Scribbles & Wanderlust
  • Home
  • About
  • Clients and Representation
  • Book Reviews
    • Reviews 2012
    • Reviews 2013
    • Reviews 2014
    • Reviews 2015
    • Reviews 2016
    • Reviews 2017
    • Reviews 2018
    • Reviews 2019
    • Reviews 2020
    • Reviews 2021
    • Reviews 2022
    • Reviews 2023
    • Reviews 2024
    • Reviews 2025
  • Features
    • Deal Announcement
    • End of Year Book Survey
    • If We Were Having Coffee
    • This Season’s Rewind
  • Discover a New Read
    • Adult
    • Young Adult
    • Middle Grade
  • Category: Link

    • Goodreads Choice Awards Winners 2012

      Posted at 11:06 am by Laura, on December 4, 2012

      They’ve been announced!!! Congratulations!!!

      Best Fiction was JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy — no surprise there. Gillian Flynn’s best-seller Gone Girl won Best Mystery & Thriller. Of course, Fifty Shades Freed by EL James won for Romance, and Veronica Roth defended her title by winning both Goodreads Author and Best Young Adult Fantasy for Insurgent. The winners for Best Young Adult and Best Paranormal Fantasy makes my heart flutter: John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Deborah Harkness’s Shadow of Night!

      I have a few predictions for next year! Is it too early? Regardless, I’m sending out my opinion.

      Although not every author posts about a book they have due out in the following year, especially a first-time author, I do believe that Cassandra Clare and Lauren Oliver will have to fight for “Young Adult Fantasy” (since apparently dystopians are also called fantasy). Clare will publish her final in the Infernal Devices series, Clockwork Princess, and with the upcoming movie for her Mortal Instruments series there will be plenty of talk about her Shadowhunter world throughout 2013. Oliver is quite successful as well, and her final book in the Delirium trilogy, Requiem, is due out in March.

      And I bet, in the Children’s category, some version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid will appear. It just has to. That series is through the roof with children.

      Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged awards, books, goodreads, news, publishing
    • Book Review: “Between Shades of Gray” by Ruta Sepetys

      Posted at 4:17 pm by Laura, on November 28, 2012

      Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

      Publisher: Speak
      Publishing Date: April 2012
      Genre: young adult, historical fiction
      Goodreads: 4.32
      Rating:
      ★★★★★

      It’s 1941 and fifteen-year-old artist Lina Vilkas is on Stalin’s extermination list. Deported to a prison camp in Siberia, Lina fights for her life, fearless, risking everything to save her family. It’s a long and harrowing journey and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

      How do I write a book review when I’m utterly speechless? How can I persuade a stranger to take a look at a book that has left me reeling, questioning, loving, weeping, aching? I am utterly silent, and this book speaks volumes.

      What is there to say about a work of fiction based on historical fact, kept hushed through history? What is there to say when this fictional piece is a conglomeration of true stories?

      You must read this. If the summary does not persuade you, if my inability to come up with the right words does not persuade you, if the quotes and excerpts below do not piqué your curiosity, then surely this video will push you.

      Everyone needs to know about this book. Everyone needs to know their history.

      Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.

      ~

      The door to the shack blew open. The NKVD pushed inside, pointing guns at us.
      “Davai!” yelled a gaurd, grabbing the man who wound his watch. People began to protest.
      “Please, it’s Christmas Eve,” pleaded Mother. “Don’t try to make us sign on Christmas Eve.”
      The guards yelled and began pushing people out of the shack. I wasn’t leaving without Papa. I scrambled over to the other side of the table. I grabbed our family photo and stuffed it up my dress. I would hide it on the way to the kolkhoz office. [The NKVD guard] Kretzsky didn’t notice. He stood motionless, holding his rifle, staring at all the photographs.

      ~

      How much food was there in America that a ship could drop such an enormous supply for fewer than twenty guards? And now the Americans had sailed away. Did they know the Soviets’ gruesome secret? Were they turning the other cheek?

      ~

      “To the Soviets, there is no more Lithuania, Latvia, or Estonia. Stalin must completely get rid of us to see his vision unlittered.”
      Litter. Is that what we were to Stalin?

      ~

      When I imagined sketching the commander, I had no problem, until I got to his head. My mind saw a clean and pressed uniform, with a nest of wicked snakes sprouting out of his neck, or a skull with hollow black eyes, smoking a cigarette. …I needed to draw them. But I couldn’t, not in front of the commander.

      ~

      Andrius turned. His eyes found mine. “I’ll see you,” he said.
      My face didn’t wrinkle. I didn’t utter a sound. But for the first time in months, I cried.

      Posted in books, Link, Reviews 2012 | 2 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: history, genre: young adult, goodreads, history, review
    • Harper Highs and Lows

      Posted at 8:31 pm by Laura, on November 27, 2012

      Lots of news surrounding HarperCollins lately…

      1. Could HarperSchuster be next? — PaidContent
        “Just three weeks after Random House and Penguin announced that they will merge to form the world’s largest book publisher, News Corp, which owns the book publisher HarperCollins, is reportedly in talks to acquire CBS’s Simon & Schuster. The “preliminary” talks were reported by the News Corp-owned Wall Street Journal, which says News Corp had “expressed interest in” buying Simon & Schuster.” What’s with all the mergers? Could someone explain this to me? If it truly has something to do with a “dying industry” I’ll be quite upset. It’s not dying. It’s changing. Does that always equate mergers? Good thing independent publishers are doing well, though.
      2. HarperCollins Imprint Aims at Lucrative YA Market — NYTimes — Leslie Kaufman
        “The young adult category is perhaps the hottest market in publishing, so it is no surprise that industry executives are looking for every possible entry point. HarperCollins’s latest effort, to be announced Monday, is a digital imprint focusing on young adult short stories and novellas. The imprint, called HarperTeen Impulse, will begin sales on Dec. 4 for short fiction in a variety of genres. Although the imprint is open to both new and established authors, it will lean heavily at first on some reliable names.” Now this is exciting! HarperTeen Impulse will answer to the cry for more YA and with more options, print and digital! This is adaptation. I like it.
      Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: young adult, news, publishing
    • Book Haul

      Posted at 3:06 pm by Laura, on November 26, 2012

      Lately I’ve been MIA apart from posting book reviews. I apologize for that, but as it’s been stated in previous posts, graduate school is certainly taking over. The classes and the opportunities are loads of fun, and working in the publishing field is such a blessing. These final two weeks are going to hit me hard, so once all of that has been completed I will post more about the publishing industry throughout the holidays.

      Until then…

      I purchased four other books for family for Christmas, obviously not pictured. These are the ones I’ve been anxiously waiting to buy!

      Crossed — Ally Condie — “In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.”
      Check out my reviews for Matched and Crossed! About to read Reached!

      Reached — Ally Condie — “After leaving Society and desperately searching for the Rising—and each other—Cassia and Ky have found what they were looking for, but at the cost of losing each other yet again: Cassia has been assigned to work for the Rising from within Society, while Ky has been stationed outside its borders. But nothing is as predicted, and all too soon the veil lifts and things shift once again.”

      The Secret Keeper — Kate Morton — “1961 England. Laurel Nicolson is sixteen years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, when she spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime. Fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress, living in London. She returns to Green Acres for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday and finds herself overwhelmed by memories and questions she has not thought about for decades. She decides to find out the truth about the events of that summer day and lay to rest her own feelings of guilt. One photograph, of her mother and a woman Laurel has never met, called Vivian, is her first clue.”
      Because I want authors to receive their royalties, I purchased this book. I now own the ARC and the final edit! Check out my review.

      The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore  — Joe Bluhm, William Joyce — “Everything in Morris Lessmore’s life, including his own story, is scattered to the winds. But the power of story will save the day.”
      If you’ve never had the chance to watch the Academy Award-winning short film, you should watch it now.

      Daughter of Smoke and Bone— Laini Taylor — “Around the world, black hand prints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grows dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.”
      I blame prettybooks for my interest. Every time I’d see this crop up on her blog or tumblr I’d become more interested.

      Days of Blood and Starlight  — Laini Taylor — “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.”
      Figured if I’m getting the first, might as well get the second!

      Storm Front  — Jim Butcher — “For his first case, Harry is called in to consult on a grisly double murder committed with the blackest of magic. At first, the less-than-solvent Harry’s eyes light up with dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage. Now, that black mage knows Harry’s name. And things are about to get very…interesting.”
      This was recommended to me by a fellow graduate student and new friend. She’s obsessed with Harry Dresden, wizard for hire.

      Posted in books, Link, Update Post | 1 Comment | Tagged books, personal
    • Final Goodreads Choice Awards Round!

      Posted at 4:15 pm by Laura, on November 19, 2012

      Place your final votes for the best books of 2012 at the Goodreads Choice Awards!

      Posted in books, Link | 0 Comments | Tagged awards, books, goodreads
    • Goodreads Choice Awards Round 2

      Posted at 4:08 pm by Laura, on November 12, 2012

      Popping out from the Cave of Overworked Graduate Student to remind you to vote!

      Semifinals are underway!

      Posted in books, Link, Update Post | 0 Comments | Tagged awards, goodreads
    • NY Publishing Houses Struggle to Get Back Online Post-Sandy — PW

      Posted at 8:52 am by Laura, on November 2, 2012

      New York Publishing Struggling to Get Back Online Post-Sandy — Publishers Weekly — Judith Rosen, Rachel Deahl

      Although many on the east coast are powered up once again, thousands in NYC are still managing without power and reliable transportation. Of these include several of our favorite publishing houses. Click the link to see the status report of the Big Six and others in the metropolis, not only for the function of their online presence but the condition of their warehouses as well.

      Posted in books, Link, publishing | 0 Comments | Tagged news, publishing
    • Reading 125 Titles a Year? — NPR

      Posted at 8:35 am by Laura, on November 2, 2012

      Reading 125 Titles a Year? That’s ‘One For the Books’! — NPR

      Joe Queenan reads so many books, it’s amazing that he can also find time to write them. Queenan estimates he’s read between 6,000 and 7,000 books total, at a rate of about 125 books a year — (or 100 in a “slow” year). “Some years I just went completely nuts,” Queenan tells NPR’s Robert Siegel. “A couple years ago I read about 250. I was trying to read a book every single day of the year but I kind of ran out of gas.”

      Queenan is the author of nine books on a diversity of topics: from Closing Time, a memoir about his childhood in a Philadelphia housing project, to Imperial Caddy, a humorous takedown of Dan Quayle. His latest work, called One for the Books, is a meditation on his lifelong obsession with reading. He talks with Siegel about what he reads, why he reads and how he loves books but hates book clubs.

      Definitely read and listen to the interview NPR provides. Queenan has some interesting things to say about libraries (including “most of the books you see in the library shelves are terrible”), bookstores (booksellers recommend books on his appearance), and book clubs (“there’s no theme”). Although I find his constant use of the word “stupid” annoying, he does offer some insight on how he plans what he reads next, what he considers trashy reads, and how many books he thinks the average person reads.

      Makes my goal of 50 books a year seem puny.

      (Have you voted yet for the 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards?)

      Posted in books, Link | 0 Comments | Tagged books, news, radio, reading
    • Goodreads Choice Awards Now Open for Voting!

      Posted at 11:10 am by Laura, on October 30, 2012

      Go here to vote! Some of my predictions were correct, too!

      Prepare to feel torn in the various categories. It was difficult to decide between books.

      Also, to any of my fellow east coasters, are you okay? Philly experienced near black-outs (thankfully I still have power) and hundreds of fallen trees from the winds, but the most damage is in NJ, NC and NY. Check in! Let loved ones know you’re okay!

      Posted in books, Link, Update Post | 2 Comments | Tagged awards, books, goodreads, news
    • Byron Treasure Found — The Independent

      Posted at 9:19 am by Laura, on October 29, 2012

      Byron treasure found in gift to used bookshop — The Independent — Paul Gallagher

      Now a donation to the second-hand bookshop at Harewood House, in Yorkshire, has provided a unique insight into the Leigh family history and Augusta’s place in one of the biggest scandals to rock Georgian society. Although condemned to poverty for the last 33 years of her life, Augusta, the only daughter of Amelia Osborne and John “Mad Jack” Byron, the poet’s father, retained a passion for reading. Her rediscovered literary treasures, inscribed by Augusta and members of her family, belonged to a woman in her 80s who had had them for 40 years without realising their provenance. She acquired the books with a London house in the 1970s Ω the bookshelves were too large to move, so the seller left them, and their contents, behind.

      Volunteers at the bookshop were intrigued by an inscription in The Literary Life and Correspondence of the Countess of Blessington, reading: “Augusta Leigh, St James’ Palace.”

      “That raised my eyebrows,” said Audrey Kingsnorth, the Harewood volunteer who led the research. “I had no idea who Augusta was… That’s when I started looking into the family and saw the [Byron] connection.”

      I think the funny part is that the donor was so excited about what the volunteers told her that she donated more rare books (Lilliputian books, small volumes to show off printers’ ability).

      Posted in books, Link, Update Post | 0 Comments | Tagged authors, books, genre: classics, genre: gothic, genre: poetry, history, news, personal
    ← Older posts
    Newer posts →
    • 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!
    • Search the Blog

    • Currently Reading

    • Book Review Rating Key

      ★★★ — It’s good
      ★★★★ — It’s great
      ★★★★★ — OMG LOVE!!!

    • Recent Posts

      • MSWL for 2026
      • Favorite Reads of 2025
      • Deal Announcement: Nina Moreno, YA Romance
      • Deal Announcement: Sharon Choe, YA Fantasy
      • Deal Announcement: Hanna R. Neier, MG Historical/Contemporary

Blog at WordPress.com.

Scribbles & Wanderlust
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Scribbles & Wanderlust
    • Join 1,204 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Scribbles & Wanderlust
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...