Feed Your Ears XVIII: Shiver

Sorry I haven't been posting as much :( Adjusting to school has been a little stressful, but I should be able to keep up with a few posts a week again now that my schedule is settled and I'm back into a routine.


SO... while I wasn't able to get an interview in with this wonderful author, she said I could steal a playlist she's made and share it with everyone. I don't want to keep you wondering any longer, so let's just say this author is Maggie Stiefvater and the playlist is the one she came up with for Shiver.

1. "The Ocean" - The Bravery (the general thematic song)
2. "Sundrenched World" - Joshua Radin
3. "Run" - Snow Patrol
4. "Cemeteries of London" - Coldplay (hunt scene)
5. "Make This Go On Forever" - Snow Patrol
6. "Matroshka" - Dredg
7. "Underwater" - Vertical Horizon
8. "Star Mile" - Joshua Radin (making quiche)
9. "Set the Fire to the Third Bar" - Snow Patrol
10. "Jeremiah" - Starsailor
11. "Bug Eyes" - Dredg
12. "Everything'll Be Alright" - Joshua Radin (bookstore scene)
13. "Hide and Seek" - Imogen Heap (car scene near end)
14. "A Clock is Ticking" - Snow Patrol (Jack scene near end)
15. "Peter Returns" - James Newton Howard (last scene)
16. "Wake Up, Open the Door, & Escape to the Sea" - Blaqk Audio (ultimate nookie scene)

Such an awesome playlist! And mega thanks to Maggie for letting me use this for Feed Your Ears this week. Her original post of this playlist is over at her blog, where you can also find an audio version of most of these great songs. So go check it out!

Teaser Tuesday: Week 11

Teaser Tuesdays is sponsored by MizB of Should Be Reading. Teaser Tuesdays go like this:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week:

"I couldn't keep my thoughts together.... The vision of him shaking in the woods right before I realized what was happening to him replayed over and over in my head."

--page 143, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

What's your teaser this Tuesday?

In My Mailbox: Week 11

In My Mailbox was created by Kristi from The Story Siren. Here's what I found in my mailbox, at the bookstore, and at the library these last two weeks. Summaries are taken from Amazon, B&N, and GoodReads.

I seem to be having an issue uploading photos on Blogger, so no pictures this week. Sorry!

My Name is Will by Jess Winfield (won in a contest by A Journey of Books) - A Tale of two Shakespeares... Struggling UC Santa Cruz grad student Willie Shakespeare Greenberg is trying to write his thesis about the Bard. Kind of... Cut off by his father for laziness, and desperate for dough, Willie agrees to deliver a single giant, psychedelic mushroom to a mysterious collector, making himself an unwitting target in Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs. Meanwhile, would-be playwright (and oppressed Catholic) William Shakespeare is eighteen years old and stuck teaching Latin in the boondocks of Stratford-upon-Avon. The future Bard's life is turned upside down when a stranger entrusts him with a sacred relic from Rome... This, at a time when adherents of the "Old Faith" are being hanged, drawn, and quartered as traitors. Seemingly separated in time and place, the lives of Willie and William begin to intersect in curious ways, from harrowing encounters with the law (and a few ex-girlfriends) to dubious experiments with mind-altering substances. Their misadventures could be dismissed as youthful folly. But wise or foolish, the bold choices they make will shape not only the 'Shakespeare' each is destined to come... but the very course of history itself.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (ARC from 1 ARC Tours) - For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (ARC for review) - For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr (ARC for review) - Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. She used to believe in a lot of things. As a pastor's kid, it's hard not to buy in to the idea of the perfect family, a loving God, and amazing grace. But lately, Sam has a lot of reason to doubt. Her mother lands in rehab after a DUI and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. When a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, the local tragedy overlaps with Sam's personal one, and the already-worn thread of faith holding her together begins to unravel.

Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon (ARC) - Lil is an old woman who spends her days shelving rare books in a tiny Manhattan bookstore and lonely nights at home in her apartment. But Lil has an intriguing secret. Tucked and bound behind her back are white feathery wings–the only key to who she once was: the fairy godmother responsible for getting Cinderella to the ball to unite with her Prince Charming. But on that fateful night, something went terribly and beautifully wrong. Lil allowed herself the unthinkable: to feel the emotions of human beings and fall in love with the prince herself, going to the ball in place of Cinderella in her exquisitely gorgeous human guise. For her unforgivable mistake, she was banished to live among humans, far from her fairy sisters and their magical underwater world. But then one day she meets Veronica–a young, fair-skinned, flame-haired East Village beauty with a love of all things vintage and a penchant for falling in love with the wrong men–and suddenly it becomes clear to Lil that she’s been given a chance at redemption. If she can find a soul mate for Veronica, she may right her wrong and return to the fairy world she so deeply longs for. . . .

Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella - Lara Lington has always had an overactive imagination, but suddenly that imagination seems to be in overdrive. Normal professional twenty-something young women don’t get visited by ghosts. Or do they? When the spirit of Lara’s great-aunt Sadie–a feisty, demanding girl with firm ideas about fashion, love, and the right way to dance–mysteriously appears, she has one last request: Lara must find a missing necklace that had been in Sadie’s possession for more than seventy-five years, and Sadie cannot rest without it. Lara, on the other hand, has a number of ongoing distractions. Her best friend and business partner has run off to Goa, her start-up company is floundering, and she’s just been dumped by the “perfect” man. Sadie, however, could care less. Lara and Sadie make a hilarious sparring duo, and at first it seems as though they have nothing in common. But as the mission to find Sadie’s necklace leads to intrigue and a new romance for Lara, these very different “twenties” girls learn some surprising truths from each other along the way.


That's my mailbox! What did you find in your's this week?

Now what?

Wow. I have this sort-of empty feeling now that the challenge is over. Once I published that last entry I just didn't know what to do with myself (so, of course, I went back to reading and finished up Storm Glass).

Anyway, there are two reasons for this post:

1) To let you know that I enjoyed putting more time into my blog so much that I made a resolution to post every day this summer (well, every day I have access to a computer, so I guess every day this summer minus a week and a few scattered days). Hopefully this will be made easier as I plan to partake in the weekly memes In My Mailbox (on Sunday), Teaser Tuesday, and Waiting on Wednesday, plus I have my usual Feed Your Ears post on Friday. And of course, this weekend put me ahead on reading, so getting reviews up shouldn't be too difficult for the next couple of weeks.

2) To let you know about some great contests going on with deadlines coming up soon.

First contest: If you missed out on winning a copy of Waiting for You during Susane Colasanti's blog tour, here's another chance for you. Hosted by Amanda at her blog A Patchwork of Books, you not only have a chance to win an AUTOGRAPHED copy of Waiting for You, but also an ARC of one of Susane Colasanti's earlier works, Take Me There (not to mention that the second place prize also includes both, just without the autograph). Sweet deal, right? You just have to head over there by the end of the night, so get on it!

Second contest: Kidlit has a huge giveaway contest going on here where you have the chance to win one of these three hot books (just one, so you've got to think and pick carefully!): Catching Fire, Shiver, and Along for the Ride. All quite sought after (especially Catching Fire, it seems), so you'll want to check that out. This contest seems to require a bit more effort, but I'd say it's surely worth it.

Third contest: Lauren (of Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf) is holding a contest to win an ARC of A Sweet Disorder by Jacqueline Kolosov. Check out the contest over here since who doesn't like some good historical fiction (plus, the cover looks great)?