Road Trip, Winners and Vacation Time

This week's YA Highway Road trip topic:

What movie have you seen that actually (gasp) IMPROVED on the book?






The only one that comes to mind is:

Don't get me wrong...the premise of this book is AMAZING...books coming to life when you read them...I mean, what's not to love?

Also, the backstory, the world-building, the characters, the writing...All there, All strong.

But the pace just killed me. So slow. To the point where I haven't yet listened to the rest of the series:(

The movie, on the other hand, had almost all of the good stuff (except the writing, of course) with a much faster pace. And I even liked the ending better.

It is MG instead of YA, which might of been part of the problem...personal taste and all...so please don't kill me, Inkheart book fans.

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For my How Many Have You Read/Heard contest, everyone who commented will get an ARC, but Meghan won first choice.

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Also, I haven't been in the blogosphere much lately because I'm thick into revisions...I have vacation coming up and have to, have to get them done before then, so I've decided to take a month off. I'll be back the week of August 13th with another How Many Have You Read/Heard contest...I've got a huge pile of October release ARCs to give away, so please come back then.


What about you? An opinion on Inkheart? Any movie you liked better than the book? Revising/blogging pressures? Vacation coming up? 

Never Enough Release

Denise Jaden (A Critique Circle writer buddy of mine) is celebrating the release of her second book, NEVER ENOUGH.

With it she has a wonderful YouTube video with many YA writers sharing the ways they felt insecure as a teen.

She also has a blog tour going on from now until the fourteenth with many great prizes.

And speaking of prizes, I'm giving away The Diviners, by Libba Bray and five other great ARCs. Just comment HERE. The contest will be open until Friday.

What about you? Read/Seen this yet?

How Many Have You Read/Heard Contest (My June Reads)

Like last month, I have a lot of great ARCs to give away but not so many YA books that I listened to in June...So, the same rules apply:

-ANYONE can enter this contest. Just comment below.
-You will get BONUS ENTRIES for every one of my June listens you've already read/heard.

Here are all the ARCs I'm giving away:

Here are my June Listens:


 



Clever take on angel/demon myths. Rich and well written. Lives up to all the hype.

Fourth in this edgy supernatural series. Still has me hooked. Looking forward to the next one.

This upper MG/lower YA surprised me...in a good way. My minor interest in astronomy helped, but (as the title implies) the characters were the real stars.

Another adult writer trying his/her hand at YA...and (in this case, at least) doing it superbly. Loved the writing and the story's subtle, universal nature.

I'm a Hoosier, so of course I love basketball, but you don't have to love the game to appreciate this set of short stories set at the same place on the same day with some overlapping characters. Multicultural done well.




What about you?

Want one of those ARCs? Just Comment below.

And get bonus entries by telling me which of my June listens you've read or heard.

Free Audiobook Downloads

I can't believe I'm late to this party again this year...Sync, part of Audiobook Community, does free downloads every summer. It used to be later in the summer, which is why I keep missing it:(




But, no worries, there are still many weeks left. Each week there's a theme with a contemporary book and a complimentary classic one.


This week's selections are:

I loved the Bartimaeus Trilogy, especially the djinn (genie), Bartimaeus. So, if you haven't read/heard it, you should take advantage of this free opportunity.

The free downloads run Thurs-Wed, so hurry up and snatch them up.

Check out the full schedule HERE. Next week's selections are:

What about you? Read/heard any of these? Tried Sync downloads before?