Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine.

The Name of The Star by Maureen Johnson
(Hyperion - September 20, 2011)

Summary:
A modern-day thriller about Rory, an American high-school student who enrolls at a London boarding school for her junior year. Soon after her arrival, a series of murders begins to take place across the city—on the exact dates and in the exact style of Jack the Ripper.

Rory’s ties to the killer bring her in contact with a secret paranormal branch of the British police, as they attempt to stop the mysterious killer.

Reason:
It's Maureen Johnson, do I have to say more? And for the record, Melissa from I Swim For Oceans brought this one to my attention - thanks for that!

Now what books are you waiting for?

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine.

The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle
(Harper Teen - September 6, 2011)

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Laurel's world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new world in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all, there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel's life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss, a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

Reason:
K, I'm blaming Audrey from Holes in my Brain for this one. I just loved If I Stay (it even starred in my presentation about half a year ago!), and this one sounds similar to a small degree. I have to get my hands on it!

Now what books are you waiting for?

If you could only watch one TV show what would it be?

Ack! That's just not possible!!! I need my nerd TV shows like Stargate, then some The Wire, Moonlight (definitely could have used more seasons there), Boston Legal, Blood Ties etc.

Who's your favorite author?

What one thing are you exceptionally bad at?

I'm absolutely horrible at staying organized. Even a full-on cleaning (from start to end) is difficult for me. I keep being distracted...

Who's your favorite author?

I'm back and rambling...

I got you all a quick vlog to let you know what kept me busy, what's coming up & what I will be doing in the next weeks.

Without further ado, the vlog:



Please note that I will have a compact course for about a week starting next Wednesday. This might keep me pretty busy, but I will try to check in whenever I can & write some updates here as I go with my stacks on top of the reviews I'll schedule over the next few days.

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik
(Harper Teen - August 2, 2011)

Summary:
At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

• As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

• As the daughter of the new principal, new-girl-on-campus Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long. Fans of Susane Colasanti (When It Happens), Polly Shulman (Enthusiasm), and, of course, Jane Austen will love finding out if Elise’s love life will be an epic win or an epic fail.

Reason:
Kari from A Good Addiction brought this one to my attention. It sounds so good and absolutely hilarious!

Now what books are you waiting for?

Book Review: BABE IN BOYLAND by Jody Gehrman

Author	Jody Gehrman
Title	Babe in Boyland
Publisher	Dial
Date of Publication	February 17, 2011
Page Count	304
ISBN	978-0-803-73274-2

Summary
Natalie is Dr. Aphrodite, her school newspaper's advice columnist. However, her advice is bad and by the time we first meet her, almost everyone is mad at her for telling the girls who write in exactly what she thinks they want to hear instead of telling them how it really is. To find out what guys really think and why they do the things they do, she decides to dress up as Nat, a boy, and attend the nearby Underwood Academy, an all-boys prep school.

My thoughts
In my opinion, the best books are those you can't possibly put down, the books that keep you awake far too long at night and that end far too soon, no matter how many pages they have. Babe in Boyland is definitely one of those books. I read it over the course of approximately two busy days and lost quite a few hours of sleep - and it was all worth it!

The basic premise of this book already exists in quite a few forms - the most popular written version is probably Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (if you haven't read it yet, do so, it's great!) and a fun movie version is She's The Man with Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum (yup, I admit I love that movie!). Despite those well-known takes, Jody Gehrman took the "girl dresses up as a boy, meets a boy and falls for him" story line and made it into an amazing book to read!

Besides the plot that kept me going and never bored me in the least, and Jody Gehrman's wonderful writing, I especially loved the way Natalie's character developed. There was a very distinct difference in the Natalie before and in the early stages of her "undercover project" as Nat and her actions towards the end. I really love those developments when they're not all out impossible, awkward and hard to believe. And in this case, I think it is even eye-opening to a certain degree. Cause really, girls and guys still have problems communicating (umm, yeah, I'm like a prime example *blush*).

Natalie's friends are also wonderful characters with dimension. There are Natalie's friends Chloe and Darcy, who help her throughout the whole process, transforming her into Nat and back, they cover for her while she stays at Underwood Academy. These girls have known each other for years. They're very close and always stick up for each other, even if they argue every now and then. One scene in which the girls' close connection is shown in a way I absolutely loved was the Halloween party when they talk about their costumes. The three girls have always dressed up as a threesome, be it Charlie's Angels, the three Stooges or three characters from The Wizard of Oz!

Then there are the slightly crazy geeks Max, Tyler and Earl, and Nat's roommate Emilio at Underwood Academy. May, Tyler and Earl are well aware of the fact that they're far from the most popular guys at Underwood, but they also know that their friendship is a good thing and don't mind their they are probably the nicest guys ever. In a good way! And Emilio is not necessarily a social outcast, but he is the first to admit that he doesn't have any really close friends at school. He had good friends at home, but at Underwood there's no one he can really relate to and so he tends to be quieter and more reclusive in a way.

This book definitely deserves 5 Stars and is already on my best of 2011 list!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill from Breaking The Spine.

Royally Crushed by Niki Burnham
(Simon Pulse - March 22, 2011)

Summary:
Valerie’s life is pretty good. While she’s not the most popular girl in school, she does have decent grades, great friends, and a potential boyfriend. All a girl could want.

Then her mother announces that (1) she’s gay, and (2) she’s leaving Valerie’s dad for her girlfriend. Not what Valerie envisioned for her future. And just when Valerie is getting over this bombshell, her father tells her he’s gotten a new job as protocol chief for the royal family of some obscure European country.

Valerie’s world has come unglued. She can either stay in Virginia with her mom and her über-organized, veggie-burger-eating girlfriend, or go with her dad, leaving everything she knows for some place she’s never heard of. Valerie opts to go, and quickly discovers that it was a mistake — until she meets the prince, and all bets are off!

Reason:
It's all the fault of Shanyn from Chick Loves Lit. I checked my Google reader today and she was the first to bring this one to my attention. I'm more than intrigued by this summary. It seems like Valerie's life will be turned upside down by her parents' decisions regarding their lives. To me it is always interesting to see how teenagers react to abrupt and big changes in their lives.

Now what books are you waiting for?

*statistics* February 2011

I'm so late with this, but I had to look up the page counts for some books at my parents' first.

books read

1) Michael Mittermeier: Achtung Baby (book by German comedian)
2) Justin Halpern: S#*! My Dad Says
3) Jhumpa Lahiri: Unaccustomed Earth
4) M.C. Beaton: Death of a Prankster
5) Ngaio Marsh: Death in a White Tie
6) Shannon Stacey, Jaci Burton, Megan Hart & Lauren Dane: Naughty and Nice
7) G.K. Chesterton: Father Brown Short Story Collection #1
8) Laura Lippman: The Girl In The Green Rain Coat
9) Kathi Lipp: The Me Project
10) Jean Webster: Daddy-Long-Legs

books that hit the wall

1) Aprilynne Pike: Wings
2) Helene Boudreaux: Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings

new books on Mt. TBR

1) Mike Lancaster: 0.4
2) DD Barant: Killing Rocks
3) Michael Mittermeier: Achtung Baby!
4) Kathi Lipp: The Me Project
5) Courtney Milan: Unveiled
6) Patricia Davids: An Amish Christmas
7) M.C. Beaton: Death of a Prankster
8) M.C. Beaton: A Highland Christmas
9) Patricia Davids: The Doctor's Blessing
10) Julia Karr: XVI
11) Laura Lee Guhrke: Wedding of the Season
12) Courtney Milan: Unveiled
13) Jonathan Langford: No Going Back
14) Judi Fennel: I Dream of Genies
15) Jill Shalvis: Animal Magnetism
16) Nella Larsen: Quicksand
17) Lisa Yee: Millicent Min, Girl Genius
18) Ellen Hopkins: Burned
19) Jean Webster: Daddy-Long-Legs
20) Jhumpa Lahiri: Interpreter of Maladies / The Namesake
21) Rebecca Maizel: Infinite Days (German edition)
22) Richelle Mead: Thorn Queen (German edition)
23) Stephan Orth & Antje Blinda: Sorry, wir haben die Landebahn verfehlt

=> new books: 23
=> books read: 10
=> current Mt. TBR: 332 (up from 319)

challenges

Series Challenge

No progress in February, I'm afraid, but I hope to work on it some more in March.

Debut Author Challenge

This is not good! Again no progress in February.

Criminal Plots Reading Challenge

I believe Laura Lippman blurbed one of my mysteries / thrillers read in 2010, so The Girl In The Green Raincoat counts in. I have to make sure though, so I'm holding out on the final judgment.
The Father Brown mysteries were all made into movies, so that should count.

Pages Read Challenge

6,458 pages (of 25,000)