Bad news & Good news

I'm sorry to say that the online book club that I talked about earlier is done for the year. If it will be coming back? Possibly but the good news is that the people who made the online book club that I recommended has made a Summer Reading Club!

This is also an online club, but the library doesn't send you books. Instead, it is a chat based forum where you can recommend books and just talk with other readers. It is a lot of fun and I encourage you to join!

Click here to join the Summer Reading Club and get chatting now!

Join an Online Book Club!

Starting a book club can be hard. I mean gathering the people, picking the books. And the hardest part is actually discussing it at the meetings! Not to mention the fact that if you're hosting you'll have to provide enough snacks and drinks for everyone. It's all a hassle and it takes some time to plan.
Well here's a way to enjoy the fun of a book club but skip the hassle that comes along with it. Join an online book club!
Click here to join a really simple, easy, and fun online book club!
Every day, Monday through Friday, you'll receive in your email a five-minute selection from a chapter of the book chosen for that week! And then by the end of the week, you’ll have read 2-3 chapters! Every Monday they start a new book!

See? Nice, fun, simple, and hassle free! And not only that but you'll get to read some really cool books selected by teens just like you!
You'll also get to choose the genre of books you'd like to read! You'll have the following as your options:

• Teens
• Good news
• Thriller
• Mystery
• Classics
• Nonfiction
• Fiction
• Romance
• Business
• Science fiction
• Pre-publication
• Audio

So join the online book club and have fun! =)

Keep a Book Journal!

A book journal is a great place to react to what you read! You can find out exactly how you feel about the characters, you can gain insight about the theme or plot, and you can expand your overall enjoyment of the book! Build a list of questions on the book and answer them as you read and as you start your life-long habit of keeping a book journal!

Here are a few starter questions. Feel free to use or even expand them:

1. Write down your thoughts--after reading the opening chapter(s) of the book. How do your impressions change (or do they) after reading half the book? Do you feel any differently after finishing the book? Would you read the book again?
   
   
2. What emotions did the book invoke: laughter, tears, smiles, anger? Or, was the book just boring and meaningless? Record some of your reactions.
   
   
3. Sometimes books touch you, reminding you of your own life, as part of the larger human experience. Are there connections between the book and your own life? Or, does the book remind you of an event (or events) that happened to someone you know? Does the book remind you of what happened in another book you've read?
   
   
4. Would you like to be one of the characters (acquire a personality trait)? Which of the characters would you become, if you could? Why? If there's something about the character that you'd want to change, what is it?
   
   
5. If you were the author, would you have changed the name of a character, or altered the location of a scene? What does the name mean to you? Do you have a negative connotation associated with the name (or the place)? What would you name the character instead? What would you use as a setting?
   
   
6. Does the book leave you with questions you would like to ask? What are they? Would you like to direct your questions at a particular character? What questions would you like to ask the author of the book? Are they questions that you may be able to answer by reading more about the author's life and/or works?
   
   
7. Are you confused about what happened (or didn't happen) in the book? What events or characters do you not understand? Does the use of language in the book confuse you? How did your confusion affect how you liked the book? Is there anything that the author could have done to make what happened (or didn't happen) more clear?
   
   
8. Is there an idea in the book that makes you stop and think, or prompts questions? Identify the idea and explain your responses.
   
   
9. What are your favorite lines/quotes? Copy them into your reading log/journal and explain why these passages caught your attention.
   
   
10. How have you changed after reading the book? What did you learn that you never knew before?
    
    
11. Who else should read this book? Should anyone not be encouraged to read this book? Why? Would you recommend the book to a friend or fellow classmate?
    
    
12. Would you like to read more books by this author? Have you already read other books by the author? Why or why not?
    
    
13. Write a brief summary or review of the book. What happened? What didn't happen? Capture what it is about the book that stands out (or doesn't stand out).
    
    
14. Write about the characters? Which one is your favorite? Is there a character you hate/detest/despise? Why? What traits could you change about the characters that would change how you think about them? Do you think that any of the characters represent real people? Does anything about a particular character seem to be related to the author's true personality--who the writer is?

***For an online book journal go to***:

http://www.paperbackswap.com/book_journal/index.php

***or***

http://www.bookswellread.com/home.php

Books to be reveiwed this summer of 2009

I've got a TON of books stacked up in my room waiting to be read and reviewed! And I'm gonna be to one that reviews them for you! So that way you know what's the hottest reads for the summer and what's not!

Books soon to be reviewed:

1. Bliss
2. Cathy's Ring
3. Pretty Little Liars
4. Ghostgirl
5. Uglies
6. 13 Little Blue Envelopes
7. The Heartbreakers
8. And MANY MANY more!

Keep posted on this blog! I promise to be back soon with reviews!

What if... Everyone Knew Your Name

I absolutely love this book! Choose your own destiny books are always a personal favorite of mines. And it's been FOREVER since someone has made another choose your destiny book so I have to give the authors of this book some praise. And since it's been so long since I read a book like this (I think the last time I read a choose your own destiny book was like back in 2001) I liked this book even more because it brought up memories of when I used to reading choose your own destiny books and how excited I would get to see the outcome of my choice. And I started reading this book immediately because I couldn't wait to feel that excitement again.
A fifteen year old named Haley Miller with an average weight and height, but a below average sense of style just moved from her old, embarrassing home in California to her new, exciting house in the suburbs of New Jersey where she will be attending public school for the first time ever. With so much going on, she faces many choices and YOU will be the one that gets to make the decision! If you read about her and don't seem to like her, make her life miserable! If you think she should catch a break, throw her a bone every once and a while. If you like the way she sounds, make her life perfect! IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!


Ratings:

overall book rating: 5 stars*****

*RATINGS FOR THE
1. series excellence: 5 stars*****
2. writing: 5 stars*****
3. characters: 5 stars*****
4. story: 5 stars*****
5. realism: 5 stars*****

* IT IS
1.edgy: 5 stars*****
2.emotional: 4 stars****
3.unforgettable: 5 stars*****
4.challenging: 3 stars***
5.thrilling: 5 stars*****

* GOOD FOR
1. just for fun: 5 stars*****
2. discussion: 5 stars*****
3. rereading: 5 stars*****
4. finding yourself: 5 stars*****
5. sharing with friends: 5 stars****

Website:

www.thewhatifbooks.com (This website may possibly have been discontinued and is not guaranteed to work.)

Blue is for Nightmares

This book is one mystery/thriller you won't want to put down! Stacey Brown, a student at a coed boarding school, has just recently gotten over a traumatic event in her life. See Stacey is not normal. She has premonitions about upcoming disasters in her dreams. She is starting to have these premonitions but in them is her best friend Drea. And it also involves a stalker who is out to get Drea. Stacey doesn't automatically jump to conclusions. Until she does a card reading for Drea and sees the death card. And until she notices that a strange man is continuously calling Drea and knows what she's doing while he's tlaking to her. With all the clues just lining up, Stacey's on the clock to find out who's stalking Drea before he gets his hands on her. And possibly kills her. This book was a big page turner. I wanted to stay up as late as I could just to read it. Every chapter left me wanting more and was ALWAYS suspense filled. I'm BEGGING you to buy this book! And if you read it and don't like it then you need a doctor to fix that messed up brain of yours!
Go to www.lauriestolarz.com to not only see Blue is for Nightmares but other books the author, Laurie Stolarz, has written. Also get a bio on the author, see awards her books have won, sign up for the newsletter, and more!

Ratings:

overall book rating: 5 stars*****

• RATINGS FOR THE

1. series excellence: 5 stars*****
2. writing: 5 stars*****
3. characters: 4 stars****
4. story: 5 stars*****
5. realism: 5 stars*****

• IT IS

1. edgy: 5 stars*****
   
2. emotional: 5 stars*****
   
3. unforgettable: 5 stars*****
   
4. challenging: 4 stars****
   
5. thrilling: 5 stars*****
   

• GOOD FOR
  

1. just for fun: 4 stars****
   
2. discussion: 5 stars*****
   
3. rereading: 5 stars*****
   
4. finding yourself: 3 stars***
   
5. sharing with friends: 5 stars*****

Awesome book websites

There are some really awesome websites that review and discuss the hottest of the hot books. I'm a member of them and I think you guys should check them out:

1. teenreads.com
2. randombuzzers.com
3. bookdivas.com

These websites give out free books too so you're definitely gonna wanna check them out and become a member so you can get some free advantages and newsletters!!!