ramblings of the perpetual new girl

Thanks to the Broke and the Bookish for hosting. First order of business today though before we talk about beach reads is announce the winners of the giveaway featured in last week's Top Ten Tuesday blog. Woohoo! Hooray! Yippeeee! Drumroll please... Emily @ Forever Literary has won the signed poster. Grace Fonseca has won a signed bookplate. Rachel Burden has won a signed bookplate. Beth @ The Quiet People has won the third signed bookplate. Send me your addresses to bjhwhatever@gmail.com and I will send out your prizes right away. Thanks. If I do not hear from you in three days time, then a new winner will be picked.  Now onto the beach... hah!   I wish. Anyone else still a slave to the school schedules? These will be broken up into my beach reads for this summer and five books I recommend for your beach bag this summer. Why am I doing the list this way? Because I've read some really great books that should accompany you to the beac...

Stacking the Shelves hosted by  Tynga's Reviews  is meant for sharing books you are adding to your shelves. They can be physical, virtual and/or ARCs -- anything really that's ending up on your bookshelf for awhile. Or your children's in my case. Both my little people have their own shelves and I do include book purchases for them which is mostly why I even have bought books this week. Also, check out my little guy's #booksarentdangerous photo on Twitter and then go post your own. A campaign happening across multiple social media platforms where if you post a pic with a book and tag it with #booksarentdangerous you can help First Book, Little Brown and The NOVL get books in underfunded school libraries thanks to Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia for hosting. Even in galaxies far, far away #booksarentdangerous ! My son recs #TheIronTrial by @hollyblack @cassieclare . @TheNovl pic.twitter.com/h82aA6KLus — Just Me and Myself (@sabriel25) May 22, 2015 Yeah......

So Clamp and I have one of those love-hate relationships. They tear my hopes and dreams apart whenever I think one of my fav characters might just get an okay life living without death.  My life-long fascination with art, fashion and macabre probably is their fault too. Might think that Alexander McQueen was influenced by them too and that would explain my love his clothing designs. Of course, Tim Burton fits in all of this influence too. So we'll stop there before I expound on other things than books. This manga volume is on pre-order and I cannot wait to read it. So happy to see these characters again and the new artwork for them. Clamp's touch is golden, even still... today. DETAILS: Title:  Drug & Drop Publisher:  Dark Horse Books Publishing date: May 26, 2015 Author(s):  Clamp Series:  Legal Drug Spin-off with xXxholic cross-over SUMMARY:  After completing Watanuki's request, Rikuo disappears upon his own eve...

Today's TTT was a freebie and since well... I've a great giveaway associated with Alethea Kontis and Leanna Renee Hieber , today is all about the retold, re-imagined. That's right... You can win a hand-signed poster by Alethea Kontis AND Leanna Renee Hieber from their Florida signing this winter. It's the Barnes & Noble sign behind them in this video with their photos on it, announcing their visit and personalized by them. A perfect addition to any bookish hoards or library. Also, I have some signed bookplates that I will send to runner-ups. All you have to do is comment below on what story is your favorite that has been retold or re-imagined or anywhere on the site between now and the next TTT.  Thank you to the Broke & the Bookish for hosting. 1}   Cinder ~ Marissa Meyer adds a sci-fi bent to Cinderella's story that's absolutely brilliant and allows her to play off the rest of some really popular fairy tales. S carlet (Little Red Ridi...

Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews is meant for sharing books you are adding to your shelves. They can be physical, virtual and/or ARCs. They all count if you've got your grubby paws on them. :) Oh you readers... guess what all has been happening this week?! Laini Taylor has THREE MORE books coming and a gift paperback set right in time for the holidays at the end of this year. Woohoo! That's some of the best news ever! So excited about these books. Although it just added another book to my must read pile for 2016. Don't miss out on the special Twitter event this June so we can get to read a never-before-written chapter from Eretz. Just tag tweets of your favorite quotes with  #UnlockLainiTaylor  and after 613 hashtags have been reached, we'll get it.  Hope you have had a good book week too! My haul is relatively small compared to what I usually get lately. Check these books out though... I haven't read a lot of these so that's good f...

How could Kody Keplinger fill out the story she started in The DUFF ?! Uh... she could give their family a happily ever after where Wesley's parents get their act together and Amy finally feels safe, secure and gets the best BFF a girl could ask for. Except that BFF Sonny isn't all she's making herself out to be. Truly confused over just how to be herself, Sonny affects Amy in ways that take her back to a bad place before her parents and brother became the solid fixtures in her life. However, that doesn't keep readers from bonding with Sonny and Amy and surprisingly becoming quite protective of both of them. TITLE:   Lying Out Loud AUTHOR(S):  Kody Keplinger SERIES:  Companion novel to The DUFF PUB INFO:  Scholastic Press/April 28, 2015 ACQUIRED HOW?  Edelweiss e-ARC BOOK RATING:  Lemon Tart So Bianca and Wesley remain my favorites, but seriously Amy Rush has picked a choice friend here in Sonny. She's a mess and a lying ...

How cool is that cover and summary. So enticing, yeah?! The absurdist angle of this plot mixed with the very dire circumstances mixed with the very hard lesson of growing into who you think you're meant to be gives me all the feels and I haven't even read this book yet. Knowing how deftly Shaun maneuvered the tough topics in his other books though, I am not ashamed to say that I am dreading the emotional whiplash that will come inevitably with reading We Are The Ants and simultaneously so disappointed that it doesn't arrive in bookstores until 2016.  DETAILS: Title:  We Are The Ants Publisher:  Simon Pulse Publishing date:  2016 Author(s):  Shaun David Hutchinson Series:  Standalone SUMMARY:  Henry Denton doesn’t know why the aliens chose to abduct him when he was thirteen, and he doesn’t know why they continue to steal him from his bed and take him aboard their ship. He doesn’t know why the world is going to end or why the a...

Now here's the thing... I have lived a long life already and met some of my most favorite authors who definitely make my top ten list, but they're going on the list again for reasons. You know... I just need them on here again because the first or even second meeting was not what it should've been or enough to satisfy being able to bask in their awesomeness. Also, I stuck with authors that fall mostly in YA/Fantasy or that I associate with the YA/Fantasy grouping because those are the books I most remember them by. 1) Terry Pratchett           Sadly, the first person who made my list and who I have actually waved to from up above but never actually met face-to-face other than being a nameless face in a multitude of others gawping at him is no longer here for me to meet. A little bit of my heart, my happiness and hope died a bit when he did. He was one of the most influential authors for me and affected me in a profound way during a time when I really needed ...