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Readers' Favorite
July 28, 2012
Even Better: Catching Fire
audiobook, narrator: Carolyn McCormick
Published September 2009 by Scholastic
ISBN13: 9780545101431
Listened July 2012
Goodreads, IndieBound, Amazon
Yes! My number finally came up on the waiting list for the digital download of Catching Fire. I downloaded when I got to work on Monday and listened straight through the day. I wound up listening to all but an hour of it. I loved it!
I realized though that listening to it so quickly that I missed some things so I spent the rest of the week listening to it is a little more slowly and yeah I missed a couple of big things as well as some smaller things.
I think I liked Catching Fire more than Hunger Games (see my review). I liked that there was more of a focus of what was going on at home in the districts. In Hunger Games, it seemed that the game went on forever and I guess that was the point of that book, but I liked getting a better understanding of the world they live in. Though it just made me want to ask more questions about how their world works.
I thought this book was more graphic than Hunger Games as well. Yet, you see more of Katniss acting her age. In Hunger Games, she seemed older, which was understandable since she had been providing for her family since her father died. However, in Catching Fire the reader is reminded that she is only 16/17 years of age. There were times that I wondered how stupid can you be not to figure something out. But then I would remember how young she is and realize that she probably didn't have the experience to figure it out.
I've done surprisingly well with avoiding spoilers. Going into Catching Fire, I only knew that past victors would be the tributes for the 75th games. About halfway through the book I had to know if Katniss made it through the end or not. I mean you would think she did because there is a third book, but Collins could have also killed her off and had her be a martyr. Peeta is so good with words that he would be able to rally the people. I was so conflicted and HAD TO KNOW. I went and looked at the summary for Mockingjay to alleviate my anxiety. Then I felt bad that I "cheated".
Back to Catching Fire... it is definitely a book that I could read over and over (well, listen to since I haven't actually read it). I didn't feel that way about Hunger Games. There seems to be more depth to Catching Fire that there is something more I will glean from the story, more clues that are needed to piece the story together completely to be found with each subsequent reading. I like books like that.
While I was left with many questions, I'm trying hard not to look for answers. I did search for one answer and quickly realized I would find spoilers if I wasn't careful. As you may know, I like to read books where other people are speculating and talking about the books. Since I missed the bandwagon I don't have a lot of that interaction. One question I think would be fun to discuss would be what reason do you think the original gamemakers had for making the victors come back for the 75th Games? Or was it rigged by President Snow? There are several side thoughts along with that question like what if there hadn't been a victor living for a district. I would love to hear other's thoughts on this question, but NO SPOILERS! please.
You can listen to more of my thoughts on Catching Fire on TIE Book Bloggers' Radio (it's probably around the 1 hour mark).
July 27, 2012
Friday Fun with K. B. Hoyle
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| K. B. Hoyle |
Though Jamie has read many other authors, K. B. remains her favorite author. K. B. and I thought it would be fun to have Jamie interview her. Jamie was thrilled, but then agonized over what to ask. Below are the questions we came up with one summer evening while enjoying milkshakes. (We let her brother ask one question because he has yet to read the books.) Read past the end of the interview for an exclusive look at the cover for book 4 The Enchanted.
Jamie: I'm a little confused about Narks. Are they more like humans who change personalities or are they more like Fauns in Narnia?
K. B. Hoyle: Narks are like twins that share one body; they are separate entities with similar personalities, but they each control the body only at a certain time. In this, narks are more like humans than fauns, I suppose, but there is definitely something of Mr. Tumnus in Veli and his devotion to Darcy. Realistically, though, they are more like Tolkien's elves than either humans or fauns. They have the empathy of human beings, the devotion and free-spirit of fauns, and the extraordinary nature of elves in how they are, as Veli often says, "good" at everything they do (incredibly fast runners, very strong, good swimmers, excellent of hearing, long of sight, etc...). Narks really are supposed to be new creatures, though, inspired by others, but not quite like anything else out there. I don't know that I've ever read of another fantasy creature that has two entities sharing one body.
Jamie: Can you give any hints to the riddle: Twice wed, twice dead, twice stained red?
K. B.: Hmmm... well, I don't want to give away anything that would ruin the experience for anyone, but I also know that it's fun to try and figure out a riddle in a story. Here's all I will say: there is more information forthcoming on this in book 4, The Enchanted. The riddle has tie-ins to other oracle riddles in the story. And anyone who wants to try and figure out a few more specifics would do very well to take a look at the alchemical process, although this would probably be a bit above the heads of my younger readers.
Jamie: I heard you had a baby recently. What is your new son's name?
K. B.: We named our new son William. As a writer, I believe that names are very important, and I further believe that parents ought to be very purposeful in naming their children. We have three sons now, and they are all named after great men from history. With that in mind, we named William after the historical William Wilberforce, who was responsible for abolishing the slave trade in England.
Jamie: What is your favorite part of teaching?
K. B.: I love when I can tell that my students are not only comprehending, but also enjoying the material we are studying. There is nothing quite like the enthusiasm of students to encourage and inspire the heart of a teacher. And I teach some difficult stuff! I read The Histories by Herodotus with my 8th graders (since I teach at a classical school), and they tend to go into that unit dubiously, certain that this huge old tome they are about to read is going to be as dry as dust, but at the end of the year, Herodotus is almost universally named by my 8th graders as the favorite thing they studied all year.
Jamie: Both Sam and Darcy have crushes on Perry. Why does Darcy like him so much?
K. B.: Darcy likes Perry so much because Perry is a likeable guy! He's good-looking, athletic, charismatic, confident, and he can be quite charming when he wants to be. There tends to be a "type" of guy that girls of a certain age tend to like, and Perry is supposed to fit that to the bill. As far as why I put this sort of character into this story, there was a boy at the real camp I attended whom I and my two best girlfriends all liked. In a way it was fun to all three like the same guy because we could talk about him together, but in another way it made for a sort of competition between the three of us. It was an interesting dynamic in our group relationship at camp, and I wanted to build that into the story. And we ultimately didn't let it spoil our friendship! I haven't talked to that boy in years, but I'm still very close with both of those girls, and I'm even in one of their weddings this October!
Jamie: Lewis has a magic quill, Sam gets a pouch that objects come out of, Dean has a bow and arrow to send messages, Amelia's lyre can reveal what is lost, and Perry's sword serves as a warning signal for Tselloch. Why doesn't Darcy get a magical object? (Side note: Me to Jamie: Are you sure? How do you know the ring doesn't have magical properties that haven't been revealed? Jamie: No, it's just a ring all the queens wore.)
K B.: This question I can't answer without giving something away! Sorry! You'll find out in book 4.
(Side note: Me to K.B.: Should I make a bet with Jamie that I'm right and she's wrong?)
Austin: What was/is your favorite part of making The Gateway Chronicles?
K. B.: There are really two things that are my favorite about crafting this series, and they're both worth mention because they are very different. Firstly, my camp experiences were such an integral part of my childhood and teenage years, and I miss those times so much, that it is therapeutic in a way to get to write stories based at a fictionalized version of that camp. Secondly, I simply love writing characters. Characterization and relationship-building is my favorite part of story craft. I love writing dialogue and working on scenes that depend heavily on character interaction. I think I am good at making characters feel real and come alive off the paper, and you always enjoy doing something you think you are good at!
***
Since meeting K. B. and reading the first three books in The Gateway Chronicles, she had the entire series picked up by The Writer's Coffee Shop who is in the process of re-releasing the first three books.
Darcy Pennington hates her life. She is an insufferably average teenager with no real friends, crushing social anxiety, and an indescribable sense of not fitting in anywhere. A change in her dad’s job forces her to attend Cedar Cove Family Camp the summer before her eighth-grade year, and Darcy once again finds herself on the outside of a social circle of teenagers, with her only advocate being an awkward girl named Samantha Palm. The only problem is, Darcy has no desire to be friends with her, but as the hostility from the other teenagers increases, she decides to return the friendship.See my review. Get it at Amazon.
When Darcy begins to experience strange magical occurrences, she comes to believe she’s either losing her mind or on the brink of a discovery that could give her purpose in life. After unwittingly stumbling through a magical gateway to a new world called Alitheia, she convinces Sam and the other four teenagers to travel there with her, and despite their earlier hostilities toward her, they eventually concede leadership of their small group to Darcy. Once there, they learn the “arrival of the Six” was prophesied hundreds of years before, and that they must expel an ancient evil from the land. In the end their lives, and the fate of Alitheia, will hinge upon Darcy. Will she have what it takes to fulfill her mysterious purpose? Or will she fall prey to a deadly foe? From Goodreads.com
A year ago Darcy Pennington had no real friends. A year ago she’d thought that magic only existed in fairy tales. A year ago she would have laughed at the idea of other worlds.See my review. Get it at Amazon.
Then everything changed when she’d visited Cedar Cove Family Camp and stumbled into a magical gateway to a world called Alitheia.
It is the summer before freshman year and Darcy and her five friends have come back to Cedar Cove Family Camp and Alitheia. This return is bittersweet because her elusive purpose in the magical realm continues to evade her. Egged on by Tellius, the boy prince she is prophesied to marry, Darcy rebels and impulsively “petitions” an entity called the Oracle and requests it give her information as to her purpose. In order to receive her answer she must travel to the Oracle, and so she embarks on a journey along with her friends and Yahto Veli, the nark. Too late she realizes her selfish entreaty has thrown the entire outcome of the prophecy itself into question and endangered everyone. Uncertainties mount between Darcy and her companions as they fight their way through enemy territory to locate the Oracle, and an unwelcome visitor from Cedar Cove adds a layer of mystery that none of them are prepared for.
But the perils of the quest are nothing when compared to what lies in wait for her in the lair of the Oracle. There is a cost associated with every question asked– a cost that may be far greater than Darcy is willing to pay. And someone may choose to make the ultimate sacrifice to free her from it. From Goodreads.
For the duration of her freshman year, Darcy Pennington agonized over the fate of her dear friend, the nark Yahto Veli, who sacrificed himself to the Oracle to set her free. As her third trip to camp, and to the magical land, approaches, Darcy wonders if she’s capable of the daring rescue she wants to embark upon, but soon realizes there’s much more at stake.See my review. Available August 16.
Her return to Cedar Cove Family Camp is marked by a mysterious disappearance, and in Alitheia a new message from the Oracle adds to the riddles that must be deciphered if they are to expel the dark evil that hovers over the land. The six friends and the alchemist Rubidius plan a sea journey that will take them beyond the borders of Alitheia, and into the realm of a legendary archipelago. Tellius winds up joining them as well and the foes they meet along the way are both deceptive and charming, while the Oracle’s riddles seem to dog them at every turn.
Darcy is also hiding a secret from her best friend Sam that could test their friendship beyond the breaking point, and there’s an unexpected development in her relationship with Tellius that changes everything and makes her understand that the deepest scars sometimes cannot be seen.
Darcy isn’t sure if she’s prepared for another meeting with the Oracle, but if she wants to have any chance of saving her friend, she must try. To complicate matters, the evil they left behind in Alitheia has not remained dormant. From Goodreads.
Learn more about K. B. Hoyle and The Gateway Chronicles at her blog On Alitheia.
July 26, 2012
Tips on Thursday: StumbleUpon
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| English: Stumble (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
After some initial investigation, I kind of been putting off writing up this post because I really had nothing. The topic has been on my calendar for a couple of months and I just kept pushing it back. But more and more the topic of how to use StumbleUpon as a marketing tool keeps coming up. Rachel (@RachelintheOC) at BadRedhead Media even tweeted asking if anyone knowledgeable about StumbleUpon wanted to guest post. I figured I really couldn't put the topic off any longer. On went my researching hat...
There is a lot about how in general to use StumbleUpon. Info about adding the badge, setting up your profile, etc., but not really on the interworkings of how to get your content noticed. This lack of available knowledge makes me think that StumbleUpon may be one of the few tools on the internet that can't be easily manipulated. That really is a good thing. However, I was able to gather a few tips on how to use it effectively to increase your network which in turn should lead to more traffic to your blog.
Before I get too ahead of myself I should make sure we all understand what StumbleUpon is. It is a social bookmarking site. It is like the bookmark function on your browser, yet it makes the pages viewable to your followers. In some ways it is similar to Pinterest. You share pages you like by bookmarking or the technical term is stumble the page. I like how this post explains it: Think of StumbleUpon like a phone book. In some ways it is a search engine but the content is entered into the database by users. Instead of Google deciding what content to show you, Stumblers (and the StumbleUpon algorithm) does.
Because this post is going to get freakishly long I'm going to bullet point the particulars you need to know to make StumbleUpon work for you.
- Create a profile as if you are an expert. While on Pinterest we may have boards dedicated to our hobbies and what not, on StumbleUpon the interests you list should define you as an expert in your field. Book Bloggers that would mean books, writing, publishing, etc.
- Add a stumble badge/button to your blog so your content can be easily shared.
- Stumble other content, interact with other Stumblers. Remember this is a SOCIAL bookmarking site. Leaving comments on content you stumble or like is very important. Remember to "thumbs up" pages others have stumbled as that will give them more visibility.
- You can occasionally stumble your own content. More than one website I looked at about StumbleUpon made it clear that if you stumble mostly your content it will get buried (not seen by other stumblers). Also if the same group of friends are always liking your content that will raise a red flag, too. Both of these can get you labeled as a spammer or at least penalized in the algorithm that decides who sees what. If you stumble your own content decide which post is your absolute best of that week.
- Connect with Power Stumblers. Like other social media platforms these are the go-to people in their field. They curate great content and have great contacts. One like from them can skyrocket the traffic to your content.
- Make your stumbles discoverable: If a site has not been stumbled previously you will be asked which category/interest is best belongs. It is important to think about what topic those interested in that content would search. StumbleUpon suggest content to users based on interest. Say I want to find the best content on Books I would stumble through that interest or category.
- Tags are more for your benefit. Unlike Pinterest where you can group similar topics on a board together. All stumbles go into one list called Likes. Tags help you find the content again. Remember it is a social BOOKMARKING site it is assumed the information you have stumbled will be needed again just like the pages you bookmark on your browser.
- You can share your likes with other social media outlets - Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.
- I believe there is an optimal time to stumble content. Though I can't find any statistical data to back up my point, the author of StumbleUpon Exposed compares users to channel surfers. This post recommends stumbling on Sunday nights when more people are likely to be randomly surfing the internet. The post I stumbled that got 1300+ views, I stumbled it around 4 pm on a Saturday.
- May get a lot of views, but most will be bounces. Back to the channeling surfing analogy. You might get a lot of one time views with the visit last only a few seconds. Your hope with those visitors is that they thumb up your post so that others can discover it. While most may be these quick lookers, some will stay and look around. Also they may come back later if they are searching for something in particular and just happened to land on your site.
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