Read-A-Thon: Day 1

I'm a little late, but here's my pic of me with my first book for the Dusk till Dawn Read-A-Thon:

I had to take it at work, with my phone and borrow a cable from the other half to upload it, and my arms look all funny 'cos I'm holding the camera, but hey. That's Jami from YA Addict's challenge.

For Book Savy's challenge, I'd have the say that the book I've most enjoyed in 2010 that's a bit different from my usual 'long awaited next installment in a series' reads would be Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera. I read for a book group that I joined, but didn't really get off the ground. It was not something I would normaly picky up, but it was very well written and and engaging story.

I doubt I'll manage Norwegian Book Girl 's victorian book challenge, but if I finish the five booksI've already got on my list, I'll see if I can find something on my bookshelf.

For now I'm still trying to finish Never Bite a Boy on the First Date and get started in Impossible. And, of course, more challenges tomorrow.

Graham Crackers (1): Never Bite a Boy on the First Date

Title: Never Bite A Boy on the First Date

Author: Tamara Summers

Publisher: Harper Teen

Genre: Teen Vampire Detective/Romance

Synopsis: Kira is an American teen vampire, living with her newly aquired vampire 'family' and trying to blend in with the humans. When a boy at her school is found dead with bite marks on his neck, previous offender Kira is the main suspect. She faces a few years in a padded coffin unless she can expose the real murderer.

As a teen, I devoured vampire novels. Anne Rice, Christopher Pike, L J Smith, Bram Stoker, you name it, I'd probably read it. I got older and did my degree and found legitimate vampire reading in the Gothic and the Literature of Terror course. The recent vampire 'craze' supposedly spawned by the Twilight franchise didn't come as a surprise ot me the way it did to many in the media, however it has been hard to get away from teen vampire fiction of late and the teen vampire's 'voice' has become more than a little clichéd. Summers attempts to walk that most subtle of lines between indulgence and farce in Never Bite a Boy on the First Date. I'd say that by the end of the novel it's a sucess, but it did start off a little shaky. 

The plot is thankfully less melodramatic than the aforementioned, and Kira is a likable character. She makes the big mistake of converting her first post-transformation boyfriend into a vampire, and the banter between Kira and Zach which ensues from this is entertaining, and the fact that Kira can kick his butt anytime she likes is a nice change. There's plenty of the boys, fashion and school for a light-hearted novel. The detective element gives the story drive and depth. The revelations about Kira's untimely death come at nearly the end of the novel, and feel a bit rushed, however the ending does leave it open for a sequel. Overall, an enjoyable read.

Read-A-Thon

I've recently had to buy a new bookcase to house some of the many new books I have, and that's before I start my PhD (I'll post an update on that shortly). So, I was pleased to catch the Dusk Till Dawn Read-A-Thon hosted by Book Crazy Jen and Jami at YA Addict.

Book Wishlists

After my lovely parcel of books arrived lst week a couple of my friends came in to my office and, of course, noticed the books. My friend was delighted to discover a new source of affordable YA literature and we got chattying about book buying over the internet. One of the things that we talked about was the book 'wishlist' that you can build up on your preferred book buying website.

Making Mondays Better

Just a quick look at  couple of things which make my Monday's more bearable.