Book Nerds Across America

Bookish goodies!

Hi friends!

So I just got back from my very first San Diego Comic Con (SDCC)! What an experience!! I knew it was going to be crazy and geeky and cool going in, but I didn't realize just how much so until I got to experience. It was fun and incredible and I'm so glad I was able to go!

Well, I went into the Con thinking, "I do a lot of book events outside of SDCC, so even though there are book events there, I'm going to stay away and focus on other things."

HA!

Nice try, Flo. You can't take a girl away from her books apparently. So, I did attend some great bookish events and get some great bookish things that I thought I'd share with you.

First of all, as soon as I found out that Leigh Bardugo was going to be signing copies of her new upcoming novel Wonder Woman: Warbringer, I was there! I love Leigh and her books so much. Not to mention, Macmillan was also giving away the DC Icons t-shirt that I've been drooling over since seeing people get them at YALLWEST.

Out of Print was selling t-shirts that said, "Fight Evil. Read Books." I. Mean. This was clearly an insta-buy for me and the friend I went with. I was also very excited to pick up ARC copies of The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano (thanks HarperTeen!) and Invictus by Ryan Graudin (thanks Novl!) I hadn't heard of Seventh Decimate by Stephen Donaldson, but it looks interesting, so thank you Berkeley.

It's kind of hard to see in the picture, but I also found a magnet bookmark of Newt from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them that I couldn't walk away from.

Finally, I was able to snag a sampler of Children of Blood and Bone by Toni Adeyemi. This one doesn't come out until next March, but looks so good! And this leads us to....

THE GIVEAWAY!
The friend I went with graciously agreed to donate his sampler of Children of Blood and Bone for a blog giveaway. Did I mention that this sampler is signed?! And I'm giving it away to one lucky commentor below. Int'l is OK! Just be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win. Tell me what your favorite reveal from SDCC was. If you don't have one, let me know what your favorite bookish item is that you own, whether you got it at a Con or other bookish event, or if it's something you bought or made. I'll pick a winner Friday, July 28.

So, I have been noticing a bad rut that I've gotten myself into. As you all know, a lot of great books come in 3s these days. Trilogies are the way to go, and I love them -- I do. But what I've noticed lately is that I will read the first book and most often love it. I'll read the second book and I'll either love it or I'll think it got the Middle Book Syndrome. (I can expand on this point, if you'd like to know more of my thoughts here -- just ask :) Then I'll have to wait the year for the final book to come out. And by that point, I've already been wowed by a shiny new trilogy. And while I may have absolutely loved the first two books, for some reason, I never make it to reading the third.

So, with all of YOU as my witness, my 2013 Book Goal is to conquer the Challenge of 3. Below are a list of  trilogies in which I have read the first two books, but not the third. Honestly, this list is kind of embarrassing. I know for a fact that I'm going to get called out for not having read some of these yet. But I will endure that, because I need the motivation to make time to get them read! So, without further adieu, here are my books on the Challenge of 3:

Boundless by Cynthia Hand
Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Reached by Ally Condie
Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
The Goddess Inheritance by Aimee Carter
Sever by Lauren DeStefano

So, my vow is to have all of these trilogy conclusions read by the end of the year. I'll be hashtagging it over on our Twitter #Challengeof3. Do you have any trilogy conclusions that you haven't read yet? Let me know in the comments if you're up for the challenge and/or tweet us @booknerdsblog with the hashtag #Challengeof3.

Fever is Book 2 of the Chemical Garden series by Lauren DeStefano.  Book Nerds reviewed Wither, which is Book 1 of the series shortly after its release.  We even declared whether we were team Gabriel or Linden, so you know we were anxious to get our hands on this sequel.

Good Reads Description:

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.


Mary's Review:

O.M.G! That is what I can say about Fever! I was so excited to see it on my Kindle that I could not contain myself at all.  If you do not remember I am Team Linden.  We actually did not see much of Linden in the book, but when we did it was GOOD! This book really took a lot of twist and turns for Rhine and Gabriel.  I really admire Rhine's courage but at the same time I thought she was very weak. She actually had to rely on other people this time.  I still do not like Vaughn and his vicious ways.  I really enjoyed the few new characters that we meet along the way.  I do not like the way Lauren DeStefano always leaves us hanging onto the end of the book.  Then again that might be part of her charm!!

I hope that I do not have to wait forever for the third book, but I am sure that I am going to have to.

First of all, I know it's Tuesday, so you must be wondering, "Where's Tuesday's Ten?!" No worries. We have some authors lined up that we're excited for you to "meet," so keep checking back with us on Tuesdays for more.

This Tuesday is exciting because it's the book birthday for a novel that the booknerds have been eagerly waiting to read. For those of you who don't know, we read a book together every month. You can always find the book we're reading pictured at the top right-hand corner of the site.

Since it comes out today, we thought it would make sense for it to be our April read. Without further adieu, our April read-a-long is....