Part 1 is here. I hope everyone who’s going to BEA has a lot of fun!

7. Stick around after closing hours on the last day (if you can). Publishers start giving away tons of books, even the ones that weren’t available beforehand, because they don’t want to cart them back to wherever they came from. I didn’t actually do this because I was at lunch when it happened, but people who DID stay said it was amazing. Oh, but that reminds me:

8. Don’t be overly grabby. I personally only saw people acting lovely, but there are always stories of (bloggers, usually) bumrushing stacks of ARCs or whatever. Don’t do that. Stand in line, if there’s a line, and get one copy of whatever book you want. If you want two (or more), ask one of the publishers first if it’s okay. Usually they’ll say yes, or they’ll even send you more after BEA if you want to do giveaways or whatever.

If there’s no line, just try to gently move yourself forward to where the books are. I’m pretty good at dodging around elbows and stuff, so I managed okay, but if you see an ARC you want and can’t get to it, either wait for the people ahead of you to move or say “excuse me” and THEN wait for them to move.

And don’t forget to say thank you to the publishers! Make eye contact with one of them, lift up your book(s) and say (loud enough to be heard): Thank you! I’m looking forward to reading this/these!

9. On that note, TALK to publishers, too. Unless you’re not there for meeting publishers (I know some people just go for bloggers/authors). But if you ARE, I’d recommend getting a catalog (they always have a stack of them), flipping quickly through it, and then finding someone who doesn’t look too harassed and talk to them about it. Ask them what their favorite book coming out this year is. Ask them about midlist titles you should read. And so on!
10. Ditto that for authors. Sometimes you don’t have a whole lot of time to chat (and if there’s a lot of people in line behind you, PLEASE DON’T have 10 minute conversations, even if the author’s your best friend in the whole world) but I always tried to ask them how they’re doing and if they’re enjoying being at BEA. I think they appreciated it.
11. Try to plan out your day. (Maybe this should be nearer the top?) What I did was make a list of the authors I wanted to get autographed books from first, and then I went through and added in events, panels, and so on. I saw people with really fancy spreadsheets and I saw people with scribbled lists. Whatever works best for you is fine. Be sure to get a copy of the daily newsletter thing (they give them away at the front entrace) as there’s other events and signings listed in them that aren’t listed online. Usually you can figure out what ARC a publisher’s giving away at what hour, too (check the ads).

Be sure to mark the locations of where things are, too! Mark them on your map as well, to be most efficient.

12. Bring lunch in with you, if you can. The food inside the convention center is HORRENDOUSLY expensive. What I did was buy breakfast outside (if you got a few blocks over there’s always food trucks), eat half of it, and then save the rest for lunch. Coffee’s cheaper outside, too; there’s a Starbucks but it’s about double the price of any other Starbucks so I don’t think it’s worth buying, personally. If you bring a water bottle you can refill it at the water fountains, too.

13. Send your books back home via USPS, if you can. There’s a big post office not too far from the convention center that you can use. Depending on where you’re from you might get a better deal somewhere else, but I sent mine back via Media Mail rate and it only cost $14 for a huge box of books. Some people sent them back with the prepaid rate boxes (more expensive, but quicker). Whatever works for you.

And that’s all my tips! Any of you kind readers have some you want to impart? Leave ‘em in the comments!

BEA Tips (Part 2) is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

I won’t be going to BEA this year, but I learned a lot last year (which is when I DID go) that I think might help some of you all. So!

1. Don’t bring any tote bags. They’ll be giving tons of them away anyway so you don’t need to bring your own.
1b. Use the luggage area or whatever it’s called. For $4 (I think) you can keep a suitcase or a tote bag or whatever you’ve got in a special area all day. You can even go back and dump more books into your bag! What I did was get the biggest tote bag I could find each day and leave it there with a few books inside. Then I carried around a smaller tote bag and, when it was full, I emptied it into the larger tote bag. This saved my shoulders/back/etc. Don’t forget to go back and get it at the end of the day!

2. Get a paper map and use it. The BEA mobile app really sucked last year, and I don’t know if it’s any better this year. I’d recommend getting a paper map of the convention center and marking off publisher booths, author signing areas, etc. so you can find them easily later on. It’d also be handy to mark off the bathrooms, food places, and where you’re going to meet your friends.

3. Meet your friends! Everyone’s going to be busy doing their own thing, mostly, but it’s still nice to meet up with people throughout the week. Be sure exchange phone numbers so you can text about where to meet.

4. Meet new friends! Talk to people standing in lines with you. Usually they’ll be very nice, and you can make new friends very quickly that way. Be sure to also

5. Exchange business cards. If you don’t have any business cards…well. Can you maybe get some printed off beforehand? Basically everyone exchanges business cards with everyone else, and they’re very helpful reminders of who you talked to (publishers) and who to add to your RSS reader after the convention (bloggers).

If you’re shy about exchanging cards: Don’t be. Usually the conversation goes like this:
A: Hello! I really like your tote bag/that book you’re holding/your hairstyle/something.
B: Thanks very much! I like your [whatever].
A: [more conversation about books/BEA/whatever]
B: We are now good friends. Do you want to exchange business cards?
A: Of course! Here is mine.
B: And here is mine.
A: Oh, it is a lovely card. Thank you.
B: Thank YOU. I’ll be sure to look you up after I’ve recovered from BEA.
A: Yes, indeed.
FIN.

Or if it’s a publisher:
A: I have long admired the books you publish.
B: Thanks ever so much. We love bloggers and free publicity and etc.
A: If I wanted to review one of your books later on, who would I get in contact with?
B: The person you would contact is me! [Or someone else.] Here is a business card.
A: Thank you! And here is one of my business cards for you. I shall email you after BEA about setting up contacts or whatever.
B: That sounds lovely.
FIN.

Basically, just have a normal conversation with people, and then work in the Exchange of the Business Card. Sometimes they won’t have business cards to give you (they run out, or they didn’t bring any) but try to get their blog address or something and write it down for later. Which leads me to

6. Write notes on the backs of the business cards you get. After the 20th new person met, they all start blending in to one another. Write down where and when you met the person on the back of their business card so you can actually remember them post-BEA.

BEA Tips (Part 1) is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

043. Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway
Publication: , ebook, 256pp / ISBN
Genre: MG Fantasy

Read: March 2-3, 2012
Source: NetGalley (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

In Abby’s world, magic isn’t anything special: it’s a part of everyday life. So when Abby learns that she has zero magical abilities, she’s branded an “Ord”—ordinary, bad luck, and quite possibly a danger to society. The outlook for kids like Abby isn’t bright. Many are cast out by their families, while others are sold to treasure hunters (ordinary kids are impervious to spells and enchantments). Luckily for Abby, her family enrolls her in a school that teaches ordinary kids how to get around in a magical world. But with treasure-hunting kidnappers and carnivorous goblins lurking around every corner, Abby’s biggest problem may not be learning how to be ordinary—it’s whether or not she’s going to survive the school year!

Review

This is one of those books that, immediately after finishing it, makes me think it’s the best book ever. While it’s pretty darned good, and while I enjoyed reading it (and liked it enough to rate it 3.5 birds), I can’t actually remember all that much about it. Usually, with books I adore, I have a few things I particularly like and those things stick in my mind until the next time I read it. Right now, several months after reading Ordinary Magic, all I can remember is that the family relationship(s) are adorable.

I suppose that’s a good start, but it doesn’t make for a very interesting review! And I don’t know if that’s the book’s fault, or if it’s my fault. I mean, I DID have a great time reading it. But I can barely remember anything about it! I’ve just got some feelings of warm/fuzzy-ness and slight horror, which according to my notes is because it’s a) a very cute book and b) slyly scary at the same time. I didn’t know that cute books could also be horrifying, so I guess this was a good learning experience.

If you liked Kat, Incorrigible but wanted something with a bit more bite, I think Ordinary Magic is a good fit. It’s got the same sort of lighthearted, tween-learns-magic-and-stuff to it (only without the magic), and there’s drama and mystery and threatening characters lurking in the background. I actually thought it was really clever that the protagonist in a fantasy book can’t actually do any magic– keeps it from being just like every other MG/YA fantasy books starring a young kid.

The scary things, by the way? Is in the world-building. In Ordinary Magic, people sell their non-magical kids off because they don’t consider them to be human any longer. Holy shit! Any society that operates around that belief is one that I don’t want to hang out in, and yet the author keeps it from going too far into a more horror-like direction and so I kept on reading anyway. I REALLY want to read the next book and see how everything develops, especially since it looked like things were on the verge of changing for the better.

So! In conclusion: it’s cute, it’s creepy, it’s got some interesting things in it that keeps it from being a copycat MG fantasy, and yet somehow I can’t remember more than two things about it. I liked reading it; I apparently didn’t like it enough to remember it very well. Take that as you will.

Rating

I liked it quite a bit!

Buy

Get your own copy @ Amazon or BookDepository.com and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog through the power of affiliate earnings! Or find a copy in your local library and support people other than me!

REVIEW: Ordinary Magic by Caitlen Rubino-Bradway is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

Look! I wrote a full review! And hopefully more will come. I figured I couldn’t depend on review notes since I don’t know WHEN I’ll be getting internet, so I might as well just carry on as best I can until then. They won’t have as fancy a format as I usually do, since I don’t have enough time to search for other reviews and whatnot, but I hope you like them anyway.

Sorry I haven’t been responding to comments, btw! Again, no time. If you ask a question, though, I’ll try to get back to you…soon-ish.

70. Lirael by Garth Nix
Publication: HarperTeen (October 6, 2009), ebook, 720pp / ISBN 0060005424
Genre: YA Fantasy

Read: April ?-26, 2012
Source: Bought

Series: Sabriel | Lirael (you’re here!) | Abhorsen

Summary from Amazon:

Lirael has never felt like a true daughter of the Clayr. Abandoned by her mother, ignorant of her father’s identity, Lirael resembles no one else in her large extended family living in the Clayr’s Glacier. She doesn’t even have the Sight — the ability to see into the present and possible futures — that is the very birthright of the Clayr.

Nonetheless, it is Lirael in whose hands the fate of the Old Kingdom lies. She must undertake a desperate mission under the growing shadow of an ancient evil — one that opposes the Royal Family, blocks the Sight of the Clay; and threatens to break the very boundary between Life and Death itself. With only her faithful companion, the Disreputable Dog, to help her, Lirael must find the courage to seek her own hidden destiny.

In this sequel to the critically acclaimed Sabriel, Garth Nix draws readers deeper into the magical landscape of the Old Kingdom and weaves a spellbinding tale of discovery, destiny, and danger.

Review

It took me two tries to get through Lirael, and I blame that on its slower pace. It doesn’t really speed up until a little after halfway through, and while I enjoyed the bits before then, the lack of momentum is a real killer. Luckily this time around I liked Lirael (the character) a lot more than the first time, and so I could push through the slow bits.

Lirael’s an interesting character because’s she so, well…pathetic, really. She’s got no self-confidence, she barely talks to people, and if she wasn’t already surrounded by tons of people I think she’d be living as a hermit in the mountains. I spent most of my time wishing she’d grow a backbone, or SOMETHING. Fortunately she does start to get over her issues by the end of the book, and it’s done in such a well-thought out way that I can’t help but admire Mr Nix’s writing! Plus, it helps that Lirael’s a librarian who goes on adventures. She works in a magical library! And she has a talking dog! It’s almost easy to ignore her massive self-pity if you focus on that stuff (though of course her non-confidence is part of her character, too…it’s complicated).

I’ll admit that I had a hard time with all the different POVs. Lirael’s the main POV for a good chunk of the book, and then it switches to Sameth and Nick and random tertiary characters. The many POV changes kept throwing me off; I don’t mind multiple POVs but the way they were handled here was a little rough.

Also, I think that Lirael reads more like half of one book than a separate book on its own right. Don’t you think? It feels more like “Abhorsen, Part 1” than anything else. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing– I’m inclined to think bad, since it makes the trilogy feel more uneven, but if you stick Lirael and Abhorsen together it works out pretty well. So…I’m not sure. Thoughts?

Overall, I liked Lirael! I don’t think I like it as much as Sabriel, but I still enjoyed reading it.

Rating

Buy

Get your own copy @ Amazon or BookDepository.com and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog through the power of affiliate earnings! Or find a copy in your local library and support people other than me!

REVIEW: Lirael by Garth Nix is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

Am currently writing this while sitting outside a Starbucks, squinting at my dust computer screen. For some reason not having internet is making me want to not write reviews, either. Still, I don’t want to fall TOO behind, so here are some review notes for books I’ve read fairly recently. You’ll be seeing a few of these posts until we get internet at our house.

Meanwhile, I’ve been keeping myself occupied! I’ve been reading books (of course), staring at piles of my stuff, and writing a zine. I’ve also gotten hives again, if you can believe it. I don’t know what’s wrong with the mosquitos out here, but they’re really starting to bug me (ha).

And now, reviews:

065. Crocodile on the Sandbank – Elizabeth Peters [rating: 4] e*
[historical fiction/mystery / ebook / bought / read April 8, 2012]
- For some reason Amelia annoyed me more than she did the first time I’ve read this book. Maybe because I’m more aware of her faults than before?
- I liked whats-her-face– Amelia’s friend– much more this time around than before!
- Peabody + Emerson = TWU WUV (seriously, they’re adorable)
- I totally remembered the solution to the mystery, but it was still overall enjoyable.

066. The Making of a Trade School – Mary Schenck Woolman [rating: 3] e
[non-fiction / ebook / public domain / read April 13-17, 2012]
- I suppose this isn’t very interesting unless you’ve read the Slate article about the women who went to this school.
- Or maybe if you’re interested in women’s history?
- Reads very much like a pamphlet asking for donations, only less boring.
- The historical aspect is really neat, too.
- I probably would have gone to this school if a) I’d lived during the early 20th century and b) I lived in Manhatten!

067. Morgue Mama – C.R. Corwin [rating: 3] e
[mystery / ebook / bought / read April 17-18, 2012]
- Unfortunately it did that thing I hate where the narrator is untrustworthy but you only find out that they are at the end. It just ruins the whole story, don’t you think? If you can’t trust your narrator you should be told that from the start (or at least given hints).
- Snappy newspaper reporter! Yay! Librarian-turned-slueth! Yay!
- Mystery was actually very interesting, even though it sort of reminded me of a Law and Order episode.
- Can’t get over that annoying ending!
- I will read next book (which I’ve actually already bought) despite my hatred of the ending sequence.

068. A Spark of Death – Bernadette Pajer [rating: 2.5] e
[historical fiction/mystery / ebook / bought / read April 18-22, 2012]
- Eh. Wasn’t as good as I’d hoped it’d be, based on the synopsis. I like turn of the century things! And scientists! But this was just “eh.”
- There was something about the writing that I didn’t like. It just didn’t work for me, for whatever reason.
- Plus I’m pretty sure there was an early 20th century manic pixie dream girl character. Annoying.
- Basically I think it wasn’t as exciting as I was expecting it to be.

REVIEW NOTES: Crocodile on the Sandbank, The Making of a Trade School, Morgue Mama, A Spark of Death is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

This is just a quick update to let y’all know that I’m FINALLY and TRULY moved into my new house! We don’t have internet set up yet, so I’m dependent on free public wifi which means I probably won’t be online much for the next few weeks. I’m trying to write some posts at home and get them ready enough to publish by the time I get to a wifi connection, but I keep getting distracted by my books and my zines and my many wonderful things that I nearly forgot I owned.

I’ve dug out my Young Wizard books and I’ve decided to read them first. I’ve read the first three (I think?) but none of the rest, and since I own seven of them that’s a little sad. I’ve already finished So You Want to Be a Wizard (which I’ve read probably 10 times and still love wholeheartedly) and I’m now halfway through Deep Wizardry. It’s got talking whales and stuff! Yay!

After the Young Wizards books I’m hoping I can find my Harry Potter books so I can read them next, but there’s a LOT of boxes to dig through, y’all. I kind of don’t want to unpack them all right now, either, because I don’t have anywhere to put the stuff once I’ve unpacked it. So my reading schedule is really dependent on what I find first, haha!

So that’s what I’ve been doing and what I WILL be doing for the next week or so. What have you all read lately? Anything interesting happen since I last posted something? Is there more drama or have things been relatively quiet?

I miss you all! Hopefully I’ll have a more reliable source of internet soon. Until then, happy reading!

This is an update is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

005. A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle
Publication: Amulet Books (May 1, 2012), originally published 2011, eARC, 208pp / ISBN 1419701681
Genre: Children’s Magical Realism (could be MG, too)

Read: January 10, 1012
Source: Publisher via NetGalley (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

Mary O’Hara is a sharp and cheeky 12-year-old Dublin schoolgirl who is bravely facing the fact that her beloved Granny is dying. But Granny can’t let go of life, and when a mysterious young woman turns up in Mary’s street with a message for her Granny, Mary gets pulled into an unlikely adventure. The woman is the ghost of Granny’s own mother, who has come to help her daughter say good-bye to her loved ones and guide her safely out of this world. She needs the help of Mary and her mother, Scarlett, who embark on a road trip to the past. Four generations of women travel on a midnight car journey. One of them is dead, one of them is dying, one of them is driving, and one of them is just starting out.

Review

I’ve read a few other Roddy Doyle books before, all meant for adults and all of the literary fiction type. A Greyhound of a Girl is almost completely different: it’s meant for children, and it’s more magical realism than anything else. Like all of Roddy Doyle’s books, however, Greyhound is about family, and about navigating the rough waters that come with family. And that’s great! What’s not so great is basically everything else.

The author

The story in Greyhound is very interesting– I love ghosts!– and roadtrips as physical manifestations of a character’s internal journey are pretty cool. The characters were cute and, overall, it’s a very easy-to-read book. However, the voices of all the characters felt the same, which was disappointing. They didn’t feel like individual people, not like in Roddy Doyle’s other books. I had also hoped the roadtrip part would play a more prominent role in the story, but it only showed up at the end and wasn’t all that big of a deal after all.

So it’s not my favorite Roddy Doyle book ever, but I think it might be a good one for kids to read before they move on to his adult books. It’s a good sampling of the sorts of things that show up in his other books, even if it’s not the BEST sampling.

Rating

Not my favorite, but it wasn’t all that bad.

Buy

Get your own copy @ Amazon or BookDepository.com and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog through the power of affiliate earnings! Or find a copy in your local library and support people other than me!

Other reviews

Charlotte’s Library: “Doyle is absolutely brilliant at dialogue (of which there is lots). Because so much of the book is told in short, snappy conversations, and even the descriptions and reminiscences are told with beautiful simplicity, it’s easy to imagine a child loving the book, and identifying strongly with Mary. But it works pretty darn well as a book for grownups too (my husband loves it too).”

Hazel the Witch: “I loved how complex and human all the characters were. There was nothing fake about them, and with story like this it’s a crucial thing.”

Books and Other Creative Adventures: “I was taken with the book right from the first pages. Mr. Doyle has a way with language and phrasing that always draws me in. His descriptions captured me right away and he sets up a fun, mysterious start to the book. I also love how Mr. Doyle weaves the stories of the four lives together.”

Notes

Credit
The author’s photo comes from Goodreads. It’s not mine! Book cover comes from Amazon. It’s not mine, either.

REVIEW: A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

061. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Publication: Scholastic Press (August 24, 2010), ebook, 404pp / ISBN 0439023513
Genre: YA Sci-fi,

Read: March 31-April 1, 2012
Source: Bought

Series: The Hunger Games | Catching Fire | Mockingjay (you’re here!)

Summary from Amazon:

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Review

The ending of Catching Fire was so shocking and unexpected that it actually made me NOT want to read Mockingjay, just to show the series who was the boss. So when I actually DID read Mockingjay, I was prepared for basically anything. And a good thing I was prepared, too, because Mockingjay is almost a completely different book from the rest of the series.

One of my favorite things about Mockingjayis that it continues the theme of what happens when you stick teenagers in life-or-death situations, mess with their heads so much that they go insane, and then threaten them with the annihalation of everything they love if they don’t do what you say. What happens is NOT GOOD; what happens is the teenager gets PTSD and starts blacking out and drinks themselves to an early grave and lots of other horrible things. And sometimes they also manage to get it together enough to bring down an evil empire (and the emperor-in-waiting, too!).

The author

The switch in focus from physical survival to mental survival (if you will) is abrupt, and I think it changes the tone of the series as a whole. There’s a lot more political stuff, too, and more insight into how people who rule dystopian societies think. Those things are nice to have in a dystopian series, especially since it kept Mockingjay from having just another repeat of THG/CF’s plotline, but I wish it had been spread out more throughout ALL the books, not just shoved into one big lump in Mockingjay.

Plus, there isn’t a whole lot of action in Mockingjay. Like I said, I liked that the focus wasn’t necessarily on the physical survival aspect (in the first half of the book, anyway), but not having that in there DID slow the book way down. It’s especially evident after reading the first two books, which are action-packed, immediately before this one. The last half has got all the action you could want, but it was almost too late after wading through the slog that was the first half.

On the whole, I liked Mockingjay. I liked that it depicted (mostly) realisticly what happens to people after going through something like the Hunger Games. I liked that Peeta and Katniss’ relationship sort of…evened itself out. I also liked that, though people died (people that I didn’t want to die), the ending of them and the dystopian society they lived in wasn’t the end of EVERYTHING. People lived on afterwards, maybe a bit more dented than they were beforehand, but still willing to LIVE.

And I think I just really like endings that aren’t necessarily “and they lived happily ever after.” I much more appreciate ones that are “and they (mostly) lived (pretty) happily (for a while) after, with help from their loved ones and time.” It’s less annoyingly cheerful, and since the Hunger Games trilogy is anything but cheerful, I think it’s a good ending overall.

Mockingjay isn’t my favorite Hunger Games book, and in fact I think I rated it the lowest of all three. But as a whole, I really like the Hunger Games trilogy, and if that trilogy didn’t have Mockingjay I’d like it a lot less. Yeah, it’s uneven in tone and there’s some weird writing and Katniss isn’t the best narrator you could have. But! It’s still a fun series to read, and I’m happy I finally read it.

Rating

I liked it!

Buy

Get your own copy @ Amazon or BookDepository.com and support Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog through the power of affiliate earnings! Or find a copy in your local library and support people other than me!

Other reviews

Dear Author: “When combined with a strong tone shift, as I considered the previous two books to be more action-adventure survival narratives whereas this is a more introspective narrative, the book becomes a bleak, grinding read. I do believe this was intentional on your part, to depict the true horrors of war. But it can be tough for a reader who comes into this book expecting something more like the previous books.”

The Infinite Shelf: “I related a lot more to Katniss this time around. Knowing in parts what was coming in the story, I was able to focus on her character and her interior battles much more. My first reaction : how can this girl still get up in the morning after all that’s happened to her? I was also pleased to see that, though she does spend a lot of time sleeping and healing, she also participates in many events. In fact, I found it refreshing to have a main character who isn’t always standing in the middle of every important scene happening in her world.”

Reading Good Books: “Everything felt rushed, especially towards the end. Things were just starting to heat up and then I noticed that there were only about 25 pages left. Told in Katniss’ POV, it was like she was merely narrating a story while in a daze. I think months pass by in the book where nothing much happened. The deaths of some of the well-loved characters were mentioned in passing. Half the time, I had nothing to go on. So and so died and we’ll just forget about him/her, okay? Then what?”

Notes

Credit
The author’s photo comes from Goodreads. It’s not mine! Book cover comes from Amazon. It’s not mine, either.

REVIEW: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

Get it?

Tip #7: Ask for help if you need it. (And know where and how to ask.)

Really, this goes for everyone, not just newbie bloggers! There will come a time in your blogging life where you’ll need help with something, whether it’s an event you’re planning or how to fix your layout when it mysteriously breaks. Or maybe you just need to know how to email a publisher correctly, or how to respond to weird review requests! Not knowing how to do something isn’t at all shameful, despite what some people may think. The key is to know when to ask for help, how to ask for it, and where to ask.

When to ask
This is kind of self-explanatory? But: ask for help when whatever it is you need help with can’t be solved through some strategic Googling. If you find yourself entering increasingly weird combinations of keywords for hours on end just so you can figure out what a publisher’s email is, that’d be a good time to find someone to ask directly.

Where to ask
Usually I just ask my questions on whatever social media site is closer– usually Twitter. Twitter’s handy because so many people are on it at various times throughout the day, and so you’ll usually always get an answer reasonably quickly. Other places you could ask: the Book Blogs Ning site, Facebook, Goodreads, or even in a post on your own blog! Emailing other bloggers directly is good, too, especially if you’ve got a book blogging-related question. I actually LOVE it when people email me for help with blogging stuff, and I know lots of other bloggers like to help, too. That’s why so many of us have Formspring accounts, haha!

Though book bloggers are very smart people who know tons about stuff you might not expect them to know about, they probably don’t know everything. If you’ve got a question about a very specific, non-book blogging-related thing you might have more success asking it on a forum dedicated to the thing you’ve got a question about. For instance, if you can’t figure out how to change the background color on your blog’s layout, the developer’s forum might have an answer ready for you.

How to ask
Wherever and whoever you ask for help, the important thing to remember is to be polite. Say please and thank you and don’t demand an answer! And don’t ask for help over and over again, even if it’s a really important question, or you desperately need volunteers. If you don’t get an answer right away, or if no one volunteers to help, either wait a little bit and ask again or try asking in a different place.

So, in conclusion: don’t be shy! Ask questions, ask people for help, and ask in lots of different places.

When was the last time you asked for help? Did you get an answer? Would you do anything differently if you needed help now?

For other newbie bloggers tips, check out the new Tips page! I also welcome questions for future Tips posts, either here in the comments, via email, or at Formspring!

Tips for newbie bloggers (7) is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.

Hello, hello! It’s Saturday again and that means it’s time for links! But before that, let’s talk a bit about what we’re reading. I’m currently in the beginning of Abhorsen, the third Old Kingdom book by Garth Nix. I know there’s another book after this one (although I think it’s just short stories?) but I can’t help but feel sad that I’m at the end of the series. I’ve really come to love these books, and it makes me want to read everything else Garth Nix has written. Yay for finding new favorite authors, right?

So that’s what I’m currently reading. What are you reading?

And now for links:
A round-up of links about The Recent Unpleasantness. @ Bookshelves of Doom
Plus some other updates on the situation: Plagiarism Bingo: O – Hatemail | So Your Favourite Blogger’s A Plagiarist

Who are we and what do we do?:

But repeatedly — repeatedly — people talk about how the YA blogging community has a not-so-good reputation. That because of the drama surrounding any number of different things, this community is somehow poorly seen, poorly valued. That because issues come up and rather than talk about them, the community reacts, rather than reflects.

I don’t necessarily think that there’s a poor reputation about bloggers, specifically YA bloggers, but I do think some who do blog in this corner of the internet like to think there is. They enjoy being part of the drama and they enjoy driving it forward, rather than talking about it. There are certainly people in the blogging world who love talking about issues, who love pulling them apart and thinking about them critically before reacting. But for some, the thrill is in acting, rather than in digesting. That, in my mind, is where the problem lies.

Book Bloggers Plagiarising– What Happens Now? @ Cuddlebuggery (who first broke the story)

A Note to Authors: Choose the Names Wisely. Trendy is Not Always Cute. @ Well-Read Reviews

Skipping School @ Rookie

Recommendations: Non-European Fantasy by Women @ Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf & Book Review

The Ongoing Problem of Race in Y.A. @ The Atlantic Wire

What Hath Harry Wrought? @ The Horn Book

Commonplace Post (31) is a post from: Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog. If you are reading this on any other blog than Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog or via my RSS Feed, it is stolen content without credit.