Random Acts of Kindness: June

Random Acts of Kindness is a program hosted by Isalys and Vanessa over at Book Soulmates. You pick a person or two (or however many you want) and send them something from their wishlist. Someone might send you something, too!

It's such a fun program. I don't know what took me so long to join!

Ivy from Ivy Reads came and found me on twitter asking where my wishlist was, and I had to admit to her that I hadn't actually joined yet. : / So, I signed up a bit late for this month. I didn't get the chance to send something to someone this month, but I can't wait to send a book or two next month!

What I recieved:

Hourglass | Myra McEntire

Goodreads

Plus, a dark days of supernatural bookmark. She even had a cute little business card, too!

Thank you so much Ivy, for heavily hinting that I should sign up. LOL! I'm so excited to read this! Woo!

Title Reveal: John Green's New Book!

If you've been following John Green lately, whether on Twitter or Youtube, you know that he's been waiting to tell us the name of his new book (it was still being decided). Today he finally got the go ahead to let us fans know! The new title?

The Fault in Our Stars

Pretty neat, huh? This is what John says about the title:

The title is inspired by a famous line from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. The nobleman Cassius says to Brutus, “The fault, dear Brutus is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Want to know something super fabulous?

Every copy of The Fault in Our Stars (the American version) that is pre-ordered will be hand signed by John, personally! Every single book, from every single bookseller. 

I think that is such an awesome thing to do for all of the nerdfighters who can't see him in person to get their books signed. I will most definitely be ordering one for myself. French the llama, I'm excited!

Here is a live video of John talking about the book, plus reading from the first chapter:

He has such a poetic way of speaking! I love it!

He just announced the book's title today, and already it has hit #1 on amazon! It's pretty awesome what book loving nerdfighters can do! 

If you think I've gone bananas, and don't understand terms like "nerdfighter", then you must watch this video. You, too, can be in on all the nerdy fun:

DFTBA! :D 

Faves of 2011 (so far): Part Two - The Characters and Covers

Welcome to Part Two of my favorite books (so far) in 2011! You can see the first post here. This lovely idea was created by Nomes over at Ink Crush. Head on over to her blog if you want to participate too! 

This was tough! There were so many fantastic characters so far in 2011. I think my answer to these questions would totally change depending on when you asked me, but here it goes!

1. best female POV:

Since most of the stuff I read is female point of view, I looked at it this way: what book did I love that would not have worked if the main character was a male. The Fever series definitely fits this. MacKayla was an awesome female lead.

2. best male POV:

I can't choose between these two. Both Cassel and Quentin were awesome! 

3. Best couple <3

I cheated and picked two. One young adult book, and one paranormal romance. 

I can't express my love for Rose and Dimitri together enough! They are definitely my favorite of the year, so far. The Vampire Academy series rocked my world. 

I had to include Ashlyn and Maddox, too. I loved their chemistry together, and I had to include a romance book in here. :)

4. who i so want to be best friends with

I think of all the characters I read about, I'd probably connect the most with MacKayla. 

5. who i fell completely in love with (new literary crush)

Dimitri... oh my gosh do I love Dimitri. Every time he says "Rosa", I die a little... *swoon*! By the way, he looks nothing like that guy on the cover to me. He's a million times hotter in my head. :)

6. worst (best) villain

There wasn't one character in particular who was the worst villain, but both of these books had some scary bad guys! 

The Fever series had the Fae, and they were terrifying! The Forest of hands and Teeth had those deadly zombies. I would't want to be anywhere near either of them.

7. best character twist (who you loved then hated or vice versa)

I wouldn't say there was a character that I felt one way about, and then it changed. I don't want to give anything away, so let's just say that Blood Rights is not a predictable book. There, I think that's vague enough. ;)

8. best kick-arse female:

I can't choose between these three females. Chrysabelle, Rose, and MacKayla were all so strong and awesome.

9. best kick-arse male:

Barron. At first i thought he was just a jerk, but oh, did he grow on me! I think Dimitri from Vampire Academy qualifies for this one, as well. 

10. broke your heart the most

Dimitri, over and over again! I'd go through it all again for you, Dimitri. 

11. best/worst character names

Best: I really like the name Ever, for some reason. I think it's simple and unique.

Worst: Wrath. I understand why his name is Wrath, but I just don't like it. I don't really care though, because this book was awesome and hot either way. 

BONUS: 5 fave covers (from books i have read):
For those of you who know me, you know I LOVE pictures and a good book cover is no exception! These don't even count the books that I've bought this year but haven't read yet. 

I used to like the hardcover more, but now that I've gotten used to it, I LOVE this cover. The publisher is actually mailing out a limited amount of covers for hardbacks for those who want their books to match. You can find out more on Andre Cremer's blog. I hope I get one!

This was actually a reread this year. I love this cover as much as I did when I first picked it up!  

Definitely one of my favorites this year. I can't even count how many times I must have posted this picture. 

This cover is gorgeous, and I love that the dust jacket has a map of the ship on the back! I read this one on my kindle, but I think I am going to have to buy a hardback copy. 

 I'm going to cheat and post both of these together. I think the characters are so cute! I love these covers.

In My Mailbox - June 26, 2011

In My Mailbox is a meme that is hosted by The Story Siren. It's a fun way to share what books we got for the week. They can be from publishers, the library, bought, or whatever. They don't have to be from the mailbox. Mine usually aren't! 

Sorry guys, I am much too lazy right now to do a vlog. : P So, pretty pictures only this week!

Bought:

I wasn't going to buy any books this week, but then I realized I had a $10 credit on my Borders Rewards account that was going to expire. Just a great excuse to go pick up a couple books that I've been wanting for a while!

Starcrossed | Josephine Angelini

Goodreads | Amazon
I wish she had been at the Portland stop of the Dark Days tour! I would love to have a signed copy of this book. I can't wait to read it.

Dragon Bound | Thea Harrison

Goodreads | Amazon
I'm pretty excited for this one! I think it will be my next read. I love the cover, and I've heard awesome things about it. 

Gifted:

Passion (Fallen #3) | Lauren Kate
Goodreads | Amazon
This book was sent to me by one of my twitter buddies, Wanda. She just offered it to me. How awesome is that? I was afraid to just give someone I don't know my address, but luckily she turned out to really be the the awesome person on twitter and not a creepo. Yay! Thank you Wanda. That was so nice of you.

For review (from NetGalley):

Wisdom's Kiss | Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Goodreads | Amazon

Ok, I think I actually got this one 2 weeks ago, but I had asked for it FOREVER ago, but just now got apporoved. Now that I have a million new books to read. I hope I can get to it! It doesn't release until September, so I think I'll be able to read it before then. 

The Star Shard | Frederic S. Durbin

Goodreads | Amazon

Sent by the Author:

 Nova Ren Suma tweeted that if anyone wanted a signed bookplate, they could send her their address that day (last week). I don't have the book yet, but I plan on getting it soon! I think the card is so cute, too!

Faves of 2011 (so far): Part One - The Books

I was going to do a post like this on my own, and then I saw that Nomes over at Ink Crush even had categories and stuff. Head on over to her blog if you want to participate too! 

This is hard! I've seriously read some AMAZING stuff this year, but here it goes:

1. favourite book read so far in 2011:

This was TOUGH. Blood Rights is right up there, if not my favorite. I just think it was the whole package! The cover and the story are both equally epic.

2. most powerful book:

 She makes some pretty tough choices!

3. brilliantly funny:

This one was funny and cute. She even had some dirty humor in there! Surprising for a YA book. 

4. best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read:

Was this one ever! Jeez! I felt like I was dying on the inside the whole time I was reading it. Just gut wrenching-ly awesome. 

5. delicious rainy day comfort read:

Definitely delicious

6. adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award:

Such a crazy finale!

7. the beautiful prose award:

I loved the way this was written

8. most atmospheric and vivid setting:

This was a crazy setting with all the scary Fae running around Dublin!

9. i-so-want-to-go-there award:

Paris, cafes, and waterways? yes, please!

10. most original and imaginative:

I think a ghost love story is pretty imaginative!

11. best under-appreciated, hidden gem book:

The first book was really cute, but book two blew me away! There was one scene that was just amazing! This is written by an indie author and definitely not mentioned enough. 

12. i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award:

I knew I would like it, but I really loved it!

13. most haunting story:

so scary!

14. outside my comfort zone, but gosh how i loved it:

I've definitely been reading more paranormal than anything, so this was outside of a typical read for me this year. I love John Green though, and I can't wait to read his other books.

15. series that i’m loving:

This series is yummy. yum yum yum

16. most memorable voice award:

For some reason, the voice or writing of this character sticks out the most to me

17. completely awesome premise award: