life, whether it was a bad breakup or an enjoyable vacation. For me, I grew up with Harry Potter. When I re-read each book, I’m taken back to a certain time in my life. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire means more to me than just 734 pieces of paper. When I read it, I’m 12 years old again. 12 is a good age, because it’s before you start worrying about your looks, what people think, or how cool you’ll be in middle school. And that’s the thing. The fourth book address issues and problems of growing up inside the world of the three main characters. Aside from the action and adventure, J.K. Rowling takes the tension and angst of being 14 and presents it perfectly.

A lot of things happened when I was 12. I lost my best friend to the popular crowd months after we’d both read and gone to the midnight release of the 4th book. I was still a nerdy bookworm, swimming in a transition stage between middle school and elementary school. I saw girls attempt to wear makeup, talk about boys, and even cry over them. I didn’t understand what was happening, and because I’m known to re-read my favorite books, I lost myself in Harry’s world again. That’s when I first started to realize that my world and Harry’s weren’t different at all. I mean, sure I was still hopelessly awaiting my owl, letter, broomstick, but the issues of fights, friendships, and dating and clearly presented in this book because that’s usually the age when things begin to change. And I was noticing them. I had fights with my friends just Harry and Ron fought. I stammered around guys my own age just like Harry did when he spoke to Cho Chang.

The thing is, I knew it wasn’t going to get easier. J.K. Rowling put these small tensions in the book for a reason—they’re relatable to even us muggles. So even though I didn’t find a wide open door of clarity, the fourth book helped me realized people change, grow, and even act different because, *hello*, those wonderful things called hormones are kicking in. And I may have not understand even little thing about teen angst when I was 12, but I was glad I wasn’t the only one going through it. In fact, I knew that somehow, even though all the broken hearts, angry words, and fragile friendships, I’d be okay. And I am. So even though 12 came with a lot of good and a lot of bad, I’m still sucked back into those memories when I read The Goblet of Fire. There isn’t any book or song in the world that can define who you are, but it sure helps when you can get lost in both.

By Farrah

Blog: www.ieatwords.net

Open Call for Harry Potter Lovin' Guest Bloggers!

Howdy!

Next week I'm heading down to sunny, lovely, amazing Orlando, FL with ma mere to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

This means that I will be gallivanting and pretending to do magic instead of blogging.

But since there are so many of us who lovelovelove Harry Potter, I thought it might be fun to have a Harry Potter-themed week next week on this here blog and to have some lovely and talented guest bloggers blog about HP. Which means!. . .

I need some guest bloggers. Four to be exact.

So! If you would like to be one of them, leave me a comment or give me a shout on Twitter by replying to @bethanyelarson.