YA for NJ auction

You all have heard me complain about being powerless during and after Hurricane Sandy (AKA Superstorm Sandy), but you also know that I consider myself to be quite fortunate because all I lost was power for 11 days. The devastation in New Jersey is so massive that I still can't even wrap my head around it. The boardwalk where we take our daughter every summer? Gone. The pier where she had her fifth birthday party? Gone. Houses were literally uprooted from their foundations. My brother's friend's house was flooded and he found fish in his basement. People are homeless and displaced. A full month has gone by, and it's still terrible. There are charities galore, and no shortage of places to donate your money and time.

Well, here's another one, and this one will surely interest my fellow YA-fanatics! Kieran Scott (author of the She's So/He's So trilogy and many others) has single-handedly created a fantastic auction, with all proceeds to donate the Community Foodbank of New Jersey. You guys, she got 170 authors to donate swag, autographs books and ARCs, and tons more. Just a few of the names you might recognize: Megan McCafferty, Lauren Oliver, Sarah Ockler, Michael Northrop, Libba Bray, Susane Colasanti, Daisy Whitney...the list goes on and on. There are 200 items to be listed!

The auction is starting on eBay tonight! Get all the info on YA for NJ's Facebook page, and check out the auctions on eBay here! If I'm not mistaken, everything goes live tonight at 8pm EST.

I hope you'll check it out and if something strikes your fancy, I encourage you to open your hearts and your wallets for this amazing cause. I love knowing that the money raised from these auctions will be helping people right here.

Enjoy your reading!
Christi

In My Mailbox (111)

In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books received, purchased, or borrowed.

So here's what I got this week:

Borrowed from the library:

• A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (another assigned reading for the award committee)

Purchased for my nook:

• The Secret of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen (only $0.99!)

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Cold Nights & Warm Books Holiday Book Swap!

Just wanted to share!!

I'm part of the

This is a great opportunity to give some books to people who share your interests, and GET some books to add to your library! But it only works if lots of people sign. Up. You can sign up either at Emily's blog or Enna's blog. Sign ups are open until November 22nd.

SIGN UP TODAY!

In My Mailbox (110)

In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books received, purchased, or borrowed.

So here's what I got this week:

ARC received from publisher (thank you!): Altered by Jennifer Rush

Borrowed from the library:

• Send Me a Sign by Tiffany Schmidt
• What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton
• Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally
• Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos
• Playground by 50 Cent (I'm on an award selection committee and this is one of the contenders for the list)
• Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (another contender and also a contender for next year's summer reading list at the high school)

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Super Short Reviews (16)

Here are some super short reviews of some books I've read lately. Links will take you to Goodreads.

Crewel by Gennifer Albin (read for 2012 Debut Author Challenge; arc from BEA): I held off on reading this for so long because I really haven't been in the mood for dystopian fiction in a while. During Superstorm Sandy, however, I was determined to make a dent in my TBR pile, and so it went. The premise sounds intriguing--single women, called Spinsters, are responsible for weaving time, nature, everything. However, even though I know this book has received lots of great reviews, but I almost gave up 60 pages in. I really struggled through the first half of the book--I didn't understand a lot of what was going on with the characters, and I know next to nothing about spinning so I was a little lost there. I stuck with it, though, and I'm glad I did, because the second half of the book was way better than the first. Of course it's a trilogy (what is this trend that dystopians have to be trilogies?) so of course there was a humongous cliffhanger at the end. It was intriguing enough that I will probably add the second book to my TBR pile when it releases.

Tangled by Carolyn Mackler (own paperback): I think that both of the covers for this books are misleading--they totally indicate that this is some lighthearted, fun novel about four teens whose lives intertwine. And yes, Tangled was, in many ways, a fun read--I especially enjoyed the sections narrated by football star Dakota--but it definitely delves deeper into the teenage psyche than the covers would have you believe. It was an enjoyable read, don't get me wrong. I love the idea that four teens can meet briefly over spring break (or even not really meet, as in the case of Jena and Owen) but have their lives intertwine for a long time after.

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

In My Mailbox (109)

In My Mailbox is an Internet meme hosted by The Story Siren to share new books received, purchased, or borrowed.

I am back! Power was restored at about 4:45pm on Thursday--well into Day 11 of no power. Best Girl and I were actually in the garage, gathering wood to start a fire, when we heard my neighbor screaming like a banshee (I don't like my neighbors). We went upstairs and we had power!! I checked the settings on my phone and not only did we have power, but we had internet, too! We were a happy family that night.

So, besides the power, here's what I got this week and last:

Purchased:

• Collateral and Tilt by Ellen Hopkins (for her appearance that has since been cancelled)

For my nook:

• Danny's Mom by Elaine Wolf: Here's a long story for you: Best Girl and I made the trek out to B&N one powerless day, because my nook was frozen. Customer service, I  have to say, was not very helpful at first. They tried charging it (I explained that I did try to charge it, but because we didn't have power, I didn't feel that was the best use of the generator LOL), even though the battery was fully charged. The nook guy actually told me that if they couldn't unfreeze it, he would have to give me the number to Customer Service, and, because they don't even make that model nook anymore, the best they would probably be able to do is give me a discount on a new one. I told him that was unacceptable, and if that is considered good customer service, I would never buy another eReader from B&N again. I understand that my model isn't available anymore, but seriously? My nook is just over two years old (purchased Oct 2010). I really expect it to last longer than that. Well, once he heard that I might be jumping ship for a Kindle, he swapped out the battery and voila! The problem was solved. We had wandered around B&N for a while and I could not find any of the books on my to-read list, so I downloaded Danny's Mom to my nook instead. :)

What did you get?

Enjoy your reading!

Christi

Just keeping track

I don't want to forget the books I've read while powerless and I can't seem to figure out how to edit pages on my phone. So this post is more for me than you guys lol And yes, that means that I'm still without power. It's been nine days and we have a. Nor'easter scheduled to blast us today. Sigh.

Crewel by Gennfier Albin (2012DAC)
Bloom by Elizabeth Scott (2012TBR)
The List by Siobhan VIvian (2012TBR)

Edited to add: TEN DAYS with no power and guess what? A SNOWSTORM NOR'EASTER!! You can't make this stuff up!

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder (2012TBR)

Sandy

Hey all. Just downloaded the blogger app on my iphone so I could let you know that we were right in the ground zero area of Sandys wrath. The pictures you've been seeing of Seaside, with 2 piers in the water? That's where we hang out in the summer. Gone.

We are a little bit more inland and are very, very lucky. We suffered no house damage except that we're well past the 72 hour mark of no power. No heat, no internet, no hot water, all we have is a small generator that we turn on for a couple hours a day to keep the fridge cold and our woodburning stove, which I'm Reluctant to fiddle with when my husband isn't home. They're saying maybe Wednesday before power is back on. BUT there are so, so many people who have it so much worse so
Please don't feel sorry for me. I just wanted to let you know what was going on, & that I probably won't be posting (except for whatever I've scheduled) because its really hard to do this on my phone!

If you would like to help those who really need it, please do. I know the American Red Cross is a reputable agency.

I will let you all know when my life has returned to normal.

Thanks!! Enjoy your reading!
Christi