Fun Friday: #BookadayUK No. 20

Time for my Friday contribution to #BookadayUK. Today we're championing the outside of the book, and with good reason. Cover design has taken off in the last few years in an amazing way. Much as I don't want to, I do judge a book by its cover. I often read books on my e-reader, but nothing beats owning a beautiful book.

BOOK A DAY No. 20: Books That Wear My Favorite Cover

I'm going to make this easy and look at only those books I've read in the past two years. Because otherwise, covers could take all day. These are a few of my recent faves.

The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann
Greenwillow, 2012; MG fantasy

This cover grabbed me right away--so strange, so colorful! I knew I wanted to read the book.

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Random House Books for Young Readers, 2012; YA fantasy
I'm a sucker for cool typography. Don't you love how the S is dragonish? I adored this cover even before it was reissued in midnight blue, and now I love it even more, especially the contrast with the city.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland
Random House, 2011; adult historical
I know, there's a color pattern here. I didn't intend it, but I am drawn to deep blues. This cover for a novel about Louis Tiffany and his unsung female assistant does a gorgeous job of inegrating the silhouette with the instantly recognizable Tiffany style. Love.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Disney Hyperion, 2012; YA/adult historical
Not a lot of color here, but it's haunting; the World War II fighter plane, another silhouette, and again, beautiful typography. The word Verity has a breezy style like a young girl from the 1940s. This cover perfectly captures the story elements--much better than the hardcover edition, in my opinion.

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver
HarperCollins, 2012; MG fantasy
More fantastic typography on this cover. The title looks like spider legs, and a spider is even woven in as a motif. Liza's deer-in-the-headlights expression has a timeless feel, despite her wardrobe. The story looks magical, chaotic, and a tiny bit dangerous--just as it should.

The Man Who Walked Away by Maud Casey
Bloomsbury, 2014; adult historical
This cover intrigued me enough for me to add it to my TBR list before really knowing what the novel was about. But now that I do--a mentally ill man walks through 19th-century Europe trying to put himself and his life back together--I'm doubly interested. The concentric circles and gentle colors are perfection.

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Little, Brown, 2012; YA paranormal
And we're back to blue. This creepy eye superimposed on glittery, jazz-age Manhattan hooked me; the gauzy, not-quite-there aspect adds to the shiver factor. Cool.

Note:  Borough Press has changed the hashtag of this event from #bookaday to #bookadayUK to avoid confusion with the original #bookaday. I know. It's confusing. 


Next Friday: The book whose characters I want to become. Check out more #bookadayuk fun here, on Twitter.

TBR 2014: Book No. 15

Terry Pratchett is a king among fantasy writers. He's written scads of novels, including his wildly popular Discworld series (40 novels and counting in that series alone). He writes for both adults and younger readers. My TBR No. 15 happens to be an ARC of The Carpet People (Clarion, 2013). This is actually a reprint of Pratchett's first novel, published in 1971, but repackaged with his hand-drawn illustrations.

"The perfect starting place for young readers; seasoned Pratchett fans will just revel in his wit, his subversion of tropes and his sense of humanity. . . . Small in scale but large in pleasure."  —Kirkus

"Sure to be sought after by Pratchett's fans, young and old, this adventure will also amuse children who have never heard his name."  —Booklist

 Here's a chance to revisit a seasoned writer's starting point. Are you in?

That's right: I've committed to reading all the books on my TBR Shelf this year--and blogging them! Click here to read the reviews I've posted so far.

Review: SPELLBOUND by Jacqueline West

Title: Spellbound (The Books of Elsewhere No. 2)
Author: Jacqueline West
Pub info: Dial Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House, 2011; 304 pp
Genre: MG fantasy / paranormal (ages 9+)

What fun to discover a series that continues to get better with each book! Fans of fun mysteries where magical things happen will love Spellbound. If you haven't read Book 1, you won't be completely lost--the author does a good job of catching you up--but you might as well dive in from the beginning.

Goodreads summary:

With no way into the house's magical paintings, and its three guardian cats reluctant to help, Olive's friend Morton is still trapped inside Elsewhere. So when Rutherford, the new oddball kid next door, mentions a grimoire - a spellbook - Olive feels a breathless tug of excitement. If she can find the McMartins' spellbook, maybe she can help Morton escape Elsewhere for good. Unless, that is, the book finds Olive first.

The house isn't the only one keeping secrets anymore. Mystery, magic, corruption, and betrayal abound (plus just enough laughs to take the edge off). You'll never guess what happens next in this thrilling, chilling second volume in the critically acclaimed series.

My impressions:
I read The Shadows (Book 1 in the series) a couple of years ago, and I loved it at once--the writing is gorgeous, intelligent, and doesn't talk down to kids. I loved the character of Olive and her math-genius parents who are clueless about the goings-on in their creepy new (old) house. The sequel, Spellbound, is perhaps an even better book. The story is stronger and a little darker (though nothing a kid can't handle), and it shows a deeper side to Olive and her friends. The new characters are delightful, especially Rutherford, and now I've got to get the rest of the series. Jacqueline West has finished all the books, so you can own the complete set of five. This is a fantastic treat for kids who love magic.

About Jacqueline:
Jacqueline's short fiction for adults and children has appeared in a variety of publications, and her poetry has received many honors, including two Pushcart nominations, a Rhysling Award nomination, and a Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg prize. (Her poet's soul is obvious in her exquisite word choice, even in prose.) She lives amid the bluffs of Red Wing, Minnesota, with her husband and her dog, a Springer Spaniel mix named Brom Bones. The fifth and final book in the Books of Elsewhere series, Still Life (Dial), arrives in stores and online June 17.

Online:
An interesting interview with Jacqueline about the Books of Elsewhere series can be found here, at Literary Rambles. Learn more about Jacqueline's writing on her website and blog, and follow her here at her Facebook page.

Check out more MMGM reviews and giveaways of middle-grade books at Shannon Messenger's blog.










Want to win a free copy of this book? The first Monday of each month features a giveaway of any of the titles I've reviewed the previous month. Pick your fave, enter, and win! Next giveaway: July 7.


SIGN UP HERE TO RECEIVE A BRIEF EMAIL WHENEVER A NEW GIVEAWAY BEGINS.

To follow my progress as I bulldoze my way through a stack of 51 to-be-reads this year, search for the tag 2014 TBR Shelf. Read all the reviews here.

Fun Friday: #BookadayUK No. 13

It's Friday the 13th, friends! And what better day to laugh at the darkness than today? I'm participating in the superfun #bookadayUK hashtag event only on Fridays because, well, I have other things to do. Frankly.

But here it is--Friday--so let the hilarity begin!

Oh ... and before you jump all over me about the scandal known as bookaday-gate, read the note at the end of this post. I'm just trying to fill my blog here, people. Honest.

BOOK A DAY No. 13: Books That Made Me Laugh

I could go on and on about Tim Federle and his books Better Nate Than Ever and Five, Six, Seven, Nate! But you can read about them in the links I just snuck into the last sentence. They are books to make you snort your milk out your nose, but then, so are these:

King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography
by Chris Crutcher
Greenwillow Books, 2004
YA/adult memoir

Told in the spirit of A Christmas Story, Crutcher's memories of boyhood in the 1950s are hilariously told in this short memoir. Read my Goodreads review here for more, then go buy this. Chris is an amazing writer whose YA titles include the fantastic novel Deadline (Greenwillow, 2007) and Period 8 (Greenwillow, 2013), among many others.

The Code of the Woosters
by P.G. Wodehouse
W.W. Norton, 2011 (originally pubbed in 1938)
adult fiction

When I'm down, or sick, or just want to laugh until my stomach begs me to stop, I reach for Wodehouse. He's been lauded as the funniest writer in history, and while I love Mark Twain and so many others, I have to concur. Hapless Bertie Wooster, who has too much money and time on his hands, would be in desperate straits were it not for his faithful valet (a "gentleman's gentleman"), Jeeves. Bertie is happily forever lost in 1920s Britain, before the war, when the most anyone had to worry about was a missing cow-creamer. This is Jeeves & Wooster at their hilarious best.



Note: Borough Press, which sponsors this fun idea, lately realized that there was already a #bookaday hashtag out there. So ... sorry for the confusion. Borough Press has changed their hashtag to #bookadayUK. The original Book a Day campaign is going strong! It's an annual summertime challenge hosted by The Nerdy Book Club here. So go do that. I would, but I have other things to do too. Frankly.

Next Friday: The book that wears my favorite cover. Check out more #bookadayuk fun here, on Twitter.

TBR 2014: Book No. 14

I know what you're thinking. So she's back to blogging her TBR list, huh? She really expects to catch up now when she's only up to Book #14? A valid point, that. And I'm the first to admit, I may not get through the whole list. But I continue trying.

Next up! : Spellbound (Dial, 2011) is the second book in the middle-grade fantasy series The Books of Elsewhere  by Jacqueline West. The first book, The Shadows (Dial, 2010), was so good that I can't believe it's taken me this long to read Book 2. But I'm like that sometimes. This book belongs in one of my favorite genres: stories that take place in an ordinary world where extraordinary things happen.

“The Books of Elsewhere is a great series for young readers who are interested in the world of spells, witches, potions and magic—plenty of fun, action and thrills.”  --Examiner.com

“Middle grade writing as it should be.”  --Minneapolis Star Tribune

Beautiful writing, magic, and a spunky heroine. So, are you in?

That's right: I've committed to reading all the books on my TBR Shelf this year--and blogging them! Click here to read the reviews I've posted so far.

Fun Friday: #BookadayUK No. 6

Yeah, I'm late again to the party. Didn't even know about @BoroughPress's cool #bookadayUK hashtag. (In a nutshell: Every day in June is devoted to a different book in your collection or your general experience.) So I'll play along anyway.

BOOK A DAY No. 6: The one I always give as a gift

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002
319 pages

Young Pi Patel survives a shipwreck along with Richard Parker, a tiger lately of the Patel's family-owned zoo in India. While deftly negotiating a balance of power with Richard Parker, Pi examines life, faith, and survival.










It's not as if I've given this book to a hundred people, but it is so close to my heart that after I read it, I wanted everyone else on earth to read it. I looked in the bookstore for a copy to give my niece, and when I couldn't find one, I gave her my own. (And then bought another one for myself, later.)

Put down your joysticks, people, and read this book. If you've seen the movie, congrats--it was great--but the book is deeper, richer, and kinder. It's a life changer. Absolutely amazing.

June Giveaway

Okay, loyal blogfrogs, I realize I haven't posted in over a week, and also that I haven't reviewed any books for the entirety of May. There was good reason for this, as I was hip-deep in revisions of The Wand & the Sea (sequel to The Key & the Flame). I had planned on May being the Fantasy for All Ages month, but I'll move that to next month (giveaway date: July 7). In the meantime, for this month, I'll let you choose whatever book your dear heart desires, within reason. (Please don't ask for the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary; be kind.)

So, ready? Here goes:



GIVEAWAY RULES:
1. U.S. entrants only, please.
2. Be sure to note the book (with author) you want to win AND WHY. The book must be available from Amazon.com and must be priced at $30 or less. Because I'm not made of money.
3. If you prefer a Kindle edition, that's cool too!
4. Giveaway prizes will be brand-new books delivered to you via Amazon.com. They will be paperback editions unless the book is still available only in hardcover. 
5.  This giveaway ends 12:01 AM JUNE 10.
6. There's a new giveaway every month! CLICK HERE to receive a brief email every time a new giveaway is posted on the blog. 


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image by Woomiusee courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and reprinted under this Creative Commons license.