I have no words

There are three links here. The first is an article written by Palash Ghosh, the second is an apology that he wrote after the outrage from his first article. The third is a response written by Sarah Rees Brennan. I found these articles after they were posted on Tumblr by the Teen Librarian Toolbox. I can hardly stand it.

Article
Apology
Response

UnRemembered by Jessica Brody- Review

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

From popular young adult author Jessica Brody comes a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten. (goodreads.com)

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but it was pretty good. It was interesting to watch Sera (AKA Violet) character development because she fought so hard against it. Sera just wanted to find her family, and get her memories back, although she knew that she wasn't like other girls her age, she hoped that once her memories returned she would (somehow) return to "normal". When Zen shows up claiming that she's in danger, and that she isn't who she thinks she is, Sera goes through a serious rebellious phase, even as she begins to find proof that Zen really is from her past, she holds out until the very last second.

If I were to suggest this book to someone it would probably be a reluctant reader because it's a quick read, and there's just enough action, and there are just enough questions to keep you turning the page. In my opinion, however, I didn't really connect with Sera and Zen, (I mean I did, but not enough). I'm a fan of books that move quickly but I think this was just too much.

Overall I give this book 3 stars because although it didn't appeal to me, I can see how teens would like it. I'm hoping I like the second book better.

Manga Monday #1 Ouran High School Host Club Vol. 1

One day, Haruhi, a scholarship student at exclusive Ouran High School, breaks an $80,000 vase that belongs to the 'Host Club', a mysterious campus group consisting of six super-rich (and gorgeous) guys. To pay back the damages, she is forced to work for the club, and it's there that she discovers just how wealthy the boys are and how different they are from everybody else.(goodreads.com)

 My guilty pleasure! We have a middle class girl (but no one knows she a girl at first) who becomes indebted to the Host Club after knocking over a vase. The Host Club members have Haruhi working as an "errand boy" at first, picking up coffee, and acting as a waiter, but when Haruhi turns out to be a charmer with the ladies, her position in the Host Club changes and she becomes a host herself, which would be fine except all of the girls think she's a boy.

We begin to get a feel for the other members of the Host Club and their off the wall personalities, and some future plot lines. Our characters are:
Haruhi
Tamaki
Kyoya
Hikaru and Kaoru
Honey
Mori

Each character is so vastly different and eccentric I can't wait to see where this series goes. (Well I've watched the show so I have some idea, but I can already tell there are things in the Manga that aren't in the Anime.)

2014 Audio Book Challenge

The 2014 audio book challenge is hosted by The Book Nympho and Hot Listens

Reading Challenge Details:

• Runs January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2014. You can join at anytime.
• The goal is to find a new love for audios or to outdo yourself by listening to more audios in 2014 than you did in 2013.
• Books must be in audio format (CD, MP3, etc.)
• ANY genres count.
• Re-reads and crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed.
• You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads, Shelfari, Facebook, LibraryThing, etc.
• If you’re a blogger grab the button and do a quick post about the challenge to help spread the word. If you’re not a blogger you can help by posting on Facebook or Tweeting about the challenge.

Levels:

• Newbie (I’ll give it a try) 1-5
  
• Weekend Warrior (I’m getting the hang of this) 5-10
• Stenographer (can listen while multi-tasking) 10-15
• Socially Awkward (Don’t talk to me) 15-20
• Binge Listener (Why read when someone can do it for you) 20-30
• My Precious (I had my earbuds surgically implanted) 30+

I'm going for Stenographer, the half an hour drive to and from work is really going to come in handy this year.

Feature and Follow #3

Feature and Follow Friday is hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee.

Question of the Week: What were your favorite books of 2013?

 Hard question but I would have to say  

Pawn by Aimee Carter,  

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell,

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey,

and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer.

In reality there are like 50 more, but those were the first few that I saw on my Goodreads :)

2014 Programming

I don't get to do as much programming as I would like. It's not because I can't come up with things to do, it's because the library only has one community room, so we're all fighting for time to use it. I can't do programs in the teen room... because we don't have one, we have a youth room with every age group. The one time I tried to do a program in the youth room, small children were toddling up and messing with things, and it drove the teens crazy, they asked that I not do that again, and I can't say that I disagree with them. Therefore I can only do programming when I can find time to squeeze it in around movies, computer classes, literacy nights, board meetings, sewing groups, other children programs, and other random things. So in addition to the clubs that I do every month here a few of my program ideas for 2014.

• Pipe cleaner and tin foil challenge
• Science Jeopardy
• Blind Date with a Book
• Spaghetti and marshmallow towers
• Build a bot worshop
• meme shirts
• Blackout poetry
• Duct tape wallets
• Harry Potter Trivia

That's what I have so far, I'll probably add random things as I think of them and find ways to plug them in, but I'm excited. 2014 is looking good.

It's a new year

Okay folks, it's a new year and I have some new resolutions. I began this blogging things without any type of structure, it was a way for me to put down my thoughts and ideas and I wanted to find people as passionate about books as I am. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of things so this year I want to provide more structure for my blog. I'm thinking of doing Top Ten Tuesdays, and I might even hop on the Manga Mondays train because I read Manga anyway! I also know that I need to work on my reviews, they're all over the place.

I think I'm going to change the layout of my blog also, I'm not as computer and html savvy as some of the rest of you out there (from the look of your amazing blogs) but I can at least choose a new layout.

Changes are coming people, slowly but surely!!