Recommend An… Author Similar to One I Love (Tamora Pierce)

Chances are if I love an author I will probably love similar authors as well. But an author I super love is Tamora Pierce. I’ve been reading Ms. Pierce since I was 11. That is 16 years of reading and loving her books. Since she has been putting out great books my entire life it is super easy to find other authors similar to her now. Here are some of my favorites, complete with approval from the great lady herself.

Hosted by ChickLovesLit

Kristin Cashore

Author of Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue.

Her books all take place in a very Tamora Pierce like world. A world where magic is real, kingdoms exist, and there are really strong heroines.

Tamora Pierce’s Goodreads rating: 5 stars for Graceling and Fire. 

Jane Yolen

Author of Sister Light, Sister Dark, White Jenna and The One-Armed Queen.

The Great Alta books are a great series that is a little bit more grown up than Tamora Pierce’s books, but totally great reads. The bond between the women in these books is amazing and the world building is so in-depth. Finding them can sometimes prove a little difficult. Even the ginormous library system I work for doesn’t appear to have any copies of the three books. They can be found for really cheap on Amazon though and I highly recommend them.

Tamora Pierce’s Goodreads rating: 5 stars for Sister Light, Sister Dark, 4 stars for White Jenna and The One Armed Queen

Sherwood Smith

Author of Crown Duel.

Aside from the fact that this author has an awesome first name, her books are pretty cool as well. She has written a lot of books, but unfortunately I’ve only read Crown Duel. It is a great Tamora Pierce like book. Lots of action and fierce heroine awesomeness.

Tamora Pierce’s Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Honorable Mentions: Shannon Hale, Robin McKinley, and Patricia Wrede.

**Have you read any Tamora Pierce books? Which series is your favorite?**

**Do you have any other recommendations for authors that are similar to Tamora Pierce?**

Review: Mothership by Martin Leicht and Isla Neal

A sci-fi book about pregnant teenage girls on a cruise-ship turned boarding school that orbits Earth sounds utterly ridiculous for sure. Unfortunately, for Elvie Nara the phrase “things can only get better” does not apply to the situation she has gotten herself into at all.

Typically I wouldn’t read a book about teenage pregnancy. They usually fall into one of three categories: 1) cautionary tale, 2) religious cautionary tale, 3) societal cautionary tale… None of these things particularly appeal to me. The only kind of cautionary advice really given in Mothership is to perhaps be more careful about trusting your teachers. You never know when they might turn out to be baby snatching aliens.

This book is unlike any book I’ve ever read.

For starters the language is spot on with how teens and young adults talk. Frequent use of such cute little phrases as “shit balls” appear all throughout the book. In general people look at swearing as way for so-called less intelligent folks to express themselves, but honestly it is just how we all think and speak in the real world. Elvie isn’t going around swearing non-stop, but the use of “bitches”, “slut”, and “screwed” show up frequently and seem completely appropriate to the situation she is in.

Top Ten Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is a bit embarrassing, but perhaps such a public admission will give me a kick in the pants to finally read all of these books.

Top Ten Tuesday is brought to you by BrokeandBookish.blogspot.com

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I know, I know… How and why has this not been read by me?! For starters practically everyone I knew read it in high school, but it somehow missed me. Secondly, it isn’t even that long! At 180 pages I could read this in an afternoon, but it has just never happened. It sounds a lot like a book I would love, so maybe I’m just scared it will disappoint. Someone please assure me that it will not disappoint.

2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

This is another popular high school English teacher selection and another one I was able to avoid. Unlike Gatsby I really have no desire to read this one. From what I’ve heard the whole Catherine and Heathcliff thing sounds tiresome. I might be completely off on this one, and feel free to argue in its defense, but I’m not planning on reading this one anytime soon.

3. 1984 by George Orwell

Again I think I was probably supposed to read this at some point, but missed it. When you move across the country in the middle of high school there are a lot of things that get lost in the transition. This actually is a book I want to read and hopefully will get to it one day. For the time being I know just enough about it to understand the pop culture references and that is about it.

4. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Don’t judge me! I’ve seen the movies and I love the story, but I never read the book. I don’t know why. There’s no excuse really. It just hasn’t happened yet. And there are so many new books I want to read… And maybe I’ll pick this up at the library soon and read it already.

5. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I don’t know anything about this book except that it about books being burned and that the title is wrong. The title supposedly refers to the spontaneous burning temperature of paper, only Bradbury got it wrong. In fact, 451 celsius is about the right temp for spontaneous burning of paper. Oh well… I should probably have read this last week in honor of Banned Books Week, but I promise I will get to it soon.

6. Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume

Here’s the thing. I actually read Judy Blume books as a kid, but I know I never read this one. I didn’t know anything about it at all until I was an adult. I just knew practically every girl I ever talked to seemed to have read it. Honestly, I don’t think this is a book for me. All the religious discussion just isn’t my cup of tea anymore. Oh well, I seemed to manage puberty pretty okay without reading it.

7. Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems

I can’t believe I haven’t read this. I’ve read other Mo Willems books, but this one has continued to escape me. This wouldn’t be such a big deal if I didn’t have a kid… but I do. So I really have no excuse. I will make a vow to pick this up for my daughter next week at work.

8. The BFG  by Roald Dahl

I think every kid in my 5th grade class read this book. I somehow managed to avoid reading practically all of Roald Dahl’s books as an actually child. The only ones I ever got to were Matilda and James and the Giant Peach. Both of those books are excellent of course, but once I did get around to reading some others I realized what fun I missed as a kid. In an effort to not make the same mistake twice I’ve already bought by daughter several awesome Dahl books (just not Charlie and the Chocolate Factory… that movie freaks me out and I want nothing to do with any of).

9. Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin

This series has been highly recommended by 2 awesome ladies that I completely respect and look to for advice in all things bookish. Why haven’t I read it, you ask. Because it is huge. Each and every book is huge. So far there are 5 books and the combined page total is 4,197! Holy oh my goodness. I did recently download these to my reader to read over the winter so that I won’t have to carry around such a giant book all the time. I know once I get started I’m not going to be able to stop so if you don’t hear from me all winter, you’ll know what I’m up to. 

10. Ravens of Avalon by Diana L. Paxson

I am a die-hard Mists of Avalon fan. I read it for the first time when I was only 15 and it has remained my favorite book ever since. As soon as I finished I wanted to soak up all the other books that took place in Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Avalon world. Ravens is the sixth book in the series (although each book is separate from the others). After MZB passed away Paxson carried on her work. I actually own this one and still have not managed to read it. I’m thinking about going back and re-reading the first 5 before starting this one.

**What books are you slightly embarrassed to not have read yet?**

**Are there any books that most people read, but you just simply have no desire to pick up?**

Recommend A… Book You Could Give as a Birthday Present

I love giving presents! I especially love giving books for presents, so this week’s “Recommend A…” meme is absolutely perfect for me.

Hosted by ChickLovesLit

For everyone:

The Diviners by Libba Bray

I’ve been talking about this book a lot and with good reason. This is in my top 5 books of 2012 so far and may even be in the #1 slot. It is a bit of a long book (around 600 pages), but every page is worth it. The greatest thing about The Diviners is that I think it would appeal to a lot of different readers. Set in the 1920s New York, prohibition era, jazz music, a mystery, a splash of romance, and a whole lot of supernatural stuff going on makes for a very interesting plot. This isn’t your typical supernatural stuff either. There’s no werewolves, vampires, or witches. Not a fairy in sight. Just some good ole perhaps demonic, religious cultish apocalypse, and a dash of murder.

For my chick lit lovers:

Pilgrims Don’t Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm

This book is adorable. For a history nerd like me, Libby’s summer job sounds like way too much fun. For the summer she works at a “living museum” teaching girls all about the ways of colonial life. There’s a lot of flirting, a mysterious haunting, a mean girl who is taking the whole thing way too seriously, and not ONE, but TWO cute boys. Perfect mixture for summer delight.

Follow up with Confederates Don’t Wear Couture (June 2013).

For my more serious readers:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

This book will make you cry. No doubt about it. It is an emotionally charged ride for sure. 17-year-old Mia is in a terrible car crash and is left incapacitated. Somehow she is able to view the ongoing lives of her loved ones from outside of her body and must make a very difficult choice. Stay… or go.

Follow up with Where She Went.

For my adventurous readers:

Graceling by Kristen Cashore

This book is one of the best YA fantasy books I’ve ever read. Katsa lives in a world where people are discriminated against based on their “Graces” (or talents). Her grace is one of killing. Her uncle, the King, uses her for her skill to hold tight his reign. An unexpected ally comes into her life who has a similar skill, combat. They forge a bond and set off to uncover a secret big enough to upset the entirety of the seven kingdoms.

Follow up with Fire and Bitterblue.

**What book(s) would you give for someone’s birthday?**

**What book(s) would you like to get as presents?**

Literary Pin-Up Calendar

We’ve all seen the sexy library pin-ups, but artist Lee Moyer has taken it a step further and created a 2013 calendar of pin-up fantasy characters. After contacting 12 fantasy authors and obtaining permission to use their characters, he created next year’s calendar.

In conjunction with Wordbuilders all proceeds from the $20 calendar will go to the charity Heifer International, an organization that donates livestock to in need families around the world.

Moyer’s artwork is inspired by the characters from the works of Peter S. Beagle, Ray Bradbury, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher, Jacqueline Carey, Neil Gaiman, Charlaine Harris, Robin Hobb, N.K. Jemisin, George R. R. Martin, Terry Pratchett, and Patrick Rothfuss.

You can pre-order your copy of the 2013 Literary Pin-Up calendar through The Tinker’s Packs.

And follow artist Lee Moyer’s blog!

Wordbuilder’s mission statement is “to use the collective power of readers, fellow authors and book lovers to make the world a better place.” This is definitely a fun way to help out a great organization.

Banned Books Week 2012

In case you didn’t know this week is Banned Books Week. If you didn’t know it was Banned Books Week, then you probably weren’t aware that in the US people still try to actually have books banned. Not even kidding. Of course the government doesn’t do that so good luck to them, but people still challenge books on all levels. Public libraries and school libraries are usually the main focus of these uptight wannabe book banning silly folks.

The majority of complaints revolve around concern for children and what they might read. Goodness forbid that a parent actually takes the time to be aware of what their children are reading and make an educated decision based on real facts. It is so much easier to write an angry letter to the board (be it a school board or library board) demanding Sherman Alexie AND Stephenie Meyer be removed from the shelves!

Typical complaints are of language, sexual content, religious views, occult, homosexuality, violence, drug use, etc. My favorite is the fact that people complain about too much religion (Twilight books), not enough religion (The Golden Compass), AND occult (Harry Potter and probably every book with magic in it EVER). Funny how you never hear anything about people demanding a television show be taken off air for any of these reasons! We wouldn’t have anything left to watch.

You know what is so great about public libraries? We offer choices for everyone! If you don’t like what is in a book, the solution is very simple.

Just don’t read it! 

Review: Endlessly by Kiersten White

I’ve finally finished Endlessly. It took me FOREVER to read it, but only because I really didn’t want it to be over.

Unlike quite a few “trilogies” I’ve read that had open endings with lots of potential for a fourth installment, I know for a fact that Evie’s story is over. I follow Kiersten’s blog and I’ve read what she has said about the Paranormalcy books and she is definitely done with the story.

Sigh.

Anyway the book was a bit slow at first (or maybe I made it be slow), but once it got going it was awesome! Evie and Lend do not fail to be adorable together. Evie does not fail to be kick-ass and girly altogether. Reth does not fail to try to manipulate Evie. It was everything I wanted it to be and everything it needed to be. There is the return of a couple of characters that you might not expect to show up and help out, but I think that just makes it all the more fun to read.