Off the Shelf #11

  Hello everyone and welcome to Off the Shelf!  This is my way of sharing any new books I receive or buy as well as let you all know what my reading plans are for the week and what I hope to get off my TBR shelf.

This past weekend was Dewey's read-a-thon and while I didn't do really awesome, but I did get a couple of books read and I had a lot of fun with all of the mini challenges, as you can tell from the flurry of blog posts :)

Finished Reading:

Want to go Private?  by Sarah Darer Littman

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Currently Reading:

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Up Next:



Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

(yes I know it's not a horror book, so sue me I want to read it!)

Mini Challenge: Mid-Event Survey

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now?
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

2. How many books have you read so far?
Only 2, Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill and Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
I'm looking forward to re-reading Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
ha no the opposite.  I had to go into work for the first five hours of the challenge.  I usually don't work on the weekends.

5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
My interruptions were 5 hours of work, an hour of of working out, and an accidental 2.5 hour nap (oopsies!).  So I've only been reading for about 3 hours.  I guess I just keep reading when I can, and try and get as much in a possible.

6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
I'm surprised at how fast it's going.  All of the mini challenges make it really fun and fast paced.  I was expecting some more comments though.  It feels like everyone is writing their mini challenges and updates without reading anyone elses.

7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I'd say try and find a way to encourage more interaction between the readers.  Maybe make greater use of twitter.

8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
Not work for the first five hours?  lol that's about all I can think of really.

9. Are you getting tired yet?
No, but like I said, I've cheated.

10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered?
I think just read books you find really exciting and interesting.  Books that make you want to keep reading.  Now is not the time to suffer through a reading of War and Peace (unless you like that kind of thing).

Mini Challenge: Hodge-Podge Proposal

This is a mini challenge from Erin Reads.  The first thing is to thing is to answer these three questions:

1. The first name of any character in the book you’re currently reading (or just finished)  (Scarlett)
2. The make or model of your current car, whichever you like better (if you don’t have a car, use one you’ve had or would like to have)  (Honda Accord)
3. A job you think would be especially fascinating  (video game tester)

Numbers 1 and 2 become the first and last name of your new character, and 3 is his or her occupation. Now briefly pitch me a new series in the genre of your choice based on this hodge-podge character.


So, here's my proposal!


Scarlett Accord is a tester.  She links into the system and allows the mainframe to run its experiments, new tweaks in advertisement and entertainment that will eventually be downloaded to every citizen.  But hey, it's money right?  So she has to deal with some crappy ads and play some obnoxious farming games.  It's really not a big deal.  Scarlett's never found her job dangerous, that is until she was "randomly" selected to participate in Beta X.  Quickly Scarlett realizes that this isn't a normal test and she'll have to start taking life a lot more seriously if she wants to find a way out of the system alive.

Mini Challenge: A Musical Bath

What song does the book I’m reading right now remind me of?


I'm currently reading Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce and I'm reminded of Dead is the New Alive by Emilie Autumn.  It's Scarlett's fighting music.



What song does my favorite book remind me of?


I'm not sure I have a favorite book, but Oh My Love by Bearfoot really reminds me of Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  I know this song isn't french, but I love it so much.




Can I find a connection between one of my favorite songs and a story I like?


One of my all time favorite songs is One Day by Matisyahu, and I think this song applies to any book about exploitation, war, hate, and discrimination.  I absolutely love this song.  





And one final song is Gravity by Sara Bareilles.  I always associate this song with drug addiction (thanks to so you think you can dance).  Crank by Ellen Hopkins and Shine by Lauren Myracle come to mind.

Mini Challenge: Top Five

What are the 5 books you are looking forward to in the next few months or really into next year?


Oh this is hard, there are SO many!  I'll try and pick just five for you all.  Some of these are out and I just haven't read yet, and some of these I'm anxiously waiting for their release date.

Mini Challenge: Book Puzzle

Here's the next book challenge for the read-a-thon hosted at One Librarian's Book Reviews.  


For this challenge, you will be creating a Book Puzzle.  Essentially, this is a series of pictures, graphics, or photos that you put together that will describe a book title.  Mine may be easy, but I hope you can guess it!

The

 Of

and

Mini Challenge: Character Photo

This mini challenge is for participants in the 24-hour readathon by At Home With Books.

Take a photo of something that represents a character in one of the books you are reading for the readathon.

For halloween this year I dressed up as Scarlett March from Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.  No one at the party I went to understood who I was (a "pirate witch" and "are you red riding hood? OMG what happened to your eye" were some of the guesses).  I don't mind though because I was still cool.  To me anyway.