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.

Book Contest Pimp

Check out the latest contest from Jenn at Book Crazy. It's international - woo hoo. I'm probably reducing my chances of winning somewhat by pimping it, so don't say I'm not good to you. *mwah* (Ok, I get another entry if I pimp it but sshhh).

It's for Eve of Samhain by Lisa Sanchez and I'm putting it on my Book Depository wish list right now just in case I don't win the comp.

And exhale...

I've been absent from the blog for a while now due to the massive amount of my time that my job takes up around this time of the year. I work for the External Relations department at a University and last week was our biggest event - Graduation.

Bigots and Imigrants and Reporters, Oh My!

We're all up to our eyeballs in general election campaigning here and as usual the printed and televised media in the UK has charged head first into its 'duty' to 'guide' us plebs through the storm.

Light

Somehow the majority of the blogs that I follow are written by blogger in the US, and so I rarely get to enter the wonderful competitions that they run, so when I saw that Book Crazy Jenn was running a comp for a fantasic book that included an 'international' giveaway I had to enter. So, here is my picture of light.

In My Mailbox (1)

It's probably a good idea if I try to keep track of the books I buy, and I've recently stared following the Story Siren's blog so the In My Mailbox meme seemed like a good idea, plus I've got a lot of books this week (14 *gulp* but 2 were free, honest).

New Writing Dundee

New Writing Dundee is here. This is an anthology of  original writing by amitures and pros which is organised by my friend Rachel. and published in association with Literary Dundee. I've been buying NWD since its very first publication and this one is its biggest and best to date. I'll be reading and reviewing individual peices from it on the blog in the near future, but for now it has its big launch tonight. Professor of literature and creative writing at the University of St Andrews, Robert Crawford will be there to launch this year's volume at the DCA, 152 Netergate, Dundee so if you're in the area come check it out.

Breaking News...really this time

After my last blog about Stephenie Meyer's new novella and my (healthy) obsession with Vampires, the University of Hertfordshire has annouinced that it is launching a Masters Degree in Reading the Vampire at the conference I'm presenting at this weekend. Since this happened there has been surge in the press attentions, and a few sites (like Jezzebel) even mention my paper. Its got me in a bit of a spin, and added some serious pressure to a conference I was really only doing for fun, but there is now a good chance of publication afterwards so YAY!

Breaking news...

...ok, not really breaking news since most twihards will know already, but I'm working on my Twilight paper for the 'Open graves, Open Minds' conference at the University of Hertfordshire in April, I thought a blog about vampire fiction in general and Stephenie Meyer's surprise publication specifically was relevant.

Seasonality

Spring is here.

A very merry Unbirthday to you

So I officially got older this weekend, which is a rather pompous way of saying that it was my birthday on Saturday. My Mum and Dad had bought me presents throughout the year so I just got a card from them on the day. Rather poignantly the main present (as far as I was concerned) was an early edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol. I watched the Disney cartoon version when I was younger, but only read the book later at about 19 or 20, the same age that Alice re-visits Wonderland in the new Tim Burton adaptation out today.

Dealing with rejection

From the ages of 3-16 I attended dance classes on a weekly basis. By the time I was 14 I was attending 3 days a week in two different towns and doing about 6 hours a week in class and a bit more in practice. I was good at it. It was also the centre of my social life with most of my non-school friends being girls I danced with and the other kids who hung out at the community centres where the classes were held. I met my fiancé through one of those friends and he would meet me after class most evenings. I wasn't one of the ones who would go on to a career in dance, but I was quite good. It was a huge part of my life and on finding out that I attended so many classes adults often asked me if I was going to be dancer.

Its me!!!

So I've decided to start a blog. Hi, I've never done this before; I don't really know what to say. I can't help but wonder how many first blog posts start with something like that, people stating that they are giving this a go, but they doubt that anyone will ever read this. I'm trying not to go down that route, but the truth is this is something for me and if no-one ever reads it, I don't really mind. At least not much.