LOLZ Cat does not cotton to the reading slump….
So….the year’s end is approaching
and we Bookworms are using this week to take stock
and look back on the year that was.
And what an AMAZING year I have had!
Like Cutie, I was lucky enough to make the list of people
Danny asked to join her in her fun new venture,
a little blog where we could talk about books.
EASY DECISION!
And it worked out so great!
I’m so blessed to have found and kept all my twi-girls/Bookworms as friends.
I still think back fondly, a little over two years ago to when
my BFF gave me a stack of books I just HAD to read.
Who could have guessed it would be the gateway drug
*cough*Twilight*cough*
that would lead me to such an amazing group
of smart, funny, gorgeous women?
And these women have pushed me to grow.
When I whined to Uhyesplease that
I needed to get off my duff and
write the next great American novel,
she has continuously cheered me on.
(publication pending)
When I was in my NaNo doldrums and
ready to chuck my book,
Danny helped me figure out my plot.
When I was scared to go to my first author signing
in over a decade
because I thought I might go
all fan girl crazy over Margie and Kami,
Heather came and held me back held my hand.
And my dear, dear Cutie!
My very first twi-friend and
the girl who pushed me to start writing again
after years and years and years.
There just aren’t enough hugs, woman!
But enough sappy stuff…let’s get to the goods:
Here are my five favorite
(yes, Cutie, I chose five just for you!)
BLOG RELATED
things that I discovered this year:
- Author Meetings
I have discovered the JOY that is Anderson’s Bookshop.
This Indie Bookshop is my MECCA for meeting authors.Like….
Margaret Stohl, Kami Garcia, Carrie Ryan,
Melissa Marr, Becca Fitzpatrick, Anna Jarzab
and Scott Westerfeld to name a just few! - ARCs
Oh My Freaking Gosh!!!
You can actually READ a book
before it is published for general consumption?!?!?!
I was SO lucky to get my paws on
couple of AMAZING ARCs this year!
Like….
Sapphique, Beautiful Darkness and Darkest Mercy!
How freaking awesome was that? - Mystery Book Exchanges
Uhyesplease thought this little challenge up
and I couldn’t be happier that she did!
I got to read Outlander and Geek Love,
two books I loved and two books
I don’t think I would have picked up without
someone jamming them into my hands. - Giveaways
Apparently nothing gives me greater pleasure than to give stuff away!
I LOVE contests!!
I know Danny does too and this is why
we’ve had 14 contests this year alone!
I’ve been to my post office so much
they either think I’m running my own business
or am a terrorist
(hopefully it’s the former….)
but seriously I just LOVE wrapping up
the gift of a book and shipping it off
to be cherished by someone else.It gives me the happy.
- Promoting Authors
I had no idea, when we first started this blog,
that it would be a venue for me to not only squee
about how much I loved this or that book,
but that it might actually benefit
some authors who
truly deserve to be known by greater audiences.
It tickles me pink to think
that someone might discover an author or a book
that they will come to love
because I spent a few minutes
typing up a squee fest
but there you have it.
It’s one of the best benefits of book blogging.
Some pretty cool things to have discovered, hunh?
And what am I hoping to discover in 2011?
- The insane awesomeness that is BEA
Danny tells me that we absolutely
MUST
attend in 2011
and even though I’m supposed to be finding a new job
and my husband might be attending
a conference of his own during the same week,
I’m working to make that happen.Many of my best bloggy friends attended in 2010
and said that it is an event unlike any other. - An AMAZING Indie Author hit it HUGE!
What I wouldn’t give to see
JL Bryan on the NY Time Best Selling Authors list!
It SERIOUSLY kills me to see
Sarah Palin on that list and not JL Bryan.
Seriously?Not to dog on Mrs. Palin,
but we have some SERIOUSLY under-loved,
fantastically written books out there by a certain Mr. Byran.Just sayin’.
- That a book I adore,
and has been optioned for film rights,
ACTUALLY makes it to the big screen.
I don’t care which one:
Beautiful Creatures,
Wicked Lovely,
The Forest of Hands and Teeth,
Incarceron,
whatever!I WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE!!!!
Come on, Hollywood!! Make it happen!
And not in a scholcky,
Hang-on-tight-Spider-Monkey kind of a way
but in a
Harry-Potter-Oh-My-Freaking-Gosh-
Let’s-Watch-It-Again-and-Again kind of a way.WORD!
- That a certain Super Secret Locale
can host an Author Signing
I can’t believe that the Southwestern states of America
are neglected so egregiously!
If nothing else, it’s hot down there!!!
No one wants to take the January leg
of their book signing tour
through the hottest states in the Union???Let’s go folks!
- The next WOW book.
Let’s face it…
we blog about books because we love reading them.
Already I’ve read a couple of
amazing books that I’ll be reviewing in the new year
and I have to say what I love most about this blog
is that it pushes me to keep reading new and interesting things.I’m a rut kind of a girl
and can happily read my way through
the entire works of a single beloved author
*cough*Julia Quinn*cough*
before moving on to anything new,
but as a book blogger I’m constantly
signing on to read the unknown,
which I have found suits me just as well.I love discovering the new author that knocks my socks off!
So….not too shabby for 2010
and an even brighter outlook for 2011.
And with that,
I’m going to leave you with
my twelve favorite books of 2010
(I tried to do five and well….
at least it’s just one a month, right?):
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Jenny Pox by JL Bryan
Beautiful Darkness by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia
The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Fade, Wake and Gone by Lisa McMann
Incarceron and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher
Sea by Heidi Kling
All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
Latest posts by Danny (see all)
- INTENSITY by Sherrilyn Kenyon – Excerpt & Giveaway - September 8, 2017
- Locked in Temptation – Q&A withBrenda Jackson & Giveaway - August 4, 2017
- Locked in Temptation by Brenda Jackson – Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway - July 26, 2017
I'm totally in love with you, but you knew that already! What a great Recap of the year!
I'm happy you and Heather have so much fun going to these author signings and I'm also glad you always get a copy for lill old me…
Love you!
and.. don't forget: May, BEA! No excuses! lol
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WOW!! How on earth did you pic your 12 favorite books of 2010? lolz! Most awesome!
This site has been a very cool pad to hang out at this past year. I've enjoyed it uber much so thanky thankies to all of you bookwormys for telling us what to read..
And yes yes… if it wsn't for Twilight where would we all be? I know it's not the best written book but it made us take notice that books are being written again.. well it did for me. Then came Shiver, Hush Hush, The Iron King, The Forest of Hands and Teeth and even more squees… all of these were recommended to me by bookworms.
Can't wait for 2011 !! I'm sure it's going to be booktastic.
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Now let's see if I can do my top 10 lolz
Shiver and Linger (hahas! I had too much fun squeeing to Uhyesplease about Linger)
The Iron King (we can blame Danny for that one)
The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Pushy got me interested in that one)
Hush Hush (although Cresendo didn't make me sing this one made me squee)
Ballads of Suburbia (this book made me remember the 90s were awesome)
The Rose and the Beast (and so started my FLB obsession)
The Road (even though it ticked me off in the beginning I cried at the end)
Tirteen Reasons Why (Thanks SJA! – I think every teen should read this)
Immortals after Dark series (ok ok… that's more than one book but I had to put a series on here lolz!! It's the law!)
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"I can't believe that the Southwestern states of America are neglected so egregiously!"
ME EITHER!!! I'd roll out the welcome mat, complete with hot chocolate, back rubs, and trannies dressed to your wishes. Now, tell me, my dear Pushy, can anyone else offer such things? No, I didn't think so. I'm starting to feel extremely ranty about this slight. And it's a huge one, because publishers/authors/The Man just don't give a rats ass about the middle southern states specifically the Silver one. End ramble.
I adore you! Great review!
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"I'd roll out the welcome mat, complete with hot chocolate, back rubs, and trannies dressed to your wishes."
And who could turn that down??
Thanks for all my Bewitched Bookworms love this week!
My recent post Jenny Pox wins an Indie from Red Adept – 1 Horror Novel of 2010
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Sounds like I know where the first stop on your book tour will be, hunh?
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I loved this! What an amazing year that you have had. I hope that 2011 is even better!
Kat
My recent post One more challenge
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If he's going there for a tour stop, we have to be there too. Can't miss the trannies. But isn't it too warm for hot chocolate most of the time?
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