Armchair BEA: Day 2 “Best of 2011”

Today is Day 2 of Armchair BEA and I’m kinda excited abut this one! The topic of today is “Best of 2011” as well as giveaways galore! Be sure to check out the Armchair BEA blog today for all the cool giveaways!

My giveaway is listed below. Please follow the directions to enter below!

Best of 2011

Picking a “best” book is not an easy task for me. As I stated in yesterday’s intro post I don’t usually accept or read books that I don’t expect to like. However, today’s pick isn’t hard for me for several reasons.

1. Dystopian elements

2. Strong female protagonist

3. Awesome technology

4. World building

5. Romance

6. Unexpected twists and turns

7. Emotion – when a book makes me cry, OMG Love.

8. Debut Author – seriously?! I want more books!

What book could possibly have all of these? A book I recently read but have not sat down to review. A book that will be released in August and is truly worth pre-ordering RIGHT NOW!

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan 352 pages, Candlewick, (2011-08-09) $9.99 (Amazon.com)

However, I love this book so much I’m going to pre-order it for one lucky winner and this giveaway is International if you live in one of the countries listed on this list that The Book Depository ships to.

Summary (Goodreads)

Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for 62 years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically-induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten sub-basement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long dead, and Rose - hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire - is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes - or be left without any future at all.

Giveaway

Interested?

To enter this giveaway there are TWO PARTS (both must be done to qualify!):

Part 1 – Leave a comment letting me know your “Best of 2011” and why or link me to your review or your Armchair BEA “Best of 2011” you posted today.

Part 2 – Fill out the form!

Details

Ends 05/28 at midnight eastern time

Entrant must be 13 years of age or older. Filling out the form is acceptance of this requirement.

Open to US & only International countries listed on The Book Depository shipping list.

If shipping info is not supplied in the form, selected winner must respond to my email within 3 days or a new winner will be selected.

Head over to The Cozy Reader to enter!

I can’t wait to see all of your “Best of 2011”!

P.S. – Today is the last day to enter my other giveaway of Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky. Enter here.

Armchair BEA 2011!

Today I’m crying a little inside. Why you ask? Because I’m staying home this year instead of attending BEA in New York City. I’ve attended BEA the past two years as a book reviewer and I’m really sad to not attend this year.

But the reason I’m not attending kinda makes up for it. I’m at home with my beautiful baby boy, Riley, who turns 4 weeks old today! He’s a bundle of cuteness and keeps me super busy with changing diapers, nursing, and just some good old cuddling.

But to all those lucky other bloggers that get to attend this year: have fun and grabs lots of books! I can’t wait to see all the ARCs that are there this year. I’m a bit jealous of that but I’m hoping to get in contact with the publicists so I can receive some of the good ones too.

Here at The Cozy Reader I’m a huge fan of the Young Adult genre; mostly paranormal of some aspect but I enjoy a good contemporary and coming of age novel too. And don’t forget the dystopias; LOVE them! I also still read adult books too, usually of the same content.

I’ve been blogging my reviews for 3 1/2 years now and I really enjoy it. I haven’t been reviewing as much lately because of the pregnancy and ultimate birth of our son. Reading fluctuates for the best of us any way.

My reviews tend to differ from a lot of other reviewers that’s for sure. I don’t like to get off topic or tell too much about a book so I follow a detailed structure and point system that isn’t really that detailed but helps showcase which areas of a book I enjoyed the most. I tend to not pick up books I won’t enjoy, therefore, most of my reviews are positive and if they’re not they tend to be really negative.

So, while all the other bloggers are attending BEA I’ll be at home with my little one, doing some household chores (GAH! They never end!), maybe a little reading, and trying my best to keep up with all the happenings via blog posts, Twitter, and such and I’ll be thinking about attending next year!

What to attend Armchair BEA? Head over to their blog!

Blog Tour: M.P. Kozlowsky, Juniper Berry Giveaway

Today I have the privilege to welcome M.P. Kozlowsky on a stop from his blog tour for his middle grade book, Juniper Berry. He’s graciously composed a guest post and it’s very fitting to my situation since I’m at home right now with a 3 week old newborn.

I was sent a copy of Juniper Berry to read and review but unfortunately I’ve only been able to make it through the first few pages. Why? Basically because of the newborn. I hope to read it soon though!

Here’s what M.P. has to say about having a child and how it changes you forever.

A Creature of Habit Come Undone

Juniper Berry was written during a different time.  B.C.  2009 B.C. (Before Child).  I had a strict routine which I followed religiously, both a blessing and a severe thorn in my side – this included lunch at 11:12, walking the dog at 2:52, washing dishes at 4:54, among other odd intermissions.  In the middle of all this, however, was a good full day of writing.  But, that was assuming that I wasn’t interrupted by the super or a phone call or an errand.  If something disrupted my routine I couldn’t write; I couldn’t get in the right head, so to speak, the trance was broken.  To sit down in front of the computer I had to be in such a specific frame of mind, so focused, and, most importantly, I couldn’t have that damaged in any way.  I had certain meals I ate on certain days and at certain times and if we didn’t have peanut butter this threw everything off.  I would browse the internet in a predetermined order, I had to place phone calls at specific breaks in my day, and if I didn’t I couldn’t think straight.  But this was my ritual and I perfected it and I accomplished incredible amounts of writing because of it.  Then I had a baby.

This changes everything.  Suddenly my routine was gone, snatched away overnight.  I had to conform to the erratic whims of my daughter.  I could only write when she was napping, but this time was brief and ever changing, and the responsibilities piled up all around me.  I was so tired.  My mind wasn’t allowed to focus.  I had to accept constant distractions, I had to write through them, adjust my thinking, my writing method.  I understood this and accepted it.  As a parent, I knew I now had to become selfless.  It wasn’t about me and my idiosyncrasies anymore.  It was about her, my daughter, my Margeaux.  To be the best father and husband, I had to change who I was as a writer.  And I learned that I didn’t control my routine, my routine controlled me.  Sure, my output has slowed, but I have grown.  My baby is new; I am new.

M.P. Kozlowsky (very short!) Biography

M.P. Kozlowsky was a high school English teacher before becoming a writer. Juniper Berry is his first book. He lives in New York with his wife and daughter. www.mpkozlowsky.com

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Thanks so much M.P.! I couldn’t agree with you more, that’s for sure. I’m the last stop for M.P. but you can go back and see his other stops!

Juniper Berry Blog Tour: Part II
Tuesday, May 10th - Interview and Giveaway at Another Gray Day
Wednesday, May 11th - Interview at Bri Meets Books
Thursday, May 12th - Interview at Book Yurt
Friday, May 13th - Review and Giveaway at The Book Maven's Haven
Saturday, May 14th - Review at MundieKids
Sunday, May 15th - Guest Post at Kid Lit Frenzy
Monday, May 16th - Review and Giveaway at Kid Lit Frenzy
Tuesday, May 17th - Interview and Giveaway at MundieKids
Tuesday, May 17th - Guest Post and Giveaway at The Cozy Reader

Juniper Berry Writing Contest:  To celebrate the release of M.P. Kozlowsky’s debut novel Juniper Berry, Walden Pond Press is inviting all writers aged 9-14 to write their own tales of terror and temptation in at least 500 words. One grand prize winner will receive an iPad, a library of Walden Pond Press eBook, paperback and hardcover novels, and his or her story published online at Walden.com. Author M.P. Kozlowsky will select the winner. To learn more: www.walden.com/win/juniperberry.

Juniper Berry by M. P. Kozlowsky 240 pages, Walden Pond Press, (2011-04-26) $10.02 (Amazon.com)

Juniper Berry Trailer

Giveaway

Enter to win a copy of Juniper Berry!

Details

Ends 05/24 at midnight eastern time

Entrant must be 13 years of age or older.

Open to US & CANADA mailing addresses only. Shipping directly from the publisher.

If shipping info is not supplied in the form, selected winner must respond to my email within 3 days or a new winner will be selected.

Extra entry for sharing this giveaway. Direct link is required.

Go to The Cozy Reader to enter and update your following!

Review: The Iron Queen (Iron Fey, #3) by Julie Kagawa

 

The Iron Queen (Harlequin Teen) by Julie Kagawa 368 pages, Harlequin, (2011-01-25) $9.99 (Amazon.com)

Procurement

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

My Grade

Plot: 4

Setting: 4

Writing: 5

Originality: 4

Characters: 5

Romance: 5

Overall: 27/30 = 90% A

Cover/Title Bonus: 4

Overall

An awesome addition to an already amazing series. Cannot wait for The Iron Knight!

I’m back and Riley’s here!

Goodness it’s been forever since I’ve updated you guys! I have a few reviews written, they need formatted, so I’ll be sure to do that soon. I have at least one blog tour coming up and a giveaway so stay tuned!

Riley’s Birth Story

12:17 a.m., April 25, 2011

7 lbs. 9.3 oz.

21 1/4 inches long

Obviously by the title of this post you’re here to see some pictures of my newborn son, Riley Shane. He made his appearance just minutes after Easter Day. My water broke around 11:30 am on Easter, April 24, but we had a whole day’s worth of awesome to attend to and I wasn’t having contractions, nor was I Strep B positive so we went about our day.

Some people, mainly women that have had children before (mother-in-law Kim) thought I was crazy for not going to the hospital ASAP but I knew I wasn’t progressing and from my first birth knew it would be at least 6 hours before anything major happened and that it was safe to just hang out with family and friends before heading to the hospital.

So, on to my sister’s Easter Egg Hunt we went. Madison had some fun, we had a few bites of food, well hubby and Madi did, I was holding out for dinner with hubby’s dad’s family. :) We left there and I was comfortable, dripping a bit but comfortable. We dropped Madison off with hubby’s mom because we knew we’d proceed to the hospital from the dinner.

The dinner was great. I told myself to not eat too much because I knew I’d probably get sick at some point of the labor, and I did, but it wasn’t terrible.

We arrived at the hospital at about 5:00 pm. I was given Pitocin because I wasn’t contracting and they start to get worried if you’re not in labor within 6 hours of your water breaking. At about 9:00 pm I was in some pretty bad pain and they started to get me ready for my epidural. I requested some IV drugs to hold me over until the epidural was given. Stadol is my new friend.

I have no idea what time the epidural was actually given. I remember being so hot right before it was given and sweating profusely, so much so that the EKG pads wouldn’t stick to my chest and spray adhesive was used on those as well as the sticky tape that holds the epidural in place. The epidural was amazing. It worked so well that I couldn’t feel my entire right leg. I couldn’t move it to save my life. I had to ask several times during pushing for them to adjust it, the nurse was holding that leg and would put it down during contractions in the stirrup things but I could feel it wasn’t in there right. Any who, I only pushed through 4 contractions and Riley was born at 12:17 am on April 25, 2011. He weighted 7 lbs. 9.3 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches long. He cried so much when they were doing all they do to newborns I felt so bad for him!

It was such a great experience compared to my first labor and delivery. It’s amazing how much kind nurses, awesome doctors, and amazing drugs will do to make a situation so much better that you’d actually think about doing it all again. Only not really. ;)

Without further ado here are some of my favorite pictures. Please feel free to see the rest of Riley’s pictures in his Facebook album. And I just took this video a few minutes ago. He’s been doing a lot of grunting and throat clearing, or something, yesterday and today so I tried to capture the moment but instead I got him getting the hick ups, which he hates. Enjoy!

 

Riley Shane–1 Week Old