Skipping TTT Like a Boss

[I actually used to despise the phrase, “Like a boss” but now I use it all the time. XD I’m cool like that.]

Yesterday I went to a book event at a book store. The authors who were featured were Gennifer Albin, Nikki Kelly, Jessica Brody, and…wait for it…Marissa Meyer! I brought all of the books currently published in The Lunar Chronicles and bought Gennifer Aldin’s book, Crewel, except it will be added to my ever-growing TBR.

The event was amazing. I met one of my favorite authors, heard her and other accomplished authors speak, and got my books signed! It’s better than a concert! [I’ve never actually been to a concert, so don’t take my word for it.]

Some of the authors’ advice/thoughts/et cetera [whether silly or serious]:

• BUY HEADPHONES. This is very important for a writer. Why? While Gennifer Albin was NaNoWriMoing, she did not have headphones to listen to music [and block out the sound of the man next to her, who was watching YouTube, without headphones].
• If you tell yourself you have writer’s block, you are only encouraging your stuckness. [I’m paraphrasing.] Jessica Brody does not believe in writer’s block, because of the above stated reason, which I find to be a very interesting opinion. For me, acknowledging that I have writer’s block can help me, so I can realize the issue and find a solution.
• Marissa Meyer and Jessica Brody write their outlines using fifteen “beats.” “Beats” are different plot points or major happenings. Meyer and Brody use these to stay on track and to get from Point A to Point B, or Beat 1 to Beat 2. I would benefit from using this, because I tend to add twists in the middle, complicating the ending. [If you’re reading Nakoma, you know what I mean.]
• British people think American cheese and chocolate aren’t as good as cheese and chocolate in the UK. The reason for this being that our cows are unhappy. Or so Nikki Kelly says.

I hope you learned something from that. :) All of the authors had very good advice for authors, despite the ideas above. They all were very intelligent, funny, and informative.

My signed books (!!!):

My swag:

The Lunar Chronicles swag, courtesy of Marissa Meyer. Contents: Rampion poster, 3 Lunar Chronicles stickers, and bookmark.

The Crewel World Trilogy swag, courtesy of Gennifer Albin. Contents: “Some girls have a knack for trouble” paper card, sticker, and “Life is crewel” paper card.

Although I did not buy her book, Jessica Brody gave me some swag, too! Contents: Excerpt from the first chapter of “Unremembered” and sticker with her signature to put in the book when I buy it.

Fierce Reads swag, courtesy of Fierce Reads. Contents: bag, poster, bookmark, and “Fairest” mirror.

And here are some pictures of the authors:

The queen herself…Marissa Meyer. [And lots of random heads.]

Jessica Brody on the left, Nikki Kelly on the right. [And lots of random heads.]

An extremely horrible picture of Gennifer Albin. [And lots of random heads.] I apologize immensely for the bad quality.

Jessica Brody talking about her book. [And a few random heads.]

I met a very nice girl, Connie, at the book event. She has a blog, called The YA Book Thief. She’s a new blogger; you remember what is was like to be new, too, don’t you? Pop on over to Connie’s fabulous blog here and follow her!

OMG, OMG, OMG!!!! The Blood of Olympus just came, like two minutes ago!!!! Right after this post, I’m reading it!!!!!

Have you ever been to a book signing or event? What was it like? Tell me in the comments below.

Weekly Wrap-Up #2

On Saturday, I stacked my shelves, reviewed Number the Stars, and informed you about Marissa Meyer events. I’m still getting through my pile of books!

On Sunday, I reviewed Where She Went and talked about book reviews.

On Monday, I posted a school assignment for feedback and reviewed Eleanor and Park [a.k.a. how I suffered emotional trauma at the hands of a hardback].

On Tuesday, I recommended unknown books for TTT. Turns out, you’ve read some of them. ;)

On Thursday, I informed you about the 100 Words For 100 Days Challenge. Are you going to participate?

Going back to the beginning of the week, Engie @ Musings From Neville’s Navel posted about Rick Riordan’s last book in the Greco-Roman world. It was an interesting but sad post. It means the end of Percy and Annabeth and Leo!

Engie, for you, the tweet about the epilogue issue (and for anyone else):

Ah, Uncle Rick. While your wit impresses us, it does not excuse the no epilogue issue. I adore epilogues! I want confirmation about what happens to them.

To wrap up this week, why not a poll?

Have a fantabulous weekend! I will be shopping for party supplies for my sister’s birthday, reading The Book Thief, and watching the Broadway play version Wicked. Which I am SO EXCITED ABOUT.

Stacking the Shelves, Marissa Meyer Events, and Book Review of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

I did some major stacking of shelves today. At Target! It was literally [almost] my entire TBR list. I had to take some off, though. :( The grand total was about $85.

From top to bottom…

The Book Thief

Eleanor and Park

Fangirl

Dorothy Must Die

The Darkest Minds

Where She Went

I know, I’m behind on all of these! But I’m so excited to finally be able to read them. Since I [somewhat] recently read If I Stay, I’m reading Where She Went first.

I am subscribed to Marissa Meyer’s (the author of The Lunar Chronicles) blog, and today I got an email update of a post. There are a few things about it.

One. Marissa Meyer is releasing Winter in November 2015! Thought it would be sooner? Read on…

Two. She is releasing Fairest, the prequel to The Lunar Chronicles, will be released January 27. That is why! Are you stoked? I’m stoked!!!

Three. This is the greatest, in my opinion. Marissa Meyer is in the Fierce Reads Tour throughout the USA, visiting bookstores with Jessica Brody, Gennifer Albin, and Nikki Kelly! And she is coming to my state near me so I will probably see her!!!! I am sooooooooooooooooooooo happy about this!!!!!!!!!!!! Go here to see the dates for the tour.

Four. This doesn’t concern me, but I though you should know. There is an essay contest with the prompt “With all of the new forms of media appearing every day, how do you think the experience of reading books will change over the next ten years?” The winner will have dinner with Marissa Meyer during the Baltimore Boom Festival. I wish I could participate, but I don’t live near Baltimore. :( Go here for details.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Title: Number the Stars

Author: Lois Lowry

Number of Pages: 132

Genre: Historical fiction

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary From Cover: Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It’s now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are “relocated,” Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen’s life.

Discussion: My English teacher recommended that I read this book, since I had just finished The Giver, which is by the same author. I honestly knew nothing about it. But I judged it by its cover (I know, I know!) and the summary and decided, well, I have nothing else to read–why not give it a try? And, boy, am I so glad I did! I really enjoyed this book.

The first thing I noticed about the book was that it was really short. A lot of Lowry’s books are, though. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. For this book, I was a little bit disappointed that it was this short. It didn’t have as much detail as I would have liked, and I feel like it glanced over some big parts.

It tells the story of Germans invading Denmark. I thought this was an original place to set it, since the Germans invaded so many places. My friend spent the past year in Denmark, so it was cool to learn about its past a little.

The first scene shows Annemarie, the MC, racing her friend Ellen along the street. They bump into some German soldiers, and the story takes off from there. The friendship between Annemarie and Ellen is very sweet and sister-like.

Overall, I found this book to be very sweet (there it is again!) and heartfelt. Read it!

Word Crimes Video and Other Random Stuff That Pops Into My Head

As you may or may not know, I am a grammar stickler. Cop. Queen. Take your pick. This video pretty much sums up that side of me. It’s a parody of “Blurred Lines.” Check it out:

Today is the day where I post on both of my blogs. The link to the post on TIMV is here. Speaking of TIMV, I already have 8 followers! If you follow this blog, consider heading on over to my other one. I also have 22 followers on this blog, so thank you, guys and girls. If you haven’t subscribed, the button’s on the right. (Hint, hint.)

I recently visited the blog Teens Can Write, Too, and was enlightened. [Before I continue, may I note that I find very small things spectacular sometimes, and this may be one of those cases. Nevertheless, this is still a very cool blog.] John, the blogger, posts about querying, agents, different types of publishing–and that’s only what I’ve looked at. If you don’t already know about this blog, click the link above and you will be magically transported to John’s blog… And, may I add, John is a male blogger and writer. I do not come across many of those (at least teens).

Now that I’m being completely random, this calls for a…cat gif!

OMG, this cat has a superpower! Of chillaxing, any time it wants.

Speaking of cats, I changed my Camp NaNo profile picture to an edited and dramatized photo of my cat.

One last random thing… a poll! It takes roughly ten seconds to complete, and I promise you will not be wasting your time. It is a poll about your favorite author! (So I can semi-stay on this writing theme.)

TTFN,

Chloe

Top Ten…Wednesday? PLUS: Tear-Jerker Movie Review!

Sorry; I missed Top Ten Tuesday, so pretend it’s Tuesday. Or if you’re in a different time zone and it is Tuesday, then you’re fine. Now, I present to you, ladies and gentleman, TOP TEN TUESDAY! *clapping*

My Top Ten Favorite Authors and ONE Book/Series They Wrote:

NOTE: This excludes J. K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, who are my default favorite authors. Also, the list is arranged so that number one is my absolute favorite.

10. Piper Banks – Geek High

9. Sheila Turnage – Three Times Lucky

8. Michael Buckley – The Sisters Grimm series

7. Veronica Roth – Divergent trilogy

6. Maile Meloy – The Apothecary

5. Anne Lamott – Bird by Bird

4. Cassandra Clare – The Mortal Instruments series

3. Tamora Pierce – Melting Stones (just one of her many books and the one I read recently)

2. Marissa Meyer – The Lunar Chronicles series

1. John Green – The Fault in Our Stars

That was TTT. Or TTW, I guess. Hehe.

Warning: TFIOS Spoilers Below!

I SAW THE FAULT IN OUR STARS LAST NIGHT!!!

It. Was. So. Good. I cried a bit… Anyway, the real review.

Title: The Fault in Our Stars

Main Characters/Actors: Hazel/Shailene Woodley, Augustus/Ansel Elgort

Synopsis: Hazel is a teen with cancer. Her mother forces her to go to Support Group, where she meets Augustus Waters. They form a relationship made on An Imperial Affliction, Hazel’s favorite book, late-night phone calls, and Gus’s love. They have adventures, from a Dutch picnic to Amsterdam to meet Peter Van Houten, who wrote An Imperial Affliction. Then a sudden change in Augustus’s health changes things for the worse. Read the book/watch the movie to find out what happens!

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Dislikes: They took out scenes! And changed the famous egg line. WHY???

The people in front of us were:

While my dad and I were:

Have you seen TFIOS? What did you think? Tell me in the comments below.

-C-