Summer Reading Challenges...

Being raised in Palm Springs, CA was both a dream and a curse...surely you can guess why? SUMMER HEAT!!! When the thermometer reaches 120 in the shade you have two choices - the pool (but eventually you start to shrivel up) and some place indoors!

When I was growing up there wasn't an indoor mall in Palm Springs (yes - I know my age is showing!) but there was an Ice Skating Rink and my favorite indoor place in the Summer...the Library!

The Palm Springs Public Library had some of the coolest Summer Programs...mostly because the Children's Librarian was the awesome Miss Gerry! She planned programs for kids of all ages...along with arts and crafts projects!

A Book and A Buck is a Summer Read-A-Thon that not only motivates kids to read with some great prizes but also serves as a FUNdraiser for the Orange County Children's Book Festival!

Info for kids and parents in the Orange County area are at: http://kidsbookfestival.com/bookandabuck.html

Do you have a favorite Summer Reading Challenge?

Summer Reading...

When I was younger my favorite summer activity was to put on my bikini (where did that body go? ;-p) grab a book and my towel and head to the beach....then, with age came menopause and skin cancer warnings!

Today - I find myself happiest when I can curl up in my favorite chair in front of the AC (hot flashes are a _itch!) with a great YA or Historical Novel.

But I have found that in the summer we tend to accept some lighter faire...maybe it is the heat and our attention span shrinks...but for some reason I like a sweet, light book or a great horror, paranormal fiction read in the summer.

I have been catching up on books that have been on my To-Be-Read stack forever and trying to get through the stack of ARCs that are towering to the point they are about to fall over!

So these are some of the coming reviews you can look forward to seeing here...

From my TBR Stack:

ARC MADNESS...

...and the latest from one of my faves...the Bloody Jack series from L.A. Meyer!

What are you reading this summer?

OC Children's Book Festival - Oct. 3rd!

Some of you may already know that I am involved in the Orange County Children's Book Festival (OCCBF)...yes I have volunteered for yet another project (I keep saying I won't and I DO!)

The OCCBF is now in it's 7th year of fun and fostering reading for children in Southern California. While it takes place in Orange County it is by no means limited to kids in the OC...we welcome children from all over the Southland, from 1 to 101!

Each year the OC Children’s Book Festival gets better and better and
this year promises to be the best one yet! There is something for everyone that loves books. We invite you to join other families that know reading is the secret to a happy and successful life.

So - Save The Date Sunday, October 3, 2010

...and spend the day 9:30AM-4:30PM with us

on the beautiful Orange Coast College campus!

Stay tuned to this blog for teasers and temptations...there are lots of new exhibitors and events this year!!! check out the website for programs from past events and more...http://kidsbookfestival.com

Rachel Vincent in Chicago with new Soul Screamers!

For all you Rachel Vincent fans...a quick reminder:

Rachel's young adult series, Soul Screamers, debuted on August 1, 2009. My SOUL TO TAKE is the first in the series, about a teenage bean sidhe (banshee) trying to balance a normal high school experience with the terrifying, hidden world she's just discovered. Soul Screamers Book 3, MY SOUL TO KEEP, is now available!!!

Rachel Vincent Event Schedule Friday, June 25th: 10am-12pm Meijer Highland, IN 10138 Indianapolis Blvd Highland, IN 46322 2pm-4pm Kmart Tinley Park, IL 16300 Harlem Tinley Park, IL 60477 6pm-8pm Walmart Joliet, IL 2424 W. Jefferson St, Joliet, IL, 60436 Saturday, June 26th: 10am-12pm Kmart Naperville, IL 1199 E. Ogden Ave. Naperville, IL 60563 2pm-4pm Kmart Bloomingdale, IL 156 South Gary Ave Bloomingdale, IL 60108 6pm-8pm Walmart Gurnee, IL 6590 Grand Ave Gurnee, IL 60031 Sunday, June 27th: 10am-12pm Kmart Racine, WI 2211 South Green Bay Racine, WI 53406 2pm-4pm Kmart Brookfield, WI 18200 W Bluemound Rd Brookfield, WI 53045

Authors In Motion - 5 of your favorites...

The Basilisk's Lair (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2)

The Basilisk's Lair (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2)

By: R. L. LaFevers Illustrations: Kelly Murphy

This is book two of the continuing saga of Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist!

You may remember from the first book Flight of the Phoenix (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book I) Nathaniel Fludd is a beastologist in training - learning at the hands of his quirky Aunt Phil. Unfortunately it appears that the first book was not a fluke and it looks like Aunt Phil favors the "learn by doing" method. So in book two The Basilisk's Lair (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 2) she drags the young boy beastologist-in-training on a screaming wild adventure to find the Basilisk!

As in her other adventures R.L. LaFevers takes you on a rip roaring ride into monsters and mythology mixed with the thrills of a wildlife safari....but the nice thing about Aunt Phil...she doesn't want to do this creature harm, just contain him!

This is a quick and easy read...and while the recommendations are from 3rd to 6th grade - you could read this to a 6 year old and they would LOVE it!

Off to continue the adventure with The Wyverns' Treasure (Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist, Book 3)...

From the Author (on Amazon):

I've always held a special place for animals in my heart and they have figured prominently in my books. While researching another project, I stumbled across a medieval bestiary, the ultimate zoological authority of its time, and I was fascinated by all the mythical creatures listed in there as factual. Right around that same time, I also read about the modern day discovery of new animal species. It drove home for me just how vast and mysterious our planet was, and who knew what could be living in its hidden valleys, unexplored deserts, and remote mountaintops. Thus the world of Nathaniel Fludd, Beastologist was born. -R.L. LaFevers

White Cat by Holly Black

This new world of "curse workers" is a winner...

Holly Black is known to leagues of teenlit fans for her books of fae worlds...with White Cat (Curse Workers, Book 1) she draws us into the world of the "curse workers".

From the product description: curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists.

...and when I say she draws you in I truly mean it - the excitement, action and characters draw you in immediately and if this is just the beginning I can't wait for more...Lila, Cassel and his family offer characters that we can relate to and involve ourselves in...thanks Holly Black for yet another new world!

BTW - I have a white cat with one blue eye and one green eye...what do you think?

Product Description from Amazon

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.

See all Editorial Reviews