Looking for Alaska by John Green

Miles Halter is tired of his loner life and boring school in Florida. The only thing he finds comfort in is reading famous people’s biographies and learning their last words. In fact he is fascinated with last words. When he comes across Francois Rabelais’ biography and learns about the “Great Perhaps.” He decides that he wants to embark on his on “Great Perhaps” journey and chooses to go to boarding school. When he arrives at Culver Creek boarding school he soon finds a friend in his roommate, nicknamed the Colonel and is relieved to know that here he won’t be treated like an outcast. Then Miles meets Alaska. She’s smart, sexy, and completely hilarious. She even nicknames Miles, Pudge, even though he’s one of the skinniest kids you’ve ever seen. During his boarding school adventures Miles comes to have his first drink, his first cigarette, his first real friend, and even his first love. Will it all last? If something were to happen could Miles cope?

Honestly I was expecting a lot out of this book because John Green’s other novel, An Abundance of Katherines, is one of my favorite books. While I liked this book it didn’t seem to captivate me as much as his other one. While Green’s phenomenal writing style shone throughout the book I just couldn’t get into the story. What surprised me the most about this book was the amount of controversial topics discussed. There were references to sex, drugs, and alcohol. I found it very interesting the way that John Green incorporated the effects of these substances into his book. This is definitely a book for older readers because of all the references and also some of the language. As I mentioned before Green’s writing style is amazing and vibrant and makes the story come alive. I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next.

Ta-Da.....A winner and a FABULOUS author!!!

First I have to thank everyone for their great name suggestions. They were all great and I enjoyed reading all of them. Let me tell you the decision was SO hard. I ended up deciding on a name, with the help of the fabulous Tera Lynn Childs, and then came to realize two people had suggested the same one. They didn't copy each other at all because one left a comment and the other emailed me. Then I had to choose how to pick the winner. I decided that one person would be even numbers and the other would be odd numbers. Then I went to the handy dandy number generator and got an even number. So without further ado the winner of my contest is...

SoftIndieRocker!!

"And Another Awesome Author Visit"

So congratulations Softindierocker, email me to claim your prize. Also thanks to the Book Muncher who also had the same idea!!

Now without further ado let me present you all with my newest feature....And Another Awesome Author visit. This week's special guest is none other than Tera Lynn Childs.

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Tera Lynn Childs' first novel Oh. My. Gods., click here for my review, was recently released. This is her first novel and certainly not her last! Not only can you visit her at her personal website, but she also blogs over at Books, Boys, Buzz. Tera joins us today to talk about her inspiration for Oh. My. Gods. So enjoy:)

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One of the first questions I’m always asked is, “How did you come up with the idea for your book?” All authors must field that question in some form or another. Some come up with clever responses like, “In the discount aisle at Wal-Mart.” Others pinpoint specific methods of research, like trolling newspaper headlines and magazine articles. Still others simply say, “I have no idea, but I just hope they keep coming.”

This is such a difficult question to answer because, in truth, ideas can come from anywhere. Observation is a critical skill for an author, which means we’re always watching, looking, absorbing. Inspiration can come from anywhere, at anytime. We just have to be ready for it. Here are just some of the ways I’ve found potential story ideas:

At the Airport -- People watching at the airport is fascinating. I once saw a young man who looked like a juvenile delinquent. I had no evidence for that, just my gut instinct. Then he stood up and I saw his hands were cuffed together. When it was time to board, the man (officer?) who was accompanying him removed the cuffs and sent him onto the plane alone. That really got my creative questioning flowing. What had the young man done? Why was he being put on the plane? Why, if he’d had to be handcuffed, was he flying unescorted? These are the kinds of questions that lead to a story.

In a Perfume Ad -- Most of the time I just skip the ads in magazines. I mean, they take up way more space than anything else and it’s annoying. But sometimes a picture catches my attention, especially if it’s an image that is open to interpretation. There was a perfume ad once that depicted a girl lounging on a chaise beneath tropical mosquito netting, with a boy resting his head in her lap. Something about her expression and body language told me that she wasn’t exactly what seemed. Figuring out her story could turn into a book.

Titles -- A lot of my ideas begin with a clever or catchy title. Usually it’s a phrase so evocative that those few words pop an entire story idea into my head almost instantly. In the case of Oh. My. Gods. the story developed from the original title, Growing Up Godly. Since I’m not an inspirational author, I figured “Godly” needed to refer to the Greek gods and that if someone were “Growing Up” then they needed to be teens. As soon as I decided there would be one normal girl attending a school for the descendants of Greek gods, the story just fell into place.

Cable TV -- I’m addicted to the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and the Travel Channel. (Not very creative names, are they?) Ideas can come from surprising shows, whether it’s a documentary on the history of chocolate production in the United States, an investigative report on the mysterious death of a starlet from Hollywood’s Golden Age, or the quest for proof that Atlantis sank off the coast of Florida (or Japan or the Greek island of Thira). Sometimes truth is the greatest source of fiction.

If your eyes are open and your mind is in analytical mode, ideas are everywhere just waiting to be found. Maybe your next trip to Starbucks or the latest TeenVogue will spur that story you’re dying to write. Keep a pen and notebook handy and remember that one of a writer’s most powerful tools is asking the question, “What if...?”

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Princess Benevolence, Ben for short, is left to deal with her moody aunt Sophia after the assassination of her parents and uncle, the reigning king. Sophia becomes the new queen, but since Ben is the only member of royal blood left Sophia wants to her to start acting like a real princess. From the horrible dancing lessons to needlepoint and eating like a lady Ben finds no pleasure in learning what it’s like to be a princess. When Ben learns that all these lessons are being used to make her more appealing to suitors she loses it. She is rude to her aunt and finds no joy in anything she does anymore. Hoping to put Ben into her place Sophia locks her up in a tower. As you can imagine Ben is furious, but it seems that she has fate on her side when she finds a secret door up into a magical tower. Ben hopes this room will be an escape from her horrid life of manners, curtseys, and potential suitors. Even better, the magic in the room may help her find out what really happened to her parents.

WOW!!! This was seriously an amazing book. I was literally speechless after finishing this book. I have always been a big fan of Murdock’s books, but this one now holds a special place in my heart. I mean you take magic, a princess with an attitude and Murdock’s brilliant writing style mix them all together and how can you not expect to get a phenomenal story? From the first sentence the book pulls you in and envelops you in Ben’s story, making sure you never want to leave. I think that this is actually one of my new favorite fairy tales. While it may not be your everyday fairy tale there is just something about it that makes you want to read it over and over again. Another amazing thing about this book is that it doesn’t leave you after the final page. You’ll want to keep reliving the book and thinking about what could happen next. As you can probably guess I highly recommend this book and suggest you run out to the bookstore or library and grab a copy. This is truly one of those books that you can just escape into.

A Meme

So this meme has been circulating and I was tagged by The Book Muncher, Hope, Book~Adorer, Kelsey, and Frenetic Reader, if anyone else tagged me and I forgot your name I'm so sorry. So here goes:



1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you've posted your three sentences.



"As I considered it, this was actually a positive sign. After all, I was accusing both the mirror---which obviously was not stupid, for it had magical powers as most mirrors do not---and myself as embodied in my reflection. Imagine if my reflection had agreed that indeed I was stupid; what a blow that would have been."



Can you guess the book?? Leave your comments as to what book this excerpt is from and you could win a fun pin and bookmark featuring Daphne Grab's upcoming book Alive and Well in Prague, New York. So lets hear those guesses and I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner on Friday May 9th. So that means you have until May 8th at 11:59 EST to enter. All you have to do is guess to be entered.



As it seems everyone has been tagged I will openly tag everyone. So if you haven't had the pleasure of participating in such a fun event I tag you.

The Writing on the Wall by Wendy Lichtman

Tess isn’t really looking forward to her second semester of 8th grade. After making enemies last semester with Richard, Tess knows that life won’t be enjoyable. Her suspicions are confirmed when she finds that Richard tore entries out of her journal, stole her backpack and even squirted cranberry juice on her sweatshirt. The only things Tess can look forward to each day is hanging out with her friends and going to Algebra, her favorite class of the day. On the way to school one day Tess notices a set of math problems painted on the big graffiti wall behind a nearby church and her math obsessed brain starts to churn. Could these problems possibly be a code? When there is a fire in the computer lab at school Tess definitely thinks she’s onto something and hopes to crack the graffiti code. Even though she knows she could get in trouble, will Tess risk writing on the wall to solve the problem?

First of all I was a little skeptical of the book. While it was cool that Tess was a math geek, like me, I wasn’t sure I would like the book because it appealed to a younger audience and I hadn’t read the first book in the series, Secrets, Lies and Algebra. Wow was I proved wrong! I enjoyed every aspect of the book and ended up really, really liking it. It was completely unnecessary to read the first book and very easy to relate to Tess. I was always anxious to read what was coming next and wasn’t able to predict anything. I especially enjoyed how real the novel was. The ending wasn’t perfect, the characters weren’t exempt from certain situations, and the characters were completely enjoyable. I highly recommend this book for all reader, but I think middle grade readers will particularly enjoy Writing on the Walls. All in all a really good book that will satisfy a hunger for mystery, humor, a little romance, or maybe all three.

*This book will be released on May 27, 2008

X Marks the Spot

So the my scavenger hunt is finally over. There were many guesses both correct and incorrect and I'm finally going to reveal the answers.

Clue #1: In this book one of the main characters has the same name as a sticky sweetener. This book is also currently featured at one of my favorite bookish websites.

Clue #2: This book’s author won two pounds of coffee a month for a year just for publishing a poem of hers, and to think she didn’t think she was very good. As for the book, well shouldn’t we all make a “bestie” out of a “worstie” situation?

Clue #3: Can you decipher the title of this book from this tricky anagram? M E E T T H E R A K E

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for.....the winner!!

Congratulations to.......

Paperxxflowers!!

You have 72 hours to contact me with your information or else I will pick a new winner.

Thank you all for participating and don't forget to enter my current contest.

Author Visits and a Contest

I always love when I get to do an interview with an author and I especially enjoy reading other bloggers author interviews. So I decided that I am going to unveil a new feature for my blog. I'm going to feature a particular author every Friday. I will post either a guest blog or an interview, depending on the author's preference. Hopefully there will also be giveaways!!

Lately though I have had a complete lack of creative ideas and need help with coming up with a fun and witty name for my author feature. So I thought I would host a contest for the best name. All you have to do is either comment or email me, andanotherbookread@gmail.com, with your name suggestion. You have until May 8, at midnight E.S.T. to send me your suggestions. I decided this time to open my contest up to anyone and everyone, no matter where you live. This way I can have a great pile of names to choose from. On May 9th I will pick my favorite name and the lucky winner will get this fabulous prize:

So bring on your creative ideas and next Friday I will unveil the winner and have my first author visit.


**Looking for another great contest? Enter The Story Siren's Frostbite contest. All you have to do is comment. Really could it get any easier?