All tagged Mindi Scott

Recommendation Roundup: Summer 2015

Recommendation Roundup: Summer 2015

Sarah Moon
Recommendation Roundup, Books

Hi folks! I'm happy to share our summer recommended reads with you. It's funny, I keep saying that I haven't gotten super excited about many books this year, but here we have 20+ books that we feel good about recommending--I guess are some good ones out there after all!

Reading has been tough this summer--I took on some huge projects that have competing deadlines and that means my eyeballs aren't too happy with me by the end of the day, so I haven't been reading as much. Plus I've been (intentionally) checked out from a lot of the book chatter online, so I haven't been as on it with regard to what's new and buzzed. (Not necessarily a bad thing.)

Onward to the recommendations!

Podcast #15: Great (Reading) Expectations

Podcast #15: Great (Reading) Expectations

Sarah Moon
Podcast, Podcast: Season One

We're excited to bring you another episode of the Clear Eyes, Full Shelves podcast! We have such a good time recording the show and love that the podcast lets us dig into issues with more nuance than the blog format allows. 

In episode #15, Laura and I dig into the subject of reader expectations, the role of marketing in informing those expectations and the way consumers of creative works become intensely invested in those works. Please note, this episode was recorded prior to my writing this blog post; if it had been, we likely would have elaborated more regarding the notion of how we read, and if readers "owe" authors anything in that respect. 

As always, you can listen to the podcast by streaming on this page, downloading the MP3 below or by subscribing in iTunes. If you're an iTuner, we very much appreciate your rating and reviewing the podcast, as it helps us to show up in iTunes searches. We're also now on Stitcher Radio, so if you prefer that app, you can subscribe here. 

Photo Essay: Seattle Field Trip (Maggie Stiefvater at University Bookstore Edition)

Photo Essay: Seattle Field Trip (Maggie Stiefvater at University Bookstore Edition)

Sarah Moon
Photo Essays

On Friday, we all piled into the car for a day trip to Seattle for Maggie Stiefvater's event at University Bookstore. 

Sure, Maggie was going to be in Portland the next day, but it was an appearance at Wordstock, and the organizers of that even couldn't be bothered to announce their schedule in a timely manner (and were not very friendly when asked for details about the schedule back in September), so we drove three hours instead. 

It's all good, though, because a trip to Seattle always means fun things like Backstreet Boys singalongs and the chance to kidnap the lovely Mindi Scott for some adventures. 

Since I don't write recaps as a matter of principle (said principle being that I try not to do things that bore me), I thought I'd share some snapshots from our day. 

Read the rest--> 

Podcast #11: Personal Agency in Fiction with Author Mindi Scott

Podcast #11: Personal Agency in Fiction with Author Mindi Scott

Sarah Moon
Podcast, Podcast: Season One

We're super-excited to have a two-part episode of the podcast with our friend and a favorite author, Mindi Scott. Mindi is the author of two outstanding books for teens, Freefall (2010, Simon Pulse) and Live Through This (2012, Simon Pulse).

Mindi's novels are "quieter" stories focussing on characters taking control of their own lives--stories of personal agency. We thought it would be great to have her talk about this theme in the context of not only her own books, but those she recommends as well. Mindi brought up some fascinating concepts related to how these types of stories are constructed, so we hope you enjoy!

Read the rest --> 

List-O-Rama: Let's Get Musical

List-O-Rama: Let's Get Musical

Sarah Moon
Listorama

This past week, I started and finished reading Jennifer Echols' July release, Dirty Little Secret (which is so, so good). I enjoyed so much about this book, but the stand-out element for me was the way music played such an important role in both the plot and in developing the characters. 

I'm kind of a doofus when it comes to music: I play the ukulele poorly and was a flutist in marching band in high school until I quit band to protest the ill-fitting polyester pants. (That was super-effective.) Because of my musical doofusness, I really admire people for whom music is so ingrained in their lives. I realized that as a result of that, I tend to gravitate to novels featuring music or musical people. Sometimes, much like books featuring sports, the music is just window dressing, but when it's feels real, it's so very good. 

Here are a twelve (!!!) of my recommendations for musically-infused novels you'll want to check out.​

Adios to My Old Life & When the Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer

​Caridad Ferrer is one of my favorite authors you're probably not reading. Both Adios to My Old Life and When the Stars Go Blue are infused with passion for music and the arts in general. (Interestingly, both of these could easily be considered thematically as "new adult.") Adios to My Old Life is focuses on an American Idol-style singing competition, while Stars follows the structure of the opera Carmen and features an incredible touring marching band. 

Amazon | Goodreads

Dear Googler, Volume 2

Dear Googler, Volume 2

Sarah Moon
Dear Googler

Oh, Googlers….  I ♥ you so much. Once again, you asked, I answer.

We get some fantastic search engine queries and, naturally, can’t help but answer these burning questions. 

What are some novels featuring MINI Coopers?

Scorched by Laura Griffin (a terrorist tries to blow up a bridge with a MINI); Yellow MINI by Lori Weber; Carrie Jones’ Need Pixies series. I’m sure there are more, but I’m stumped. Maybe it’s time to rewatch The Italian Job? 

Will True Blood get back to its roots?

I highly doubt that. Just cross your fingers for more shirtless Eric and/or Alcide. 

Photos of Stefan crying.

At your service:

What’s a love poem with s’mores?

Dear Googler: You Ask, CEFS Answers

Dear Googler: You Ask, CEFS Answers

Sarah Moon
Dear Googler

The other day I was looking through the CEFS web statistics and was browsing my favorite section: search terms. 

A fascinating trend I’ve noticed is that many Googlers put their searches in the form of a question, not dissimilar from Jeopardy! Since we get a lot of the same searches, I thought I’d answer a few of these common questions.

[Note: I’ve paraphrased a number of these searches that appear over and over again. But I swear, I’m not making any of this up.]

Friggin' Great.

General Books/Recommendations

What should I read next?

Um… I don’t know. I just finished Wanderlove and adored it. Actually, I don’t even know what I’m reading next, to be honest. Maybe check out our CEFS favorites page?

What are the main themes in [book name]?

Kid, you’ve got to read the book. I’m not doing your homework for you. 

Where can I download [book name] for free?

  1. Try your library, if there’s one in your area. Some publishers participate in ebook lending.
  2. If you’re a Kindle owner with Amazon Prime, you can also access the Kindle Owners’ Library in which you can access one book for free each month; many of these are self-published books, but there are a number of traditional publishers participating as well. 
  3. Check Books on the Knob for daily deals, including freebies. 
  4. If you live in a community with a library (not everyone has one, sadly), you can also check out print books for free—the one in my neighborhood actually holds back new releases each week for people who come into the library (Lucky Day Books), so it’s worth actually going in the library too. 
  5. Some ebooks are lendable. If one you want read is, see if a friend will virtually lend you a book for your Kindle or Nook.
  6. Whatever you do, please don’t pirate books. 

What are some books with lots of sex?

That’s probably a question better answered by Rebeca, whose knowledge on that subject is more broad than mine (I’m trying to get her to review the zombie apocalypse polyamorous novel she just read). But, maybe try Victoria Dahl? Her books are a little much for me, but with that said, they don’t have the yucky gender dynamics that can be very problematic. (Yes, this is a very, very common search term.)

What are some books with lots of action/violence?

I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to this subject, but check out our recommendations for my friend Matt in our Book Matchmaker feature. 

I want to read an urban fantasy series with a strong female lead.

Check out these ideas!

Photo Essay: Mindi Scott's Live Through This Launch Party

Photo Essay: Mindi Scott's Live Through This Launch Party

Sarah Moon
Events, Photo Essays

On Saturday, Laura, Sandra, Linsey (who’s in our subversive book club and super-cool) and I headed up to Seattle for Mindi Scott’s launch party for her second novel, Live Through This, at Elliot Bay Books. 

If you haven’t read the book yet, you really should—it’s a unique, sensitive take on a very difficult subject and I cannot recommend it enough. Rather than writing a normal recap (which I’m terrible at anyway), I thought I’d share our little adventures in photos. We braved rain, half of the streets in Seattle being closed and detoured (what is with that city and its traffic?) and drunken football fans all in the name of books—uh, and acquiring a stash of Top Pot Doughnuts.  

Seattle Skyline - It’s getting dark so, so early here in the Pacific Northwest. (I forgot to take a photo of the bookstore, so this is my stand-in.)

Laura had a “significant” haul of Australian books thanks to a Fishpond order and the lovely Mandee from Vegan YA Nerds. We divided them up and this is my stack to read first.

And Laura’s stack… It’s amusing how often we end up dividing up books on the street, looking somewhat like we’re conducting some sort of illegal activity. Have I mentioned that we usually exchange books in a rumpled paper bag?

Piles of Live Through This

Review: Live Through This by Mindi Scott

Review: Live Through This by Mindi Scott

Sarah Moon
Books

There’s something thrilling and even a bit nerve-wracking about reading the second novel by an author whose debut landed squarely on my True Book Love shelf.

It’s thrilling because of the anticipation of hoping that book magic will happen all over again. 

Mindi Scott’s 2010 debut, Freefall, is a book I love dearly (Laura’s review pretty much nails it) so I have been eagerly anticipating Live Through This. It received a starred review on Kirkus, and the pre-publication buzz has been extremely positive. When I saw it on the shelf at Barnes & Noble and noble—a whole week early—I squealed far too loudly and sprinted to the register, breathlessly explaining to the BN employee who rang me about about how much I’ve been looking forward to this book, and how it’s not actually out until October 2nd, and how I’ve got to know Mindi after I read Freefall and how it got a Kirkus star—and isn’t it all just so exciting! Needless to say, the poor guy thought I was a nutjob. 

List-O-Rama: Some of Our Favorite Male POV Contemporary YA

List-O-Rama: Some of Our Favorite Male POV Contemporary YA

Sarah Moon
Listorama

Gabrielle’s excellent post this week, “The Broken Boys of YA,” and subsequent huge Goodreads list inspired me to dedicate today’s post to highlighting some of our favorite young adult novels written from a male point-of-view.

These are all contemporaries, which is near and dear to us here, though there are some excellent paranormals and dystopians which Gabrielle’s Goodreads list highlights as well. It’s interesting, because I didn’t realize until now that many of my favorites are written by women. It’s funny, because many of the books I’ve had the biggest problems with have also been written by women. It seems like authors either knock this out of the park for me or absolutely fall flat. Funny… I would have thought there’d be more of a gender divide. 

Freefall by Mindi Scott 

“I just love that feeling when things are about to change. Like when you know that in a few seconds you’re going to do something and become someone else.”

I’m pretty sure that Laura and I are friends thanks to this book. Seth’s voice is one of my absolute favorites, it has a wonderful note of authenticity that makes Seth seem absolutely real. (I read Mindi’s new book last week and I literally squealed because Seth is mentioned and thought something along the lines of “I hope he’s doing well” before reminding myself that Seth is a fictional character.) Freefall has a very strong theme about actively choosing to make things change and it really resonated with both Laura and I. Seth Rocks.

{Laura’s Review | Amazon | Goodreads}

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

He was the person all of us should be, but most of us aren’t. And if I could have taken his place to buy him a little more time in the world, I’d have done it. I’m sorry I couldn’t.

Trish Doller’s debut is still reigning as one of my absolute favorite books of 2012. A 19-year old Marine coping with PTSD, on leave back in his hometown, in his family home, Travis’ should be pretty unrelatable for a dorky girl like me, but his story is told with such emotional authenticity that ultimately I found extremely compelling and familiar. 

{My Review | Amazon | Goodreads}

{Book Matchmaker} Shelly Needs Some Reads

Sarah Moon
Book Matchmaker

You may have noticed a new page on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves: Book Matchmaker.

This will be an irregular series in which we try to help you find your next favorite read! It’s pretty simple. You fill out a very thorough, scientific survey, and we apply proven analysis techniques to determine books that will be a good match. 

Our first victim lucky participant is Shelly, who is the owner of a very cool sewing pattern business and author of a nifty book called Sewing for Boys. She’s also the inspiration for this series. I met Shelly on an airplane about a year ago and we started talking books. One thing led to another and I ended up making her an extensive list of books she’d enjoy. 

Well, she’s read all those and is back for more! 

Shelly’s Responses to Our Questionnaire

YA or Adult: Surprise me!

Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Paranormal, Mystery

POV & Narrative Style: First Person, Third Person, Present Tense, Male POV, Female POV

Swoon Factor: 3

Gross Out Factor: 3

Smut Factor: 3

Fluff Factor: 3

Favorite Books and/or Themes: “Hunger games…fun simple read with a unexpected storyline. Patricia Cornwell books—I like a good crime novel. All the books you have recommended to me to far :)!! [Mercy Thompson, etc] I love a good twist or a “NO WAY” moment. Bring on the drama”

Hated Tropes/Themes: “I can’t deal with a book that take 780 pages to get to the point. Historical novels. I can’t deal with a book that takes 780 pages to get to the point.”

{List-O-Rama} 5 Contemporary YAs Worth the Wait

Sarah Moon
Listorama

Contemporary Young Adult fiction is a sub-genre near and dear to my heart.

I think it goes all the way back to my 13-year old self’s undying love for Judy Blume’s incredible novel, Tiger Eyes (Goodreads, Amazon). (Seriously, it is her absolute best, despite that it’s not nearly as widely read as Forever et al.) So, I watch Kirkus reviews, Goodreads lists and blog posts like a hawk for buzz about my favorite contemporary YA authors and new and new-to-me authors and then tap my fingers while waiting, waiting, waiting for these new releases. The following are five contemporary YAs that I’m eagerly anticipating.

In Honor by Jessi Kirby

Sarah Ockler raved about this book on Twitter, and since Sarah is amazing, I immediate but it on my “omigod I must read ASAP” list. Then, I discovered that one of the characters was inspired by Tim Riggins. After picking myself up off the floor, this rocketed into another level. (A note: I love Tim Riggins, but I will maintain forever and always that Coach Eric Taylor/Kyle Chandler is hotter than Tim Riggins/Taylor Kitsch. I dare you to try to change my mind.) In Honor takes place in the aftermath of the main character’s brother’s death in Iraq and the subsequent road trip (sa-woon—I looooove road trip novels) she takes with her brother’s best friend. It’s got to be awesome, right?

Simon & Schuster, May 2012

{Preorder In Honor as an ebook or hardcover.}

{Add on Goodreads.}

{Review} Freefall by Mindi Scott

{Review} Freefall by Mindi Scott

Laura
Books

FNL Character Rating: Vince Howard!!!!!

{Editor’s Note: This is one of my favorite all-time novels, and one I recommend to people who think they don’t like YA fiction. I recommended this to Laura and I was thrilled that she loved it as much as I do. What’s even better is that Laura got different things out of it because of her own experiences with music, so it was doubly awesome to read her review. ~Sarah}

The first thing I loved about this book was the voice.

It is so rare and refreshing to read a YA book from a male POV. Author Mindi Scott, manages the very difficult task of making me, a 31 year old female adult, relate to a 16 year old teenage boy’s POV. It is seriously freaky how Mindi Scott managed to write wrote the male version of me (personality and humor) wise into a book character in Seth McCoy.