Read-a-thon wrap up

Well this was not a very successful read-a-thon for me. I spent less time reading than I ever have before. My page count makes me sad. Usually I read about 1,300 pages and finish several books. I use the day to get ahead on my goodreads challenge. This year, not so much. Life was too busy (but I did get a super cute haircut!)

Here are my final stats and the end of event meme.

Reading right now: Single, Carefree, Mellow: Stories by Katherine Heiny

Books finished: Y: The Last Man: UnManned, Clariel

Total pages read: 635

Total time spent reading: 5 hours 40 minutes

Which hour was most daunting for you?

All of them were pretty daunting just because I was so busy! I fell asleep around hour 15. I am not good at staying up late

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Graphic novels are always good! My husband had gotten me Y The Last Man: Unmanned for the holidays this year and it was amazing. i need to read the rest.

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

The cheerleaders were amazing!

How many books did you read?

I only completed two, but I read another 120 pages of Fall of Giantswhich made me happy

Which book did you enjoy most?

Clariel was good to read because it was continuing a series I loved.

Which did you enjoy least?

I like Single, Carefree, Mellow, but I should have started the short story collection earlier in the day. Reading it when I was tired did not work. I would have stayed up later if I had saved a full novel for that time.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I am sure I will participate again. I love it!

Read-a-thon Kick-off

Good morning! It is here! It is time! This time I won’t be reading quite as much as usual – I have a few things to do throughout the day, but I will be reading in between them and tracking the usual things.

Reading right now: I am going to start off reading Fall of Giants by Ken Follett. I won’t be reading the whole book, but I want to get 100 more pages in at least! 

Books finished:

Pages read since last update:

Total pages read:

Total time spent reading:

Now for the opening questions!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

New Jersey!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

I don’t know if I am looking forward anything the most this year – I am super excited for Clariel and the graphic novel.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

I don’t have any snack plans.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I guess I will tell you what else I am doing today! I have swim team practice at 9:30.I joined a Masters team a couple months ago and I love it! I have a haircut and i am cutting off like 8-10 inches. We also have our last night of our bowling league!

There are also baseball games today and I will probably have one on my computer while I read.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

The different thing I am doing is reading less and being less organized. Not my favorite, but life happens and I will still be reading.

Onto Ken Follett! I started it last night and it is really interesting.

Read-a-thon Stacks

Tomorrow is the spring read-a-thon! It is always one of my favorite days.

I won’t e reading all day because I have some plans, but I will be participating. Here are my stacks.

This is my library books stack – I hope to read at least 100 pages of the Ken Follett. I got the Robyn Carr and the YA books for the read-a-thon specifically.

This is the stack of books I own that I thought might be good! Lots of ARCs I never got to and almost all YA! I have learned that YA is really great for the read-a-thon. I also have a graphic novel to try.

Any recommendations from my stacks? I may be going to the library one more time to see if I want something else.

More Quick Reviews!

TItle: Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Author: Katherine Boo
Paperback: 288 pages
Pub Date: Feb 2012
Publisher: Random House
Rating: +++++

Summary from goodreads:

From Pulitzer Prize-winner Katherine Boo, a landmark work of narrative nonfiction that tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the twenty-first century’s great, unequal cities.

In this brilliantly written, fast-paced book, based on three years of uncompromising reporting, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human.

Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees “a fortune beyond counting“ in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a childhood in rural poverty, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption. With a little luck, her sensitive, beautiful daughter — Annawadi’s “most-everything girl” — will soon become its first female college graduate. And even the poorest Annawadians, like Kalu, a fifteen-year-old scrap-metal thief, believe themselves inching closer to the good lives and good times they call “the full enjoy.”

But then Abdul the garbage sorter is falsely accused in a shocking tragedy; terror and a global recession rock the city; and suppressed tensions over religion, caste, sex, power and economic envy turn brutal. As the tenderest individual hopes intersect with the greatest global truths, the true contours of a competitive age are revealed. And so, too, are the imaginations and courage of the people of Annawadi.

Review:

This is not an easy book to read, but it is a great one. It is just narrative nonfiction at its finest. I recommend it to everyone – just go out and read it.

TItle: Love Story 
Author: Jennifer Echols
Paperback: 243
Pub Date: July 2011
Publisher: MTV Books
Rating: +++

Summary from goodreads:

or Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions–it’s her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family’s racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin’s college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter . . . so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she’s sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He’s joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin’s heart with longing. Now she’s not just imagining what might have been. She’s writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter. . . . except this story could come true.

Review:

This book was light and fun – at the time, exactly what I was looking for, but it was just okay. I didn’t really get teh appeal of Hunter. He was just meh as a romantic lead. I did love that it took place at college and want to find more books that do. If you want a quick read that will make you smile often, it is worth checking out.

Three More Mini-Reviews

Well, I said more and more of my reviews would be mini and it turns out that is true! I will be posting three more mini-review tomorrow and will be all caught up.

Title: Days of Blood and Starlight 
Author: Laini Taylor
Hardcover: 517 pages
Pub Date: Nov 2012
Publisher: Little Brown for Young Readers
Rating: ++++

Summary from goodreads:

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Review:

I liked this books, but I didn’t love it until that last 250 pages. The characters are really good throughout, but it was much harder for me to feel invested in the plot until the very end. I felt like this is because it was so (understandably) different after the first book and I just missed it a little.

That said, it is completely worth reading because those last 250 pages were some of the best I have read and I don’t want to wait another year to read book 3.

Title: Blood Red Road
Author: Moira Young
Hardcover: 459 pages
Pub Date: June 2011
Publisher: Margaret K McElderry Books
Rating: +++

Summary from goodreads:

Saba lives in Silverlake, a wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms where her family scavenge from landfills left by the long-gone Wrecker civilization. After four cloaked horsemen kidnap her beloved twin brother Lugh, she teams up with daredevil Jack and the Free Hawks, a girl gang of Revolutionaries.

Saba learns that she is a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Saba and her new friends stage a showdown that change the course of her civilization.

Review:

This book was very exciting, but the characters could have been more developed. It was a fast-paced and quick read, yet not memorable. I finished it four days ago and can’t really remember much of the supporting characters. I won’t be continuing this series.

It isn’t that this book is bad, I have just read better dystopians and am getting to the point that I can’t read many more.

Title: Play
Author: Kylie Scott
Paperback: 304 pages
Pub Date: April 1, 2014
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Rating: ++++

Summary from goodreads:

Kylie Scott returns with the highly anticipated follow-up to international bestseller LICK Mal Ericson, drummer for the world famous rock band Stage Dive, needs to clean up his image fast—at least for a little while. Having a good girl on his arm should do the job just fine. Mal doesn’t plan on this temporary fix becoming permanent, but he didn’t count on finding the one right girl. Anne Rollins never thought she’d ever meet the rock god who plastered her teenage bedroom walls—especially not under these circumstances. Anne has money problems. Big ones. But being paid to play the pretend girlfriend to a wild life-of-the-party drummer couldn’t end well. No matter how hot he is. Or could it?

Review:

I love this series so much. Rock star romances are among my favorite and these characters are awesome. I didn’t like Mal quite as much as David, but I thought he was interesting and I really thought that Anne was a complex and wonderful character. That she is such a big fan made it so much fun because I could imagine it actually happening.

I am really looking forward to getting to the third book in this series! Also – there covers are amazing!

Life in Agenting: Interviewing interns

It is that time of year – I am interviewing our summer internship candidates on Monday. I wanted to share some general publishing interview tips that I have learned over the years.

1. Read!

Preparing for publishing interviews is a little different from your usual job because you have to do one thing extra – you should read some of the agencies/imprints books. You can’t read everything, but read a few books so you can talk about their authors. It shows you are really interested.

2. Prepare!

You also need to prepare in the usual way – research. Does the job posting mention you need social media skills? Look at their social media page. Get familiar with their website and who is there. This is a great way to come up with questions – and you should have at least two or three, in case one of your questions gets answered during the interview.

3. Be enthusiastic!

You are applying because you love books and publishing, so you need to show it. Even if you are usually shy, you can overcome it because you are talking about books. We get it – a lot of us are introverts too!

4, Be nice

This shouldn’t have to be said, but don’t completely shit on our books. You can be critical – critical is VERY good, but saying “I don’t like x” and nothing else probably won’t get you the job. Also, just be nice in general. People who are rude during interviews drive me batty. And it happens.

5, Send a thank you note/email

Seriously, this makes a difference. It is really easy to do. I think a note is always better. I always had the note in my bag and stopped at a cafe to write it immediately after the interview. It usually arrived in tow days.

6. If you have an assignment, turn it in on time

Many publishing jobs/internships give you an assignment if it goes well, including LDA. Make sure you get it back on time. If the assignment is late, you won’t be considered anymore. We give at least a week, so you should be able to get it done. Time management is really important in every publishing job.