Books and Sensibility

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Jess

Unboxing Book Riot YA Quaterly Box #02

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Last week I sat down and opened up my YA Quarterly Box from Book Riot.com. This box featured a set of YA contemporaries with female leads as well as some fun bookish accessories. I’ll reveal the items below and you can watch me unbox it here

Books

Chasing Shadows Swati Avasthi 

I did a quick flip through this book sand it looks like a combination of prose and images. I’ve been wanting to get into graphic and visual novels so this might be a great combo for me.

Everything Leads To You by Nina LaCour

First of all I like the lightness on this cover and the font is very dynamic. I’ve seen the cover online but it looks better IRL. In this novel a girl gets carried away by a mysterious letter writer.



A Sense of The Infinite by Hilary T Smith 

Released earlier this summer this book is about a  girl dealing with the tough stuff in life. It’s been a while since I’ve jumped into the contemporary boat, so this could fill that gap.

Bookish Items. 

  • LED Clip Light by French Bull  (I’m totally clipping this to my Kindle for nighttime reading)
  • 50 Assorted Library Cards by Knot and Bow
  • Hilary T. Smith Signed Book Plate
  • A Sense Of The Infinite Postcards (3)

Final Thoughts

 Once again, I was happy that these were books I wasn’t overly familiar with and didn’t already own. I see myself using the library cards as bookmarks or to take notes for reviews. Over all this box appealed to me more than the last box.

Audiobook Review: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

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  • Release Date: January 21, 2014
  • Genre: Contemporary/Thriller/Mystery
  • Length: 7 hours 58 minutes
  • Publisher: Harper Audio

In Lamar Giles debut novel, new kid in town Nick Pearson finds himself mixed up in a murder with a side of corruption. As Nick searches for answers to a murder that could upend all his secrets he dodges bullies, crashes a party and tries to keep his parents together.  Move over Veronica Mars, Nick Pearson is on the case.

Lamar Giles writing is clever. He lays out tension, plot and conflict in front of you while still sneaking in a bit of misdirection. He has a great way of ending chapters on mini cliffhangers and you just HAVE to know what happens next.  I totally did not see the ending coming. I was like “what !?” This isn’t really a spoiler but. . .literally anyone can die. Which takes the tension up to eleven

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Audiobook Review: Insiginia by S.J Kincaid

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  • Release Date: July 10th 2012
  • Genre: Sci-Fi 
  • Length: 15 hours 18 minutes
  • Publisher: Katherine Teagen Books

I was exploring
Scribd in all its audiobook glory  because  I’ve really been in the
mood for action adventure YA.  When I heard  Lincoln Hoppe’s
performance it instantly grabbed my ear, he has this great laid back teen voice and I jut wanted to hear more.

I knew nothing about
Insignia going in and it took me a while to center myself. The book takes place
in a future much like today, except virtual reality is common place for things like gaming and schooling. There is also a war brewing that is  fought in the final frontier. . . space,  with mechanized drones controlled on earth by  teen combatants who train for the war in the Pentagonal Spire.

Okay, so maybe it’s not a future much like today.

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Dispatches From BookCon: #WeNeeDiverseBooks

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Last weekend Kat and I made the trip to attend the inaugural BookCon . The one day event  offered panels, autographing and chances for fans to connect. We had to see it for ourselves so here is our account of BookCon 2014

For the uninitiated,  #WeNeedDiverseBook is a movement that refuses to be a trend. In response to the disparity of minorities in children’s and YA literature, Ellen Oh and 21 other authors worked together to create the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign that ran for 3 days in May.

We participated here on Books and Sensibility and the fact that there was going to be a panel at BookCon was one of the reasons we wanted to attend BookCon.

So many phones went up !

We arrived 30 minutes early and the room was already  packed. It was  great to see so many people excited about diversity and books. For me it was so cool to see a panel full of authors of color. Seeing so many different people really shows how problematic representation is in YA and children’s fiction.

As the authors talked about how they dealt with identity in their reading lives, I found myself nodding along to some of their experiences.

Ellen Oh announced the future of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign and she is in it for the long haul. Here are some of the highlights :

  • #WeNeedDiverseBooks will work with NEA’s Read Across America to promote diverse books and authors.
  • WNDB is developing a 2016 Diversity In Children’s book Festival in Washington, D.C.

Can I say how excited I am about the book festival ? D.C is in my backyard so I hope I can attend/volunteer.

If you missed the panel you canread the transcript here orlisten to the audio !

Dispatches From BookCon, The Bright Spots

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Last weekend Kat and I attend the first ever BookCon in NYC.  The one day event offered panels, autographing and chances for fans to connect with publishers. We had to see it for ourselves, so here is our account of BookCon 2014. Based on my experiences here is who I think shined at BookCon.

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Our YA Genre Kryptonite

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GENRE KRYPTONITE [zhahn-ruh kryptonite]

noun

1. That moment when your TBR pile is overflowing, your to-read list on Goodreads is overwhelming, and then  you see THIS TYPE OF BOOK it makes it’s way on to your pile, no excuses needed. 

Origin: http://bookriot.com/category/genre-kryptonite/

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