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  • Author Archives: Laura

    • Upcoming Books! [16]

      Posted at 9:14 pm by Laura, on May 6, 2012

      Title: City of Lost Souls
      Author: Cassandra Clare
      Genre: fantasy, young adult
      Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
      Publishing Date: May 8
      Summary: The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.
      No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
      Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
      And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

      ~

      Title: Home
      Author: Toni Morrison
      Genre: historical fiction
      Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
      Publishing Date: May 8
      Summary: Frank Money is an angry, self-loathing veteran of the Korean War who, after traumatic experiences on the front lines, finds himself back in racist America with more than just physical scars. His home may seem alien to him, but he is shocked out of his crippling apathy by the need to rescue his medically abused younger sister and take her back to the small Georgia town they come from and that he’s hated all his life. As Frank revisits his memories from childhood and the war that have left him questioning his sense of self, he discovers a profound courage he had thought he could never possess again.

      ~

      Title: Bring Up the Bodies
      Author: Hilary Mantel
      Genre: historical fiction
      Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, Inc
      Publishing Date: May 8
      Summary: Though he battled for seven years to marry her, Henry is disenchanted with Anne Boleyn. She has failed to give him a son and her sharp intelligence and audacious will alienate his old friends and the noble families of England. When the discarded Katherine dies in exile from the court, Anne stands starkly exposed, the focus of gossip and malice.
      At a word from Henry, Thomas Cromwell is ready to bring her down. Over three terrifying weeks, Anne is ensnared in a web of conspiracy, while the demure Jane Seymour stands waiting her turn for the poisoned wedding ring. But Anne and her powerful family will not yield without a ferocious struggle. Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies follows the dramatic trial of the queen and her suitors for adultery and treason. To defeat the Boleyns, Cromwell must ally with his natural enemies, the papist aristocracy. What price will he pay for Anne’s head?

      Woo! Happy reading!

      Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: young adult, upcoming books
    • This Week’s News!

      Posted at 8:29 pm by Laura, on May 3, 2012

      2012 Hans Christian Anderson Illustrator Award Winner: Peter Sis! This award is considered the most prestigious in international children’s literature, given biennially by the International Board on Books for Young People. Congratulations!

      Barnes & Noble Partners with Microsoft (Publisher’s Weekly). The new unit is called Newco, and it will hold B&N’s digital assets, college stores, and will be backed by a $300 million investment from Microsoft. Read on for the full story and more details.

      Target Will Stop Carrying Amazon Kindle (The Verge). Apparently there is a conflict of interest. According to an inside source, the Kindle Touch will be on sale the week of May 6. If you’d like a Kindle, I suggest getting it then.

      The Atlantic Attempts to Clear Up Confusion on the eBook Lawsuit. Remember the issues with the Department of Justice and the massive confusion with big five publishers and who prices what for ebooks? Well, even though The Wall Street Journal tried to clear things up, people were still left befuddled. The Atlantic attempts to clear the air. Buckle down: it’s going to be a long ride.

      B&N Teams with HMH for Student Reading Program (Shelf Awareness). “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Barnes & Noble have partnered for a program in which schools can acquire HMH digital titles, categorized for students at each grade level, on preloaded Nook e-readers. Many of the titles are age-appropriate, International Reading Association-recommended selections.” Well isn’t that nifty!

      Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged books, bookstores, ebooks, ereaders, magazine, news, newspaper, publishing, technology
    • Apologies: Life…

      Posted at 2:38 pm by Laura, on May 3, 2012

      Temporary hiatus this week. Graduation is on Saturday and I’ve been busy with work, packing, moving, applying for jobs, and saying goodbye to everyone. I will attempt to post something newsworthy today or tomorrow, but for now I will continue this week-long hiatus till Sunday.

      My apologies!

      Posted in Update Post | 0 Comments
    • Upcoming Books! [15]

      Posted at 3:28 pm by Laura, on April 29, 2012

      Title: Insurgent
      Author: Veronica Roth
      Genre: young adult, dystopian
      Publisher: HarperTeen
      Publishing Date: May 1
      Summary: One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
      Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
      See my review of the first book in this trilogy, Divergent!

      ~

      Title: The Proposal
      Author: Mary Balogh
      Genre: historical fiction, romance
      Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
      Publishing Date: May 1
      Summary: Gwendoline, Lady Muir, has seen her share of tragedy, especially since a freak accident took her husband much too soon. Content in a quiet life with friends and family, the young widow has no desire to marry again. But when Hugo, Lord Trentham, scoops her up in his arms after a fall, she feels a sensation that both shocks and emboldens her.
      Hugo never intends to kiss Lady Muir, and frankly, he judges her to be a spoiled, frivolous—if beautiful—aristocrat. He is a gentleman in name only: a soldier whose bravery earned him a title; a merchant’s son who inherited his wealth. He is happiest when working the land, but duty and title now demand that he finds a wife. He doesn’t wish to court Lady Muir, nor have any role in the society games her kind thrives upon. Yet Hugo has never craved a woman more; Gwen’s guileless manner, infectious laugh, and lovely face have ruined him for any other woman. He wants her, but will she have him?

      ~

      Title: Death Comes Silently
      Author: Carolyn Hart
      Genre: mystery
      Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
      Publishing Date: May 2
      Summary: Winter has arrived in Broward’s Rock, South Carolina, and business has slowed for Annie Darling, owner of mystery bookstore Death on Demand. So when the island’s resident writer publishes the latest in her popular mystery series, Annie jumps at the chance to host a book signing, even though it conflicts with her shift at the local charity shop, Better Tomorrow.
      Luckily, fellow volunteer Gretchen Burkholt agrees to sub for her. The signing goes well, but Gretchen interrupts the event multiple times, leaving voice mails about scandalous news she’s dying to share. Even though Gretchen tends to be excitable, Annie heads over to Better Tomorrow, where she finds Gretchen dead on the floor, an axe by her side.
      Annie enlists the help of her husband, Max, to piece together a puzzle involving an overturned kayak, a stolen motorboat, a troubled love affair, and a reckless teenager. And she must tread carefully in her investigation, because a killer is on the loose, and that killer works well in the foggy days of winter…

      ~

      Happy reading!

      Posted in books, Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: romance, genre: young adult, upcoming books
    • Edgar Award winners announced! – PubLunch

      Posted at 3:22 pm by Laura, on April 29, 2012

      Publisher’s Lunch sent out a notification stating the Edgar Award winners were announced. The link will take you to The Edgar page, and winners are written in red. Check them out!

       

      Posted in publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged awards, news, publishing
    • Book Review: “Delirium” by Lauren Oliver

      Posted at 4:29 pm by Laura, on April 27, 2012

      Delirium by Lauren Oliver

      Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love — the deliria — blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

      But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

      Thank heavens the second of this trilogy is already out! The massive and thrilling cliff-hanger at the end is too much to bear!

      This YA dystopian novel is the first book of the Delirium trilogy. It’s important to note that this is primarily a love story that takes place within a dystopian world, not a dystopian world with a love story (like Hunger Games).

      While love stories can become cheesy, this one most definitely did not. The desperation between Lena and Alex is real, solid, and threatening within their world. The US is the only nation with “the cure” and it is separated from the rest of the world, keeping the “cureds” within and the “infected” outside. Even the cities are locked within electric fences, preventing people from escaping into the Wilds, the area where all the Invalids (uncured or infected) inhabit.

      I found two things that really pulled me into and through the story: Lena’s transformation and enlightenment, as well as Oliver’s language. Lena is a perfectly rational, calm girl, awaiting the day of her surgery to become cured of the disease amor deliria nervosa. The rational behind the dangers of love make some sense: the pain, the drastic behaviors, sweating palms and strange appetites. These are all things people in love experience, but the world twists it in a negative way, causing everyone to fear love and fear those in love. By the end of the novel, she feels “alive” and “awakened,” wanting desperately to escape to the Wilds with Alex so she’ll never have to undergo the procedure. Her transformation is an adventure in its own right.

      The language – my goodness! It’s so beautiful. Although this novel is for young adult readers, Oliver does not underestimate her audience’s reading abilities. The language reads like adult novels, full of elegant descriptions and fantastic imagery and sensory detail. You become Lena, you experience everything she experiences, your heart pounds in fear, anxiety, and thrill when hers does.

      I like to also offer my two cents on social commentary. Oliver says she was inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s quote that great books are about love or death. While this is incredibly interesting and I love her take on it, I think there’s more that can be said. Suzanne Collins was inspired by wars and the media to write Hunger Games – the political commentary on that is immense. I think Delirium could also be a commentary on what modern society deems as acceptable love and human rights. Today, only a man and woman can marry. But there are also taboos within this freedom: younger men marrying older women, young girls marrying men the age of their grandparents, people marrying “too young” or marrying because of pregnancy. But this also does not leave room for men to marry men, women to marry women. Our society scoffs at teenagers who say they are in love — “You don’t know what real love is, you’re only 14.” We should take a step back and ask ourselves…whatis love? And why do we have such social pressures and regulations on what we believe is love?

      Food for thought.

      Rating: ★★★★★ of 5
      Goodreads: 4.6 of 5

      Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: romance, genre: young adult, review
    • An E-Book That Glows in the Dark – NYT

      Posted at 5:38 pm by Laura, on April 26, 2012

      An E-Book That Glows in the Dark – The New York Times – David Pogue

      As you may already know, Barnes & Noble has come out with a new Nook: the GlowLight, an e-reader with a backlight so one can read in the dark. Pretty nifty! But is it really that great?

      First, Pogue makes a very good point towards potential e-reader buyers:

      Because buying a reader isn’t like buying a car, a DVD player or a hair trimmer. All of those tools are fairly universal. You’re not committing to one brand of gas, one kind of movie or one style of mustache.

      No, when you buy an e-reader, you’re committing to that one company’s catalog of books forever, because their book formats are mutually incompatible. You can’t read a Kindle book on a Nook, or a Nook book on a Sony Reader, or a Sony book on an iPad. Sure, you can read Nook and Kindle books on an iPad, but when you buy an actual Nook or Kindle, you’ve just married its company forever. If you ever want to change brands, you have to give up all the books you’ve ever bought.

      He then continues to describe the various e-readers out there, their positive and negative qualities.

      Finally, he gets straight to the point of the article: what the GlowLight Nook is, and whether it’s good.

      All of that long-winded exposition is your introduction to the Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight. Basically, it’s an E Ink screen that self-illuminates. It gives the light gray background of your “page” a gentle glow for nighttime reading, much like the backlight on digital watches.

      …The reality lives up to the theory in every way. The GlowLight Nook offers glorious, clear, peaceful darkened-room reading. The illumination comes on when you press the N button beneath the screen, and detracts nothing from the natural E Ink reading experience. The factory-setting brightness is ideal, but you can make it brighter or dimmer using an on-screen slider.

      Click on the link and be sure to read the second page as well for more information! More comparisons for e-reader shoppers continue. I think if I didn’t already have the Nook, this article would really help me make my decision.

      Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged bookstores, ebooks, ereaders, news, newspaper
    • Talking With Your Fingers – NYT

      Posted at 8:33 pm by Laura, on April 24, 2012

      Talking With Your Fingers – The New York Times – John McHorter

      Keyboard technology, allowing us to produce and receive written communication with unprecedented speed, allows something hitherto unknown to humanity: written conversation. In this sense, they are not “writing” in the sense we are accustomed to. They are fingered speech.

      A sense that e-mail and texting are “poor writing” is analogous, then, to one that the Rolling Stones produce “bad music” because they don’t use violas. Note that one cannot speak capital letters or punctuation. If we accept e-mail and texting as a new way of talking, then their casualness with matters of case and commas is not only expected but unexceptionable.

      Interesting article. What do you think this means for the future of books?

       

      Posted in Link | 0 Comments | Tagged books, news, newspaper
    • World Book Night 2012 – TODAY!

      Posted at 11:00 am by Laura, on April 23, 2012

      What are you giving for World Book Night? How do you plan on making a reader?

      I will be giving away The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and I couldn’t be more excited! I work in a university library as well as the campus Learning Center, where I tutor students on writing. My plan is to give the books to ESL students and those who struggle in their writing skills. This is for two purposes: to take a break from studies and experience American culture through literature, and to show that reading is fun as well as helpful in improving writing abilities.

       

      Posted in books, Update Post | 2 Comments | Tagged books, world book night
    • Book Review: “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins

      Posted at 8:52 am by Laura, on April 22, 2012

      Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

      Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But she’s still not safe. A Revolution is unfolding, and everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans – everyone except Katniss.

      And yet she must play the most vital part in the final battle. Katniss must become their Mockingjay – the symbol of rebellion – no matter what the personal cost.

      Before I begin my review, I should warn any new readers to take this third book slowly. The first time I read it, it was finished in a day and I was left angry and riled up. The war, trauma, and conflicting emotions heighten the tension and despair. It’s vastly different from the previous two, and there’s a very good reason (which I’ll explain later). I read this again slowly, and found I enjoyed it much more and I was able to process everything much more easily.

      Spoilers ahead!

      Katniss and Peeta have been separated, and now it’s Gale’s time to shine. He’s very aggressive and forward in his decisions about the rebellion, which intimidates Katniss at first. In Chapter 7, when they visit District 8 and are attacked by the Capitol, Katniss has only one motivation for the rest of the story: to kill President Snow.

      She is traumatized and hospitalized more than I can count in this novel. With each visit, she deteriorates more and more. Most people have been bothered by the way the narrative changes with her mentality – but I will instead applaud Collins for accurately portraying a victim of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is difficult for Katniss to function in “normal” society, but the second she enters combat she focuses on her motivation. Peeta experiences PTSD as well, and an advanced form of brainwashing. These two are stripped to their most basic personalities by the end of the novel – broken but attempting to heal, each helping the other to survive in a world without the Games.

      Beloved characters die, violence dominates the storyline, and political agendas twist the plot with each chapter. The readers experience every devastation with Katniss, who takes a speedy journey from a self-preserving teenager to a sacrificing, damaged adult.

      Rating: ★★★★ of 5
      Goodreads: 4.8 of 5

      Posted in books, Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: young adult, goodreads
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    • Hello, I’m Laura!

      I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!
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