John Green!

I hope you managed to join us to see John Green. He was fantastic (and yes, that is a yeti on his shirt!). And we had a packed house that night. People came from as far as Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Reno, and Oakland (thank you--we appreciate you driving so far).

He took questions from his online audience before the event, And lucky, lucky me --I got to interview him. Find out which characters he identifies most with, how working as a hospital chaplain affected his writing, what he's reading now, and advice for aspiring writers (and lots more). I'll post it in about a week so keep checking.

Today I'm posting a video of John reading in case you missed it (I know some of you came in late). I'll have video of Abby Simons, who played during the event, posted tomorrow.



Final thoughts: Which of his books (all great, I know) is your favorite? For me it's close, but I'll vote for Paper Towns. You?

Melissa De La Cruz Sweepstakes

Win lunch and $1,000 shopping spree with Melissa De la Cruz in her Blue Bloods Sweepstakes! All you have to do is click here and fill out the entry form you find there. Then send the filled -out entry form to: BLUE BLOODS SWEEPSTAKES, Disney Hyperion Books, 44 S. Broadway, 10th Floor, White Plains, NY 10601. Awesome! What did you think of this series?

I Love Your Blog!

Just found out that I've been awarded the I Love Your Blog Award by my friend Nancy. I love to visit her blog for book reviews, movie reviews, and generally because I like to read what makes her happy. Her blog site is http://curlyshoe.blogspot.com/ and I encourage everyone to check it out. Apart from her sunny optimism and charming nature Nancy loves to read and discuss teen literature and I'm very glad to have met her. Thanks Nancy -- I love your blog too!

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

I'm sure by now many of you have heard about the movie for this book, but let me say that even if you've seen it already, the book is definately worth reading. It's sarcastic, witty, and just fun in general. Taking these qualities and putting them together with the mix of an unusual plot and two hysterical yet lovable characters, a she/he stripper with personality, and odd references that make you think makes for a thoughtful and delightful bit of fun.

Nick is the only straight member of a gay band playing in a club who is at a loss when his ex, who he's still in love with, walks into a club with a new guy. In desperation, he asks the girl next to him to be his girlfriend for 5 minutes. As you can probably guess, this is Norah, a sarcastic exec's daughter. They proceed to have adventures they could never have predicted over the course of a night/morning, leading them all over, from bar to bar to a Mariott in Manhattan.

I loved this book, and I recommend it for anyone looking for a funny and enjoyable read.

New Competition

Yes, you read that correctly. Another competition!

This month I'm giving away a copy of Identical by Ellen Hopkins. It's about two sisters, Kaeleigh and Raeanne, who are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin. For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex. Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who?

Here's all you have to do. I'm going to give it to the person who posts the most on the blog. That's it. Post a comment on our book reviews or events--new or old, tell us what you are reading, what you have just read, what you can't wait to read, which event you want to attend, which movie you want to see, whether you preferred the movie to the book, or who you would like us to interview. Easy.

Good luck!

Sneak Peak at Our Christopher Paolini Interview

Antonia got to interview Christopher Paolini when he was in the Bay Area. Yes, she did ask him how old he is (24, and, this November, 25). Here's a sneak peak of Christopher talking about the problems young writers encounter:

"Well one of the biggest problems for me when I started, the biggest psychological barrier I had, was that I just didn’t know of anyone my own age who had done what I was trying to do. So in some ways I was thinking well, maybe it’s impossible, maybe there’s a reason no other young person has done what I was trying to do. After the fact, of course, I learned that there have been plenty of other young authors, I just didn’t know about them. For example, the author of The Red Badge of Courage was 18 or 19 when he wrote that book. Steven King started The Dark Tower series when he was 19, I think, so there were a lot of talented young writers in that age range. I do think the biggest difficulty young writers have is not having someone who can mentor them, or who can edit their work and help them really develop as a writer. That’s something they end up having to do on their own, which takes another 10, 15 years. Also, they don’t know anyone who would allow them to get the attention their work deserves, someone in marketing or publishing or someone to tell them something as simple as how to format the manuscript properly or how to send it out properly, or even how to write submission letters to the publishers and the agents. That can be difficult stuff to do when you’re 15 or 16 or 17. You maybe don’t know how to navigate the adult world yet, and that’s where family can be very important."

What would you most like to ask him?

John Green update

Just found out that John is bringing a musical guest, Abby Simons, for an exclusive performance. Here's a sample of Abby's work:



If you want to see more of Abby's work go to http://www.youtube.com/user/songsfromahat

James Owen

We were fortunate to host James Owen as he kicked off his tour of the third volume in his series, The Chronicles of The Imaginarium Geographica, The Indigo King. If you haven't yet read them, the stories are fabulous--well crafted and multi-layered--and the illustrations incredible. But to meet and listen to James Owen is to be inspired. He stood before his audience talking about a car accident that damaged his hand and left doctors telling him to think about alternate careers. Then he told us that drawing is just a set of small lines, turned around, and in small steps drew an incredible dragon. This is a man who believes in taking charge of his destiny. Everyone should have the pleasure of meeting people like James who show us all what is possible.

If you are reading this, James--thank you.

Below I have posted two videos. In the first, James describes The Indigo King. Try it. In the second he shows how to draw a dragon.





I'll post my interview with James sometime next week so keep checking. Find out what inspired him to write this series, whether he identifies with any of his characters, which writers he admires most, and what book he's like to read again for the first time. Lots more of course. And if you want to read about the event from his perspective click here to get to his own journal (dated Oct 26).