As always, I wrote out each and every name in a list, adding extra entries where applicable, assigned each entry a number, then used Random.org to generate random numbers to find the winners.
And, the winners are.... *drumroll*
SLIDING ON THE EDGE goes to JUST YOUR TYPICAL BOOK BLOG!!
I KNOW IT'S OVER goes to JENNA!!
ONE LONELY DEGREE goes to ANGELA!!
Congratulations to all the winners!! Send me a note at tabitha at tabithaolson dot com with your address, and I'll send them along.
And don't forget to stop by next saturday to find out what's being given away. Hint: there will be four books and four winners, and interviews with two amazing authors!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
How's your reading going?
So, for those of you doing the 50 Book Challenge this year, or any kind of book-reading challenge, how are you doing? Are you keeping up? Are you keeping a list? Inquiring minds want to know!
I found this great meme on Paradoxrevealed.blogspot.com.
The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.
Instructions:
Put an "X" next to the books you've read
Put a "+" next to the books you LOVE
Put a "#" next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your "X"s at the bottom
Share with your friends!
1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams #
2. Kit's Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie #
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson +
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson X
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher X
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor +
12. Forever / Judy Blume
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell X
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares X
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray X
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot X
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
19. Ender's Game / Orson Scott Card X
20. Postcards from No Man's Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky X
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan X
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer X
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins X
27. The Midwife's Apprentice / Karen Cushman X
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen X
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow +
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly X
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer #
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman X
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles X
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going #
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green #
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse X
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen X
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton X
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson +
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause #
47. Arrow's Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson #
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart +
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry X
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry #
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar #
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch X
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler X
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey X
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean X
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick #
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta X
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr +
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock +
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers #
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix X
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix #
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini X
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen #
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer X
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman X
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan #
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff #
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling +
80. Holes / Louis Sachar +
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman +
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli +
87. Chanda's Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien X
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar X
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld +
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang #
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin #
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak X
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak X
How many I have read: 47
How many I plan to read: 17
How many I need to research: 36
What about you?
I found this great meme on Paradoxrevealed.blogspot.com.
The following list of books teens love, books teens should read, and books adults who serve teens should know about was compiled IN ABSOLUTELY NO SCIENTIFIC MANNER and should be taken with a very large grain of salt.
Instructions:
Put an "X" next to the books you've read
Put a "+" next to the books you LOVE
Put a "#" next to the books you plan on reading
Tally your "X"s at the bottom
Share with your friends!
1. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams #
2. Kit's Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie #
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson +
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson X
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher X
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor +
12. Forever / Judy Blume
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell X
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares X
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray X
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot X
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
19. Ender's Game / Orson Scott Card X
20. Postcards from No Man's Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky X
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan X
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer X
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins X
27. The Midwife's Apprentice / Karen Cushman X
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen X
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow +
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly X
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer #
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman X
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles X
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going #
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green #
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse X
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen X
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton X
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45 The First Part Last / Angela Johnson +
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause #
47. Arrow's Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson #
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart +
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry X
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry #
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar #
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch X
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler X
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey X
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean X
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick #
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta X
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr +
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock +
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers #
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix X
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix #
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini X
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen #
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer X
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman X
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan #
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. how i live now / Meg Rosoff #
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling +
80. Holes / Louis Sachar +
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger X
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman +
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli +
87. Chanda's Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien X
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar X
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld +
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang #
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin #
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak X
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak X
How many I have read: 47
How many I plan to read: 17
How many I need to research: 36
What about you?
Monday, May 25, 2009
Happy Memorial Day!!
To those of you in the States, hope you have a safe, fun, and happy Memorial Day!
I'm not sure how this happened, but this holiday, which is supposed to be for remembering those who have fought and died for our country, has turned into the official grilling day of the year. Our grill isn't hooked up yet, so we're making an Indian feast instead. Then we're going to take the training wheels off my oldest son's bicycle...good think I stocked up on Bactine. :)
Have a great day, everyone! Hope you have great weather (it looks like today might be a good one in Chicago)!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Plot Summary: Normal, sixteen-year-old Amal is an Australian-born Muslim Palestinian. All on her own, she makes the decision to start wearing the hijab (head-covering) full-time. Her parents, teachers, friends, and people on the street all have a reaction – some good, some not so good. But she stands by her decision to embrace her faith and all that it is, even if it makes her different from everyone else.
In this day and age, with so much ‘Islamic Terrorism’ all over the news, a story like this is very refreshing. None of the girls in Amal’s story are made to wear the hijab. The two girls who do, Amal and Leila, do so of their own choosing because they’re strong in their Muslim faith. I think that’s a fabulous message to send in this day and age.
At times, Amal seemed a bit too introspective and wise for her age, which made the prose seem more message-y than story, but it was never heavy-handed. And this is still a story I recommend.
As with all my book discussions, there are SPOILERS below.
I like how Amal comes to her decision about wearing the hijab, and how she sees it as believing in yourself so completely that you can withstand the constant questions and taunts. Her example is Leila, who is always ready with a quip or comeback whenever someone makes fun of her hijab.
I would have liked to see a bit more, though. Throughout the entire novel, we never find out what the hijab means to Amal. We learn that it’s part of the Muslim religion, and that it makes her feel closer to God, but we never learn why.
When an avid Christian wears a cross around her neck, she does so for a reason. The cross is more than just the symbol of Christianity. It’s a reminder of what Jesus went through when he was crucified, how he was tortured, and all the pain and suffering he brought on himself so that the world could have eternal salvation. Wearing a symbol like that around your neck will probably elicit a more personal response than “it’s the symbol of Christianity.”
For Muslims, it’s traditional for women to cover their heads (at least). But so many practicing Muslims aren’t necessarily following this, so there must be a reason motivating the ones who do. What motivates Amal to put on the hijab full-time? What about it gives her enough inner strength to deal with the taunts that she knows are coming? How does wearing it make her feel closer to God? We never find out these things, and I think this is a major short-coming in the story.
Other than that, this is a well-rounded story about Muslim culture, the different things that women face both within their families and outside of them. And I was glad to see that there were plenty of respectable Muslim boys in this story, with only one jerk. Leila’s brother isn’t the way he is because he’s Muslim, it’s because of bad parenting. I’ve seen plenty of non-Muslim boys turn out that way because the parents didn’t know how to check their son.
Overall, this is a good story that’s worth reading. Especially now.
In this day and age, with so much ‘Islamic Terrorism’ all over the news, a story like this is very refreshing. None of the girls in Amal’s story are made to wear the hijab. The two girls who do, Amal and Leila, do so of their own choosing because they’re strong in their Muslim faith. I think that’s a fabulous message to send in this day and age.
At times, Amal seemed a bit too introspective and wise for her age, which made the prose seem more message-y than story, but it was never heavy-handed. And this is still a story I recommend.
As with all my book discussions, there are SPOILERS below.
I like how Amal comes to her decision about wearing the hijab, and how she sees it as believing in yourself so completely that you can withstand the constant questions and taunts. Her example is Leila, who is always ready with a quip or comeback whenever someone makes fun of her hijab.
I would have liked to see a bit more, though. Throughout the entire novel, we never find out what the hijab means to Amal. We learn that it’s part of the Muslim religion, and that it makes her feel closer to God, but we never learn why.
When an avid Christian wears a cross around her neck, she does so for a reason. The cross is more than just the symbol of Christianity. It’s a reminder of what Jesus went through when he was crucified, how he was tortured, and all the pain and suffering he brought on himself so that the world could have eternal salvation. Wearing a symbol like that around your neck will probably elicit a more personal response than “it’s the symbol of Christianity.”
For Muslims, it’s traditional for women to cover their heads (at least). But so many practicing Muslims aren’t necessarily following this, so there must be a reason motivating the ones who do. What motivates Amal to put on the hijab full-time? What about it gives her enough inner strength to deal with the taunts that she knows are coming? How does wearing it make her feel closer to God? We never find out these things, and I think this is a major short-coming in the story.
Other than that, this is a well-rounded story about Muslim culture, the different things that women face both within their families and outside of them. And I was glad to see that there were plenty of respectable Muslim boys in this story, with only one jerk. Leila’s brother isn’t the way he is because he’s Muslim, it’s because of bad parenting. I’ve seen plenty of non-Muslim boys turn out that way because the parents didn’t know how to check their son.
Overall, this is a good story that’s worth reading. Especially now.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
more Virtual Writer's Conference
In case anyone is interested, here's my contribution to the Virtual Writer's Conference:
http://virtualwritersconference.blogspot.com/2009/05/multiple-voices-of-story-by-tabitha.html
It's an article on the different ways Voice manifests within a story.
Enjoy!
http://virtualwritersconference.blogspot.com/2009/05/multiple-voices-of-story-by-tabitha.html
It's an article on the different ways Voice manifests within a story.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Virtual Writer's Conference!
Today launches the first of the four-day Virtual Writer's Conference!
Organized and hosted by author Gayle Trent, there is an amazing line up of authors, editors, publicists, and agents contributing articles about everything related to publishing and writing. The conference goes from today, May 19th, through friday, May 22nd. Be sure to check it out!
Organized and hosted by author Gayle Trent, there is an amazing line up of authors, editors, publicists, and agents contributing articles about everything related to publishing and writing. The conference goes from today, May 19th, through friday, May 22nd. Be sure to check it out!
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