In My Mailbox (64)

Since I am guessing IMM doesn't link up anymore, due to The Story Siren, no longer being an active blog (correct me if I'm wrong) I will now link to Stacking The Shelves. But for my OCD purposes, I will still be calling it In My Mailbox. 
Hosted By... Tynga Reviews

In My Mailbox (63)

This is Hosted By The Story Siren.. BUT she no longer exists as a blog!  Library Audrey Wait! by Robin Benway Shatter Me By Tahereh Mafi Since Last Summer by Joanna Philbin The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead Bought The Goddess Test Box Set by Aimee Carter Sent to Me The Appetite of Girls by Pamela Moses (Thank You Penguin) Madamoiselle By Rhonda K. Garelik (Netgalley)

LA Times Festival of Books (Year 2) Part 1

So, Every year the Los Angeles Times has a 2 day event called The Festival of Books! Which is pretty much the biggest book event that occurs in LA and as far as I am aware pretty much the only one.  I attended last years event but could only attend Day 1 since I became sick for Day 2.  Day 1 was a great day though, where I got to attend an event with John Green and a panel for Libba Bray and Pete Hautman....and I just realized The Post I wrote for this is MISSING, will have to write a follow up post then!

Anyways,  for a whole year.. I have been anticipating going to the LA Times Festival of Books. Endlessly checking the website to see who would be attending and getting my Mom and Husband ready to attend. Once they announced the panel lists. I sat down and plotted what I was going to attend. To say the least I was excited. Then Day 1 comes and I am sick! I was bummed but not too worried because a few days before I learned the panels sold out early (this did not happen last year) However, I would not miss day 2 I had tickets to one panel, with Maureen Johnson on it and I had missed her panel last year, so I was determined to go!

Day 2

So, Day 2 arrives and My mother and I make a way over to the USC Campus, We park and embark on our adventure to the YA Area. We get there early enough that I have time to wander and look at all the booths. Something we didn't really do last time.

As we enter The YA Area they had the WB had the Batmobile on display, because although it is the YA section, Warner Brothers studios kind of dominates the area with movie stuff. It was pretty cool seeing the recent Batmobile, since I had just the previous night watched the most recent movie.

By this point it was crazy crowded and very hot. So, my mom sneaked off to a courtyard to relax in the shade and get something to eat, while I wonder a small section of the YA section. I say small because like I mentioned before it was effing HOT and crowded and frankly, it was giving me anxiety. I passed one booth. Once Upon A Time (a book store) at that time they were holding a book signing. I didn't recognize the authors names (this happens often with me) but I did recognize the book covers and titles of one author Elizabeth Eulberg. So, I went into the cafe and asked my Mom for some money.

SIDE BAR: Yes, I am 23 and Married. You may have noticed though that I attend a lot of these book events with my Mom and that My Mom buys A LOT of my books for me. There are several reasons for this. My Mom sometimes buys books for me, just because and other times I ask. But, my Mom is also my Boss and she knows what I get paid. Which at the moment is enough to cover bills and food. 

As, we were in the cafe my Mom and I were now in line, getting some food and drinks when and man and a women walk in. I immediately notice that the women is not only REALLY pretty, REALLY skinny. Something I did say out loud. They May have heard me. The man noticed a bag a women was carrying behind us and my Mom and I turned to glance at it. Finding it amusing, the bag and that the man noticed the bag, since Our Company is Backpacks... So, we tend to notice others bags and backpacks and discuss it. The man took a picture of the backpack. We mildly discussed it and then went on our way. Where my mother asked me to take a picture of the bag as we left...Thus, this picture.

The bag of interest is the " I Would Prefer Not To" It wouldn't be until I got home, That I realized the Man and Woman, Pictured In The back of the line are Author Ransom Riggs and Tahereh Mafi. Ransom, also narrated the panel I attended later in the day, however I would didn't put two and two together because at the Cafe I noticed Mafi more and just knew she was with a taller man. Wasn't until I saw they were in this photo that I could confirm it was Ransom Riggs. Mafi was also, at the panel in the audience, but like I said, not until I got home did I know who she was. 

After that my Mom gave me money and I made my way over to the booth to purchase Elizabeth Eulberg's book. Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality.  Elizabeth was SO nice (although, I have yet to meet an author who wasn't) We somehow got on the topic of her book covers and we discussed how some came to be, and how she liked some and others she didn't love. What I thought was funny is how she told me, she liked to mess around with her publisher (David Levithan) and tell him she hated certain covers and make him worry for a second before she would text back Just Kidding. We talked for a good 15 minutes or so. She was very nice, and I look forward to reading her other books!

And that will conclude Part 1. This post turned out to be longer than I expected and I know I have  A LOT to say about the Panel. So, I have decided to split it into Part 1 and Part 2.

Want Want Want Wednesday (23)

Want Want Want Wednesday is a meme, feature or whatever.. Where I talk about the books I REALLY want, I usually do 3 but you can do as many as you like = )

Brava, Valentine By Adriana Trigiani

"Trigiani's sequel to Very Valentine is a sweet second act for shoemaker and designer Valentine Roncalli. Val takes over the New York family-run shoe business with feet-of-clay older brother, Alfred; falls for the dashing, older Gianluca in Italy; and takes a business risk in South America, where she unearths a dusty chapter of family history. There are plenty of picturesque globe-trotting adventures in Tuscany, Manhattan, and Buenos Aires, and, for artistic and independent Val, a grown-up commitment evolves. There is no art without love. Only love can open someone up to the possibilities of living and creating art, Val writes to the wary Gianluca. And the startling twist of family history finally challenges an old-fashioned, insular clan to join the modern world. But it's always the endearing, unnerving and rowdy Roncallis who steal the show. Look for a heartbreaking exit of one beloved character, and a cliffhanger breakup in this charming valentine to love, forgiveness, and family."

Aw! I am SO happy I stumbled across the 2nd book to Very Valentine. I read Very Valentine in the Summer of 08 and I absolutely adored the book! It was so cute and I would love to know how Valentine is doing.

Shatter Me By Tahereh Mafi

'"You can't touch me," I whisper.
I'm lying, is what I don't tell him.
He can touch me, is what I'll never tell him.
But things happen when people touch me.
Strange things.
Bad things.
No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon.
But Juliette has plans on her own.
After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever."

Basically, a bajillion bloggers have told me that this is a MUST read, So OBVIOUSLY I WANT IT!

Juliet By Anne Fortier 

"Our story begins when Julie’s beloved Aunt Rose dies, leaving Julie and her twisted sister, Janice orphaned. (Their parents died years earlier in Tuscany). But while Aunt Rose leaves the family estate to Janice, Julie is bequeathed next to nothing, just a passport, a key, and a secret--that her real name is Giulietta Tolomei, a descendant of the Tolomeis and the Salembenis, the real families that inspired Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—and that the "Curse upon both your houses," is alive and well, 600 years later.

With exquisite detail and flawless pacing, Juliet is a multi-layered tapestry of Julie’s present and Giulietta’s 14th-century past, where families, generations apart, are still at each other’s throats. Betwixt tragedy and epic romance, Juliet will stir your heart and quicken your pulse. After all, if Julie is Giulietta, then where art thou, Romeo?"

 I am ALWAYS down for a Romeo/Juliet retelling in any form!