Building the Book Pile #139

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

What's Happening?! 

How was your week ? Let me know in the comments.


What a crazy week, not much reading done but there was a lot of excitement - Armchair BEA happened this week, so I also stalked twitter a lot for #BEA15 info and giveaways - since I couldn't go. I had a small party on Friday just because and my hubby left on a 5 day motorcycle trip to Maine with a friend. (I miss him already and may just sleep the whole time he is gone...)

I guess I went a bit crazy this week requesting things from Netgalley - because I got a lot of Graphic Novels and MG stories to read :) They all look cute.

Can you believe it is almost JUNE?!!! WOWZA!

I hope you all had a wonderful week! Let me know in the comments!

Giveaways Going on NOW

   

 Armchair BEA Giveaway - MG Prize Pack/ YA Prize Pack

Coming up on the Blog...

  Monthly Re-Cap: May 2015
Early Reader Review: Flutterby Field by Naqeeya A.R. (MG)
Early Reader Review: Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad #4 by Jeffery Burandt (Comic)
Recent Reads: The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress (YA)
Recent Reads: Being Layla Hart by Amanda McKelt (MG)

      

 

Books Received this Week

           

Survive the Night by Danielle Vega from Penguin First to Read
The Princess and the Fog by Lloyd Jones from Netgalley and Jessica Kingsley Publisher for review
Monsters Say Goodnight by Doreen Mulryan Marts from Netgalley and Capstone for review
The October Faction (Volume 1) by Steve Niles from Netgalley and IDW for review
Powerpuff Girls: Super Smash-Up by Various from Netgalley and IDW for review
Mama Cried by Talia Haven from the Author for review consideration
(Not shown) Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad (Chapter 3&4) by Jeffery Burandt from Oni Press for review consideration 

 

Have you missed anything lately?  

• Recent Reads: Meerkat Madness by  Ian Whybrow (MG) - 3 stars
• Armchair BEA: Introductions/ Library Lovin'
• Armchair BEA: Visual Expressions / Social Media
• Early Reader Review: Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad #3 by Jeffery Burandt (Comic) - 4 stars
• Armchair BEA: GIVEAWAY DAY!!!

 

Comment and leave me a link to your Round-up/ STS/ Weekly...anything, post and I will happily stop by and say hello!

 Happy Reading!

Armchair BEA 2015: Day 4 - Giveaway!!!!

It is another year and that means another Armchair BEA for those of us who couldn't make it to the actual BEA Conference.  
(Click the Banner for more info)

 This year there is even a theme! DIVERSITY!!! WOO HOO.

If you haven't already, go sign up to play with us, Armchair BEA registration is HERE.

Day 4: Giveaways!!!!

As the past few years ... this year too will be a mystery - I have one (1) MG book Prize Pack and one (1) YA book Prize Pack.

Rules

• US only, sorry. 
• Must be 13 w/parent permission or older. 
• Enter in the Rafflecopter widget below. 
• You will have 48 hours to claim your prize (via email) or forfeit it :(

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Early Reader Review: Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad # 3 by Jeffery Burandt

Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad by Jeffery Burandt, Illustrated by Dennis Cilver and Ramon Villalobos
Series: Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad Chapter 3
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication Date:  May 26, 2015

 

Format: ebook
Source: From Oni Press in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ebook in no way altered my opinion or review.

Rating:








Synopsis: 

Liz, Bodey, Maude, and Justine's band, Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad, are sure to win this year's Battle of the Bands. But when a talking chimp, who claims to be a scientist from the mysterious organization B.L.A.N.K., interrupts their practice session, the band's got a whole new set of problems. Now B.L.A.N.K. agents are closing in, determined to recapture the escaped chimp before he becomes a liability. Jeffrey Burandt (Americans UK) and Dennis Culver (Edison Rex) bring you this thrilling tale of cyborg animals and punk rock teenagers. 1, 2, 3, 4!

Review: 
I am so glad I have stuck with this one. Odd is becoming more eventful with all sorts of new cyborg animals all over the book and one by one we are introduced to new characters as well. 

All the original characters in this one are fighting life to get to battle of the bands and now there is still a talking monkey to deal with. 

I don't want to spoil the whole storyline so here is what is important - this is a weird book, but a good one so far. The illustrations are bold and easy to read and follow and the characters are strange and real. I am loving it.


 

Armchair BEA 2015: Day 2 - Visual Expressions & Social Media

It is another year and that means another Armchair BEA for those of us who couldn't make it to the actual BEA Conference.  
(Click the Banner for more info)

 This year there is even a theme! DIVERSITY!!! WOO HOO.

If you haven't already, go sign up to play with us, Armchair BEA registration is HERE.

Day 2: Visual Expressions & Social Media

...Visual Expressions...

 Woot for today! I love Graphic Novels, Comics, and Picture books! OH SO MUCH. I love to add them in to read-a-thons as breaks from long pages of words and enjoy the colors and art of wonderful illustrators and artists. It is just such a relief. So here are some of my favorite series (right now) and where to start if you are interested.

 

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things (Volume 1) by Ted Naifeh 

Courtney is one of my favorite series, I love the dark macabre art that it includes and I love the storyline. Courtney is a young girl whose family decides they are going to move to live with her creepy old uncle in a mansion that looks and feels like it is out of the Addams family. Courtney soon realizes there is more than meets the eye with her uncle Al and the story is AMAZING.

 

Harley Quinn #1 (The New 52 Series) by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti

So I love me some Batman but that is a lot of backstory to trudge through it you really want the whole experiences - so I stick to what I love - a strong female and Harley Quinn or Harleen Quinzel is just that. AND you get a good amount of story and some back story about her in this new run of comics about her. The New 52 came out in 2011 as a revamp of the older DC comics - trying to regain readership. It was a great idea. There is some time for you to catch up on the 16 or so comics that are out now as DC (and Marvel for that matter) are going another angle for a bit with their new Convergence (and Marvel's Secret Wars). The new Convergence run was only for two months but when we come back to Harley I think we are getting a Harley/ Power Girl Mash up...

Sorry the nerd came WAY out on that one :/

Lenore by Roman Dirge - Volume 1 Noogies

I am sensing a pattern in myslef with all these creepy crazy female leads in my comics ...hmmm... I should think on that... OH WELL!

Lenore is another one of these darker graphic novels I have read and I think her is adorable - she is a little dead girl who has a plethora of other strange talking things to help her on her adventures, slight spoiler - they do sometimes kill people, but mostly it is COMPLETE coincidence :)

Here are a few others that I enjoy...

      

 

...Social Media...

Social Media is daily for me, I have an office job and there is some down time so I am online A LOT. I have accounts with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, Librarything... I think that is all of them.

 I use Facebook more in my personal life than for Blogging - however I do have a Cover2CoverBlog Facebook Page, feel free to stop by and say hello. 

I have a Twitter account that I hop on almost daily to read through real quick and both my Facebook Page an Twitter are automatically fed my blog posts. Although druing BEA I am not on Twitter much because the jealousy is strong when I see all of the books people are getting -- and I am working :(

I use Goodreads and Librarything for finding books and reviewing very regularly and am on them ALL the time.

 The other accounts are really just around, I use them every so often but not really.

Armchair BEA 2015: Day 1 - Library Lovin'

It is another year and that means another Armchair BEA for those of us who couldn't make it to the actual BEA Conference.  
(Click the Banner for more info)

 This year there is even a theme! DIVERSITY!!! WOO HOO.

If you haven't already, go sign up to play with us, Armchair BEA registration is HERE.

Day 1: Library Lovin'

  I recently found my library - it is a weird situation. I live in VT but work in NH so I pass like 3 NH libraries on my way to and from work but the VT library isn't really on my way anywhere so I had not bothered. But then I realized (even though I have too many TBRs here on my shelf) that I just needed more options. So I found it.... the most adorable and wonderful library :)

This is it...

Photo Compliments of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HartfordVT_Library.jpg

Isn't it wonderfully cute and quaint? 

It is pretty much an older home and the various rooms are different sections of books. the basement is all the YA and MG that I love AND they rent DVDs too so I have been checking out older movies of my youth :) SO MUCH FUN.

 SO MUCH love for this place. 

They are even doing an adult summer reading program/ challenge and giving away a Kindle which I found amazing!

Armchair BEA 2015: Day 1 - Introductions

It is another year and that means another Armchair BEA for those of us who couldn't make it to the actual BEA Conference.  
(Click the Banner for more info)

 This year there is even a theme! DIVERSITY!!! WOO HOO.

If you haven't already, go sign up to play with us, Armchair BEA registration is HERE.

Day 1: Introductions 

Tell us a bit about yourself: How long have you been blogging? Where are you from? How did you get into blogging?

I am Stephanie, I live in the US in Vermont and I have been blogging since February 2012. I read a lot and used to bother my husband while he was doing things and he told me I needed a hobby and I should start book-blogging - so I did and is has become more than just a hobby, I love it!

Why do you loving reading and blogging?

I love reading because you can go anywhere, be anyone for a chunk of time and it is thrilling. I love blogging because I love that I can share my passion for reading with others and I hope they find my reviews helpful.

What is your theme song?

Yesss....  I love this movie and this theme and even have the soundtrack in my car that I listen to (yes I am a crazy person)

What does diversity mean to you?

Wow, that is a hard one. Diversity to me is a variety of things - giving me options. In the book world this can be characters - genders, races, orientations - and even overall themes as well.

What is one book everyone should read?

One? :/ The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. All the emotion - this is how a book should be.

Share your favorite blog post on your blog. (aka written by you!)

hm... this is a hard one. I would have to say one of my first blog reviews The Peculiars, I requested this book through Netgalley after creating my blog and reviewed it for that purpose so really it got me started. It is nothing fancy but it was a monumental occasion for Cover2CoverBlog.

What is your favorite genre and why?

Young Adult Fantasy, because I love the teenage angst (not sure why) and I love mythical creatures and the crazy-adventurous things that can happen in fantasy.

What book are you reading right now?

I have been reading Empire of Sin for a while now, it is non-fiction and I just have to really be in the mood to read it... I am also reading Vivian Apple at the End of the World.

  

What is the top book in your TBR pile?

Top as in been there the longest? That would be Old Habits a Wicked Lovely Novella (#2.6) Or which one I want to read right now? That would be Carry On  by Rainbow Rowell coming out later this year -- want SO bad to read that one!

What book are you most looking forward to reading this summer?

ALL of them..., no really, I need to catch up on my reading I have so many books I need to review, I really to to just binge read all summer long!

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what author would you want to bring with you? Why?

Oh that is a good question and a hard one...I feel like I would want to be stranded with Agatha Christie they mystery writer (if she were still alive). I love all of her books - esp. as beach reads so why not be on the beach with her?! Right?!

Take a picture of your bookshelf and share it with us! :) (#ABEAShelfie)

 Here are some of my shelves - I really have books everywhere though.

Recent Reads: Meerkat Madness by Ian Whybrow

Meerkat Madness by Ian Whybrow
Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
Publication Date:  April 1, 2013

 

Format: Paperback
Source: BEA 2013  (Yes, I still have books in my TBR from BEA.)

Rating:


 

 


Goodreads Synopsis: 

"Meerkat Madness " is an uproarious mini-novel for kids in Barron's frantically funny, stupendously silly, and fun-filled "Awesome Animals" series. Kids will start laughing the moment they open this short, easy-to-read novel--and they'll keep on turning the pages to find out which new tricks these hilarious Meerkats are getting ready to concoct next. Comical black-and-white cartoon-style illustrations appear on many pages to capture the story's zany spirit. All "Awesome Animals" novels are divided into chapters, so that boys and girls can put the books down when Mom calls them for dinner--though kids will want to pick these stories up again as soon as they can! 

Review: 
This was a cute book and I liked it but it wasn't anything spectacular, to me at least. We follow four Meerkats on an adventure that has them fighting off birds of prey, other Meerkat tribes, and even vroom-vrooms. 

I enjoyed the information that this book shares about Meerkats and how they do things - the hierarchy of their groups, how they eat and watch for predictors and how they interact with one another. The story was very fun as well. These four kats are trying to leave their burrow for a new one and their experiences are fun filled and exciting. The book is written in a very clever way, in that everything is from the Meerkat's point of view so human things are foreign to them and it makes for some laugh-out-loud moments.

I think younger readers will get a kick out of this book, it is cute, informational, and fun, and there are even illustrations as well.

Building the Book Pile #138

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

What's Happening?! 

How was your week ? Let me know in the comments.


This week was another great one. Read more books! I am excited for my 3-day weekend and plan to read/ sleep/ watch corny movies :) What do you have planned? Do you have a long weekend too?

I am also getting ready for Armchair BEA 2015 which starts on Wednesday to coincide with the actual BEA conference. As I am part of the planning committee for it, I am even more pumped than usual - we have a theme! DIVERSITY! So make sure to stop by, sign up, and read through the Armchair BEA Agenda.
Also if you have any Blogging Q&A questions, please share them in the comments and I would be happy to answer as many as I can in Friday's post. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful week! Let me know in the comments!

Giveaways Going on NOW

 

Coming up on the Blog...

Next week is BEA and so thus Armchair BEA!

 

Recent Reads: Meerkat Madness by  Ian Whybrow (MG)

Recent Reads: The Friday Society by Ardienne Kress (YA)

Armchair BEA: Introductions/ Library Lovin'

Armchair BEA: Visual Expressions / Social Media

Armchair BEA: Characters / Blogging Q&A

Armchair BEA: GIVEAWAY DAY!!!

      

 

Books Received this Week

     

Being Layla Hary by Amanda McKelt for Review
Retaliation: A Novel by Yasmin Shiraz for review consideration from the author

 

Have you missed anything lately?  

• Recent Reads: The New 52- Harley Quinn #15 & #16 by Amanda Conner (Comics) - 4 stars for both
• Recent Reads: The Question of Miracles by Elena Arnold (MG) - 5 stars
• Recent Reads: A'dab's Gift by Talia Haven (Short Story, MG)- 4 stars
  
• Early Reader Review: Odd Schnozz and the Odd Squad, Chapter 2 by Jeffery Burandt (Comic)
• Recent Reads (DNF): Atlantia by Ally Condie (YA)
• Blog Blast: Twisted Fairytale Confessions (NA) 

 

Comment and leave me a link to your Round-up/ STS/ Weekly...anything post and I will happily stop by and say hello!

 Happy Reading!

Blog Blast: Twisted Fairytale Confessions - Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah Pepper

Death of the Mad Hatter by Sarah Pepper

Series: Twisted Fairytale Confessions
Publisher: CreateSpace
Publication Date:  November 29, 2013

 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

The Jack prophesied: If the king loses his head, then the Queen with a Bleeding Heart would rule the Red Court until Time ceased to move forward. When a second carried on for infinity, every creature in Wonderland would tip their Hat to the misfit girl with a Boy’s name (or was it a boy with a Girl’s name?) who’d end the Reign of Terror. However, it all hinged on the One-Eyed Hare being able to convince an uninspirable Heir that the impossible was indeed possible—like stopping time—and that Love was worth a Beheading.

Heads would Roll…
Hearts would Break…
In the end, would it matter who Reigned?

 

Top Three Interesting Retellings of Alice in Wonderland and why they deserve to be mentioned?

I thought it would be fun to incorporate a few of the original Alice in Wonderland quotes to reference the most significant (to me) Wonderland retellings.

“Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

I’ve always been a little afraid of Alice’s story—okay, lame I know, but I blame Disney for my irrational fear of all things Wonderland. I watched the movie when I was a young girl, and being a food lover, I was petrified. Why? Because Alice ate some yummy food and then didn’t stop growing!! How could you hide the fact that you snuck a cupcake from Mom when you are ten feet tall? So eating a wonderous breakfast was out of the question. If a cupcake could make me a giant, then I wasn’t about to try the orange juice.

“You would have to be half mad to dream me up.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Johnny Depp’s Alice in Wonderland would probably be my next favorite retelling. Any J.D. fan will love his performance. He gets so into his characters, becoming them through and through. Since Death of the Mad Hatter is focused mainly on the Mad Hatter, I was inspired by Depp and hope that is portrayed in the novel. Maybe I, me, and myself, am a little bit mad to dream up a character who is unapologetically insane.

“Off with their heads!”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

“Wonderland was an intoxicating, magical world where the most farfetched dreams could come true and the impossible was possible. Conversely, it was a realm where the most daunting nightmares could haunt us until the end of time”—Death of the Mad Hatter. To me, Wonderland is a beautiful haunting place (probably because I have mixed feelings about their food). But to another person, the food might be the best part about the fantasy world. I just love how far the imagination can take you, which is why Alice in Zombieland is my third favorite retelling. The author took us to a completely different Wonderland than what most people imagine. So off with their zombie heads!